Summary

• 2023 has been a divisive year for Marvel Studios, with controversies, disappointing performance, but some great releases.
• Secret Invasion was a disappointing addition to the MCU, and The Marvels was met with unfair apathy.
• Meanwhile, Loki and the Guardians of the Galaxy's returns were stand-outs of the year.

It's fair to say that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had a difficult year in 2023. After 15 years of dominance, the first cracks have started to appear, with almost unprecedented reports of behind-the-scenes turmoil, box office disappointments, and the distraction of Jonathan Majors' removal as Kang the Conqueror in the wake of his high-profile criminal trial. With rampant rumors of a sea of change coming to Marvel Studios in the near future - both in the approach to TV show development and huge speculation around a soft MCU reboot - the year could be considered something of a reset point. That it comes midway through the Mutliverse Saga is a bit of a problem.

But for all the cynicism and the many unfortunate the Marvel timeline in significant ways, and arguably managed to release the best non-Avengers MCU sequel of all. Not acknowledging the faults of some of 2023's MCU releases would also be unfair: after all, for more than a decade, the franchise has been the gold standard for not only comic book movie film-making, but for the very idea of the shared universe. The future might still be very promising, but this is the right time for reflection, and for Marvel Studios to learn from how 2023's MCU releases finally rank in quality.

8 Secret Invasion

Nick Fury Faces A Global Threat And The Sins Of His Past

An event as big as Marvel’s Secret Invasion should have been ripe for adaptation. Indeed, when Marvel Studios announced the intention to pay-off the Skrull/Kree war storyline introduced in Captain Marvel, the hype was tangible. Sadly, the execution of the resulting series was far from fitting for the seminal comics run. In fact, it was a sloppy, uneven addition to the MCU that came at a time when scrutiny of the approach to TV projects was at its height.

Secret Invasion was the product of a troubled production and significant delays, and the problems really show. What should have been an Avengers level event was diluted to being Nick Fury’s personal story, and an attempt to reframe his rise to power as something more nefarious. That complexity was never something to bemoan, but the result was a mess. Fury comes off terribly, Super Skrull villain Gravik is a major letdown, and all the promise of a politically charged thriller quickly evaporated. Not only the worst of the year, Secret Invasion unfortunately made a strong claim of being the worst release of the entire franchise.

7 I Am Groot Season 2

The Smallest Guardian Returns For More Wholesome Capers

It is perhaps a little unfair to judge animated short series I Am Groot against the rest of its heavier weight MCU siblings, but the fact that it outshone Secret Invasion is worthy of discussion. Once more spinning out of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, the 5 episode anthology was a solid, funny addition mostly aimed at the youngest MCU audience.

Each of the 5 shorts of season 2 explored bite-sized adventures for Vin Diesel’s diminutive hero. In the wider MCU pantheon, they’re hardly memorable (though the revelation that Groot is basically the multiverse’s Chosen One came as a shock), but everything is good fun and the shorts do exactly what they promise.

6 Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania

Multiverse Chaos And The Promise Of A New MCU Villain Fell Flat

When the third Ant-Man movie was revealed to introduce the MCU’s next big bad, Kang The Conqueror, you could have been forgiven for dialing up your expectations accordingly. Months on from its disappointing box office performance and with Jonathan Majors sacked from the big villain role, that seems almost tragically laughable. And even without that loaded context, Quantumania just wasn’t what it should have been.

Instead of building on the heart of Endgame’s Scott and Cassie Lang dynamic, Quantumania chooses to put more focus on expanding the scale of the Quantum Realm. While there are great individual moments, and Paul Rudd and Majors are both very good, it feels like they’re fighting too hard against the weird soulless vibe of the CG-heavy world most of the action takes place in. What was supposed to be the key to establishing a vivid creative world ends up being horribly reductive. And speaking of misguided promise, Kang singularly fails to establish himself as a worthy follow-up to Thanos.

5 Werewolf By Night In Color

A Second Release Of Marvel's Halloween Stand-Out With A Twist

As accusations of stale sameness grew with almost every new MCU release, the chance of something as different as a period-set Halloween one-shot was a breath of fresh air. But that was in 2022, and that feels like a long time ago in MCU . Luckily, Marvel Studios allowed Michael Giacchino to re-release the delightful Werewolf By Night in 2023 in colorized form. Now, ordinarily, that practice feels rather cynical, but redoing the Halloween special in color actually felt smart, given the modern audience who avoid anything in black and white.

