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    Marvel Cinematic Universe

    Concept » Marvel Cinematic Universe appears in 146 issues.

    Marvel's superhero movie continuity that is shared between several major character franchises.

    Short summary describing this concept.

    Marvel Cinematic Universe appears in 146 issues
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    Marvel Cinematic Universe last edited by SlamAdams on 04/17/24 05:26PM View full history

    Production History

    Phase One: Avengers Assembled

    The Avengers assembled
    The Avengers assembled

    The Marvel Cinematic Universe first began with the movie Iron Man in 2008 in which they teased the Avengers Initiative. Iron Man, and its sequel Iron Man 2 in 2010, formally introduced S.H.I.E.L.D. and several of it agents.The next hero to receive a movie release was the Incredible Hulk (a reboot of the 2003 Hulk movie) in 2008.

    In 2011 Marvel added two more films to the continuity, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. Thor introduced Loki, with Hawkeye making a cameo appearance. In Captain America, HYDRA was introduced as was the Tesseract, which would become an important plot device in The Avengers.

    In 2012 The Avengers movie was released in which Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye were brought together by S.H.I.E.L.D. to fight an alien invasion lead by Loki and Thanos.

    Most movies in the continuity had post-credit scenes which set up future movies and story lines. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been met with commercial and critical success.

    Phase Two

    Phase Two saw the return of the Avengers, as well as the debut of several new heroes
    Phase Two saw the return of the Avengers, as well as the debut of several new heroes

    2013 saw the release of Iron Man 3, which loosely adapted the Extremis storyline, and Thor: The Dark World. In addition to featuring Malekith the Accursed as the main villain, The Dark World also introduced the Collector and the Aether. This kicked off a running subplot throughout the movies concerning the Infinity Stones.

    On September 24, 2013, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premiered on television. The show deals with a small team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, lead by agent Phil Coulson, whose job is to handle strange cases. The show has seen the introduction of other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as well as some other characters from the original Marvel universe.

    In 2014, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released. The movie saw the return of HYDRA and left S.H.I.E.L.D. in disarray, while also introducing the new hero known as the Falcon. Guardians of the Galaxy was also released introducing the team as well as the Power Stone. Though considered a serious gamble at the time, Guardians proved to be a massive hit and one of the highest grossing films of the year.

    On January 6, 2015, Agent Carter's first season started airing, during the mid-season break for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s second season. It followed the life of SSR Agent Peggy Carter in 1946 as she worked on helping Howard Stark gather his stolen weapons, and clearing his name of treason.

    In April 2015, Marvel's Daredevil premiered on Netflix. It's first season showed Matt Murdock as the vigilante known as "The Devil of Hell's Kitchen", as he attempted to save his city from Wilson Fisk.

    Next month, in May of 2015, The Avengers: Age of Ultron was released in American theaters. It featured the Avengers taking out one of the last HYDRA bases and dealing with the new threat of Ultron. The team also gained some new recruits in this movie, by the names of Pietro and Wanda Maximoff and the Vision.

    In July 2015, Ant-Man was Released in theaters, and Jessica Jones was released on Netflix November 2015..

    Phase Three

    The Phase Three lineup
    The Phase Three lineup

    In October 2014, Marvel confirmed its Phase Three slate of films.

    Phase Three will consist of:

    The announcements of Black Panther and Captain Marvel were warmly received, as the two properties will become the first MCU movies headlined by a minority actor and a woman respectively, as well as the first minority and female-led Marvel films in general since Blade: Trinity and Elektra.

    It was also confirmed that Sony's Spider-Man franchise would be incorporated into the MCU beginning with Spider-Man appearing in Civil War.

    During Phase Three, Daredevil and Jessica Jones will be followed with Luke Cage and Iron Fist, leading up to a miniseries based on the Defenders.

    In April 2014, Kevin Feige and Marvel announced they had films and storylines planned out through 2028.

