With Ant-Man rolling out in pretty much around the world already (save for the usual suspects - China and Japan), thus ends another billion dollar era in the short history of Marvel Studios. Unlike Phase 1, the second phase in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was tasked with not only expanding on the stories of our established heroes after the events of 2012's The Avengers, but at the same time introducing newer characters to the mix, these new entities deriving from more obscure source materials than the likes of Iron Man and Captain America.

As evidenced over the past three years, all films improved greatly over their respective installments, with two billion dollar-spinning entries (Iron Man 3 and Avengers: Age of Ultron), but the biggest surprise was 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, which attained universal acclaim on its way to a $750 million worldwide gross.

On the flip side, criticism soon surfaced over the recycled storylines and forced connections for a wider universe, leading to some quarters to believe that Marvel are getting both lazy or lethargic, though the revenue on-hand speaks for itself entirely. With fan demand at a fever pitch after The Avengers, and with DC Comics' on universe building steam sooner rather than later, how does the six Phase 2 films released stack up against each other?


6) Thor: The Dark World

Being the more out-of-this-world property that Marvel could take advantage of, you'll think they could craft out a story that was in equal parts exciting standalone sequel and franchise builder, but The Dark World fails to deliver on both accounts. A weak story with an even weaker villain (criminally underused) in Christopher Eccleston's Melekith, the sequel was also one to suffer from abiding to the fans/fandoms. This movie ended up shifting from the promise of a post-Avengers Thor epic to "The Loki Show", which, while humorous with every scene Tom Hiddleston's in, gets rather tiresome as the film drags on. Here's hoping Thor: Ragnarok doesn't repeat the same mistakes.

5) Iron Man 3

Marvel's Phase Two curtain raiser began with the hero that started it all, with Shane Black in the director's seat for Jon Favreau. Overall, it's a smart and entertaining movie, one with a more focused take on the events surrounding Tony Stark (less snarky less before) post-Avengers. To be honest, it's hard to get as to why people hate the Trevor twist at all, as any studios' efforts to spice things up to avoid obviousness should be commended. It may be one of the more boring entries in Phase 2 (the entire snowy town sequence had no bearing on the story). Regardless, the real winner here is definitely Marvel's marketing team, who successfully hid this surprise for the months leading to its release.

4) Avengers: Age of Ultron

Just missing out on a podium finish, Age of Ultron struggles to satisfy the enormous expectations, with a not as compelling villain and story 'unworthy' of such epic scale, but the chemistry between the casts, plus the amazing action sequences, makes the ensemble sequel can give the original a run for its money. On the bright side, Joss Whedon did not prioritize the need for foreshadowing future films (look at Iron Man 2), and having the distinction of cramming every character into the film with enough breathing space. In earnest, Age of Ultron instead leaves us quenching for more solo adventures and eventually the two part Avengers: Infinity Wars in 2018/2019. Hopefully, the Russo brothers, will be deliver an even larger movie event with the many new characters introduced by then, along with a surely exciting pair up between the Avengers and the Guardians.

Despite the early production problems with Edgar Wright leaving, but in the hands of Peyton Reed and the chaps at Marvel Studios, Ant-Man manages overcome its setbacks with a straightforward story and enough charm to rank as one of the better MCU films since 2008. Filled to the brim with a likable ensemble casts we'll be looking forward to in further installments, Ant-Man also tries its darnest to be a standalone film away from the Phase 2 sequels, no less to its smaller setting and bite-sized adventure. It ain't Guardians of the Galaxy, but Ant-Man proves to be yet another well-received hit on another obscure comic character.

2) Guardians of the Galaxy

The movie that cements Marvel Studios as "the studio that can do no wrong", Guardians surprised pretty much everyone upon its release, from pessimistic critics to casual moviegoers alike. The film's monster success must be credited to director James Gunn, largely for taking an unknown group of characters and making GOTG a fun superhero romp for all ages. Perfect casting, a humourous yet well-thought script, and a brilliant soundtrack to boot, GOTG shows that any good storytelling and liberty can trump just about any established franchises, regardless of their popularity (Exhibit A: The Amazing Spiderman 2; Exhibit B: Fan4stic). Goes to show that one doesn't need the Avengers connection to craft out a bona fide hit.

As with many of the recent MCU installments, the action scenes in The Winter Soldier are one of the best of its kind. From the initial attack on the boat in the opening scenes to the Helicarrier battle in the penultimate scenes, the movie's sure to keep you glued to the screen all the way. The story, a far cry from the world war era of the original, is deeply rooted in the political spy thrillers of yesteryear, and much praise has to be credited to the Russo duo for keeping the tone and look of the film realistic (by comic book standards). All in all, The Winter Soldier is up there as one of the best movie that Marvel Studios has offered so far.