7 Marvel’s best Disney+ shows that took the MCU to the next level

Marvel didn’t use Disney+ just to pad out the timeline. The studio used it to shift the entire direction of the MCU. Each series focused on stories that needed more time than a two-hour movie could give. Wanda’s pain. Loki’s search for purpose. Sam Wilson deciding whether to take up the shield. These were not side plots. These were core pieces of the bigger picture.

The shows also brought in new faces who were not just passing through. Kamala Khan became a fan favorite in six episodes. Kate Bishop showed she could stand on her own. Moon Knight arrived with a story that stayed in its own lane but still felt like it mattered. These characters will likely carry parts of the MCU forward.

Disney Plus gave Marvel the room to slow down and actually tell stories with weight. Some shows deepened the old characters. Some laid the groundwork for what’s next. Others opened up timelines that were never even mentioned in the earlier phases.

This wasn’t a bonus round. This was the next step. Here are seven Marvel shows that didn’t just fill space. They helped turn the MCU into something bigger than it was before.

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7 Marvel’s best Disney+ shows that took the MCU to the next level

1) WandaVision

WandaVision opened Marvel’s Disney+ chapter with something bold. Each episode used the style of a different TV era to show Wanda’s mental collapse. That approach wasn’t just stylistic. It showed how Wanda built a fake world to deal with Vision’s death and her growing powers.

The show also introduced big pieces of Marvel lore. Chaos Magic became canon. White Vision was created and left unresolved. The agency S.W.O.R.D. made its live-action debut. Every part of this story had consequences beyond just one town.

The finale confirmed Wanda’s transformation into the Scarlet Witch. That moment set her up as a powerful threat in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. WandaVision didn’t waste time with filler. It explored grief and identity through the lens of a superhero. This wasn’t just a soft launch. It changed the rules for how Marvel tells stories and how deep it can go with character arcs.

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2) Loki

Loki took one of the MCU’s most familiar characters and dropped him into an entirely new world. It introduced the Time Variance Authority, a group that controls reality itself. Loki had just escaped with the Tesseract. Now he was stuck in a system where his actions didn’t matter.

The series used that concept to reveal the Sacred Timeline and expose a lie about who keeps time in order. He Who Remains entered the picture as a variant of Kang the Conqueror. His death caused the multiverse to split wide open.

Loki grew past his old tricks. He went from a selfish survivor to someone who wanted purpose. The show closed with him separated from Sylvie and stranded in a broken timeline. Loki didn’t just explore multiverse rules. It changed them. This series started the thread that leads directly to Marvel’s next big villain and shaped the foundation for the next two Avengers films.

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3) The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier picked up right after Steve Rogers passed the shield to Sam Wilson. Sam gave it up at first, and that choice created a political vacuum. The world wanted a new Captain America. John Walker filled that space, but his version of the role came with blood.

The show also brought Isaiah Bradley into the MCU. His backstory as a forgotten super soldier exposed dark truths about government cover-ups. The Flag Smashers pushed the story into global politics. Sam eventually reclaimed the shield and made it clear he would define the role on his own terms. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier didn’t just change who held the shield. It changed what it meant.

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4) Ms. Marvel

Ms. Marvel introduced Kamala Khan as a high schooler obsessed with Captain Marvel. Her powers came from a bangle passed down through her family. The show used this change to connect her origin to hidden history and cultural identity.

Kamala’s journey took her from New Jersey to Karachi. Along the way, she learned about her family’s past during the Partition of India. She discovered her powers weren’t random. They were tied to the Noor Dimension and her lineage.

The final episode mentioned a mutation in Kamala’s DNA. That line quietly confirmed she was Marvel’s first mutant in the MCU. This connection laid the groundwork for future X-Men stories. Kamala ended the series by switching places with Carol Danvers in a post-credit scene. Ms. Marvel didn’t just add a teen hero. It introduced real-world history and redefined what it means to have powers in a franchise built on legacy.

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5) Moon Knight

Moon Knight told the story of Marc Spector, a mercenary with dissociative identity disorder. The show also introduced his alternate personality, Steven Grant. Both men shared one body, and both were tied to Khonshu, an Egyptian god who made Marc his avatar.

The show stayed outside the usual MCU events. It focused on internal battles and ancient mythology. The action moved from London to Egypt and eventually into the afterlife. It also revealed a third personality, Jake Lockley, who made his move in the final moments.

Oscar Isaac played every version of the character with a sharp contrast. Each identity had its own role in the story. The show didn’t mention the Avengers or tie into bigger crossovers. That choice worked. It proved Marvel could tell a tight and focused story without needing every connection. Moon Knight expanded the supernatural side of the MCU and left the door wide open for more.

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6) What If...?

What If...? turned Marvel history upside down. It explored what would happen if one moment in the timeline changed. The show used animation to jump across alternate realities without being tied to live-action events.

Each episode focused on one twist. Peggy Carter took the super soldier serum. T’Challa was abducted by Yondu instead of Peter Quill. Ultron won and wiped out most of the Avengers. These versions of familiar characters played out different outcomes that added depth to the MCU’s multiverse.

The show built toward a final clash. The Watcher had to intervene when an Infinity Stone-powered Ultron became a threat to every universe. It ended with the Guardians of the Multiverse saving all of reality. What If...? didn’t just reimagine heroes. It showed that any possibility could exist. That idea became a major part of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The show made those chaotic stories easier to accept.

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7) Hawkeye

Hawkeye picks up with Clint Barton trying to enjoy a quiet Christmas. Instead, he got pulled into a mess after Kate Bishop wore his old Ronin suit. That costume brought enemies from his past back into the picture.

The show explored Clint’s guilt about Natasha’s death and his time as a violent vigilante. It also made his hearing loss part of the story, adding real consequences to years of battle. Kate quickly proved she could hold her own. Her curiosity and stubbornness pulled Clint out of isolation.

The show also brought back Kingpin from Netflix’s Daredevil. That move officially folded him into the MCU. Hawkeye stayed on the street level. No portals. No multiverse. Just real people with real stakes. It ended with Kate earning Clint’s respect and a possible new identity as the next Hawkeye. The series passed the torch while giving Clint the grounded exit his character deserved.

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