Every Captain America Movie Ranked (From Worst to Best)

Captain America movies are a sure thing when we want to watch a movie full of excitement, adventure, and great superhero battles. Since the first movie was released in 2011, Steve Rodgers has significantly impacted the overall experience of the MCU and left a mark as one of the bravest and ”stand up for what is right” Marvel heroes. So far, three Captain America movies have been released, and in this article, we bring you every Captain America movie – ranked from worst to best.

3. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

”Captain America: The First Avenger” is the first movie about Captain America and serves as an origin story for the leader of the Avengers. Although it is somewhat of an unwritten rule that sequels are always worse than the first movies in the series, that wasn’t the case this time. Captain America: The First Avenger might not be that bad, but compared to the two other movies on this list, it has its shortcomings.

Also, compared to the other two Captain America movies, the critics were least favorable to this one. But kudos to the movie’s producers for casting Chris Evans as Steve Rodgers and, ultimately, Captain America.

Captain America: The First Avenger was much more than just an origin story for this Avenger. In fact, it is correct to conclude that the movie played a significant role in the MCU. Besides showcasing the creation of Captain America and the hero who always resided in the small body of Steve Rogers (the super soldier serum merely enabled his body to strengthen and enhance his psychological values), this movie also introduced the formation of S.H.I.E.L.D., brought the Tesseract into the MCU, and presented Hydra as one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most despised enemies.

What makes this movie somewhat different from the other MCU movies is that it presents the Marvel world in a slightly different light than what we are used to. While the vast majority of Marvel movies are focused on the present and even the future filled with advanced technology, weapons, and uniforms, the storyline in Captain America: The First Avenger is set during the WW2 era when the American military wasn’t equipped with modern weaponry, and Hydra’s Tesseract was something that gave the Red Skull a significant advantage. America places its only hope in the super-soldier serum, and even they didn’t think Steve Rodgers would become such an icon as it turned out.

For me, the movie is good enough, and it did its primary purpose of introducing Captain America to the MCU. The movie can also be described as an underdog story, and we all love those ones. However, this movie is rightfully in third place compared with other Captain America movies.

2. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

When I first watched Captain America: Civil War, I wasn’t sure if I was actually watching a new Avengers sequel. And there’s a good reason for that. The movie once again brought together almost all the Avengers after Avengers: Age of Ultron (Thor and Hulk had their own problems elsewhere), and I’m sure all fans were happily rubbing their hands because of it. In addition, the movie introduced us to Black Panther and, at that time, a potential new Avenger, Spider-Man. And who doesn’t love Spider-Man?

So, basically, after the events in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the decision was made to introduce the Sokovia Accords, which were meant to “put the Avengers in check”, and make them operate under certain rules set by global powers. As a result, two opposing opinions formed within the ranks of the Avengers, and the two sides clashed. One was led by Captain America, and the other by Iron Man. Also, when it was revealed that Steve’s childhood friend, Bucky, was responsible for the assassination of T’Chaka, the King of Wakanda, and that, as the Winter Soldier, he had killed Tony Stark’s parents, we witnessed something we both enjoyed and hated watching – a conflict between two friends, Captain America, and Iron Man.

The movie was entertaining, exciting, and tense from beginning to end. The tension between the Avengers brought a sense of uncertainty and a “what happens next” atmosphere, which is good. Spider-Man added a touch of freshness and immature humor, while T’Challa as Black Panther brought a sense of seriousness and a “feeling of duty and vengeance” to balance everything out. And the final clash between Steve and Tony was mind-blowing. Although I was somewhat undecided about which movie to rank lower, Captain America: Civil War or Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I chose the former. And you can find out why in the following paragraphs.

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

In my humble opinion, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is one of the best Marvel movies. The reason I think this way is because it really offered everything, from a compelling story and substantial character development for Steve Rogers and Black Widow to convincing action scenes. Although most Marvel movies are filled with special effects and blasts, this one instead provided something different but no less important- quite the contrary.

This movie was not the typical superhero movie we are used to. It was more of a spy thriller in which Steve and Natasha do everything in their power to find out how it’s possible that Hydra has begun plotting again and if they ever actually stopped. The movie is much darker and more serious than other in the MCU, making it special and different – better for some and worse for others.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier takes us into a world of espionage, hard truths, and familiar faces from the past. With Hydra infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D.’s ranks and Nick Fury presumed dead, Captain America doesn’t know who to trust except for Natasha Romanoff. This duo is at the center of the movie most of the time, allowing us to get to know them better and more deeply. The movie also introduced Falcon into the MCU and revealed that Bucky Barnes, Steve’s former brother-in-arms, is alive and has been operating as an assassin known as the Winter Soldier for decades.

This one was slightly better than the two other Captain movies mentioned above because of its distinctiveness and as it ”brought Captain America closer to his roots”, meaning persuasive hand-to-hand combat scenes, minimal special effects, and Steve fighting once again his greatest enemy, Hydra. Overall, all three movies are fun to watch and are a great addition to the MCU’s vast repertoire of superhero movies.