Most of us today associate Marvel flicks with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is essentially a collection of films and television shows based on Marvel characters that all take place in the same universe and are produced by Marvel Studios. The MCU began with Iron Man in 2008 and has since spawned 27 additional films. In terms of media franchises, the MCU has fared exceptionally well thus far. Only one of its 28 films, Eternals, has ever been rated worse than ‘Fresh’ on Rotten Tomatoes.

The MCU, however, is far from the lone maker of Marvel films. In truth, numerous companies have been creating live-action films based on Marvel comics since 1986. Sony, 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, and Columbia Pictures are just a handful of the studios that have taken use of Marvel’s wealth of characters and storylines. Unfortunately, it is mostly these studios that have created the most notable Marvel flops and failures of all time.

The reasons for such failures range from a lack of technology to provide appealing images and CGI to simple miscasting and poor storytelling. While the MCU makes it appear simple, it is not that simple to duplicate a comic book on the big screen in a way that will appeal to moviegoers. Here are the worst Marvel movies of all time, listed from worst to worse.

The New Mutants

The New Mutants is an X-Men film series spinoff that launched on August 28, 2020. Mirage (Blu Hunt), Wolfsbane (Maisie Williams), Cannonball (Charlie Heaton), Sunspot (Henry Zaga), and Magik (Anya Taylor-Joy) are five mutant youths who are transported to a treatment center under the pretence of training to become X-Men. In actuality, the institution has far more nefarious plans for them, and they will need to work together to survive.

The New Mutants nearly made the cut. It’s not bad, but it was a box office flop and earned overwhelmingly poor reviews. It was, however, among the worst of the X-Men film series, and it finished the franchise on a negative note. The New Mutants comes across as cheap, hurried, and poorly written. While there are shaky attempts to be a coming-of-age film and to have a homosexual romance, these elements are not completely developed. This film also included some of our generation’s top young actors. This set expectations for the picture, which ultimately fell well short of with its uninteresting, underdeveloped premise and rushed pacing.

Dark Phoenix

Dark Phoenix saves The New Mutants from being the worst X-Men film of all time. Dark Phoenix chronicles the narrative of Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) and her transformation into the Phoenix. She begins to spin out of control after a cosmic force amplifies her talents. As the Phoenix entity is unleashed within her, she quickly becomes the X-most Men’s formidable antagonist.

Dark Phoenix wasn’t entirely horrible. It has spectacular visuals and good performances, as do the most of X-Men flicks, with Turner particularly impressing as young Grey. However, the writing, structure, tone, and speed fall well short of the degree of complexity we’ve come to expect from X-Men flicks. The film is boring, the tone is uneven, and the plot is choppy. It feels cheap and unevolved, as if the previous flicks were all for naught. Overall, it’s not the worst of the worst, but we anticipated a lot more from a well-established film franchise.

Fantastic Four (2005)

The Fantastic Four, which debuted in 2005, tells the origin story of The Fantastic Four and Victor von Doom. Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) is a scientist who conducts cosmic experiments on Victor von Doom’s (Julian McMahon) space station. Richards, von Doom, researcher Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), pilot Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), and astronaut Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) are all exposed to a cosmic storm that grants them superpowers while aboard the space station.

The Fantastic Four is primarily an origin narrative. As a result, there isn’t enough plot to keep viewers interested. Still, it’s engaging and exciting to see the Fantastic Four develop their powers and bicker amongst themselves. The film also features several touching performances. It is, nevertheless, incredibly campy and mediocre. Fantastic Four falls flat and is not the spectacle that Marvel’s original superhero team deserves.

The Punisher (2004)

The Punisher, starring Thomas Jane as Frank Castle, aired on April 16, 2004. (a.k.a. The Punisher). In the film, Castle is an FBI agent who turns into the Punisher to exact vengeance on criminal boss Howard Saint for the horrible murder of his whole family (John Travolta). Saint believes Castle is dead after ordering a hit on his family, but Castle is very much alive and a heavily armed vigilante who will stop at nothing to exact vengeance while also bringing down the whole criminal underworld.

