Marvel Studios has churned out several shows since 2020, introducing new characters and offering insights into the lives of some of the existing ones in form of spin-offs and prequels.

Since 2021, a total of seven Marvel shows have been streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. The first MCU Phase Four show on OTT was WandaVision and the latest offering from Marvel is Ms Marvel. Till we get to see She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which starts streaming in August, here is our worst-to-best ranking of the existing Marvel shows:

7. Hawkeye

First of all, did we all really want a six-episode series on the least interesting Avenger? Even if we did want to see more of Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), it would be in his Ronan form, not as a replacement father.

Hawkeye is a light, fun and festive watch. Renner and Hailee Steinfeld deliver excellent performances. The Tracksuit Mafia adds a rib-tickling element. The new arrows keep piquing our intrigue. The musical is something we can all watch on repeat. And Pizza Dog had all of our hearts.

These factors were not enough to distract us from the highly predictable twists and how badly Kingpin was used. The menacing crime boss was a whole different level of threat in Daredevil but appears much less menacing in the final battle. The series setting up Barton’s replacement was not very engaging or pivotal.

6. Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Falcon and the Winter Soldier picks up from where Avengers: Endgame ends, with Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie) struggling to assume the responsibilities as the new Captain America. The show has fan-favourite characters like Bucky Barns/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and Helmut Zemo (Daniel Bruhl). It is relatable in the way the characters struggle with responsibilities forced on them. The show focuses on relationships and human vices, and has villains we can sympathise with.

With all of its interesting aspects, Falcon and the Winter Soldier ends up being the least engaging of the seven. The show seems to be unsure about the message it is trying to convey with its grey characters. The origin story of the new Captain America is too drawn out in the six-episode format. Even with an interesting ending, the show is a drag which could have easily been an hour-and-a-half-long movie instead.

5. Ms Marvel

The first South-Asian superhero to become a part of the MCU was brought to us through Ms Marvel. It followed the journey of the Pakistani-American teen Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) who went from being a Captain Marvel super fan to becoming the superhero Ms Marvel. The show became the highest-rated Marvel show on Rotten Tomatoes, and there is much to love about Ms Marvel, especially for the South-Asian audience.

Yet, despite a good superhero origin story, soundtrack featuring South-Asian artistes and excellent cameos from the likes of Farhan Akhtar and Fawad Khan, Ms Marvel left a lot to be desired. Some of the episodes felt a little slow with redundant moments fluffing up the runtime. Though Ms Marvel was a fun watch, some other shows in Phase Four have been more enjoyable.

4. Loki

A great many of us were left heartbroken when Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was killed off in Avengers: Infinity War. So it was a relief to know that Loki would get his own spin-off series. After all, who does not want to get six episodes worth of Tom Hiddleston as the God of Mischief?

Aside from the star power of the lead character, the show was important in setting up the concept of a multiverse and nexus beings in the cinematic universe. It introduced concepts to MCU fans that Marvel Comics fans had been familiar with. It also introduced us to He Who Remains/Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), a major Marvel Comics villain. It also gives us Loki variants including the lovable Alligator Loki and impressive Kid Loki.

The plot of Loki gets a little wayward towards the end. It struggles to balance Loki’s love for his own variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) while trying to create an impactful finale.

3. Moon Knight

Watching Oscar Isaac in Moon Knight was such a treat! The actor single-handedly made the show a must-watch just for his ‘insane’ performance as a mercenary with dissociative identity disorder (DID). Mythology mixed well with the superhero theme creates an engaging experience. We are left wondering ‘what’s going on?’ at so many points but always in a good way. The final battle between Khonshu and Ammit was spectacular. It was a very cerebral watch that needed us to hang on to every detail being shown.

The complaints regarding the show cutting the action scenes as they got juicy are justified to an extent. However, they were necessary to show how the superhero’s different identities took over during different times, locking the other identities out for that span of time. The six-episode show could have been more impactful as a two-and-a-half-hour movie as the wait between episodes made us feel more lost. Moon Knight also had a little more violence and blood than the rest of the MCU shows.

2. WandaVision

WandaVision was the first of the Phase Four shows to hit Disney+ in 2021. The nine-episode show centres around Wanda’s (Elizabeth Olsen) grief over losing Vision (Paul Bettany) and gives us one of the most formidable Marvel characters.

In the MCU movies, we already knew Wanda as a powerful superhuman but we did not get a glimpse of how powerful she truly is. The grieving woman brings her dead partner to life, entraps a neighbourhood and births superpowered children. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness further tracks her powers but it was WandaVision that set up the villainous turn for the superheroine. The show also gave Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) her powers and she will be playing a crucial role in The Marvels. It got very little wrong, making it one of the best MCU shows.

The format of WandaVision did throw off some viewers. Using the sit-com format from different eras was a little confusing in the beginning. It also raised the question of why no other superhero intervened when Wanda stole Vision’s body and vanished, which remained unanswered.

1. What If…?

What If…? stands out from the other MCU Phase Four shows in many ways. First of all, it is animated instead of live-action. Secondly, each episode, till episode 7, gave us independent stories of different superheroes. The show in its last two episodes brought together the superheroes and elements from each of the previous episodes to tie the plot together.

We also get to see Uatu the Watcher, who has been tasked with observing Earth and its solar system. The Watcher narrates and watches the events unfolding on different versions of Earth. He is forced to intervene when Infinity Ultron threatens the multiverse. Aside from having us hooked to each unique episode, the What If…? finale is one that other live-action MCU finales will find hard to rival.

While the other MCU Phase Four shows seem to tie into some movie or subsequent show, it is unclear why What If…? exists other than for fanservice. We have seen Captain Carter and a zombie version of Doctor Strange in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness but they have nothing to do with what is shown in What If…?. Aside from being seemingly uninfluential in furthering any MCU plotline, it is definitely one of the most engaging offerings from Marvel Studios.