Judged purely on its own as a first time release, Werewolf By Night In Color is among the better MCU TV shows. Its classic Hammer and Universal horror references are immaculately observed, and while it’s not exactly scary, it is very technically impressive. The color version won’t add much to the experience if you’ve seen the black and white original - and actually it loses some of its atmosphere - but the nostalgia and the character work by the likes of Gael Garcia Bernal and Laura Donnelly still feels great.

4 What If Season 2

Marvel's Flagship Animation Imaginatively Expands The Multiverse

Two years on from the original series of the MCU’s imaginative multiverse animation, What If…? returned at the very end of 2023 to add a solid full-stop to an uneven year. Once more, the animation itself is hugely impressive and shows even more of an assured touch. The set pieces show the value of the medium (and the advantage over the far more expensive live action alternative) and the creativity afforded justifies the show’s continued existence.

In fact, the style and the reckless disregard for the rules of established MCU lore are a better justification for its existence that the what if concept itself. That remains mostly tenuous and a rather frivolous excuse to tell whatever stories occurred to the writers. Still, when it gives life to Die Hard homage "What If Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?" and the season’s other high points, that sort of wholesome silliness is acceptable. It’s not quite the most fun of the year, but it’s certainly close.

3 The Marvels

Captain Marvel Returns In Most Underrated Marvel Release Of 2023

If you took only the box office performance of The Marvels to heart, you’d assume the Captain Marvel sequel was an unmitigated disaster. But really, the financials involved are wildly at odds with the quality of the sequel, whose greatest tragedy is that the narrative will now limit its secondary audience potential. And make no mistake, a lot more people should see The Marvels, because it is great fun.

Most of the criticisms of Captain Marvel as a hero are addressed in the story, as she’s far more fleshed out as a person and not just a walking superpower here than in her other performances. Forced to deal with the new family dynamic brought to her by Ms Marvel (Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), Brie Larson’s hero blossoms. It also helps that the sequel has two of the very best sequences in the entire Multiverse Saga (if not further) - for those who know, the kittens and the dancing. It’s a hugely entertaining sequel that was only really outdone by two top tier Marvel releases.

2 Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3.

James Gunn Closes Out The Guardians' MCU Story Perfectly

James Gunn may have set sail on a new comic book franchise adventure with the rebooted DCU, but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is a reminder of what the MCU will lose without him. The trilogy ender is a truly satisfying ending to the second string MCU hero team, tying up each individual hero’s story while also expanding Rocket Raccoon’s to make him the heart of the entire series. The storytelling is immense, heartbreaking, and very funny at times, with spectacle and emotional shocks peppered throughout.

If there is one thing to complain about, it’s that none of the pre-release hype about the perilous threat to life for all the Guardians being a reality. But the presented alternative, which culminates in another musical sequence, absolutely justifies the decision, paying off seeds planted as far back as the first GOTG movie. The High Evolutionary is the best MCU villain of the year, the corridor fight the most impressive sequence, and Rocket’s arc ultimately challenges even those of Captain America and Iron Man.

1 Loki Season 2

Tom Hiddleston's MCU Swansong Soars In High-Concept Sci-Fi

Even without Avengers level set pieces and while dealing with the problem of Jonathan Majors’ involvement, Loki season 2 was an absolute triumph. Balancing a reflective contemplation on existence, mortality, and belonging, with a chaotic multiversal story, Loki’s return was an impressive cocktail. Tom Hiddleston’s God of Mischief has always been an infectious presence, but season 2 tightened focus on the anti-hero to tie up narrative threads from way back in Phase 1.

The high-concept sci-fi is bravely delivered, without the kind of exposition that would slow things down. And alongside the science and the magic is the kind of chemistry between Hiddleston and Owen Wilson’s Mobius that studios could milk billions from if it could be bottled.

The final episode in particular is some of the MCU’s best storytelling, with Loki’s final fate offering a genius payoff for a decade’s worth of compelling storytelling. There could be more from Loki, but season 2 was so good that it’s almost a shame to even entertain the idea.