Peace everybody! I’ve decided to try something new and do a weekly feature where I can talk about different shit that I enjoy. A lot of this is gonna be Pop Culture based and I’m going to indulge the nerd that lives inside of me. I’m going to go over video games, films, sports, music and pretty much whatever else comes to mind that week. We’re going to call it “Civil’s Friday Feature” (unique and inventive right?).

The first (of many probably) features is reserved for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I, like so many of you, am an absolute custee for the MCU. The amount of Easter Egg videos on youtube that I have watched is embarrassing at this point. As a Nolan Trilogy Stan, I was reluctant to really get into the MCU, but I am SOOOO glad I did. These films over the past 12 years have brought my childhood to life in ways that 8 year old me could have never imagined. That Endgame final battle took me back to the days when I was a kid and would have all out wars with my action figures. I can’t even think about the Avengers’ theme without getting chills. We’ll get more into Endgame in a bit. In this feature, I will welcome the roasting and anger and vitriol that will come from the list. Just know though, that my list is the right list and anything else is wrong. So lets get into this list so that yall can curse me out on Twitter. BEWARE FOR SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE LIVED UNDER A ROCK FOR THE PAST 12 YEARS

10. Black Panther

Black Panther was a movement. No disrespect to Blade, but we had not seen a Black superhero showcased in this way up until this point. The music, the writing, the art direction and story all were filled with Pan African elements and displayed beautifully. The soundtrack alone ensures that Black Panther has a place on the top 10. Aside from the fact that it gave us powerful Black characters on the big screen that we could identify with, it gave us a lot of other dope shit as well.

One of the (few) knocks on the MCU has been how it handles villains. This was not the case in Black Panther. Michael B. Jordan absolutely bodied the Killmonger role and had all the Hoteps wondering if he was right all along. The cast in general was superb, which should come to be expected with the MCU. They never miss when it comes to casting. T’Challah got washed a lot through this movie but it allowed for the women in the film to be really showcased. Danai Gurira in particular was just brilliant as Okoye. I don’t have too many knocks on this film, except that final battle. With a better final act this film would definitely be higher on the list.

9. Avengers Endgame

Getting chills right now thinking about Cap wielding that hammer. (pause)

Endgame is so hard of a film to gauge on a list because it gave us SOOOO much fan service and paid off so many arcs. I mean from a sense of just making the film work at all it deserves to be on the list. It’s the culmination of 20+ films and it definitely feels like it. It is a cinematic marvel (no pun intended), and I can continue watching it and not get tired of it. I must have seen it in theaters like 4 or 5 times. It’s really just a dope action film that ties up a lot of loose ends and opens up new stories for our heroes. That is fine, it doesn’t have to be more than that. Infinity War did all the heavy lifting. But the action and excitement was absolutely nailed. The callbacks were executed masterfully. I cried like 3 times throughout the film. That final fight seen brought my childhood to life. I can not help but get goosebumps thinking about Cap finally saying “AVENGERS ASSEMBLE”. WOOOH INJECT IT IN MY VEINS BABY.

8. Captain America: Civil War

“FINALLY THE WEB HEAD HAS COME BACK…..HOME” - In my Rock voice

Off the Spidey appearance alone this was going to be on the list. This was special and felt like a shift in the MCU. The universe was expanding and Peter Parker was back in it. It would have been nicer to get a TRUE CIvil War storyline but given what they had to work with they definitely hit this out the park. Full disclosure I saw this before seeing Winter Soldier and Cap became my guy off of this film. I didn’t really give Cap a chance because I felt like racist white folks bastardize what he actually stands for. But real talk, Cap’s story arc and films are the best trilogy by far in the MCU. Tony was definitely the ops in this movie and RDJ shines in that role. This film did everything right that Batman V Superman did wrong. Also I appreciate how the stakes mattered. Because of the events in this film Thanos ended up beating the shit out the Avengers. Civil War also has a ton of re-watchability. They ain’t have to shoot my man War Machine out the sky like that though smh. Cap was definitely in the right because Tony was aligning with the ops, but he probably should have told Tony that Bucky bodied his parents.

7. Avengers

What can be said about this film that hasn’t been said? This is the OG, this is the action ensemble film we had been waiting for. This showed us what was possible. Every Superhero got a chance to shine, all their stories converged immaculately and Joss Whedon did. that. shit. The story was dope and gave us just enough that it could be self-contained, but also gave a glimpse into what would unfold throughout the rest of the MCU in the future. The action sequences were beautiful. Watching Starks shoot his beams off Cap’s shield was just *Chef’s Kiss. People forget that the Avengers were no where near as popular as the X-Men or Spider-man, but this film changed that and ensured that the Avengers would be a mainstay for decades to come.

6. Spider-Man Far From Home

I am a Spidey Stan. I have been waiting years for a proper Spider-Man and we have finally got the PERFECT one in Tom Holland. This guy is the quintessential Peter Parker. He Shined in Homecoming, but Far From Home was just phenomenal. This hit on so many notes. Spider-man finally began to get out of Tony’s shadow, the relationship between MJ and Peter began to blossom, the humor hit, the battles and fight scenes were amazing, and Mysterio was F*cking Brilliant. Jake Gyllenhaal was just on another level. The interactions between (fake) Nick Fury and Spidey were great. The tone of a teenage Spider-Man was nailed in this. It felt like a Rom-Com with great action. I’m so excited to see where they go from here because the ending and post-credit scenes were wild AF. Give Zendaya and Tom Holland all of the things because this film was everything.

