5 MCU Movies That Aged Poorly (Including 2 of the Highest Rated)

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Some Marvel movies haven’t held up over time, and with 37 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a few aren’t as fun to watch now as they once were. Luckily, most MCU films still deliver exciting action and memorable superhero scenes. While some movies from the last 17 years remain fantastic, others don’t feel as impactful on re-watches. Interestingly, even a couple of the franchise’s best-reviewed movies haven’t aged particularly well.

These five MCU movies aren’t as good today as they were at the time of their release.

5) Avengers: Endgame

Many Marvel Cinematic Universe fans rank *Avengers: Endgame* as one of the franchise’s greatest achievements, and it’s easy to see why. The film’s emotional sacrifices and thrilling showdown with Thanos are what make it a superhero classic. However, looking back at *Endgame* after six years, it’s clear the movie has more problems than people realized at first. While *Endgame* brilliantly wraps up the first 21 MCU films, its three-hour length can feel excessive on repeat viewings.

Beyond these issues, the film diminishes Thor’s character by portraying him as simply a source of humor while he’s struggling with depression, and it prematurely kills off Black Widow before she gets a chance to truly participate in the main conflict. While *Endgame* initially sparked incredible excitement and awe with its big moments, looking back, it’s clear the film has some flaws.

4) Spider-Man: No Way Home

Like *Avengers: Endgame*, *Spider-Man: No Way Home* generated massive excitement both before and after it came out. Seeing Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield all play Peter Parker/Spider-Man together, along with classic villains like Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), was a captivating experience few films can match.

While *No Way Home* initially received incredible excitement, revisiting it four years later reveals some flaws. Repeated viewings highlight noticeably rough visual effects, a sometimes awkward script, and a plot that doesn’t always make sense. The film still offers plenty of enjoyment with its exciting action and touching scenes, but don’t expect the same level of thrill now that the initial buzz has faded.

3) Iron Man

While *Iron Man* is historically important as the film that launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the quality of the franchise has surpassed it over the past 17 years. The original *Iron Man* still boasts a fantastic performance by Robert Downey Jr. and plenty of exciting action. However, compared to more recent Marvel movies, it falls short due to weak supporting characters and a lackluster villain. Despite its flaws, *Iron Man* deserves credit for what it accomplished.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has gotten better at building compelling stories around its heroes, but this makes the original *Iron Man* seem weaker by comparison. While a simple story and limited character development were acceptable when the MCU was first starting out and trying to establish itself, newer movies like *Black Panther*, *Captain America: Civil War*, and the upcoming *Thunderbolts* are much more complex and engaging. Even though *Iron Man* was groundbreaking in 2008 and remains important to the MCU, it doesn’t hold up as well when viewed today.

2) The Incredible Hulk

As a huge MCU fan, I have to admit, *The Incredible Hulk* hasn’t held up well. It came out so quickly after *Iron Man* started everything, but looking back, it feels… disconnected. It’s been almost twenty years and we *still* haven’t gotten a proper Hulk sequel! Plus, it’s the only MCU film where someone other than Mark Ruffalo played Bruce Banner – Edward Norton had the role first. The tricky thing is Universal owns the rights to the Hulk character, and that’s really hampered Marvel’s ability to make another solo Hulk film with Ruffalo. Honestly, after Ruffalo’s been playing him for thirteen years, the original *Incredible Hulk* feels pretty forgettable now, like a bit of a lost entry in the MCU.

Looking back, *The Incredible Hulk* feels even more disconnected from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Key villains from that film, like Emil Blonsky/Abomination (Tim Roth) and Samuel Sterns/The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson), didn’t reappear until many years later – Blonsky in *She-Hulk: Attorney At Law* after 14 years, and Sterns briefly in *Captain America: Brave New World* this year. By the time Marvel tried to connect *The Incredible Hulk* to the larger story, most fans had either forgotten about it or lost interest. This suggests that bringing those characters back now probably won’t have a significant impact, highlighting how much the film hasn’t stood the test of time.

1) Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

It’s surprising, but the newest movie on this list hasn’t held up well. *Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania* concludes Ant-Man’s story (played by Paul Rudd) within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but mostly focuses on introducing Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) as the major villain for the next phase, after he first appeared in *Loki*. While Ant-Man and his team defeat Kang in this film, the post-credits scene showed many versions of him, hinting at his return in the planned *Avengers: The Kang Dynasty*. However, that movie has since been changed to *Avengers: Doomsday*, and now features Doctor Doom (Downey Jr.) as the primary villain instead.

Months later, Jonathan Majors was convicted of assaulting and harassing his former partner, which derailed plans for his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Combined with negative reviews and disappointing box office numbers for the film *Quantumania*, this led Marvel to abandon the Kang storyline and seek a replacement actor. Consequently, much of *Quantumania*’s plot now feels irrelevant. What was intended as an exciting introduction to the Avengers’ next big threat has become a largely unimportant and wasted effort within the MCU.

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2025-09-28 00:13