What Marvel"s Lowest Rated Shows Reveal About The Franchise

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While the MCU is currently riding a wave of positivity surrounding Agatha All Along, its lowest-rated shows still reveal a lot about the franchise. Marvel TV shows did not strictly fall into MCU canon until WandaVision hit the then-new Disney+ platform in 2021. At the time, WandaVision was a positive sign of things to come as it remains one of the highest-rated MCU shows to date. This prognosis has remained consistently vindicated for the most part, though a few stand-out outliers have broken Marvel Studios" winning streak in recent years.
Before the MCU started integrating Disney+ shows into its main fold, Marvel Television was leading the TV output on other streaming platforms. The canonicity of these Marvel shows has been a longstanding cause of confusion among Marvel fans until the shows produced on Netflix specifically were quietly integrated into the MCU"s official timeline on Disney Plus. Shows like Agents of SHIELD and Inhumans, meanwhile, were never afforded the same privilege.
Marvel's Disney+ Shows Aren't The Only Controversial Releases There Have Always Been Divisive Marvel Shows Close The MCU has recently pivoted to a quality-over-quantity ethos that may have stemmed from a recent downturn in enthusiasm for certain shows and movies. 2023 alone saw the MCU release its worst-rated movie with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, its worst-rated show with Secret Invasion, and its lowest-grossing movie with The Marvels. Thankfully, these were interspersed with the acclaimed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Loki season 2, but these weren"t enough to remove concerns.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is particularly divisive among audiences and critics, who award it 46% and 82%, respectively, on Rotten Tomatoes.
Loki season 2 was followed by Echo, which was the MCU"s first Marvel Spotlight series in early 2024. Despite its loose connection to the beloved Daredevil franchise, this show was met with a lukewarm response from audiences. Likewise, Daredevil alone was not enough to rescue 2022"s She-Hulk: Attorney At Law from being lambasted by fans when it was released on Disney+, despite it receiving a positive response from critics. The show remains the most divisive MCU production between general audiences and critics. Secret Invasion was also met with marginally more praise by critics.
Marvel"s Lowest-Rated Shows (via Rotten Tomatoes)
Ranking
Marvel Show
Platform/Network
Critics Score
Audience Score
1
Inhumans
ABC
11%
42%
2
Iron Fist
Netflix
37%
66%
3
Secret Invasion
Disney+
52%
44%
4
The Punisher
Netflix
64%
78%
5
Echo
Disney+
70%
60%
6
The Defenders
Netflix
78%
70%
7
She-Hulk
Disney+
79%
32%
8
Jessica Jones
Netflix
83%
80%
9
Agatha All Along
Disney+
83%
82%
10
Runaways
Hulu
84%
69%
Pre-MCU shows, meanwhile, tend to show a divide that falls the other way among the lowest-rated TV shows (though the same trend can be seen in higher-rated ones). Inhumans is the lowest-rated Marvel production in general according to critics, though audiences grant that unenviable accolade to She-Hulk. Audiences also grant Iron Fist a respectable 66% on Rotten Tomatoes compared to critics" 37%, which places it above five other Marvel shows, including Echo and Cloak and Dagger (which sits at 87% with critics).