5. Iron Man

This HAS to be in your top 5. This film has aged like wine and still holds up brilliantly with the best of the MCU. RDJ was made for this role. The story was on point, shout out to Jon Favreau. The special effects hold up today and look great because they did not overly rely on CGI. The redemption arc in this film was handled beautifully and this film avoided a lot of the superhero tropes that we were used to. This film was not The Dark Knight and thats partially what I love so much about it. The MCU struck a unique tone with their films that allowed these fantastical films to be grounded but not dark. Iron Man 1 set the tone. Shit I might watch this again tonight. Also that scene where Stark is in the Mark III handling business! So fire!

4. Guardians of the Galaxy

Zoe be getting that guap playing these space beings.

Guardians of the Galaxy is so different than the films on this list because most of us new NOTHING about these characters. I feel like only true hardbody comic fans knew about them. I think that definitely worked to their benefit because we didn’t know what to expect. What we got was a brilliant film and star studded cast that played off of each other so well. I’d even go as far as to argue that GOTG set the tone for future MCU films like Ragnarok among others. This film is funny and action filled. The soundtrack is second only to Black Panther. This film made us love characters that we knew nothing about. It also gave us important back story on the infinity stones, eternals and Thanos without weighing down the film. The characters were introduced swiftly and we weren’t bogged down with 50 minutes of flashbacks (cough cough Suicide Squad). The way they showed up and were explained worked well and we had the rest of the movie to see them in action. Shoutout to Batista. Man is amazing as Drax. This another film I can keep on watching.

3. Thor Ragnarok

This is where it gets tough because I absolutely love these last three films. I have Thor Ragnarok at Number 3 though. This is what Thor should have been from the jump! This is such a fun movie. I love that they adapted some of Planet Hulk into this film and seeing Thor and Hulk duke it out was a highlight. The comedy of this film hit and it was beautifully shot. I read somewhere there was influence drawn from Jack Kirby in this film and its definitely evident in Sakaar. The set design was beautiful.

Aside from the beautiful cinematography we finally saw Thor start to realize his full potential. Both in the tone of the film, but also finally seeing that Man, the GOD OF THUNDER unleashed. He was Kicking Names and Taking Ass as Mantis would say. That fight scene at the climax was one of the best in the MCU. Another plus is we got more Hulk!. Mark Ruffalo . We need more Hulk in the MCU. Still hoping for another stand alone movie.

2. Infinity War

INFINITY WAR WAS SO F*CKING LIT. We went in there knowing what was going to happen and yet still left the movie stunned. This movie is made even better when you realize Thanos is the protaganist of this film. We are watching his journey. In that journey we watched him beat the absolute dog shit out of the Avengers and it was glorious. I’ve never watched a superhero film where the bad guy beat the shit out of everyone that bad. It was demoralizing. Shit was sad but glorious. It’s unbelievable that they were able to make this and Endgame work but they did. I rank Infinity War so much higher because this is where everything was laid out and I gotta give it to the MCU for letting Thanos actually win and leaving us on that note for an entire year. The theatre was silent at the end every time I went to see it in theaters. My mom is still mad about it. Aside from the Snap the film is just generally really well made. Everyone shines in their way and the chemistry between this abundance of heroes all works. Watching Doctor Strange and Starks play off each other was great. The back and forth between Starks and Star-Lord with Spidey’s reactions in the background was golden. The use of all the infinity stones was ill. Thanos freaking threw a moon at Iron man and broke through Doctor Strange’s mirror dimension spell. This movie is dope as hell and my second favorite MCU film. Fight Me.

Honorable Mentions

I have to give some nods to some other favorites that didn’t make the list like Spider-Man Homecoming (Of Course), Doctor Strange (might cop an 8th or take an edible and and rewatch this and reevaluate, I’ve only seen it a few times sober), and Age of Ultron (I REALLY love Age of Ultron, I don’t understand the hate it still gets. It has aged fantastically and James Spader is an amazing Ultron.

DRUM ROLL……..

AND THE NUMBER 1 FILM IN THE MCU IS

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Really. What other film could it be?? The Winter Soldier was flawless. It works on a few different levels. Of course as a superhero movie it is excellent, but it also works perfectly as a Spy Thriller as well. This movie is up there with Mission Impossible and the Bourne Series (in my opinion better than those). The Bucky/ Winter Soldier Storyline was phenomenal and all the twists and turns and subplots keep you coming back. The fight scenes are by far some of the best in the entire MCU and entire genre period. That Elevator Scene was so damn good. Shit was Cap at his finest. Oh and that fight with Bucky on the highway was just beautiful to watch. I really still think Hydra is out there by the way. This film is just so good. It makes me tight that we aren’t getting another Captain America.

There you have it. MY top 10 films in the MCU. If you disagree with me it’s cool (even though you’re wrong), hit me up on IG or twitter or here and we can discuss. If there’s any other subjects you want me to touch on for another Friday Feature comment below and let me know.

Oh and I have a new album out. Go listen to and cop New Vanguards. PEACE