NOTE: These MCU Rankings Have Been Updated To Now Include Daredevil: Born Again Season 1

When the Marvel Cinematic Universe decided to expand into the television format, fans were thrilled. The Disney+ streaming service opened up a whole new lane of characters and worlds the MCU could either introduce or further explore in longer form between films. While things started strong with the breakout success of WandaVision, the MCU Disney+ series have been a mixed bag of big highs (Loki) and some of the worst lows (Secret Invasion) the franchise has ever suffered.

So, how to rank the Marvel Disney+ series? Obviously the top picks tend to be pretty universal, but it’s when you get into the middle-to-lower end of the list that the debate gets heated. And now that Daredevil: Born Again has completed its run, these rankings are only getting tougher!

NOTE: This list is for Disney+ series that are considered canon to the MCU, which means X-Men ’97 is not open for consideration (at least right now).

Every MCU Disney+ Series Ranked (Including Daredevil: Born Again)

12) Secret Invasion

Is there any real debate about this one? Secret Invasion is rightly hailed as the worst piece of content that Marvel Studios has ever released — because it is. The show bumbled one of the most famous modern Marvel crossover events; wasted an actor like Samuel L. Jackson; was as bland and uninteresting misfire in the action-espionage genre; and had one of the most ridiculous finale and “boss battles” ever, with Emilia Clarke’s G’iah becoming the most over-powered being in the entire MCU (if we ever even see her again). By the time The Marvels hit theaters, it was clear that Secret Invasion was being paved over with new canon. The viewership returns also made it clear: This belongs at the bottom of the list — and so do its AI-generated opening credits.

11) Echo

It’s crazy to think that Echo is a recent MCU release, because that’s all the show feels like at this point: an echo of something half-remembered. Series star Alaqua Cox did well in her solo spinoff, but the show felt mishandled and slapdash from top to bottom — another victim of the changing tides in Disney’s boardroom. Part MCU, part Marvel Netflix revival — kind of connected to Hawkeye and Daredevil: Born Again, but not necessarily building to anything relevant or major — touting a new “Marvel Spotlight” banner that’s still unclear in its intention. There was a reason why Echo is the only live-action binge-watch release in the lineup: Marvel Studios wanted to get through with it as quickly as possible.

10) She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

Now we start to get into the more contentious section of the rankings. Like Echo, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law had a strong central lead in Tatiana Maslany, but was also a bit slapdash in its execution. Not only did fans notice, the makers of the show clearly noticed, too, because they made the “joke” of getting meta about it in the finale episode, where the AI known as K.E.V.I.N. [Feige] was revealed to be behind the fourth wall, pulling the strings of MCU storytelling. K.E.V.I.N. was up in arms about She-Hulk pushing the budget with its attempt at a long-form story using a CGI Hulk character — a gamble that yielded very mixed results.

Still, She-Hulk gets points for introducing some fun characters (Madisynn) and storylines to the MCU, as well as being the first true episodic TV procedural the franchise has done.

9) Marvel’sWhat If…?

Marvel’s What If…? was something of a dark horse, coming out in the post-pandemic era of 2021 with a divisive first season. However, over time, MCU fans, both young and old, have engaged with the series, and by the time Season 2 was released in 2023, fans seemed to overwhelmingly embrace the show. Season 3 of What If…? lost much of Season 2’s luster, but on the whole, the show has earned the respect of being one of the more fun executions of the Marvel Multiverse concept, accessible to all ages.

8) Moon Knight

Marvel’s Moon Knight was another unfortunate product of the oversaturated era of MCU content pushed out by former Disney CEO Bob Chapek. It had that hokey final boss battle and some weird twists, but what distinguishes Moon Knight more so than other Marvel Disney+ series is the leading performance by Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector / Steven Grant / Jack Lockley / Moon Knight / Mr. Knight. Just looking back at that list of variations on the character should tell you the scope of what Isaac delivered — one of the finest performances in the whole MCU.

7) The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will always be infamous for the way it took the creative novelty and promise of WandaVision and quickly squandered it by delivering a lower-tier imitation of an MCU movie. The series cemented so many of the negative staples of MCU Disney+ series — including the disappointing boss battle finale, and disappointing “development” of essentially serving to debut new character costumes and/or transformations.

Worse yet, the series had some of the slowest payoff in the MCU, making fans wait four years until the releases of Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts to finally address plotlines the series introduced. The production value and performances were all above the lackluster standard of Marvel-Disney+ content we’d get later, so it deserves to be in the middle.