    Phase 4

    During SDCC 2019, Fiege revealed the new slate for Phase 4, including integrated streaming series for Disney+.

    Phase 5

    Phase 6:

    • Fantastic Four (2024)
    • Avengers Kang Dynasty (2025)
    • Avengers Secret Wars (2025)
    • Armor Wars (Disney+)
    • Untitled Wakanda series (Disney+)
    • Spider-Man Freshman Year (Disney+) (2024) (Season 1)
    • Spider-Man Sophomore Year (Season 2)
    • Marvel Zombies (Disney+) (2024)
    • Wonder Man (Disney+)
    • Untitled Nova Series (Disney+)
    • What If...? (Season 3) (Disney+)

    8 unnamed projects (2024-25)

    Universe History

    2,500,000 BCE

    A meteorite made of vibranium landed in Africa in what would later be the nation of Wakanda.

    5000 BCE

    The Eternals are delivered to Earth by the Celestials to protect the planet.

    2987 BCE

    The Dark Elves and Malekith ruled the Nine Realms until Bor defeated them. The Dark Elves appear once every 5,000 years to unleash the Aether.

    965 CE

    Battle of Tønsberg
    Battle of Tønsberg

    The Frost Giants of Jotunheim attempt to conquer Midgard/Earth. Their invasion point in Tønsberg, Norway becomes the site of an epic battle as Asgard's ruler, Odin, leads an army to repel the invasion and protect the planet. Odin and his forces push the Frost Giants back to Jotunheim where the All Father discovers an abandoned Frost Giant infant whom he adopts, names Loki and raises as his own alongside his son, Thor. A truce is negotiated between Odin and the Jotun king, Laufey.

    1410 CE

    Odin hid the Tesseract in Norway.

    Odin tells Loki and Thor about the battle with the frost giants in Tønsberg.

    1571 CE

    Birth of Namor
    Birth of Namor

    A South American tribe suffer a plague of smallpox. A shaman discovers a plant enhanced by vibranium that could cure them. It also causes them to mutate into water breathers, forcing them to move into the ocean and start the nation of Talokan.

    Namor would be the first of them to be born underwater. As his mother was pregnant when she was treated with the plant, Namor had additional mutations including pointed ears and feathered wings on his ankle. He could also breathe under water or in the air.

    1521 CE

    The Eternals kill the last of the Deviants during the the Spanish invasion on the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. From that point on, they go their separate ways and agree not to mettle in human affairs.

    1631 CE

    Namor's mother passes away. Per her wishes, Namor brings her body out of the ocean so she could be buried in her homeland. He finds it colonized by Europeans who are mistreating the natives.

    1693 CE

    Agatha Harkness' coven turn on her, including her own mother, for practicing dark magic

    1918

    Joseph Rogers is killed in a mustard gas attack while serving with the 107th.

    (Steve Rogers) Captain America is born.

    1934

    During the Night of the Long Knives, Johann Schmidt, secretly a member of HYDRA, had his men eliminate Ernst Kaufmann and his men, taking over his special weapons program including Dr. Abraham Erskine's super soldier program

    1939

    World War II begins.

    1940

    Erskine managed a stable version of the super soldier serum. He refused to give it to Schmidt, who eventually took it by force. Erskine was imprisoned and his wife and child were sent to a concentration camp as punishment. Schmidt would take the serum, which increased his strength but deformed his appearance into that of a red skull.

    Erskine would escape and defect to the United States with the help of Secret Scientific Reserve spy, Peggy Carter.

    1941

    Howard Stark demonstrates vibranium.

    1942

    Johann Schmidt finds the Tesseract.

    The ClanDestine find a bangle in a Ten Rings temple in India that they hope will help get them to the Noor Dimension.

