Ranking Every MCU Movie's Opening Scene Worst To Best

Only the second ever Marvel Studios production, 2008's "The Incredible Hulk" is one of the more overlooked entries in the MCU. One of the more welcome aspects of Edward Norton's sole turn as the Green Goliath is that it eschews a typical superhero origin story showing how Bruce Banner got his powers. Instead, "The Incredible Hulk" is a story where Banner has already been living with his gamma-radiated alter ego for some time and accustomed to surviving off the grid.

The opening credit sequence to "The Incredible Hulk" recaps the experiment that unleashed Banner's super-strong counterpart in a montage leading to him fleeing the authorities to South America. This is immediately followed by the film showcasing Banner's life living incognito in Brazil before eventually being discovered by the U.S. military. While not a poorly executed opening scene, it's also not a particularly memorable one that does more to catch audiences than actively engage with them.

Just as the original "Thor" began with an extended prologue providing the history of Asgard and one of its enemies, so too does its sequel "Thor: The Dark World." But whereas the 2011 film featured a cold open to draw audiences in, its 2013 follow-up dives headfirst into the history lesson. Once again narrated by Sir Anthony Hopkins, "The Dark World" starts with Odin recounting how his father Bor led the Asgardians to wage a costly war against the Dark Elves millennia ago for supremacy over the Nine Realms.

In a way, this opening scene demonstrates everything wrong with "The Dark World" in comparison to its immediate predecessor. Darker and more action-packed than "Thor," the sequel also feels a bit more shallow and lifeless, evident from its two-dimensional antagonist Malekith and murky battle scene. "The Dark World" is a prime example of Marvel Studios experiencing growing pains developing the MCU and that's visible right from its opening.

"Captain Marvel" expanded the cosmic side of the MCU and gave the shared universe its most powerful superhero to date in the titular character. However, rather than provide any grand introduction in its opening scene, "Captain Marvel" begins instead with a typical day in the life of Carol Danvers among the Kree Empire. Unable to sleep after dreaming of her past, Danvers spars with her Kree commander before being dispatched on a mission against the Skrulls to kick off the movie's story.

There is a lot to like in "Captain Marvel," but its opening feels particularly rushed rather than lead off with a more accessible and inviting opening. As effective as actors Brie Larson and Jude Law's performances are, "Captain Marvel" the opening scene just feels clumsily handled overall. There's a lot to like in "Captain Marvel" but its pacing issues are among the most noticeable in the MCU and that's clear right from the start of the film.

"The Avengers" delivered on the promise of its five preceding films, bringing together Earth's Mightiest Heroes for an all-star battle to save the MCU from certain evil. The opening scene quickly establishes the epic threat facing SHIELD and the fledgling superhero team, as Loki is entrusted by shadowy benefactors to obtain the Tesseract from Earth at any cost. This leads the godly trickster to decisively strike, forcibly converting Hawkeye to his cause while Nick Fury and Maria Hill barely escape with their lives.

The MCU and filmmaker Joss Whedon's worst storytelling tendencies are on display, from awkwardly placed, unfunny jokes, to a curiously muted action sequence as Loki is unleashed. Much of the MCU's penchant for razor-sharp dialogue comes from Whedon's 2011 blockbuster, but it feels misplaced here in establishing such harrowing stakes. The awkward exposition introducing the Tesseract and Chitauri army before any characters enter the frame makes this opening all the more uneven in its execution.

"Spider-Man: Far From Home" ended with the shocking twist of Peter Parker's superhero secret identity being exposed to the world in a posthumous message from Mysterio broadcast worldwide. The 2021 sequel "Spider-Man: No Way Home" begins immediately after this bombshell is dropped, with Peter and his girlfriend MJ trying to evade the public eye and return home. And though "No Way Home" is one of the undeniable triumphs of the MCU, its opening scene is frankly not one of its highlights.

