MCU Television Show & Special Presentation Rankings (so far)

21. Secret Invasion

How does a series with Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Don Cheadle, Olivia Colman and Emilia Clarke manage to be this disappointing? Somehow, Marvel and Disney pulled it off with Secret Invasion. The show had an impressive cast and a premise that seemed packed with potential, yet very little of that potential made it to the screen.

Don Cheadle is one of the highlights, particularly once we learn that the Rhodey we've been following has actually been a Skrull. Unfortunately, that revelation created a much bigger problem by suggesting that Rhodey may have been replaced long before the events of this series, potentially going all the way back to Avengers: Endgame. That's a pretty significant implication to drop into the MCU without giving it the attention it deserved.

Secret Invasion also felt like a missed opportunity to explore the fallout from Captain Marvel and set the stage for The Marvels. Instead, the series became a disappointing detour that The Marvels barely addresses. Whether incorporating it more directly would have helped The Marvels is debatable, but Secret Invasion certainly didn't leave much of a lasting impression.

For a series built around this cast and this premise, Secret Invasion should have been so much better. Instead, it's one of the MCU's biggest missed opportunities.

20. Ironheart

I'm honestly not sure what to make of Ironheart. Marvel introduced Riri Williams in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and it wasn't long before the studio announced that she would headline her own series. Given the connection to Riri's technology-focused story, I assumed Ironheart might eventually tie into Armor Wars, another project Marvel had announced during the pandemic that still hasn't happened and likely won't. Instead, this series went through delay after delay before finally arriving in June 2025.

By the time Ironheart finally premiered, I had almost forgotten it was coming. That's unfortunate because there are some genuinely interesting ideas buried in the series. Riri's attempts to bring her deceased childhood friend back into her life through artificial intelligence give the character an emotional motivation, while her willingness to work with supernatural forces that might actually be demonic takes the story in an unexpectedly dark direction.

Unfortunately, those elements never came together into something particularly memorable for me. My biggest problem with Ironheart is that it was simply bland. I wasn't angry at the show; I just rarely found myself particularly interested in what was happening. Ironically, some of my favorite moments involved the appearance of Jim Rash, as well as references to where I live in New England before the story headed back to Chicago.

Even Mephisto, despite all the buildup surrounding the character, felt wasted. Ironheart had some promising ingredients, but the finished product never gave them enough room to shine. That's disappointing because Riri Williams, and everyone involved in bringing her story to the screen, deserved considerably more.

19. What If…?

What If...? was Marvel Studios' first animated series for Disney+, giving the MCU a chance to experiment with ideas that would be much harder to pull off in live action. Each episode could take a familiar character or event and send it in a completely different direction. For most of the first season, the show worked almost like an anthology, with the early episodes largely standing on their own. It wasn't until the end of the penultimate episode that Marvel revealed there was a larger story connecting everything.

The series eventually returned for two more seasons, although Marvel changed how the episodes were released. Instead of making viewers wait a week between episodes, the remaining seasons dropped an episode each day until the entire season was available. I actually think that approach worked well for an anthology because it encouraged me to focus on each individual story rather than constantly wondering what would happen next.

Unfortunately, the larger storyline involving the Watchers became a weakness for me. What initially felt like a series built around unlimited possibilities gradually became more focused on the overarching mythology connecting the different universes. I would have preferred What If...? to remain a true anthology, using its animated format to go completely off the rails with the MCU's characters and concepts.

There are some genuinely fun episodes across the three seasons, but the more the series tried to connect its stories, the less interesting I found it.

18. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

Marvel took a different approach with She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, moving away from the formula that had defined most of its Disney+ shows up to that point. After WandaVision, many of the MCU's streaming series felt like feature-length stories divided into several episodes. The results varied, so Marvel decided to try something much lighter and more comedic with Jennifer Walters' fourth-wall-breaking legal adventures.

There was a lot to like about She-Hulk, and the show occasionally showed exactly what it could have been. Unfortunately, the execution was inconsistent. The visual effects frequently looked rough, the comedy didn't always land, and the story leaned heavily on guest appearances from established MCU characters. That approach can work incredibly well for something like Deadpool, but it often made She-Hulk feel like it was more interested in the wider MCU than Jennifer Walters herself.

The concept was promising, but the finished product never quite lived up to the capabilities of the character and the premise.

17. Ms. Marvel

Ms. Marvel takes the MCU into a very different corner of the world by introducing Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American teenager from Jersey City who dreams of becoming a superhero like her idol, Captain Marvel. Her life changes when she discovers a mysterious bangle that gives her extraordinary abilities. What follows is a coming-of-age story that mixes superhero adventures with Kamala's family life and her efforts to understand her heritage.

