Despite many of Marvel‘s shows being branded as “Netflix Originals” almost a decade ago, they were licensed out to the streaming service from Disney. Once Netflix’s license deal had ended, the Marvel-Netflix hybrids migrated to the House of Mouse’s own video-on-demand platform, Disney Plus. The Marvel-Netflix projects started out in 2015 with Daredevil, which eventually spawned a multiverse that introduced fellow Defenders in Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist.
Now that all of Marvel’s TV series have found a permanent home on Disney Plus (including ABC productions), Disney continues to host Marvel’s latest ventures. In the last few years, there have been some definite hits and misses. Marvel fans themselves will be the first to admit that they haven’t kept up-to-date with every single new release, but that’s because some of them are just plain awful.
If there’s a binge-watch of Marvel’s Disney Plus shows in your crystal ball, we’ve taken the liberty of ranking them all from most to least skippable. Honestly, you don’t need to watch everything to be in the loop anyway.
Inhumans
If you’ve never heard of Inhumans in your entire life, there’s a good reason for that. Marvel fans forget this TV show even exists, namely because it’s so bad. If the 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes isn’t an immediate red flag, Kofi Outlaw of Comicbook.com had this to say about ABC’s Inhumans: “In the end, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Inhumans is anything but a complete failure – one of the worst that the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise has ever seen…”
Although it aired eight episodes in a single season, the series’ creator Scott Buck had planned three seasons overall, but ABC officially canceled Inhumans in 2017, the same year it came out.
Runaways
Marvel’s Runaways might be rated considerably better than Inhumans, but it’s no less forgettable. It’s become a trend in recent years that Hulu Originals don’t tend to perform as well as Netflix Originals, so there’s the argument that Runaways was destined to fail from the get-go.
It’s worth noting that Runaways made it to three seasons, which is already an improvement on Inhumans. That being said, Runaways was removed from Hulu and Disney Plus in May 2023 as part of Disney’s cost-cutting measures. But honestly, you’re not missing much.
Iron Fist
As part of The Defenders multiverse, Iron Fist originally debuted on Netflix. Dubbed a “Netflix Original,”Iron Fist was the last to arrive on Netflix, releasing two years after Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage. This excludes The Punisher, which isn’t technically included in The Defenders line-up.
Unlike Daredevil and Jessica Jones, which both received three seasons, Luke Cage and Iron Fist only made it to two seasons overall before getting canceled. There seems to be a recurring theme with Scott Buck productions, as Iron Fist bombed just as badly as Inhumans.
Secret Invasion
Whatever promise Secret Invasion appeared to have in its early episodes completely evaporated by the time we arrived at the final installment of the miniseries, thanks to a plot filled with as many holes as stakes-deflating reversals. That said, the series featured a commanding performance from Samuel L. Jackson in a deserving solo outing as Nick Fury and started off on the right foot with a grounded espionage thriller tone.
However, as the series progressed, each episode seemed to get shorter and shorter, and less and less interesting until the letdown of a finale once again gave in to almost every Marvel cliché in the book. Plot points from this show will likely carry over into MCU movies, but there’s really no need to seek it out on its own merit, sadly.
The Punisher
No disrespect to Jon Bernthal’s portrayal of Frank Castle — he’s a modern-day sensation. It’s a much deeper, underlying issue that fails The Punisher and the blame doesn’t fall on the cast or crew. Marvel didn’t take Frank Castle’s future in the MCU into account when it made The Punisher… and it shows.
Although Bernthal will be reprising the role in Daredevil: Born Again, he has yet to be mentioned in the wider MCU and it doesn’t appear as if Marvel has any concrete plans to unite him with Matt Murdock, so it feels as if The Punisher was ultimately a waste, and it definitely created an awkward love triangle between Matt, Frank, and Karen Page. All things considered, though, it was a well-made series and absolutely worthwhile.
Hawkeye
Despite only running for six episodes, Hawkeye is one of the higher-rated Disney Plus shows, but it ranks so low on this list because of how unforgivably short it is. And although Disney and Marvel couldn’t have predicted Jeremy Renner’s snowplow accident, the studios indirectly doomed Clint Barton’s future by leaving no room for Hawkeye’s return.