Jane’s Castle performance isn’t quite as legendary as Jon Bernthal’s in Marvel’s Netflix series, but he’s still extremely good as Punisher. In fact, the film’s superb cast is one of its few positives. The actors, on the other hand, has no story to work with. The Punisher is about as cliched as a revenge story gets. It’s a conventional revenge plot that recycles elements from every revenge-action film ever created, with no depth or nuance. If you consider it as a conventional action film, it may be adequate; nevertheless, when compared to its comic book version, it is a poor adaptation.

Trinity Blade

Blade: Trinity was released in 2004 as the third and final installment in the Blade trilogy. Blade (Wesley Snipes) is a human-vampire hybrid who continues to navigate the struggle between humans and vampires. However, when Blade is falsely accused of many murders, he must join forces with a rogue gang of vampire hunters to confront his greatest foe yet: Dracula (Dominic Purcell).

The first two Blade movies aren’t great, but they’re also not horrible. They’re engrossing, visually appealing, action-packed, and feature strong and charismatic characters. Sadly, the same cannot be said with Blade: Trinity. In contrast to the first two films, Blade: Trinity lacks a distinct style, resulting in a fairly dull and useless blood fest. The first two films’ action, graphics, and other saving graces are also missing. Not only that, but the film is only somewhat enjoyable in spots, making it unremarkable as a vampire action flick.

Morbius

Sorry, “morbin time” fans, but Morbius still belongs on this list. Morbius is the third installment of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. After multiple delays, it premiered on April 1, 2022, with Jared Leto as the title character. The story revolves around Michael Morbius, a doctor who suffers from a rare blood ailment. Morbius, desperate for a cure, splices his genes with those of a vampire bat. While he is cured, he also has superhuman abilities and an insatiable craving for human blood.

Morbius is only not among the worst of the worst on our list because to the performances of Matt Smith and Leto. Nonetheless, their performances cannot compensate for Morbius’ numerous flaws. The plot is muddled and disjointed, the CGI is unimpressive, the narration lags, and the film lacks depth and, more importantly, rationale or purpose. While Morbius has garnered a cult following in recent months due to memes, the fact that it is a very poorly constructed film remains.

The Punisher: War Zone

The Punisher: War Zone was supposed to be a sequel to The Punisher (2004). However, due to creative differences with the directors, Thomas Jane quit the franchise. As a result, the brand was revived in 2008 with The Punisher: War Zone, starring Ray Stevenson as Frank Castle. Castle is still fighting his vengeance against the criminal underworld in New York in the film. However, the tables are turned when one of Castle’s earlier victims, Jigsaw (Dominic West), launches his own vengeance mission on Castle, accompanied by a slew of criminal recruits.

Unfortunately, The Punisher: War Zone did not learn from The Punisher’s mistakes (2004). This film, like the first, is just plain dismal and involves senseless violence. Despite the violence and profanity, the discourse is severely hampered, stiff, and childish. Some may love it as a splatter flick, but it once again fails to bring the Punisher to life. In addition, The Punisher: War Zone is one of the biggest movie office flops in Marvel history. The picture made $10 million at the box office, despite a $35 million budget.

Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider premiered in 2007 and stars Nicholas Cage as Johnny Blaze (a.k.a. Ghost Rider). Blaze, a young motorcycle stuntman, sells his soul to Mephistopheles/The Devil (Peter Fonda) in exchange for his father’s cancer recovery. Blaze’s father is healed, but dies the next day in an accident. Mephistopheles still considers his half of the bargain completed and appoints Blaze as the new Ghost Rider. He then offers to return Blaze’s soul if he defeats Blackheart (Wes Bentley), Mephistopheles’ son who is plotting his father’s demise.