The series takes some unexpected turns when Kamala and her family travel to Pakistan, where she learns more about her family's past while becoming caught up in a threat that could have much bigger consequences. That shift in focus makes the series feel somewhat uneven at times, especially when the larger superhero conflict is contrasted with the much smaller problems Kamala faces back home.

Iman Vellani is easily the highlight. Her enthusiasm for Kamala comes through in every scene, and that energy carried over into her appearance in The Marvels. Vellani clearly understands what makes the character so appealing, and she makes it incredibly easy to root for Kamala.

That said, Ms. Marvel never completely clicked with me. Part of that is simply because I'm not the show's target audience. That's okay. Not every Marvel project has to be designed with me in mind, and I can still recognize when something is well made even if it doesn't completely connect with me. Ms. Marvel is a good example of that.

16. Eyes of Wakanda

Eyes of Wakanda is another Marvel series where I can recognize the quality without necessarily understanding why it didn't connect with me. This feels like a show that could be a big hit for someone who is more invested in Wakanda's history than I am. Across its four episodes, the series follows Wakandans from different periods as they undertake dangerous missions involving Vibranium artifacts.

Marvel promoted Eyes of Wakanda as one of its most interconnected MCU projects, but I didn't necessarily get that impression while watching it. A lot of the individual stories felt capable of standing on their own, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, that independence may be part of what makes the series appealing to other viewers.

From a technical standpoint, there's very little I can criticize. The animation looks fantastic, and the individual stories come together into a coherent larger narrative. My problem isn't that Eyes of Wakanda is poorly made. It simply didn't give me much of an emotional or personal connection.

That's an important distinction. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Eyes of Wakanda to someone who enjoys the history and mythology of Wakanda. I'm just not that person, which is why it ends up lower on my personal ranking.

15. Echo

Echo was an interesting experiment for Marvel because it took the MCU in a more grounded direction. Maya Lopez was introduced in Hawkeye, but her solo series felt much closer to the street-level Marvel shows that Netflix produced than the typical Disney+ MCU series. Marvel also deliberately kept the larger MCU at arm's length. The story still takes place within the MCU, but it wasn't constantly concerned with setting up the next movie or connecting to a dozen other characters.

That approach worked surprisingly well. Echo gave us a much better use of Daredevil than his appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, while Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin also felt more like the character I enjoyed in the Netflix series than the version we saw in Hawkeye. The show was able to spend more time on its own characters and story instead of worrying about how everything connected to the larger franchise.

I'll admit that Echo wasn't a series I was particularly eager to see. I don't remember many people demanding a solo show for Maya Lopez. But the finished product surprised me. It was gritty, relatively self-contained and much more entertaining than I expected. Sometimes giving a Marvel story permission to stand on its own is exactly what the franchise needs.

14. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is probably the biggest example of a Marvel series that I appreciated more the second time I watched it. When it originally aired, I was disappointed. The production was clearly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with smaller groups of actors and more limited settings making some of the reshoots noticeable. The story suffered from that disruption as well. Certain plot points felt underdeveloped or rushed, while other portions seemed to move at a much slower pace than necessary.

That was especially frustrating because this was the Disney+ series I was most looking forward to seeing. Falcon and the Winter Soldier were two of the most important supporting characters in my favorite MCU film trilogy, the Captain America movies. I was eager to see what Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes would do after Steve Rogers handed the shield to Sam and chose a life with Peggy Carter.

My opinion changed considerably after watching Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*. Those movies gave me a better appreciation for where the series was taking Sam, Bucky and even John Walker, who was introduced as the new Captain America in this series and eventually becomes U.S. Agent. Seeing those characters continue into later MCU stories made some of the groundwork in this series feel more meaningful than it did the first time around.

I originally placed The Falcon and the Winter Soldier near the bottom of my rankings. After revisiting it, though, I've moved it considerably higher. It's still far from perfect, but I appreciate it a lot more now than I did when it first premiered.

13. Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special

Between its Disney+ series, Marvel has also released three Special Presentations so far. These roughly 45-minute mini-features give the studio an opportunity to tell smaller, self-contained stories centered around its characters. Two of the three so far have had a holiday theme. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special served as Marvel's Christmas offering in 2022, with Drax and Mantis setting out to find the perfect gift for Peter Quill, better known as Star-Lord.