In fact, Hawkeye essentially acts as a springboard for the upcoming spin-off series Echo, which will focus on Alaqua Cox’s character Maya Lopez/Echo. Although the six episodes it did produce were undoubtedly enjoyable, Hawkeye plays the fool for quality over quantity, which doesn’t always work out.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
She-Hulk wasn’t as well received as, let’s say, Hawkeye, but it ranks so highly due to comedic value alone. Not only should we note that She-Hulk was created and written by a woman (Jessica Gao), it also features Megan Thee Stallion and sees the return of Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner.
Couple those attractive qualities with Tatiana Maslany’s powerhouse performance as Jennifer Walters and you have the makings of a solid TV show. Although some clunky CGI ultimately ruins She-Hulk‘s immersive world, it’s some of the most meta material we’ve ever seen from Marvel… and it just works.
The Defenders
There’s no denying that Netflix’s Marvel shows are stand-outs in their own right (excluding Iron Fist, we said it), but the eventual team-up, which was long anticipated, didn’t live up to the high expectations set by the standards of the individual projects. There’s something about The Defenders that just didn’t click, but it’s still largely unmissable but it sets the stage for future MCU debuts in Jessica Jones and Daredevil, the latter of whom has already integrated himself into Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk.
It’s a stepping stone, essentially, to something much more substantial. The Defenders doesn’t hold a candle to some other shows, but it does lay the foundations for some characters to eventually join the larger MCU.
Luke Cage
Second to Iron Fist, it’s apparent that Luke Cage is Netflix’s second-least favorite show of the Marvel-Netflix ménage. Despite both seasons earning at least an 80% rating each, Luke Cage clearly isn’t as high on Marvel’s priority list as Jessica Jones and Daredevil, so it’s noticeably fading into the background.
Mike Colter is an MCU mainstay, but he’s forgotten about in the same way as Frank Castle. He also got wrapped up in a love triangle with Claire Temple and Jessica Jones that felt messy and forced, so that ruined some of his appeal as an individual. That being said, Luke Cage is a dark horse and severely underrated.
What If… ?
What If… ? surprisingly succeeds where a lot of Disney Plus original Marvel shows do not owing mostly to the fact that it takes an episodic approach, rather than feeling like one drawn-out 4-hour-long movie. With that said, the entire first season of the animated series still culminates in an over-arcing story, to boot, giving much satisfaction to fans of Marvel’s more epic tales. In this manner, the show is a bit like The X-Files in that there are stand-alone episodes as well as lore episodes that contribute to the larger mythos.
The premise of the show is simple, it imagines if one key decision in the origin of the Marvel superheroes we know that has been changed. For instance, there is an episode where Agent Carter becomes Captain Carter, rather than Steve Rogers’ Captain America, because she ended up being the super soldier guinea pig in this alternative universe. The show is well worth your time to check out for some of the voice talent alone, such as Chadwick Boseman’s final performance of Black Panther and Benedict Cumberbatch turning in an arguably more compelling Sinister Strange story than what we got from Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Doesn’t it feel oh-so long ago that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. arrived on our screens? When we consider that the series began in 2013 and ran until 2020, there must be a good reason for ABC maintaining Marvel’s action-drama, but it isn’t too difficult to figure out — Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is just that good. We’d have ranked it much higher if it weren’t for the fact that the show is essentially disconnected from the wider MCU.
You don’t necessarily need to have seen Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to be in the know as far as the multiversal crossovers that seem to be around every corner. We closed out Phil Coulson’s story already after he was murdered by Loki in 2012’s The Avengers, plus Daisy Johnson only appears sporadically, so it isn’t a must-see as far as Marvel’s bigger picture.
Moon Knight
Although it centers on a more obscure character from Marvel’s collection, Moon Knight had the most in-demand United States series premiere in the first quarter of 2022 and Kevin Feige made it known that Moon Knight would be introduced in the MCU films at a later date, which already puts the character a step ahead of Luke Cage and The Punisher.
By those standards, Moon Knight is doing the bare minimum, but at least it managed to tell the story of a lesser-known character in a more effective way than if we were to compare it to DC’s Blue Beetle. It’s a brilliant stand-alone story that’s got potential for a bright future in the MCU, plus it handles themes surrounding mental health sensitively enough so that it’s both informative and respectful.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
When you take two of the most interesting characters from the Captain America trilogy and give them their own show, that’s a surefire recipe for success. Marvel fans have always had nothing but good things to say about Chris Evans’ Captain America, but once Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson came on the scene, it was clear that their enemies-to-friends dynamic would be well worth its weight in gold.
