MCU’s Rotten Tomatoes Scores Prove Phase 4 Isn’t The Franchise’s Worst

Phase 4 was not the worst chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, according to each Phase’s average score on Rotten Tomatoes. Over the last 16 years, Marvel Studios has created the most expansive and successful superhero franchise ever, spanning over forty projects across film, TV and animation, and including dozens of heroes and villains adapted from the pages of Marvel Comics. The MCU has helpfully been split up into distinct chapters known as “Phases”, with Phases 1 through 3 detailing the Infinity Saga, and Phases 4 through 6 exploring the Multiverse Saga, though some have been more popular than others.

While the Infinity Saga focused primarily on the adventures of the MCU’s Avengers team, Phase 4 marked a huge shift for Marvel Studios. Phase 4 expanded the franchise massively by including MCU-set TV shows released on Disney+, while previous Phases had only comprised feature films. This major increase in content led to a drop in quality, leading to many Phase 4 projects coming under scrutiny, with some dubbing it the weakest chapter of the MCU. However, Phase 4 did include some brilliant additions to the MCU, and the Phase’s average Rotten Tomatoes score proves it’s not all doom and gloom.

Phase 4’s Average Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Higher Than Phases 1 & 2

The average Rotten Tomatoes scores of each Phase of the MCU were recently compiled by comicaccuracy, and these tell a very different story to what some critical fans may believe. In fact, these average scores reveal that Phase 4’s critics and audience scores are higher than those of Phases 1 and 2 of the MCU. Phase 1’s 80.17% and Phase 2’s 81.17% average critics scores pale in comparison to Phase 4’s 84%, while Phase 4’s audience score is actually the highest on the board, totaling 84.06%. This proves that the MCU’s Phase 4 isn’t as bad as some would argue.

Why Are Phase 4’s Average Scores Higher Than Phases 1 & 2?

Of course, the MCU’s Phase 4 included many more projects than both Phases 1 and 2, but there are surely other factors that raise Phase 4’s average Rotten Tomatoes scores. Phases 1 and 2 focused on mainly the same core heroes, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, unofficially known as the “Big Three”. Conversely, Phase 4 featured far more variety that may have attracted wider audiences to the MCU, and successful projects such as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, WandaVision, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel and Werewolf by Night pushed the boundaries of what MCU projects could be.

Phase 1 spanned six films in five years, while Phase 2 produced another six in only three years. Phase 4, on the other hand, included seven feature films, eight TV series, and two Special Presentations in only two years. This huge increase contributed to the emergence of so-called “superhero fatigue,” which had a detrimental impact on the performance of several Phase 4 projects. This means Phase 4’s average Rotten Tomatoes scores could have been much higher, but the fact that it still beats Phases 1 and 2, despite criticisms, proves that Phase 4 isn’t as bad as some viewers claim.

MCU’s Average Rotten Tomatoes Scores Prove Phase 3 Is Still The Best

Although the average Rotten Tomatoes audience score for the MCU’s Phase 3 isn’t as high as may be expected, given its projects’ huge success, the stellar critics score proves that Phase 3 is still the strongest chapter of the MCU. Many of the highest-rated MCU projects are included in Phase 3, which released between 2016’s Captain America: Civil War and 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. Phase 3 is also home to some of the highest-grossing movies of all time, including Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Panther, with the latter also being the highest-rated MCU movie on Rotten Tomatoes.

Marvel Studios really seemed to find its stride with Phase 3, with many of its projects, including Captain America: Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, and Infinity War and Endgame being regarded as some of the strongest installments in the MCU’s history. In fact, Phase 3’s huge success may have contributed to criticisms of Phases 4 and 5, as the Multiverse Saga’s projects have arguably failed to match the quality of their Phase 3 predecessors. Following recent changes, Marvel Studios will hopefully recapture some of Phase 3’s magic for future Marvel Cinematic Universe projects.