Over the past decade Marvel has released 22 movies to create the “Infinity Saga” – the most ambitious overarching film story experiment. While it is impossible to analyze every score in a single article, ranking and briefly discussing the scores in each of the three “Phases” is a valuable introduction to those new to the MCU’s music.
From Humble Beginnings – Phase One
- The Avengers – Alan Silvestri
- Captain America: The First Avenger – Alan Silvestri
- Thor – Patrick Doyle
- The Incredible Hulk – Craig Armstrong
- Iron Man 2 – John Debney
- Iron Man – Ramin Djawadi
Luckily for Marvel (and for fans), Alan Silvestri joined the MCU at the tail end of Phase One. Silvestri brought with him 45 years’ experience and it shows. Silvestri’s films, the last two of Phase One, Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers, stand head and shoulders above the other four scores. Shorter run times, memorable themes, and varied, moving compositions skyrocket these scores to become the clear best of Phase One.
Growing Up – Phase Two
- Doctor Strange – Michael Giacchino
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Henry Jackman
- Thor: The Dark World – Brian Tyler (Interview)
- Ant-Man – Christophe Beck
- Guardians of the Galaxy – Tyler Bates (Interview)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron – Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman
- Iron Man 3 – Brian Tyler
Although Alan Silvestri wasn’t able to return for Phase Two, Marvel’s film music picked up where he left off. Fortunately, there are no glaringly weak scores as there were in Phase One. Instead each is, at the very least, solid. While the Phase includes many competent, yet somewhat unemotional and routine scores, it also has some highlights. Among these are Giacchino’s Doctor Strange, with frequent use of east Asian instruments (without sounding clichéd), piano, and harpsichord, lending a sound extremely unique among the Marvel landscape. Captain America: The Winter Soldier features some of the most tense, fast paced music in the universe, buttressed by a mixture of glitchy, industrial electronic and more traditional orchestral instrumentation.
Maturity – Phase Three
- Thor: Ragnarok – Mark Mothersbaugh
- Black Panther – Ludwig Göransson
- Spider-Man: Homecoming – Michael Giacchino
- Ant-Man and the Wasp – Christophe Beck
- Avengers: Endgame – Alan Silvestri
- Avengers: Infinity War – Alan Silvestri
- Captain America: Civil War – Henry Jackman
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – Tyler Bates (Interview)
- Captain Marvel – Pinar Toprak
As the MCU has developed, observers have often lodged the same complaint: the scores sound too similar. Unfortunately, this is an inevitable result of so many films in such a short period, particularly when these films tend to hit the same beats. Incidental cues from different films blend together, largely because they seek to accomplish the same goals. Although the complaint still exists, Phase Three made great strides, with a greater breadth of unique tracks within each score and an ever-increasing arsenal of instrumentation to draw from.
Because of that, Phase Three has produced the best scores of the MCU. For Black Panther, Goransson travelled throughout Senegal and South Africa, studying in the International Library of African Music, meeting and recording with local musicians, and utilizing local instruments. He then merges this music with hip-hop and more mainstream film-scoring orchestrations to accompany the culture of Wakanda and create the most sonically unique Marvel score to date. Meanwhile, on Thor: Ragnarok Mothersbaugh eschews the overly serious sound found in many of the MCU’s scores. Perhaps drawing on his Devo roots, Mothersbaugh’s score is almost entirely a fast paced, off-the-wall joyride, embracing the fun side of the film and its characters.