To its credit, "No Way Home" hits the ground running, as Spider-Man does whatever a spider can to get home as quickly as possible, while his personal world crumbles around him. However, once Peter and MJ finally return to Queens, this frenetic pace quickly drops, as the main characters live within their consequences before the true stakes of the film really kick in. This opening scene feels like something of a necessity, resolving its predecessor's cliffhanger ending before setting the stage for Doctor Strange's magical hijinks.

There had been preliminary plans for Scarlett Johansson to star in a solo Black Widow MCU film since at least 2010, though these plans went unrealized until 2021's "Black Widow." This lengthy development cycle gave the movie a strong sense of emotional poignancy; with Natasha Romanoff's endpoint depicted earlier in "Avengers: Endgame," "Black Widow" explored her origins. This scope is apparent right from the movie's opening, covering young Natasha's family being summoned back to Russia in 1995 after living in the United States as a sleeper cell.

The family stakes at the heart of "Black Widow" are introduced, and that aspect of the story hits the ground running with this action-packed prologue — most notably Natasha's dynamic with her younger sister Yelena. This opening is definitely one of the more gripping ways an MCU movie has began, and it finally gives its greatest super-spy her own origin story. There is a certain tragedy inherent with Black Widow as a character, and the foundation for this is introduced in her solo movie while giving the Romanoff family a high-octane escape.

"Spider-Man: Far From Home" had the unenviable distinction of being the first MCU movie released after the massive success of "Avengers: Endgame." With high expectations about where the cinematic universe would go without many of its biggest icons, "Far From Home" explored how "Endgame" impacted the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. A prologue introducing the movie's central antagonist Mysterio gives way to an opening title sequence that melodramatically mourns the Avengers, and provides a different perspective on how the world reacted to the climax of "Endgame."

The opening scene to "Far From Home" highlights just how chaotic a place the MCU had become in the immediate aftermath of "Endgame." Nick Fury and Maria Hill are barely able to keep up with crises around the world, unaware that the mysterious hero appearing before them is the cause. With its cold open and subsequent post-Blip recap, "Far From Home" proved there were plenty of interesting places for the MCU to go next with its original Avengers to save the day.

While Black Panther made his debut in "Captain America: Civil War," the opening scene to the character's solo movie plays up the legend behind the superhero mantle. With vibranium playing such a pivotal role in 2018's "Black Panther," the movie opens with an explainer on the strange substance, presented as a fairy tale from father to son about Wakanda's history. This is followed by T'Challa's father T'Chaka on a mission in the 1990s that will inadvertently set the main story's conflict into motion.

"Black Panther" is really a movie about fathers and the legacies they leave behind for their sons, and this opening scene subtly sets up that theme. And even though it's a relatively small role, Sterling K. Brown's portrayal of Erik Killmonger's father N'Jobu is one of the more heartbreaking performances in the film. The heartfelt sensibilities of "Black Panther" are on full display in the opening.

When Spider-Man made his MCU debut in "Captain America: Civil War," the character nearly stole the show during the film's epic airport fight sequence. This scene helped set up his solo MCU film the following year. The opening of this new Spider-Man's solo movie "Spider-Man: Homecoming" provided an alternate look at one of the MCU's most iconic moments, specifically the aftermath of "The Avengers" climactic battle. As New York City cleaned up from the devastating alien invasion, contractor Adrian Toomes found himself forced out of legitimate work, leading him to break bad.

If Peter Parker is something of a working class hero, often relying on his own wits and determination to save the day, Toomes is a working class villain. The opening of "Homecoming" not only firmly entrenched this Spider-Man into MCU beyond "Civil War," but provided its antagonist with a memorable, understandable entrance. The only thing keeping "Homecoming" from ranking higher is its own visible confusion over its placement in the MCU timeline.

Say what you will about "Avengers: Age of Ultron," but the 2015 film not only features a much more impressive opening scene than "The Avengers," but one of the best openers in the MCU. After spending much of the 2011 film bringing the eponymous team together, "Age of Ultron" kicks off with the heroes working together as a cohesive unit. As the Avengers battle the remnants of Hydra, the prologue takes the time to show each of its stars in action and how well they play off each other, both strategically and in terms of banter.

