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Arts
Friday, April 19, 2019 — 5

In the run-up to “Avengers: Endgame,” I’m running down every movie and 
TV show the MCU has ever put out and ranking them based on how well they 
tell their stories with the means available to them. This is part three of a four 
part series.
22. “Marvel’s Luke Cage”: Season one (2016)
As with many Marvel projects on both TV and on film, what makes the 
first season of “Luke Cage” work more than anything else is the casting. 
Mike Colter is electric in the title role, so unbelievably charismatic in every 
scene that you couldn’t take your eyes off him if you wanted to. He’s more 
than matched by his villains, played just as magnificently by Mahershala Ali 
and Alfre Woodard. Seriously uneven narrative aside, the worst part of the 
season might just be that no amount of time with these characters would be 
enough.
21. “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”: Season three (2015-2016)
“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” truly comes into its own in its third season, 
with Brett Dalton completing his transformation from a “big, brave brick of 
meat” into one of the most deliciously evil villains the MCU has yet offered. 
Meanwhile, Ian De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge prove themselves 
to be the show’s hidden weapons — not just charming, but capable of 
wringing more emotion out of a single glance than some onscreen couples 
can with entire scenes.
20. “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017)
“Ragnarok”’s greatest weakness is that it’s a sequel to “The Dark World,” 
and thus must spend its entire first act cleaning up that film’s mess before 
Taika Waititi can get around to telling his own story. There’s a notable shift 
the moment the story gets to Sakaar, and from there, Waititi is free to realize 
his heavy metal-inspired dreams for all to see. I may not love this as much 
as others, but there’s no denying how 
special it is to watch the God of Thunder 
finally get his due in his third solo film.
19. “Captain America: The First 
Avenger” (2011)
“The First Avenger” is a delight: an 
old-fashioned, pulpy, cheesy delight. 
From the moment he first steps foot 
on screen, Steve Rogers is everything a 
superhero should be — brave, noble and 
selfless — and that’s before he’s turned 
into a beefcake. The film functions in 

much the same way; it’s a big-hearted ode to classic superhero movies, one 
that reminds everyone watching that they don’t need a star-spangled shield 
to be a hero.
18. “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017)
Whatever the flaws of the landmark Sony/Marvel effort, director 
Jon Watts absolutely nails the most important parts of “Spider-Man: 
Homecoming” — namely, Spider-Man here feels more human than any 
interpretation of the character since “Spider-Man 2.” Much of this is due 
to the casting of Tom Holland in the title role but just as superb is Michael 
Keaton as the Vulture, grounding the yet another larger-than-life story of the 
film in some semblance of humanist reality.
17. “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015)
People dislike “Iron Man 2.” People are ambivalent about “The Incredible 
Hulk.” But people hate “Age of Ultron,” and I just don’t get it. It would have 
been so easy for Joss Whedon to let his characters stagnate in their second 
team-up flick, but instead, he gives them arcs that admirably walk the line of 
self-containment and feeding into conflicts to come. The action will always 
be a big draw for these movies, but “Age of Ultron” also understands that 
just as important are the moments where the movie slows down to give the 
Avengers time to grow.
16. “Captain Marvel” (2019)
As if proving my point about “Age of Ultron,” the MCU’s most recent big 
screen outing is at its worst during its action scenes, which all-too-often come 
down to people just shooting beams at each other. Thankfully, much more 
plentiful are the scenes focused on the characters and their relationships. 
Captain Marvel is an immediately relatable potential leader for the next 
generation of Marvel movies, the supporting cast is one of Marvel’s best and 
Brie Larson’s performance is nothing short of incandescent.
15. “Iron Man 3” (2013)
Like “Ultron,” “Iron Man 3” achieved near “Last Jedi”-levels of vitriol 
from some corners of the fanbase, and like “Ultron,” I think it’s a gem. The 