Their search leads them to kidnap Kevin Bacon, whom they know as one of Star-Lord's childhood heroes. The problem is that they don't fully understand the difference between the actor Kevin Bacon and the fictional image they have built up in their heads. The result is a wonderfully silly adventure that captures the personality of the Guardians while filling in some of the time between their appearances in Thor: Love and Thunder and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

The special isn't essential viewing, but that's part of its charm. It doesn't need to set up the next major MCU storyline or radically change the franchise. Instead, it feels like a small Christmas gift from Marvel to fans who were simply happy to spend a little more time with the Guardians.

12. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

After What If...? opened the door for animated stories within the MCU, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man took the idea in a more focused direction. The series follows an alternate version of Peter Parker whose life takes a very different turn when Norman Osborn becomes his mentor. There are some obvious parallels to Peter's introduction in Captain America: Civil War, with Osborn essentially occupying the role Tony Stark played in the main MCU. That change gives the series room to explore what Peter's life might have looked like if he had taken a completely different path.

For me, it works much better than What If...? did. The first season also expanded the MCU's roster by introducing alternate versions of characters such as Lonnie Lincoln's Tombstone, Nico Minoru and Amadeus Cho. While it's not essential viewing for understanding the larger MCU, it's a fun animated spin on Spider-Man that gives the character plenty of room to explore possibilities the live-action films haven't touched.

Season two is scheduled to arrive later this year, and I'm hoping the series has a long life on Disney+. There's plenty more that could be done with this version of Peter Parker.

11. Wonder Man

One of Marvel's biggest strengths with its television projects is taking an idea that sounds questionable on paper and turning it into something much better than expected. Wonder Man is a perfect example. The series follows Simon Williams, a superpowered actor trying to find work in a Hollywood where insurance companies have made it difficult for superpowered performers to get jobs.

The real heart of the series, though, is Simon's friendship with Trevor Slattery. Trevor, the struggling actor who once pretended to be the Mandarin in Iron Man 3, is trying to rebuild his career after his time with the Ten Rings. He ends up working with Simon while secretly being pressured by the government to keep an eye on him.

The eventual betrayal isn't particularly difficult to see coming, but that doesn't make it any less satisfying. Simon could have allowed that betrayal to define him, but instead he embraces his potential and proves that he can become the hero he was meant to be.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Wonder Man. The series was well received and even received a second-season renewal before Marvel ultimately reversed course and canceled it. That's unfortunate because I think Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery still have plenty of potential. Hopefully, Marvel finds another opportunity to bring both characters back into the MCU.

10. WandaVision

The MCU's television era got off to a strange and ambitious start with WandaVision. The series follows Wanda Maximoff and Vision as they seemingly settle into married life in Westview, a fictional New Jersey town where they experience different eras of television. As the story unfolds, we discover that Wanda has created the Hex, trapping the town inside a reality shaped by her grief. After losing Vision in Avengers: Infinity War, Wanda was unable to cope with his death and unconsciously created a world where she could have him back.

I'll admit that I wasn't particularly excited about WandaVision when it was first announced. Both characters had been nerfed considerably from their comic counterparts and were two of my least favorite characters in the Infinity Saga. The first two episodes didn't do much to change my mind, either. Then episode four arrived and revealed S.W.O.R.D.'s involvement, finally pulling back the curtain on what was really happening. From that point forward, I was hooked.

WandaVision ultimately set an incredibly high standard for the MCU's Disney+ shows. Marvel has produced plenty of entertaining series since then, but very few have captured the same combination of mystery, creativity and emotional storytelling that made this one such a strong beginning to the MCU's television era.

9. Hawkeye

I don't think I've ever gone into an MCU series with expectations as low as I had for Hawkeye. Maybe that's exactly why it surprised me. Instead of another story about saving the universe, the series gives Clint Barton a much smaller problem to deal with: cleaning up the consequences of his time as Ronin during the Blip and figuring out what comes next for him.

It also gives Clint a satisfying connection to Natasha's legacy. His relationship with Kate Bishop gradually develops into something that feels like a passing of the torch, while Yelena Belova's arrival creates an emotional connection to Natasha that gives the series some of its best moments. Kate and Yelena also make for two entertaining additions to the MCU's next generation of heroes.

The grounded, street-level approach works surprisingly well. My biggest problem is Kingpin. The version we get here doesn't feel consistent with the Wilson Fisk established in the Netflix Daredevil series or the character we later see in Echo and Daredevil: Born Again. He's much more exaggerated and almost cartoonish in Hawkeye, which makes the character feel out of place.

Even with that complaint, Hawkeye is a lot of fun. It isn't essential to the fate of the MCU, and that's actually part of its appeal. Sometimes a Marvel story can simply be a smaller adventure without having to change the universe.