6) Ms. Marvel

Like Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel rose above the production woes and truncated timelines of the Marvel Disney+ tidal wave by locking down the right lead performer to carry the series. Iman Vellani became an instant star; Ms. Marvel became a cultural gem, and the series has been one of the few Disney+ shows that has actually been relevant to one of the Multiverse Saga films (The Marvels). The fact that Vellani has made the jump from unknown to TV star, to movie star (and comic creator) is the kind of story that MCU fans’ dreams are made of. And, for what it’s worth, Ms. Marvel was just plain fun, something the MCU has sorely been missing.

5) Daredevil: Born Again

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Daredevil: Born Again lands in the middle section of this list: it’s the Marvel Disney+ series that represents a major turning point for the MCU franchise. Born Again was originally supposed to be the big flagship series for a very different kind of MCU TV show that was lighter, more episodic, and much more focused on Matt Murdock’s courtroom struggles than his vigilante work as Daredevil. With big changes to the Disney-Marvel leadership hierarchy came big changes to the show; the Netflix series lore was fully acknowledged and re-incorporated into the reboot series, but the result was a clear Frankenstein pastiche of two show concepts that never fully meshed together.

That all said, Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 ended with some of the best stage-setting the MCU has ever done. If Season 2 indeed reunites Daredevil with his Defenders teammates (or other heroes) for a battle to retake NYC from Kingpin, the hype will be incredible, and this series (as a whole) could shoot to the top of the rankings.

4) Agatha All Along

Who knew? When MCU fans learned we were getting a WandaVision spinoff about Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), most were skeptical — and rightly so. But like any good (or bad) witch, Agatha bested the long odds and cast a spell over MCU fans. Again: the right performers were put in place to sail the ship to promising new shores, which included an expanded understanding of the MCU mystical world; a fan-favorite character’s MCU debut (Wiccan); and the fan-favorite casting of Aubrey Plaza as Marvel’s death. With Agatha All Along setting up Scarlet Witch’s (potential) return and another Young Avenger’s imminent debut (Tommy Maximoff), the series ended up being more relevant than we ever would’ve guessed.

3) Hawkeye

No one was begging for a series centered around Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton/Hawkeye — but the series has gone on to become a sort of quasi-pioneer of the idea that even the most unlikely supporting characters in a franchise can become the center of really great screen stories, if handled correctly, creatively — and if you put talented character actors in the lead slots. There was a lot to love about Hawkeye — the playful tone of the show (Track Suit Mafia for life! Yelena mac-n-cheese!); the smart backstory filled in for both Kate Bishop and Clint’s time as “Ronin;” the introduction (Echo) or re-introduction (Kingpin) of exciting characters; and (at the time) the start of an actual interconnected story arc running through MCU Disney+ series (Kingpin’s return and his chess-like machinations to secure underworld power and political influence).

All of that aside, though, Hawkeye stars Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld had the kind of onscreen chemistry that most actors only wish they could create. It was priceless, and the Christmas season setting makes Hawkeye an easy annual rewatch.

2) WandaVision

The show that launched the Marvel Disney+ wave still holds its crown as one of the best to do it — and that is, admittedly, getting a bit depressing as the years roll on. Still, WandaVision befuddled MCU fans with its initial stylistic flourishes (re-creating classic decades of television sitcoms) and ominous mystery (the Westview Hex), while the performances of Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda), Paul Bettany (Vision), Kathyrn Hahn (Agatha) and others hinted that Marvel TV could function on a prestige level. The fandom buzz never died down, and each week it aired, WandaVision was the topic of water cooler discussion — even when it “Bohnered” us.

WandaVision may have ended on the now-infamous trope of a hero vs. mirrored villain(s) finale, but for most of its episodes, the show was a refreshing reminder that the MCU can get weird in the most wonderful ways, and fans will eat it up. It’s too bad the creative bend didn’t get applied to more of these Disney+ series.

1) Loki

Loki is at the top of the list because of many of the very same reasons that WandaVision is — an excellent creative team, great stylistic flourishes, strong ensemble of performers (Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sophia Di Martino, Jonathan Majors), a juicy air of mystery — and even some big revelations about the Marvel Multiverse and the new big bad of the franchise (Kang). However, WandaVision was a one-and-done, while Loki managed to sustain (most of) its greatness across two seasons, including two of the best seasonal finales that we’ve seen from these shows. Loki also managed to be a very relevant tie-in with what was happening in the MCU movies, without needing heavy-handed crossovers. It’s the example that future MCU Disney+ series should learn from.

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What is your favorite Marvel Disney+ series? Let us know in the comments!