title is almost misleading, as “Iron Man 3” is much more interested in Tony 
Stark outside of the suit than it is in him as Iron Man. Most of the movie is 
therefore spent with Tony running around without his armor, struggling to 
cope with his PTSD in the wake of “The Avengers.” It’s a startlingly real story 
to foist upon one of the MCU’s bigger personalities, but under the direction 
of Shane Black, there’s an intelligent sheen to the whole thing that makes it 
irresistible.
14. “Marvel’s Luke Cage”: Season two (2018)
The biggest problem with the first season of “Luke Cage” was that, 
after all the grounded examination of privilege and the politics of Harlem, 
the main antagonist was another guy in a supersuit. The second season 
rectifies this, electing Alfre Woodard’s Mariah Dillard for the role of the lead 
villain and setting the stage for a gripping season where the line between 
what’s right and wrong becomes more blurred than anyone would like. Her 
showstopping monologue in the ninth episode should have netted her an 
Emmy.
13. “Marvel’s The Punisher”: Season one (2017)
“The Punisher” would always face a tricky release, as releasing a series 
centered on a gun-toting mass murderer at a time of great turmoil of 
America’s relationship with gun violence is just a bad idea. There’s no glory 
to the story of Frank Castle, though. There’s not a moment the show asks us 
to actively root for him to shoot a place up in his quest for revenge. Instead, 
“The Punisher” takes a look at PTSD and the soldiers afflicted with it and in 
doing so becomes a mature, surprisingly affecting look at soldiers’ issues in 
modern day America.
12. “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”: Season four (2016-2017)
The fourth season of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” opens with Ghost Rider 
himself rolling up to a gang of white nationalists in a flaming Dodge Charger 
and crushing a man’s skull with his bare hands, and it somehow only gets 
better from there. By all accounts, the run of twenty-two excellent episodes 
that followed – split into three intensely character-focused arcs that kept 
the pacing lightning quick in seeming 
defiance of TV norms – should have 
changed the way broadcast television 
operated, and the fact that it didn’t is part 
of the reason why traditional TV is going 
the way of Edward Norton’s MCU career.
Next week, with “Endgame” upon us, 
the MCU’s film arm blasts them out of 
the park like nobody’s business while the 
cream of the TV crop make their case for 
why they should have a shot at the top of 
the list.

A Marvel Cinematic Universe ranking, part three

FILM NOTEBOOK

JEREMIAH VANDERHELM
Daily Arts Writer

When “Killing Eve” premiered a year ago, it felt like 
both a peculiarity and a given. Obviously a show like 
this — an intense, stylish drama dealing in espionage 
and assassins and grisly crimes — could spring from 
the 
brilliant 
mind of Phoebe 
Waller-Bridge, 
whose “Fleabag” 
is 
one 
of 
the 
most 
inventive, 
challenging shows 
of the 21st century. 
Strange as it 
was, 
something 
about it worked. 
The 
show 
has 
found itself an adoring cabal of fans, a perfect coalition 
of Sandra Oh (“Grey’s Anatomy”) believers ready for 
her career resurgence, Jodie Comer (“Doctor Foster”) 
devotees awaiting her time in the spotlight and, of 
course, lovers of exquisite womenswear. So with the 
premiere of Season 2 of “Killing Eve,” which now airs 
both on AMC and BBC America, everyone will be very 
pleased to know that Oh is back, Comer is back and the 
womenswear is back (it’s still quite exquisite).
In the first season, we met Eve (Oh), an MI5 agent 
re-assigned to a secret passion project to hunt down 
a mysterious assassin. That assassin would be the 
glamorous Villanelle (Comer), who is, frankly, quite 
flattered that someone has decided to pay so much 
attention to her. But whatever thrill she derives 
from being the subject of this investigation doesn’t 
distract from what Villanelle does best: killing people 
in rather gruesome, alarming ways. When we last 
left Eve and Villanelle, they had caught each other 
at last in Villanelle’s Parisian apartment and both 
confessed to their deep infatuation with the other. An 

uneasy armistice of sorts is achieved — until Eve stabs 
Villanelle in the stomach and the elusive assassin flees 
again. What a quirky, gory way to end a quirky, gory 
season.
The second season begins not more than a minute 
afterward. Villanelle, nursing an ugly wound, tosses 
herself in front of a cab to get to the hospital. A dazed Eve 
makes her way back to London (along the way she has 
to ditch the bloody 
knife before she 
goes 
through 
airport security) 
where 
different 
problems 
await 
her: Her marriage 
to 
the 
sweet, 
disgruntled 
Niko 
(Owen 
McDonnell, 
“Single-Handed”) 
is on the verge of collapse and she is newly unemployed.
Oh gets to do her best work when Eve is spiraling, 
and there’s a remarkable, gripping scene in the season 
premiere in which a rattled Eve is doing nothing 
more than sit in a bathtub, picking at her still bloody 
fingernails. She doesn’t get much time to wallow 
though. Soon enough, her boss Carolyn (Fiona Shaw, 
“Harry Potter”) has rehired her (this is TV, everyone 
is promptly rehired after being fired) and they’re back 
to investigating the brewing mystery of Villanelle’s 
employer. The stab wound hasn’t kept Villanelle down 
either; she’s quickly back to scheming and manipulating 
(and a little bit of killing too).
The scheming and manipulating, of course, is at the 
heart of “Killing Eve.” At surface-level, the show is a 
kind of mindless, stylish caper. But really, it’s so much 
more: a meditation on the female psyche, a study in 
power and vulnerability, an open question about what a 
woman can or should do to get ahead. And hey, if we get 
some coats and blouses along the way, what’s the harm 
in that?