8. Marvel Zombies

Marvel Zombies grew out of what is easily the best episode of What If...?, so I was immediately interested when Marvel announced a four-part miniseries expanding on that concept. Like Ironheart, it was one of the projects Marvel revealed during a large slate announcement. The production process took some time, with Elizabeth Olsen even discussing how she recorded some of her dialogue while COVID restrictions were still in place.

Unlike Ironheart, though, the long wait may have worked in the show's favor. Marvel Zombies finally arrived in September 2025 and delivered a surprisingly entertaining take on the zombie genre. It certainly has plenty of horror elements, making it an obvious choice for spooky season, but it feels like a series the viewer can enjoy any time of year.

A second season has already been announced, although I'm curious how long we'll have to wait before it actually arrives. Hopefully, Marvel takes the time it needs to make the follow-up just as enjoyable as the first season.

7. Punisher: One Last Kill

Marvel returned to the Special Presentation format for a third time with The Punisher: One Last Kill. Frank Castle appears to have reached the end of his quest for vengeance, having hunted down most of the people connected to his family's murder. Unfortunately for Frank, there's still unfinished business in the form of Ma Gnucci. The special picks up after the events of Daredevil: Born Again, where Frank was captured by Wilson Fisk before managing to escape.

Unlike the horror-focused Werewolf by Night or the lighthearted The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, One Last Kill goes all-in on the Punisher's trademark brutality. There's an impressive amount of violence packed into this Disney+ special, but the story isn't simply an excuse for Frank to kill everyone in his path. He's eventually forced to decide whether he will continue living for revenge or protect innocent people who need his help.

That choice is what makes the special work for me. Frank doesn't completely abandon who he has always been, but he begins to find a different purpose. It provides a natural progression from the character we saw in the Netflix series and Daredevil: Born Again to the version who eventually crosses paths with Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

After years of wondering what Marvel would do with Jon Bernthal's Punisher, One Last Kill feels like a fitting evolution of the character. It's violent, emotional and surprisingly thoughtful underneath all the carnage.

6. Agatha All Along

Kathryn Hahn remains one of the biggest reasons to watch Agatha All Along, returning as Agatha Harkness after stealing the show as a villain in WandaVision. This time, Agatha is trying to reclaim the powers she lost when Wanda Maximoff trapped her under a spell. She gathers a coven and sets out on the mysterious Witches’ Road, hoping the journey will restore what she lost. Of course, things aren't quite what they seem. The mysterious Teen is secretly Billy Maximoff, Wanda's son, who fans of the comics will know as Wiccan.

Hahn isn't carrying the show alone, either. Joe Locke, Aubrey Plaza, Patti LuPone, Sasheer Zamata and Ali Ahn all bring something memorable to the cast and help make the coven so much fun to watch. I was skeptical when Marvel announced this series. Agatha was one of the best parts of WandaVision, but I wasn't convinced she needed her own show. At the time, I actually thought one of the shorter Special Presentations might have been a better way to revisit the character.

I was happy to be proven wrong. Agatha All Along turned out to be exactly the kind of weird, spooky and entertaining Marvel project I wanted for the Halloween season. It took a character I wasn't sure could carry her own series and turned her into the centerpiece of one of the MCU's most enjoyable supernatural stories.

5. Daredevil: Born Again

Daredevil: Born Again is a tricky series for me to rank because its history is almost as complicated as the show itself. Marvel's original Daredevil and the other Defenders shows debuted on Netflix during the Infinity Saga, but for years it was unclear exactly how much of that material still counted as MCU canon. That question became much easier to answer once Charlie Cox returned as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home, eventually leading to a new Daredevil series on Disney+.

At first, Born Again seemed headed toward a major overhaul of the Netflix version. That turned out to be a problem. Thankfully, Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio were among those who pushed Marvel to reconsider the direction of the show, resulting in significant changes behind the scenes.

Ironically, those changes created some of the first season's biggest problems. The finished episodes sometimes feel caught between two different versions of Daredevil. There are moments that clearly build on the Netflix series, while other character decisions don't always line up with the Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk we previously knew. The result is a season that can feel uneven and occasionally confusing.

Season two, however, is a different story. It feels much more confident about continuing the Netflix legacy while establishing its own identity within the MCU. The pieces fit together much better, and the result feels closer to the Daredevil I wanted to see from the beginning.

The series has already been renewed for a third season, and I'm hoping Marvel keeps this version of the show going for many years. After such a complicated start, Daredevil: Born Again finally seems to be finding its footing.

