From the iconic battles of the Avengers to the cosmic adventures of Guardians of the Galaxy, the MCU has provided a wealth of entertainment. However, not all films in this vast franchise are necessarily essential. In this list, we're going to look at the 10 most pointless MCU movies and TV shows, which you can totally ignore if you want.
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The Marvel Cinematic Universe has given fans some of the most memorable blockbusters of the 21st century. With complex storylines that intertwine across more than 30 films to create a shared world of stunning superheroes, Marvel Studios has redefined cinematic storytelling on an epic scale.
However, even within this expanded universe, certain films and series serve more as obligatory connective tissue than flagship titles in their own right. While essential for establishing characters and setting up some truly grand moments, some Marvel films are fleeting and forgettable, featuring stylized action but lacking substance or failing to advance the narrative in any meaningful way.
In this list, we'll look at some of the MCU's most missing entries – the films and series that, while enjoyable in the moment, quickly fade from memory and leave little lasting impact on the worlds that they aspire to enrich. In other words, these are the ones you can skip during your next binging session.
1. Thor: The Dark World
Thor: The Dark World is one of the MCU's weakest films, but also one of the most forgettable you'll ever watch. The God of Thunder saga took a while to find its feet in the MCU, and it could be argued that only Ragnarok has managed to do justice to Thor in the franchise.
The Dark World has almost no purpose in the overall narrative of the MCU. The rare times it is referred to, the directors take care to inform viewers, in case they have not watched the film, as they did for Endgame. In short, this is a Thor movie that you can – and should – absolutely ignore.
2. Ant-Man
Poor Hawkeye was given a supporting role in his own Disney+ series, while Ant-Man was given an entire trilogy. The first Ant-Man is not only pointless, it's also extraordinarily boring. The same goes for all the other films dedicated to the antelope man in the MCU, which are the most poorly received by fans.
Whether it's the mundane Ant-Man and the Wasp or the terrible Quantumania, there's simply no reason to watch these films unless you're a die-hard Ant-Man fan.
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3. Captain Marvel
Brie Larson's Captain Marvel has always found himself in an uncomfortable position within the MCU. The character should have been Marvel's version of Superman, but she was relegated to the sidelines for fear that she would become too much of a Deus ex machina in Avengers Endgame.
Captain Marvel feels like a film made out of obligation. Presenting her as the first “official” Avenger goes against the idea that Captain America held that role decades before. To make matters worse, the film itself doesn't introduce any new concepts or characters into the entire MCU – we're still waiting for the Skrull to play a role in the overall narrative.
4. Iron Man 3
The final part of the Iron Man trilogy is pretty weird. Not only did we not see the real Mandarin, but the film rushes through the entire Extremis saga like there's no tomorrow.
Iron Man 3 introduces a character who looks set to play a bigger role in Tony Stark's life – Harley Keener even attends Tony's funeral in Endgame. Nothing that happens in this film seems connected to the rest of the MCU – even the apparent destruction of all of Iron Man's armors seems to be done purely for dramatic effect, since Tony returns with more armors by the time civil war.
5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
As much as I love the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, I always felt like they did things their own way, outside of the confines of the MCU. While this leads to some interesting character developments, it also means you can skip most of these films if you want to watch the Inifity Saga on repeat.
The only significant information introduced in Book 2 is that Quill isn't entirely human – but that's something that could have easily been explained in a single line of dialogue in any of the Avengers films. As part of the Guardians saga, volume 2 is a must-see – in the context of the MCU, a little less so.
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6. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
The latest phase of the MCU is all about the multiverse, a concept that was first touched upon in No Way Home. Multiverse of Madness was supposed to be an event capable of rivaling Spider-Verse's handling of the Marvel Multiverse, but the result left a lot to be desired.
Not only did this interpretation of the multiverse seem shallow and lacking in scope, but the film itself did little to reflect how knowledge of the multiverse could affect most of Marvel's characters. Even Scarlet Witch's apparent demise was handled hastily and without the proper development that WandaVision fans expected.
7. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
As entertaining as it is, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier serves to answer a question that already has an answer: who will be the next Captain America?
By the end of Endgame, it's clear that Steve wants Sam Wilson to succeed him. The question of “who will be the next Captain” was already answered – there was no need to dedicate an entire miniseries to the reveal of Captain America's new costume.
8. Black Widow
If you ask me, every Avenger deserves a solo movie. The problem with Black Widow is that the film came out at the worst possible time. By the time Black Widow was released, Natasha Romanoff was already dead and gone in the MCU, leaving this uninspiring prequel as a rather strange device to introduce the new Black Widow. It's disappointing to see that a character like Natasha didn't get the solo outing she deserved.
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9. Spider-Man: Homecoming
Tom Holland stars as Spider-Man/Peter Parker in the Columbia Pictures film SPIDER-MAN™: HOMECOMING.Spider-Man's complicated history with copyright meant that we had to wait quite a while before we saw Spidey introduced into the wider MCU. His reveal in Civil War might have been all fans needed to know what to expect from this version of Peter Parker, leaving Homecoming as an entertaining but ultimately disjointed MCU adventure.
If you're a die-hard Spidey fan, Homecoming is a must-see movie. However, since most of the plot elements from this film are left out in the next two films, you could easily watch Civil War and then skip straight to No Way Home to get the full man experience -spider from the MCU.
10. She-Hulk (and other UCM miniseries)
While the Disney+ series have been an excellent way to introduce characters from Marvel comics into the MCU without disrupting the general plot of the franchise, this tactic has given certain characters the impression of having no place in the MCU .
She-Hulk is a good example of this. This series was heavily criticized by fans for the way it treated its main character and everyone closely related to him. Other examples, although less serious, include Moon Knight and Werewolf By Night: stories that feature lesser-known Marvel characters but are virtually disconnected from what we know as the MCU.
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While some fans might view these series as an easy way for Disney to capitalize on all the Marvel characters they have, the truth is that these series are also great for fans of some rather obscure characters who finally got to see them in action. real action. However, if what you're looking for is a way to watch the “main” MCU, it's safe to say that you can skip most of the Disney+ series.