    1943

    A successful test of the super soldier serum was completed on volunteer, Steve Rogers. A HYDRA agent in attendance tried to retrieve the successful batch but was stopped by Rogers. Unfortunately, the agent managed to killed Pr. Erskine, who never documented the secret ingredient. Thus, Steve Rogers was the only WWII-era Allied Forces super soldier.

    1944

    Bucky falls to his presumed death
    Bucky falls to his presumed death

    Bucky Barnes was presumed killed during a mission to capture Arnim Zola. In reality, he was actually captured by agents of HYDRA, who used a series of surgeries and brainwashing regiments to begin his transformation into the Winter Soldier.

    Steve Rogers planned to take down Schmidt on his plane. Steve, the Tesseract and Schmidt's plane fell on the arctic. Steve Rogers slept for about 70 years.

    1945

    Howard Stark finds the Tesseract. World War II ends with the defeat of Japan.

    During the closing days of the war, Peggy Carter led the Howling Commandos on a raid of one of the last remaining HYDRA facilities. The Commandos recovered a Kree corpse, as well as an obelisk of seemingly alien origin.

    Months after the war, Peggy later clashed with the Zodiac organization.

    1947

    Kamala Kahn time travels from 2025 to the Partition of India, where she becomes the savior that her grandmother always told stories of.

    1951

    Nick Fury was born.

    Isaiah Bradley and Winter Soldier fought during the Korean War.

    1954

    Stark World Exposition begins and stays for the whole year.

    1963

    Anton Vanko works with Howard Stark on the Arc Reactor technology as "The Unity Project".

    1980

    An organic avatar of Ego the Living Planet visits Earth and courts Meredith Quill, fathering a son named Peter.

    1987

    Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, as Ant-Man and the Wasp, are on a special SHIELD mission to stop a Soviet missile. Janet was forced to go subatomic to bypass its titanium hull. This caused her to become stranded in the Quantum Realm

    1988

    After the death of his mother, Meredith, Peter Quill was abducted by Yondu and the Ravagers and taken into deep space.

    1989

    Carol caught in the engineer explosion
    Carol caught in the engineer explosion

    Hank Pym resigns from SHIELD after finding plans to weaponize his size changing technology.

    Carol Danvers volunteers for a test flight of a state-of-the-art engine created by Wendy Lawson. This engine got the attention of nearby alien, Yon-Rogg, who attacked. After crash landing, Wendy was revealed to be an alien and ordered Carol to destroy the engine. The resulting blast gave Carol amnesia and new superhuman abilities. She was taken by Yon-Rogg back to his home planet where she would be trained and conditioned as a super soldier for his people.

    1991

    The Winter Soldier is revived from cryogenic chamber to kill Howard and Maria Stark and steal the super soldier serum Howard was carrying.

    1992

    King T'Chaka confronts his brother, N'Jobu, in Oakland, CA. N'jobu was meant to be on a spy mission, however, he fell in love, had a child, and got involved in the political protest movements of African Americans. When T'Chaka tried to drag him back to Wakanda, he resisted and was ultimately killed for fighting back.

    1994

    The death of Battlin' Jack Murdock

    1995

    Carol Danvers crash landed back on her home planet of Earth. She would befriend SHIELD agent Nick Fury, who helped her research her past, eventually learning that the Kree had been lying to her. She would find Skrull refugees that Wendy Lawson was trying to protect and take responsibility for them.

    Avengers Initiative draft
    Avengers Initiative draft

    Nick Fury writes the first draft of The Avengers Initiative plan.

    A young Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova, living under cover in Ohio, escape the United States with their adoptive spy parents, Alexei Shostakov and Milena Vostokoff. Once back in Russia, Natasha is separated from her family and forced into the Red Room, a Russian Intelligence training program for young girls.

    1996

    Immortal Xu Wenwu comes across the spirit realm of Ta Lo and falls in love with the guardian of the entrance, Ying Li. The two would eventually have 2 children together, Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing

    The death of Randall Spector, which ruined the relationship between Marc Spector and his mother, causing Marc's personality to split into three distinct identities.

