Now that She-Hulk is done smashing things (…including a certain handsome lawyer), we’re looking at a months-long break until Disney+’s next Marvel series arrives. So let’s take stock of how the MCU’s small-screen efforts have stacked up after nearly two full years.
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WandaVision of course kicked things off in grand fashion in January 2021 (racking up 23 Emmy nominations along the way), followed soon after by Loki and then The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. We then got a non-canonical diversion in the form of the animated What If…? anthology, after which Hawkeye rang in the 2021 holiday season with a Christmas-in-New York folly.
Moon Knight marked Disney+’s first Marvel series of 2022, followed by Ms. Marvel and then the aforementioned She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Now, save for the one-off Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (due out in December), Marvel’s steady stream of TV offerings is taking its longest breather yet, until Secret Invasion hits our screens in Spring 2023.
Which of Disney+’s seven live-action, in-MCU series have been the most “super,” and which have fallen short?
7. THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER
March 19 – April 23, 2021 | 6 episodes
THE HIGHS: Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, and Daniel Brühl. Baron Zemo dancing. Isaiah Bradley’s tragic backstory. Flirty Bucky. Surprise, Julia Louis-Dreyfus joins the MCU!
THE LOWS: Sharon Carter is the what broker? Sam’s bulky new Cap suit. Blah Big Bad. That finale, oof.
TVLine reader polls: Season ranked #4 (out of 7), Finale #3
6. MOON KNIGHT
March 30 – May 4, 2022 | 6 episodes
THE HIGHS: Oscar Isaac and May Calamawy. The exploration of a somewhat obscure Marvel antihero (and the even more obscure Arthur Harrow). F. Murray Abraham voicing dickish Khonshu. Raiders of the Lost Ark vibes. Those trippy final episodes.
THE LOWS: Layla’s development came too late. The story was too convoluted for just six episodes. The lack of connectivity to the larger MCU, while admirable, was disappointing. Finale left you saying, “OK, so what?”
TVLine reader polls: Season ranked #5 (out of 7), Finale #5
5. SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW
Aug. 18 – Oct. 13, 2022 | 9 episodes
THE HIGHS: Tatiana Maslany, Tim Roth, Benedict Wong, and Ginger Gonzaga. The smashing of fourth walls. Hulk returns to Sakaar! Patty Guggenheim as Madisynn “But It’s Not Where You Thiiiink” King. “Avongers.” Charlie Cox suits back up as Daredevil! That mega-meta finale.
THE LOWS: Wildly inconsistent CGI. Low stakes. Charlie Cox isn’t playing the exact same Daredevil. Did too much (OK, all) of the Hulk/Skaar story occur off-screen? Was She-Hulk’s biggest fight actually against her own cousin, way back in Episode 1…?
TVLine reader polls: Season ranked #7 (out of 7 shows), Finale ranked #7
4. HAWKEYE
Nov. 24 – Dec. 22, 2021 | 6 episodes
THE HIGHS: Hailee Steinfeld and Jeremy Renner. Festive Christmastime fare! Yelena’s mac-and-cheese with hot sauce. Laura Barton is a Mockingbird?! Wilson Fisk is back! It was simply a lot of fun.
THE LOWS: Clint and the LARPers. Underdeveloped Maya Lopez/Echo. It’s not the exact same Wilson Fisk from Netflix’s Daredevil.
TVLine reader polls: Season ranked #2 (out of 7), Finale #1
3. MS. MARVEL
June 8 – July 13, 2022 | 6 episodes
THE HIGHS: Iman Vellani and Zenobia Shroff (as the titular Kamala Khan and her mom Muneeba). AvengerCon (we want to go there). A hero who wants to be a hero! Weaving in the richness of Muslim culture, teaching people about Partition. The X-Men ’97 theme! The final kicker with Carol Danvers teed up The Marvels.
THE LOWS: So-so CGI. The Red Dagger gang got done dirty.
TVLine reader polls: Season ranked #6 (out of 7 shows), Finale ranked #2
2. WANDAVISION
Jan. 15 – March 5, 2021 | 9 episodes
THE HIGHS: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, and scene-stealer Kathryn Hahn. The sitcom-spoofing early episodes. X-Men‘s Evan Peters showing up as Pietro (even if at the end of the day it was meaningless fan service). “It Was Agatha All Along!” “But what is grief if not love persevering?”
THE LOWS: “Ralph Bohner.” The CGI-heavy final battle. No justice for the people of Westview.
TVLine reader polls: Season ranked #1 (out of 7), Finale #6
1. LOKI
June 9 – July 14, 2021 | 6 episodes
THE HIGHS: Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino, and Wunmi Mosaku. Very fun visual effects. Alligator Loki! Jonathan Majors makes his MCU debut. Major groundwork laid for the larger MCU and the brewing Kang threat.
THE LOWS: Gugu Mbatha-Raw underutilized as Revonna Renslayer. Infinity Stones as paperweights…?
TVLine reader polls: Season ranked #3 (out of 7), Finale #4
