With the Thunderbolts* arriving to Disney+ soon, a lot more people are learning about the MCU’s latest team. After all, several characters were limited to minor roles, or even non-speaking parts, in previous MCU films. While others broke through despite poor reception for their movies, audiences may need a refresher. Here’s our ranking of the Thunderbolts* across the other Marvel TV and film properties. Notably, we excluded cameos from the larger films, meaning Bucky does not receive credit for Black Panther. Given the premise of the show (and limited screentime), that was excluded from this process.

This is not the best showcase for Bucky, so it needs to drop a few slots on this list in particular. He might be at the center of the action, but there’s not much else to say. This is ultimately a fight between Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans). Bucky feels like an afterthought here, so we dropped it’s placement on a list for the must-watch movies of the Thunderbolts* cast.

No.

The inclusion of Yelena here felt surprising at the time, and has aged incredibly well. While one can argue over Yelena’s actions in Hawkeye and which of Florence Pugh’s performances ar better, she’s undeniably more fun in a better show. Pugh becomes a sparkplug from Hawkeye and helps deliver its biggest moments. We rank this slightly higher than Civil War for that reason alone.

No, but see if you can grab a few clips.

This is a tough one, because several of the members of the Thunderbolts* (except for Bob) has at least one appearance. However, you might have to dig to find some of the performances. For example, John Walker only appears at the beginning of an episode set in the Old West about Shang-Chi. Sebastian Stan actually reprised his role seven times for What If… with the two Captain Carter-focused episodes and the Kaiju fight with Hulk standing out. With the Red Guardian also taking center stage, it’s a good way to celebrate David Harbour’s interpretation of the character, but it’s not needed.

No, but it might be a fun bonus to watch “What if… the Red Guardian met the Winter Soldier?”

This is probably the number one movie on this list if we’re doing a straight-up ranking. However, Bucky is barely in this movie. While he’s present for the final battles against Thanos and Old Cap, no one has ever said, “I want to watch Avengers: Endgame to see Bucky Barnes. This exact exercise is the only time I would rank this movie this low on any list.

No, he’s not in it enough. But watch it again because you deserve to treat yourself.

However, Bucky is all over Avengers: Infinity War. His team-ups with the Wakandas and fights with the Avengers are awesome. Not only that, but his moment with Steve before disappearing is genuinely terrifying. Huge props to Sebastian Stan for shining in what could be an underappreciated role. It will always be fun to watch Rocket try to figure out a way to take Bucky’s arm. Truly a top tier moment of fan-service from the MCU.

No, but only because there are better Bucky-focused stories ahead.

While most of the team got their MCU start here, Black Widow struggles in its storytelling. The most frustrating aspects of the movie are from the “too little, too late” approach, with the character arriving years after her death in the MCU. It makes for a much tougher sell on the Black Widow character, though Florence Pugh as Yelena and David Harbour as The Red Guardian were standouts. Olga Kurylenko also makes her MCU debut here, and while the Taskmaster character is undermined by the larger story of Black Widow, the design of the villain made it an instant hit in Disney’s theme parks across the globe. Unfortunately, this is the least exciting movie for any of our cast.

Yes, but only because so many characters are already in it.

Ant-Man has always been very fun, but the casting has been iffy. However, who would have guessed that Hannah John-Kamen would matter more for the MCU’s future than Evangeline Lilly when the movie debuted? The sequel film for Marvel was mostly enjoyable, but suffered from excessive CGI and some questionable character choices. However, John-Kamen immediately stood out as a scene-stealer, and her sudden appearance in a conversation leads to the funniest joke of the franchise (“Baba Yaga…”).

Yes, it’s the introduction and only other appearance of Ghost.

Perhaps the series should have been cut down and sent to theaters, but the benefit of turning this into a show is the extra time we spent with both Bucky (Sebastian Stan) and John Walker (Wyatt Russell). We get to see the good and the bad here, which allows each actor to dig deeper into their character arcs. With moments that haunt them continuing to return in Thunderbolts*, the series clearly did its job in giving us the required background.

Yes, this is the intro of John Walker and a fun way to explore Bucky’s evolution in the MCU.

While this is a different version of the Bucky we’re used to seeing, Sebastian Stan delivers a hell of a performance. Early in The First Avenger, he’s a fun-loving, womanizing man who wants to look out for his friend. When he returns after the HYDRA experiments, he’s a changed, darker man.

Yes, Bucky’s intro to the MCU is funny and heartwrenching. It also shows a pre-Winter Soldier Bucky.

This is not only the definitive Bucky movie, but it remains one of the best in the MCU to date. Not only does it fully explore what happened to Bucky after his fall, but it also examines the horrors he’s endured. There’s something incredibly hard to watch about how Bucky is treated in this movie, and Sebastian Stan’s incredible performance helps highlight his horrors. Simply put, it’s too good to ignore, and remains the definitive ground-level MCU film to date.

Yes, Winter Soldier is one of the best MCU movies. It also reminds us that Bucky used to be a true villain.