    1997

    Frank Castle enlists in the United States Marine Corps

    1998

    The Skrull Varra meets Nick Fury, her future husband, in a diner in disguise as Priscilla Davis.

    1999

    Iryna and Olek Maximoff are killed in a bombing in Sokovia by Stark Enterprise ordinance, orphaning Wanda and Pietro Maximoff.

    At the 1999/2000 new years eve celebration, Tony Stark met Maya Hansen and Aldrich Killian who is a handicapped scientist for A.I.M. Maya tells Tony she is working on the Extremis project. He also meets Dr. Yinsen Ho, his future co-captor of the Ten Rings.

    2000

    Maya and Aldrich work together to upgrade Extremis after they are both blown off by Tony Stark.

    The Jones family are in a car accident with daughter, Jessica, reportedly the only survivor.

    2001

    Danny Rand survives the crash
    Danny Rand survives the crash

    Thaddeus Ross convinced the military to reincarnate the Bio Force Enhancement Project inspired from Project Rebirth on World War II. Bruce and Betty work on the project for 3 years.

    A Rand Enterprise private jet goes down in the Himalayas. Neither Wendell or Heather Rand survived, but their son Danny is taken in by mystic monks and trained in martial arts.

    2004

    Bruce Banner tested gamma radiation on the same super soldier serum that Steve Rogers used. This causes him to become The Hulk, injuring his girlfriend, Betty Ross. Bruce Banner was mistaken as a "green sasquatch" by local Canadians.

    2007

    Ying Li was killed by a rival gang of her husband, forcing Wenwu to grow bitter and vengeful.

    Maya Lopez is in a car accident that causes her to lose a leg.

    2008

    Clint Barton flips Russian spy, Natasha Romanoff, who starts working for SHIELD. To prove her loyalty to SHIELD, she was ordered to assassinate Dreykov, the overseer of the Red Room. Natasha used a bomb, which mistakenly also reportedly killed Dreykov's daughter.

    2009

    Stark held captive
    Stark held captive

    Tony Stark was captured by a terrorist group in Afghanistan known as the Ten Rings. Yinsen helped Tony work on an armor so Tony can get back to America.

    Bruce Banner met Nick Fury who was disguised in a bar. Bruce Banner retreated to Rio de Janeiro to work on a cure, with internet help from Samuel Sterns. Nick Fury declared that Hulk is a minor threat.

    Tony Stark battled Iron Monger and declared that he is Iron Man to the public. Nick Fury later approaches Tony and invited him to join the Avengers Initiative. Tony declined the offer. Nick Fury sent Natasha Romanoff undercover to keep an eye on Tony.

    2010

    Bruce Banner mistakenly left a hint of his blood on a soda bottle, when he sent a sample to Samuel Sterns to work on a cure. General Ross' armies traced Bruce to the soda factory. Bruce Banner makes his way to Culver University.

    Jane Foster found an aurora in New Mexico.

    Stark realizes that other countries are using his technology. Stark names Pepper Potts as the new CEO of Stark Industries.

    2011

    Cap's frozen body found
    Cap's frozen body found

    Captain America's crash site was discovered by an oil team. Steve Rogers was thawed and sent to New York City. Steve wakes up and escapes from a S.H.I.E.L.D. building. He was stopped by Nick Fury. Nick Fury told Steve he had been asleep for almost 70 years.

    Hawkeye was assigned to PEGASUS to help Selvig work on the Tesseract.

    Thor was banished to Earth after almost renewing war with the Frost Giants, and Odin enchanted his hammer with a spell that the wielder must be worthy of Thor's powers. On Earth, Thor met and fell in love with Jane Foster. With help from Sif and the Warriors Three, Thor managed to unravel a plot by Loki and defeat the Destroyer. Loki was believed dead after falling into a void below the Bifrost Bridge.

