The Russo Brothers’ MCU Movies, Ranked

Directors Joe and Anthony Russo have defined themselves through their esteemed work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. To date, the duo has helmed four MCU movies, all of which stand out among the franchise’s best-received and most popular titles. Despite the filmmakers’ excellent superhero films, their endeavors outside of the MCU have not been nearly as triumphant. Movies like 2021’s Cherry, 2022’s The Gray Man, and 2025’s The Electric State achieved neither the critical nor commercial success of the Russo brothers’ MCU movies, which perhaps explains why the pair will return to direct 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday and 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars.

With more MCU films under their belt than any other director, the Russo brothers have enthusiastically made their mark on the superhero genre. Ranking the Russo brothers’ four MCU films isn’t easy, but a few key factors determine which ones outshine the others.

4) Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The Russo brothers’ MCU directorial debut centers on Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans) first modern-day mission as Captain America. Teaming-up with Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Steve battles a covert enemy within S.H.I.E.L.D. and confronts his former best friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) — who has been brainwashed by HYDRA and turned into the lethal Winter Soldier.

Captain: America represents a significant improvement over 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, incorporating an excellent group of supporting characters while maintaining the focus on Steve’s journey in a new age of heroes of villains. The Winter Soldier arguably contains the best action sequences the MCU has ever seen. Captain America and co.’s freeway battle against the Winter Soldier is absolutely riveting, and Steve’s elevator fight with a band of S.H.I.E.L.D soldiers ranks among the coolest displays of a hero’s strength in combat. Although The Winter Soldier doesn’t have the high stakes and breathtaking payoffs as the Russo brothers’ other MCU movies, it’s still a top-tier film in the franchise that’s a ton of fun to watch again and again.

3) Avengers: Endgame

The Russo brothers concluded their initial MCU run with a bang, delivering the exhilarating and emotional ending to the Infinity Sage in Avengers: Endgame. Following Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) devastating snap eliminating half of all life in the universe, the remaining heroes band together for one final bid to defeat the Mad Titan. A time travel quest to retrieve the Infinity Stones before they came into Thanos’ possession leads to all kinds of twists and turns, and Endgame‘s final act evokes, joy, heartbreak, and fulfillment in a way no MCU film has achieved before.

Astronomical stakes and equally weighty outcomes drive Endgame‘s story, which isn’t devoid of missteps. Black Widow’s sacrificial death at the midpoint of the movie wasn’t the ending she deserved, and at times, the time-travel plot seems overly convoluted. The underuse of Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and the framing of Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) depression as a joke stick out as notable blunders. However, numerous monumental moments, such as the resurrection and assembly of the lost heroes during the final battle with Thanos and Tony Stark/Iron Man’s (Robert Downey Jr.) snap and ensuing death make Endgame a truly unforgettable viewing experience. Endgame‘s achievements almost outweigh its flaws, and the MCU will have a hard time replicating the fan excitement and cultural impact the movie produced.

[RELATED: The 10 Best MCU Sequel Movies, Ranked]

2) Captain America: Civil War

In their sophomore MCU outing, the Russo brothers fixated on a superhero conflict unlike anything the MCU has tackled before. Captain America: Civil War, the fallout of the costly Battle of Sokovia, has the Avengers face pressure to operate under government supervision instead of acting on taking action of their own accord. Warring ideologies take center stage as Iron Man and Captain America lead dissenting camps of Avengers. The tension boils over, and the conflict ensues.

Captain America: Civil War boasts a level of complexity and introspection hard to come by elsewhere in the MCU. Steve, Tony, and the rest of the Avengers are forced to reckon with the harm they have caused while operating as an independent coalition, calling into question what it means to be a hero. The ever-relevant subject of government oversight adds another thought-provoking layer to the film. A score of compelling MCU characters, from Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) to Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) inject a ton of personality into Civil War‘s story, and the fight sequences involving them all are exhilarating to watch. The Russo brothers’ made a nearly unparalleled superhero movie with Civil War, however, one MCU film just barely beats it.

1) Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War is the Russo brothers’ best MCU movie, and could easily rank as the franchise’s greatest title of all time. After years of breadcrumbs, Thanos finally emerges as the Avengers’ formidable foe, embarking on a quest to gather all six Infinity Stones to achieve his dream of a stable universe. Shockingly, the titular team finds themselves overpowered on multiple occasions, culminating with Infinity War‘s astonishing ending in which Thanos successfully kills half of all life — numerous Avengers included.

It’s difficult to imagine another superhero movie ever pulling off a degree of spectacle, stakes, and surprise akin to Infinity War. The weight of the film’s events can be felt at every second of its two-and-a-half-hour run time, and each character’s actions produce significant consequences. Infinity War’s conclusion packs a devastating and emotional punch, and the moments leading up to it — such as Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) death near the beginning and Wanda’s tragic killing of Vision (Paul Bettany) later on — are saturated with despair. An engrossing, thrilling, and poignant viewing experience, Infinity War reigns over all of the Russo brothers’ MCU movies.

The Russo brothers’ MCU films are available to stream on Disney+. Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters on December 18, 2026. Avengers: Secret Wars hits theaters on December 17, 2027.