Whedon didn't quite get the voices down for characters like Hawkeye and Captain America in writing and directing "The Avengers." By "Age of Ultron," Whedon has a better understanding of his main cast, and that's evident from this all-star jam session to launch the super-powered proceedings. For all of the shortcomings in "Age of Ultron," the movie's opening sequence certainly is not one of them.

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" established Steve Rogers' best friend Bucky Barnes as a brainwashed killer for Hydra, and its 2016 sequel "Captain America: Civil War" reveals the Winter Soldier in action. With a cold open set in the 1990s, the Winter Soldier is revived from cryogenic sleep and dispatched on a lethal mission that will alter the trajectory of the MCU forever. "The Winter Soldier" established Bucky as something of a shadowy legend in the intelligence community, and "Civil War" revisits that legend in its prime.

Rarely does the MCU start on such a decidedly dark note, with the Winter Soldier unleashed in all his murderous might. More tellingly, the prologue is vital in setting up how "Civil War" plays out, from its remote Siberian setting, to the mental conditioning controlling Bucky, to the mystery surrounding Hydra assassin's fateful mission. There are few opening scenes in the MCU that are more important than that of "Civil War" — and, given the scope of the film, that makes it especially pivotal for the entire shared universe.

There is something perfect about Steve Rogers relocating to Washington, D.C. and "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" opens with a tour of the city before Rogers embarks on high-stakes mission. Framed by a sunrise over the city's iconic monuments, "The Winter Soldier" kicks off with Rogers and Sam Wilson meeting each other with the banter that would define their friendship. This jovial prologue is followed by a reminder why Captain America is a super-soldier that turned the tide of World War II, with him following a group of hijackers on the other side of the world.

For as taut and action-packed as "The Winter Soldier" is, its opening scene provides a wink to the audience how much fun they're about to have. Rogers' introspection about his place in the world will come soon enough, but his natural rapport with Wilson lets the normally stoic superhero lighten up somewhat in a welcome change. And the hijacking incident gives viewers a chance to see Rogers' other major friendship in the film, when he's paired with Black Widow to lead a rescue squad and save the day.

Even though it was the MCU's first film and came out over a decade and a half ago, 2008's "Iron Man" still holds up and offers a clear blueprint for the shared universe that would follow. Opening with the iconic guitar riff from AC/DC's "Back in Black," billionaire playboy Tony Stark's convoy through Afghanistan is ambushed, with the amoral arms dealer gravely wounded in the exchange. The scene is a harrowing one, sharply cutting off Stark's banter with his escorts in a merciless hail of bullets, before diving into an expository flashback.

Even before the shooting starts, Stark's irreverent demeanor among the U.S. soldiers informs the audience exactly who this guy is before his change of heart. While in media res MCU prologues would resurface in plenty of subsequent films, the technique is at its most effective in "Iron Man." From its dialogue-driven humor to this attention-grabbing opening technique, "Iron Man" set the standard for the MCU, and continues to stand a cut above most of its successors.

While audiences had caught glimpses of Thanos ever since "Avengers," the Mad Titan would decisively take center stage in 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War." Picking up immediately from the mid-credits sequence of "Ragnarok," Thanos attacked Thor and the Asgardian refugees for the Tesseract in Loki's possession, easily crushing all opposition in his path. By the time the dust settled, there was no question that Thanos was the greatest villain the Avengers ever faced, making the stakes more dire than ever.

"Infinity War" carried the burden of great expectations but, with two major character deaths right from its starting skirmish, the movie lived up to its claim that nothing would be the same. There was a great deal of anticipation riding on "Infinity War" and Thanos' opening attack delivered on the hype. "Infinity War" marked the beginning of the end of the MCU's initial overarching story and Thanos' attack on the Asgardians made that unmistakably clear.