    2012

    Loki activated the Tesseract with the help of The Other and Thanos, and was given command of the Chitauri military. Nick Fury activated the Avengers Initiative to battle the alien invasion after Coulson died at the hands of Loki.

    Coulson was later revived by S.H.I.E.L.D. through Project: Tahiti. During the Battle of New York, Col. James Rhodes used the War Machine armor to combat the Ten Rings in China.

    After sending a bomb to the Chitauri's mothership, Tony Stark suffered PSTD. Extremis discharges happened at various locations including California, claimed to be attacks by Mandarin (a persona of Wenwu's which Aldrich Killian thought was a myth. He was portrayed by Trevor Slattery, a British drug addict and actor).

    Loki and Thor returned to Asgard and gave the Tesseract to Heimdall. With the Tesseract, Heimdall fixed the Bifrost bridge.

    2013

    Stark's heart surgery
    Stark's heart surgery

    Tony Stark undergoes surgery to remove the shrapnel from his chest. Afterward, he will only need the chest arc reactor to power the suit.

    A revived Phil Coulson was tasked with heading up a new S.H.I.E.L.D. team and recruited the mysterious hacker Skye.

    After Malekith's death, Sif and Volstagg gave the Aether to Taneleer Tivan, The Collector because the Tesseract was already returned to Asgard. It would be very unwise to keep both Infinity Stones at the same place.

    2014

    Trevor Slattery is kidnapped from prison by men working for Wenwu, the real "Mandarin."

    Project Insight destroyed
    Project Insight destroyed

    Alexander Pierce was revealed to be a a mole working for HYDRA, who had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. in the decades since the end of World War II. With help from the Winter Soldier, Pierce attempted to use a new fleet of Helicarriers to take over the world, but was stopped by Steve Rogers, Nick Fury, Natasha Romanoff, and their new ally, Sam Wilson (The Falcon). Rogers and Wilson later headed off for parts unknown to track down the Winter Soldier, while Romanoff went into hiding.

    During this time, Baron von Strucker was revealed to be the new leader of HYDRA, with teenagers Pietro and Wanda Maximoff working as volunteers for his genetic experiments. Strucker was also shown to be in possession of Loki's staff.

    Phil Coulson and his team later succeeded in taking down another HYDRA cell led by John Garrett, which had tried to sell Deathlok technology to the military as part of a plan to conquer the United States. Agent Grant Ward was also revealed to be a HYDRA sleeper, and was defeated by Melinda May.

    Nick Fury tasked Phil Coulson and his team with rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. while Fury went to Europe on a covert mission to eradicate the remaining HYDRA cells.

    After the official dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D., Maria Hill began working with Tony Stark on a new plan to protect the world by using the Avengers and Stark's Iron Legion drones.

    Guardians use the Power Stone
    Guardians use the Power Stone

    After a peace treaty was signed between the Kree and the people of Xandar, Ronan the Accuser partnered with Nebula and Gamora to find a rare silver orb for their father, Thanos, who agreed to wipe out Xandar in exchange for the orb. After Ronan discovered that the sphere contained one of the Infinity Stones, he attempted to kill Thanos and wipe out Xandar by himself. Gamora betrayed Ronan and partnered with a now adult Peter Quill to form the Guardians of the Galaxy, who killed Ronan and turned over the Stone to Nova Corp leader Irani Rael.

    A new HYDRA cell led by Daniel Whitehall later emerged. The group was soon infiltrated by Bobbi Morse and Jemma Simmons, but not before a mission to retrieve an alien obelisk resulted in the death of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Isabelle Hartley and Idaho.

    During a skirmish with HYDRA and Dr. Calvin Zabo, Skye was revealed to be Zabo's daughter, Daisy Johnson. She was also revealed to possess Inhuman heritage, which manifested when she underwent Terrigenesis.

    Reva Connors, wife of Luke Cage, is killed by Jessica Jones, who was being mind controlled by Killgrave.