While Ghost Rider was a box office triumph, movie received mixed reviews from critics. The film is utterly awful in every way. Cage, you know, is a fantastic actor… just not in Ghost Rider. Unfortunately, the acting is horrible and exaggerated, which is exacerbated by exceedingly corny, lifeless speech. The CGI has its moments, but the film is pretty old-fashioned and about as simple and campy as a superhero film can get.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

You’d think Ghost Rider’s reviews would be enough to put a stop to a sequel. Nonetheless, thanks to those film office numbers, a sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, was released in 2012. Nicholas Cage has returned to Eastern Europe to resume his role as Blaze. Blaze is still dealing with the Ghost Rider curse, which he chose to maintain at the end of the first film. However, when he encounters a priest named Moreau (Idris Elba), he is given the opportunity to have his soul restored in exchange for the rescue of a small boy who has been abducted.

Surprisingly, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance performed well at the box office yet again. Nonetheless, it earned even worse reviews than the first film. Basically, take everything of Ghost Rider’s flaws and double them by two to obtain Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Cage, in his guise as Ghost Rider, once again devastates. The acting is still ridiculous, the plot is trite and almost nonexistent, and the CGI isn’t even cool in this one. The sole genuine triumph of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance was that it made the horrible Ghost Rider picture look better in comparison.

Elektra 3

Jennifer Garner initially played Elektra Natchios in the 2003 picture Daredevil. Elektra, Garner’s solo spinoff, was released in 2005. After being slain in Daredevil, Elektra is brought back to life by martial arts expert Stick (Terrance Stamp). Stick teaches her the Kimagure way, but she abandons her studies to become a contract killer for The Hand. Elektra saves a father and his little daughter when one of her targets turns out to be a father and his young daughter, but she now has to defend them when The Hand comes for them.

Elektra was a critical and commercial failure. In fact, its failure is a key reason why Daredevil 2 was canceled. There were no redeeming qualities in this flick. While Garner is pleasant and does her best, her performance in Elektra isn’t as good as it has been in past projects. Furthermore, the CGI and writing fall flat and are unimpressive. The film lacks realism, has no redeeming qualities, and is neither enjoyable nor thrilling. As a result, there’s no need to watch it. It’s also one of the few films on this list that was so horrible that it completely destroyed any hope of a sequel to the franchise it was a part of.

Fantastic Four (2015)

Fantastic Four (2005) performed poorly enough to reach Marvel’s list of worst films, while Fantastic Four (2015) proved to be substantially worse. Reed Richards (Miles Teller), Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell), Sue Storm (Kate Mara), and Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan) are four teens who develop a trans-dimensional gateway that grants them superpowers. While they investigate their newfound abilities, they must also prevent Doctor von Doom (Toby Kebbell), who was previously considered to be dead, from destroying the planet.

If you read that summary and thought, “Uh… what?” you’ll probably say the same thing after seeing the film. The plot of the film is illogical. Midway through the film, one character travels to Latin America for no apparent reason, and von Doom reappears and becomes a villain with no objective. The Fantastic Four then beats him by hitting him. You’d swear this movie was written by an 8-year-old. Furthermore, the film is incredibly tacky and dull. It takes random aspects from superhero movies and mashes them together in an absurd way. The cast makes an effort, but there isn’t much they can do with this shambles of a picture.

Howard the Duck.

Yes, as crazy as it may sound, Howard the Duck is a Marvel film. It is a superhero film based on a Marvel comic book. George Lucas created this superhero comedy, which debuted in 1986. While it was originally supposed to be animated, it was later decided to be live action. Howard the Duck is a duck who is abruptly beamed from Duckworld to Earth (Ed Gale). When attempting to return to Duckworld, he discovers that Dark Overlords are being transferred to Earth and possessing individuals.

While we enjoyed Howard’s cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy, we would not want to see him in a complete film. Howard the Duck is odd and terrifying. It doesn’t work as a superhero film… or as a comedy, thriller, children’s film, adult film, or anything else. In reality, I have no idea what it is supposed to be. It includes a few weak gags, no plot, a duck they didn’t even bother to make credible, and overall poor visual effects. Look up the 1986 Razzie Awards—Howard the Duck was nominated for about every worst quality a film could have, and for good cause.