Related 10 Biggest Ways The MCU's Disney+ Shows Changed The Franchise The MCU introduced Disney+ shows in Phase 4, making fundamental changes to the franchise and completely changing the way it tells stories.
Still, ten of the lowest-rated shows in Marvel"s repertoire prove that it"s rare for Marvel to produce generally poorly received shows. Agatha All Along strikes the most harmony between audiences and critics, with a single point between their given scores, and is widely acclaimed despite sitting in the top ten lowest-rated. Still, its position is indicative of another issue that Marvel faces when creating new shows.
Introducing Less Well Known Superheroes Is A Constant Marvel Risk Lesser Known Leads Struggle To Drum Up Enthusiasm Close While Agatha All Along has been widely well-received now, the run-up to its release saw a measure of backlash as a general lack of enthusiasm surrounded these relatively obscure characters. While Wiccan is arguably the most famous of the cast, his identity, while suspected, was not revealed until halfway through the series. Even then, Wiccan is far from the most prominent Marvel character, having only been introduced to Marvel Comics in 2005. Agatha, meanwhile, is a minor character in Marvel Comics and looks distinctly different from her MCU counterpart.
Billy Maximoff was introduced as Wanda and Vision"s son in 1986"s The Vision and the Scarlet Witch, though it would be nearly two decades before he was associated with the Wiccan mantle.
TV shows tend to be where Marvel debuts its lesser-known characters, with the likes of Punisher and Daredevil being the most popular characters to debut on the small screen. This has continued into the era of MCU shows, with Echo being an incredibly obscure character who failed to drum up much enthusiasm from the jump. The same indifference can be felt with upcoming Disney+ projects like Ironheart, which regularly stokes negative sentiment due to the relative obscurity of its star. Still, Agatha All Along has proved that overall quality can quickly stifle this demur.
On the other hand, She-Hulk is a far more recognizable and established character that nevertheless failed to hit the mark with fans, despite critics lauding her first outing. It is also worth noting that her series featured the more established characters, Hulk and Daredevil. The same can be said for Secret Invasion, which starred the most prolific character in the MCU (when discounting Stan Lee"s recurring character).
Even Iconic MCU Characters Can't Save Their Shows Alone Nick Fury's Star Power Wasn't Enough To Save Secret Invasion Close Before Secret Invasion, seeing Samuel L. Jackson"s Nick Fury in a solo project was a desire shared by many MCU fans. Despite ostensibly being a supporting character, his 12 appearances in MCU projects helped turn him into a firm fan favorite, bolstered by Jackson"s star power. This alone was unfortunately insufficient in changing Secret Invasion"s fate, despite Jackson"s performance drawing praise. Secret Invasion brought greater depth to Nick Fury, especially regarding his secret relationship with the Skrull, Varra. Unfortunately, his time in the limelight suffered from poorly received writing and pacing that flew in the face of Fury"s typical shrewdness.
She-Hulk is technically new to the MCU, but the character is one of the most recognizable from Marvel Comics, making her a particularly high-profile figure among lesser-known stars of Disney+ shows.
Smart Hulk"s appearance in She-Hulk, meanwhile, was insufficient in saving his cousin from the ire of some audiences. She-Hulk is technically new to the MCU, but the character is one of the most recognizable from Marvel Comics, making her a particularly high-profile figure among lesser-known stars of Disney+ shows. Unfortunately for Jennifer Walters, her star power alone could not fight off criticisms surrounding substandard CGI and a divisive finale. It should also be noted, however, that She-Hulk suffered a measure of review-bombing.

Related Daredevil Born Again: Release Info, Cast & Everything We Know So Far After being teased in MCU films and television shows, Matt Murdock is returning to the screen for a series in the Disney+ Daredevil: Born Again.
After establishing himself as a firm fan-favorite in an R-rated Netflix series, Daredevil now stars in one of the most anticipated upcoming MCU shows. After a long development process to ensure it lives up to expectations, the pressure is now on for Marvel. While Daredevil"s appeal may give the show a significant head start, these previous MCU shows demonstrate how Daredevil: Born Again shouldn"t rely on its charismatic lead alone.

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount's Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
Created by Kevin Feige First Film Iron Man First TV Show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Cast Robert Downey Jr. , Chris Evans , Scarlett Johansson , Samuel L. Jackson , Jeremy Renner , Chris Hemsworth , Mark Ruffalo , Edward Norton , Paul Rudd , Tom Holland , Tom Hiddleston , Anthony Mackie , Cobie Smulders , Brie Larson , Chadwick Boseman , Sebastian Stan , Chris Pratt , Dave Bautista , Zoe Saldana , Bradley Cooper , Vin Diesel , Pom Klementieff , Josh Brolin , Karen Gillan , Clark Gregg , Paul Bettany , Don Cheadle , Benedict Cumberbatch , Evangeline Lilly , Simu Liu , Aaron Taylor-Johnson , Angelina Jolie , Kit Harington , Salma Hayek , Richard Madden , Barry Keoghan , Gemma Chan , Ma Dong-seok , Brian Tyree Henry , Kumail Nanjiani , Lauren Ridloff , Lia McHugh , Jonathan Majors Expand Upcoming MCU Movies