    Yondu dies
    Yondu dies

    Ego finds Peter Quill after he makes a name for himself saving Xandar and holding an Infinity Stone. He invites the Guardians back to his planet, so that he could take advantage of the power Peter inherited from him for his ultimate goal of taking over the universe. After admitting to Peter that he was responsible for Meredith's cancer, Peter turned on Ego.

    Yondu dies rescuing Peter from Ego.

    Mantis joins the Guardians

    Shang-Chi would be tasked by his father with killing the leader of the Iron Gang in retribution for the death of Shang's mother. After he completed the mission, he did not return home. Instead, he fled to the United States and attempted to start a new life.

    2015

    Matt Murdock crafts the Daredevil identity to protect Hell's Kitchen from various organized criminals, including Wilson Fisk, The Kingpin, who was arrested.

    Aftermath in Sokovia
    Aftermath in Sokovia

    The Avengers assemble for a second time to clean up the remaining Hydra cells after the fall of SHIELD. They re-retrieve Loki's scepter and find the Mind Infinity Stone within it. Stark and Banner use the stone to complete their A.I. weapon and potential Avengers replacement, Ultron. However, Ultron sees humanity's violent nature as futile and decides to end the world, forcing the Avengers to stop him. In the process, the country of Sokovia takes heavy damage.

    Vision is born by downloading the JARVIS A.I. into Ultron's final body and adding the Mind Stone to his circuitry. The Avengers move to a compound upstate. The Hulk flies a quinjet into space and through a wormhole, landing in Sakaar.

    Killgrave resurfaces in New York City, throwing Jessica Jones' life into turmoil. Ultimately, she breaks his neck.

    Scott and Hank work together
    Scott and Hank work together

    Scott Lang is released from prison and recruited by Hank Pym to be the new Ant-Man. Together, they plan on stealing Pym's size changing technology from Pym's protegee who seeks to sell it to the highest bidder, including terrorists.

    Lang is forced to shrink too small to disarm the Yellowjacket armor and gets lost in the Quantum Realm. Using a size changing disc, he is able to jury rig the suit to return him to his home realm.

    Frank Castle's wife and two children are gunned down.

    Elektra is killed and resurrected by The Hand.

    Cottonmouth is killed, and his business is taken over by Black Mariah and Shades

    2016

    Sokovia Accords
    Sokovia Accords

    Doctor Stephen Strange injures his hands beyond medical repair and seeks out a magical cure. He studies at Kamar-Taj, a safe haven for sorcerers, eventually becoming one of their strongest magic users.

    Danny Rand resurfaces in New York with superpowers after being assumed dead

    The Sokovia Accords are drawn up by the United Nations, with special consideration from the reclusive country of Wakanda, which would force The Avengers to work with the United Nation before any attempts to defend the planet.

    Defenders
    Defenders

    The Avengers are splintered over whether to agree to the Sokovia Accords, causing a violent confrontation. Cap, Falcon, Widow, and Wanda end up as fugitives. Hawkeye and Ant-Man take plea deals that put them under house arrest. Rhodey is paralyzed from the waist down. Spider-Man is recruited as a reserve Avenger by Stark.

    When The Hand tries to get a foothold in New York City, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist team up as the Defenders to stop them.

    While on the run, Black Widow reunites with her old undercover family to take down the Red Room and free all the Black Widow trainees. Dreykov's daughter is revealed to be alive as the super solider, Taskmaster.

    2017

    Spider-Man proves himself to Stark by foiling an attempted heist on the final pieces of Stark tech being moved from Stark Tower to the Avengers Compound.

