The MCU's Biggest Misses Ranked

Following the rip-roaring success of 2008's "Iron Man," the expectations were sky-high for the sequel. In the lead-up to the production, one of the biggest changes made to "Iron Man 2" was Terrence Howard being fired from the film, and Don Cheadle replacing him as James Rhodes/War Machine, but even that didn't damper the anticipation. Throw in the introduction of Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell's tag-team effort as the villains of the film, Australian rockers AC/DC's contribution to the hard-hitting soundtrack, and all signs pointed to the sequel outshining the original. 

Unfortunately, "Iron Man 2" didn't quite hit the same lofty standards as its predecessor. "The whiz-bang stuff here — while never less than slick — doesn't produce anything we haven't seen before," said CNN. "It mutes Downey's cavalier charisma. He's still what makes this show tick, but I'm not sure we want to see him wrestling with his own mortality when it's his instinctive immorality that's his sexiest attribute."

It remains the lowest-rated film of the "Iron Man" trilogy on Rotten Tomatoes, with a critical approval of 72%. Not quite an earth-shattering disaster, but also far from the precedent set by the original "Iron Man" film.

Comic book movie continuity can be a slippery slope. With so many Marvel projects tying back to other features, series, and events, then moving forward a few years, backtracking here and there ... it does feel like there should be a map handed out with each new release. "Black Widow" didn't help the cause. 

While there's no disputing that Natasha Romanoff deserved her own movie (perhaps even a trilogy), many fans were puzzled why her solo film arrived 11 years after the character debuted in the MCU, served as an origin story, and was largely robbed of any dramatic tension by her death in "Avengers: Endgame."

"'Black Widow' represents the MCU looking back when it should be moving forward," wrote James Berardinelli of Reelviews. "Everything about the movie seems small, even the big action set-pieces." The film's Metacritic score stands at 67, indicating that it was received favorably if not spectacularly by critics. For the MCU's standards, that's just not good enough.

As per Newsweek, "Helstrom" was a precarious series. Initially, it was meant to kickstart a darker universe for Marvel properties on Hulu, which would have included Gabriel Luna's Ghost Rider too, but it ended up being the final show for Marvel Television as it was shut down and merged with the overarching Marvel Studios. As a result, "Helstrom" was left adrift at sea, all on its lonesome, since it was essentially dead on arrival and led down a cul-de-sac of worldbuilding. It received little to no hype, and nowadays, most people tend to forget it even existed.

Under normal circumstances, the Helstrom siblings aren't exactly A- or even B-list Marvel personalities, which certainly didn't help. They were magical characters created to capitalize on the success of the edgier Ghost Rider, but were never quite as popular or seminal as the Spirit of Vengeance. Their foray into the TV realm didn't go as planned either, since "Helstrom" was hammered by reviewers and received a hellish 27% approval on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience was far more generous to it, though, offering a kinder 71% rating from 392 user reviews.

Another subpar second film, the MCU somehow seems to be the opposite of "Star Wars" films when it comes to which is the good one. In the case of "Thor" movies, fans fondly remember 2011's "Thor" and 2017's "Thor: Ragnarok," but 2013's "Thor: The Dark World" is hardly ever mentioned as anything but a punchline. 

With a 66% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it is the MCU's second-worst ranked film on the aggregator, and is often cited as the worst Marvel film. But here's the thing: it wasn't a bad movie per se, just a largely forgettable one. In fact, does anyone even remember what the plot was about? Or who the villain was?

"The clutter makes your head feel like it's about to explode — and not in a good way, with wonders upon wonders," said Rolling Stone in its Time. "Instead it seems like arcana that might show up on the midterm final: the next Marvel movie."

Such indifference isn't a good look for a movie that contains characters like Thor and Loki, though, as there's endless mythology and lore to pull from. Director Alan Taylor revealed to Collider before the film's release that part of the reshoot process was to include more of Loki; yet, even that didn't manage to save the film from being one of the MCU's most bland.

After "The Avengers" gobbled up the box office receipts and went back for seconds, it widened eyes in the entertainment industry. If one property could be so successful and practically print money, why not tap into the goodwill and reap similar benefits across other mediums? "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." proved to be the template of the best way to make an Avengers show without the actual Avengers, and ABC knew it. But the network wanted more, so it pondered the possibility of potential spinoffs. One idea was to create a series called "Marvel's Most Wanted," which would have followed Adrianne Palicki's Bobbi Morse and Nick Blood's Lance Hunter.

"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." showrunner Jeff Bell confirmed to IGN in 2016 that a pilot had been shot and he was happy with the result of the episode, stating that the two co-stars had fantastic chemistry. It appeared like the show would be picked up without incident, especially considering the success of other Marvel properties at the time; however, ABC wasn't convinced. 

In a 2016 TCA panel (via /Film), ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said, "'Most Wanted,' ultimately at the end of the day, did not feel as strong as some of the other pilots that we shot." Whether that's true or not, fans may never get to find out; ABC holds the rights to the pilot, and there's no incentive to ever release it.

In a review for Forbes, Paul Tassi described the "Inhumans" TV show as "easily the biggest mistake Marvel has made to date." It was a sentiment shared by many critics at the time, as the series garnered a measly 11% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

From its messy CGI to a weak storyline and even fake-looking wigs, nothing was spared from criticism. "Do not spend any of your limited time on this planet watching this show," read the Variety review. "If you have a superpower, use it to race away from 'Inhumans' faster than the speed of light."

It came as little surprise when "Inhumans" only received a single season. It might possibly get another shot at redemption via an all-new cast and showrunner on Disney+, however, if you believe Black Bolt actor Anson Mount's comments to the Dallas Fan Days convention in 2019.  

"People might not know this, but in the sort of Hollywood trades, there's rumored to be a negotiation going on with Disney+ to reattempt this," the actor said at the time. "And apparently ... it's well-known that Vin [Diesel] has always wanted to play Black Bolt, so there's some kind of negotiations going on."

"I really want there to be another shot at the 'Inhumans,' and I want it to be successful because I'd love to watch it," he continued. "I think it is the most interesting little corner of the Marvel universe, and I think it just has to be done — it has to have the right home, the right tone, and the right vision overall."