4. Moon Knight

When Marvel moved into its second wave of Disney+ shows in 2022, it began introducing characters who hadn't previously appeared in the MCU. One of the most interesting additions was Moon Knight, starring Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector, a man whose multiple identities become connected to the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Isaac effectively plays several different sides of the character, with Marc Spector and Steven Grant both becoming different iterations of the character: Moon Knight and Mr. Knight. The series also introduces Jake Lockley, another identity who could potentially become a more prominent version of Moon Knight if the character ever returns.

Before Loki season two came along, Moon Knight was my favorite MCU television series. I loved the suspense-thriller approach and the way the show incorporated Egyptian mythology without losing the psychological side of Marc's story. It felt different from most of the MCU's other Disney+ projects, which helped it stand out.

Unfortunately, we haven't seen much of Moon Knight since the first season. His only appearance so far has been in Marvel Zombies where Khonshu chose Blade as his avatar: Blade Knight. The lack of Moon Knight is understandable as Oscar Isaac remains one of Hollywood's busiest actors and is currently at odds with Disney, but I still hope Marvel eventually finds a way to bring him back. There is plenty of unfinished business for Marc, Steven and Jake, and I'd love to see where the story goes next.

3. Loki

Loki was the first MCU live action Disney+ series to receive two seasons so far, and it used that opportunity to build a story that felt unlike the other Marvel shows. Rather than trying to follow the formula established by WandaVision or constantly tie itself to the main MCU storyline, Loki created its own strange corner of the franchise through the TVA and the growing multiverse.

For me, the first season was good without being great. I enjoyed the characters and the concepts it introduced, but some of those ideas worked better than others, and I couldn't shake the feeling that the show was building toward something without quite knowing what that something was.

Season two changed my opinion considerably. Rather than simply adding another chapter, it gave much of the first season's setup a greater sense of purpose and brought Loki's story to what would easily be a satisfying conclusion, if he never returned. Of course, as of this writing, Loki is confirmed to return in Avengers: Doomsday. Still, season two is why this series ranks so highly for me. If Loki had ended after season one, I probably would have placed it below WandaVision. The second season elevated the entire show and turned what I initially considered a good series into one of my favorite MCU television projects.

2. X-Men '97

X-Men '97 is probably the strangest entry on this list, but it still ranks extremely high for me. The series began as a continuation of the classic 1990s X-Men animated series rather than as a traditional MCU project. Marvel's multiverse approach eventually placed it within the broader MCU multiverse, although it exists in its own universe rather than the main MCU reality. So yes, it technically counts for this list, even if it isn't connected to Earth-616 in the way most of these shows are.

The first season was phenomenal. At the time it premiered, I considered it the best show available on Disney+. It took everything that worked about the original cartoon and expanded on it while delivering some genuinely emotional and surprising stories.

Unfortunately, behind-the-scenes changes affected the second season. Original showrunner Beau DeMayo was dismissed, and some of the plans for the season were subsequently changed. The finished season was still good, but I could feel a difference. It seemed like the first season had been building toward a specific long-term story, while some of the second season's choices didn't fit together quite as naturally.

That's the biggest reason X-Men '97 has slipped from the top spot on my list. I still enjoy the series and think it's one of Marvel's best animated projects, but season two didn't quite capture the same magic that made the first season so exceptional.

1. Werewolf By Night

Werewolf by Night remains my favorite piece of Disney+ MCU original content and, for me, the best example of why Marvel created the Special Presentation format in the first place. The MCU has plenty of monsters, supernatural characters and stranger corners of its universe that might be difficult to justify as theatrical movies but don't necessarily need an entire television series. A 45-minute special is the perfect middle ground, and Marvel absolutely nailed it with Werewolf by Night.

Released in October 2022, the special introduced Jack Russell as Werewolf by Night, along with Man-Thing and Elsa Bloodstone. The story also surrounds them with a group of monster hunters who provide plenty of victims as the night gets increasingly chaotic. It draws heavily from the classic monster-movie tradition, but Marvel gives the concept its own identity with a stylish black-and-white presentation and a surprisingly effective horror atmosphere. They would follow it up with a color version that works just as well.

It's exactly the kind of MCU experiment I want to see more often. Werewolf by Night doesn't need to set up the next movie or become a sprawling franchise. It tells a contained story, introduces some unusual characters and gets out before the concept wears out its welcome. Still, it can be connected to other parts of the MCU. With a Ghost Rider film confirmed, there's a chance we see some of these characters again in a Midnight Sons property.

I've made this Special Presentation an annual tradition in my house. Every October, Werewolf by Night gets another viewing, and it remains just as much fun as the first time.