And in that same vein, Marvel struck gold by producing it. It’s become one of Disney Plus’ most popular shows, but it certainly appeals more to a male audience, so it’s understandable why female viewers might give it a pass.
Ms. Marvel
On the other hand, if The Falcon and The Winter Solider caters to men, Ms. Marvel was certainly made for women. Kamala Khan is an inspiration to young Pakistani-Americans and actually Marvel’s first-ever Pakistani superhero. It’s only the icing on the cake that Ms. Marvel turned out to be such a delight to watch, packed with positive representation and setting the stage for The Marvels, which will see Kamala team up with Captain Marvel and Maria Rambeau.
If you love Easter eggs, you’ll love the references that are jam-packed into Ms. Marvel, plus the aded incentive of a stylistically fresh addition to the MCU that doesn’t disappoint. It was notoriously review-bombed upon release, but Ms. Marvel silenced the haters fast enough.
Loki
Even if it weren’t for the fact that Tom Hiddleston has always been an MCU fan-favorite, we’d still believe that Loki could be one of Marvel’s best shows. It’s the controversy surrounding Jonathan Majors that left a bad taste in people’s mouths as far as Loki‘s place in the MCU, but Tom Hiddleston consistently proves why he’s one of the studio’s best on-screen supervillains.
Loki and Sylvie’s love story turned a few heads, some in confusion, but the unconventional romance between oneself and one’s variant is an interesting one, and it has future potential if Marvel should choose to mine it. It’s Loki’s death by Thanos’ hand that sours the series somewhat, as we know we’ll never get back our original Loki.
Agent Carter
Starting out as an ABC series, Agent Carter ran from 2015 to 2016 for two seasons, but not for a lack of interest. Although Atwell has expressed interest in Carter’s character development and even reprised the role for a cameo as Captain Carter in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, ABC wanted her to star in something that they felt was “less niche” and in turn, would “draw in big ratings” as Digital Spy reports.
Agent Carter introduced characters such as Daniel Sousa, Edwin Jarvis, Angie Martinelli, and Dottie Underwood, but never developed them beyond their initial debuts. Despite being a hidden gem in the MCU, there wasn’t enough love from Marvel to continue Carter’s story, and she’s sadly turned into something of a laughingstock.
Jessica Jones
Although it didn’t reach the same leaps and bounds as Daredevil, that doesn’t discredit Jessica Jones as one of Marvel’s greatest projects. It touches on themes of abuse, PTSD, mental illness and sexual assault, which many Marvel shows are too scared to explore, but Krysten Ritter’s portrayal as the gritty superhero breaks the mold.
She’s often been cited as one of the most accurate depictions of a comic book character to exist, second only to the likes of Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. If it weren’t for viewership dropping exponentially for Jessica Jones‘s third season, it would have overtaken Daredevil, we’re sure.
Daredevil
There’s absolutely no skipping Daredevil under any circumstances. Charlie Cox’s performance can’t be beat, plus Matt Murdock is popular enough so that every single cameo appearance revives the character all over again and keeps him relevant. He’s already weaving webs in the larger MCU and will no doubt reel in huge figures for his upcoming follow-up series Daredevil: Born Again.
Daredevil is an up-and-coming superhero in Marvel’s future, so it’s worth keeping an eye on him. We dare say he’ll become the next Captain America in terms of popularity, and it doesn’t see as if the fans would mind.
WandaVision
When WandaVision first aired, it was all Marvel fans could ever talk about. Wanda Maximoff had become immensely popular in her own right, but her own sitcom-esque TV series took hers and Vision’s relationship to a whole new level. It also introduced Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness, who’ll soon be starring in her own spin-off series Agatha: Coven of Chaos.
There’s so many branches protruding from WandaVision‘s tree that connect the MCU’s many multiverses. We’ll be expected Billy and Tommy to appear in Young Avengers in the near-distant future too. There’s certainly way too much to miss out on if you don’t give WandaVision a watch, and this time, you’ll absolutely be out of the loop.