TV REVIEW
Rejoice, for ‘Killing Eve’ 
has finally returned to us

The sun was setting on a 
gorgeous spring day in Ann 
Arbor. Students milled around 
outside Hill Auditorium, where 
A$AP Ferg would be performing 
shortly. I was occupied in the 
Panera bathroom, mixing a 
noxious concoction of tropical 
vodka, peppermint schnapps, 
Mountain Dew and Sprite in a 
plastic bottle. After my brew 
was prepared, my friends and 
I sat on a concrete ledge on 
the side of Hill Auditorium, 
passing the bottle back and 
forth among us. A$AP Ferg 
was due to take the stage any 
minute.
We entered into a dismal 
scene. The crowd was spread 
out throughout the auditorium, 
the 
energy 
lackluster. 
The 
liquor 
was 
an 
insufficient 
bulwark against the lameness 
of the situation. Soon, A$AP 
Ferg 
came 
on 
stage 
and, 
sensing 
the 
vibe, 
almost 
immediately called everyone to 
rush the front against the futile 
objections of the staff. Good 
move — but not quite enough.
It felt like the concert never 
really got going. One reason is 
that most people there were 
clearly not huge A$AP Ferg 
fans. This is normal — most 
concertgoers don’t know every 

song that is performed, and it’s 
common for non-fans to attend 
a concert. However, Ferg’s 
discography 
is 
particularly 
lopsided towards a few massive 
hits, so most people in the 
crowd only knew him from 
“Plain Jane,” “Work (Remix),” 
“Shabba” and “New Level.”
The real, unsolvable problem 
was the choice of venue — 
Hill 
Auditorium 
is 
packed 
with 
traditional 
auditorium 
seating, meaning the energy 
of A$AP Ferg’s music can’t 
really charge up the crowd 
since, if you move more than 
a foot in any direction, you’ll 
trip over a row of chairs. It is 
an auditorium designed for 
ensemble performances and 
lectures, not for hip hop or 
any other type of concert that 
invokes an active audience. I 
think this arrangement also led 
to a lot of pent-up aggressive 
energy in certain members of 
the crowd, most noticeably 
the guy in front of me wearing 
a Knicks jersey (with what I 
believe was his own last name 
printed on the back) who kept 
trying to fight people. Outdoor 
concerts in the spring are fun; 
maybe MUSIC Matters, having 
done outdoors concerts for the 
day portion, should consider 
that for future events.
While I think by and large 
he did his best, I do have one 
complaint with Ferg’s set. In 

the middle of it, Ferg played 
“First Day Out” by Tee Grizzley 
and “I Don’t Fuck With You” by 
Big Sean. While I understand 
the Detroit homage, it seems 
a little strange to play other 
people’s songs that you aren’t 
involved with at all during your 
set. If all people wanted to hear 
was a set of Tee Grizzley songs 
played over the aux, I would 
have done it for much cheaper.
I respect and appreciate that 
he continued to pretend we 
were a good crowd throughout, 
as many artists would have 
made 
their 
disappointment 
known. It’s a testament to his 
showmanship that he was able 
to keep up a fairly convincing 
facade the whole time, his stage 
presence likeable and serious. 
At the end, when he thanked us 
for being a great crowd, I saw 
some people laugh and shake 
their heads.
When the lights were turned 
on at the end, a quick glance 
around left me questioning 
the heavy use of the n-word 
throughout the concert by the 
audience during the refrain of 
“Plain Jane” given the obvious 
demographic tilt. After the 
show I walked to Fleetwood 
Diner and got a patty melt and 
fries. It was good. It left me 
hoping A$AP Ferg’s impression 
of Ann Arbor wasn’t limited 
to the narrow scope of Hill 
Auditorium.

A$AP Ferg tried his very 
best at SpringFest 2019

CONCERT REVIEW

JONAH MENDELSON
Daily Arts Writer

While I understand the Detroit homage, it seems a little 
strange to just play other people’s songs that you aren’t 
involved with at all during your set.

BBC AMERICA

MAITREYI ANANTHARAMAN
Daily Arts Writer

Killing Eve

Season 2 premiere

BBC America & AMC

Sundays @ 8 p.m.

In the run-up to “Avengers: Endgame,” I’m running down every movie and 
TV show the MCU has ever put out and ranking them based on how well 
they tell their stories with the means available to them.