    Mjolnir destroyed
    Mjolnir destroyed

    Aunt May, Ned Leeds, and The Vulture learn Peter Parker is actually Spider-Man

    After the death of Odin, the spell that imprisoned Hela, Odin's bloodthirsty first born, was broken. Hela quickly took over Asgard, destroyed Mjolnir, and exiled Thor and Loki. Thor and Loki ended up on Sakaar, a planet where all lost things end up. There, they find the last Valkyrie and the long lost Hulk. Together, they escape the planet and evacuate Asgard before it falls to Ragnarok.

    Killmonger challenges T'Challa to a fight for leadership and nearly kills T'Challa. With the help of the Jabari tribe, T'Challa is able to rally and lead a revolt against the false ruler. Before he has a chance, Killmonger manages to burn all but one heart shaped herb, the source of the Panther's power.

    2018

    Scott Lang begins sharing visions with Janet Van Dyne after connecting to her in the Quantum Realm. He reaches out to Hank and Hope, who were forced to go on the run due to the Sokovia Accords. Despite his house arrest, he helps them devise a way to rescue Janet.

    Thanos with his first stone
    Thanos with his first stone

    Thanos and his generals, The Black Order, make their final play for the Infinity Stones. He steals the Power Stone from the Nova Corps, and he steals the Space Stone from Loki aboard the Asgardian evacuation ship. Valkyrie gets many of the Asgardians to safety, however Heimdell and Loki are killed and Thor is left for dead.

    Thor is rescued by the Guardians of the Galaxy, who strategize and split up. Rocket and Groot take Thor to get a new hammer, while the rest go to Knowhere to protect the Reality Stone. Thanos got their first taking the Reality Stone and Gamora. Thanos then killed Gamora as the sacrifice needed to get the Soul Stone.

    Thanos beat Stark
    Thanos beat Stark

    The Black Order went to Earth to retrieve the Time Stone and the Mind Stone. Two of the generals attacked Doctor Strange, who was protected by Iron Man and Spider-Man. When Strange was abducted, Stark and Spidey stowed away on the alien craft to rescue him. They crossed paths with the Guardians and set a trap for Thanos on his homeworld, Titan. After Thanos had beat all of them and was about to kill Stark, Strange traded the Time Stone for Stark's life.

    Two of the other generals tracked Vision to London where he was with Wanda. They were protected by Cap, Widow, and Falcon. After fighting off the Black Order, the outlaw Avengers reunited with Rhodey and Banner and made their stand behind Wakanda's defenses. Once their defenses were depleted, including Thor who teleported to Earth, Thanos ripped the Mind Stone from Vision's forehead. He snapped his fingers de-materializing half of all life in the universe.

    Thanos snaps
    Thanos snaps

    Scott Lang volunteered to enter the Quantum Realm to take data readings for the Pyms, however, Hope, Janet, and Hank were de-materialized by the snap, trapping Lang in the Quantum Realm with no one to recall him.

    Clint Barton was having lunch with his family at his farmhouse, while he was under house arrest, when his entire family was de-materialized by the snap.

    Nick Fury was assessing the situation in Wakanda and New York with Maria Hill when people around them started de-materializing. Before it happened to him, Fury used his special communicator to send an SOS to Carol Danvers. The remaining Avengers recovered Fury's device and waited for someone to answer. When Danvers arrived, Rocket gave her a way to track the Guardians ship for possible survivors, saving Stark and Nebula, the only two heroes in space to survive the snap.

    Captain Marvel transmitter
    Captain Marvel transmitter

    The Avengers, with Danvers, Nebula, and Rocket, track Thanos to a planet where he retired. They intended to steal the stones and use them to bring everyone back. Unfortunately, Thanos used the stones to destroy the stones.

    Thanos was beheaded by Thor. The Avengers disbanded for five years

    2023

    Widow's sacrifice
    Widow's sacrifice

    A rat accidentally activates the quantum tunnel, releasing Scott Lang from the Quantum Realm. While the outside world experienced five years, Scott only experienced five hours. Inspired to make a time machine, the Avengers reunited to retrieve variations of the Infinity Stones from their shared history, bring them to the present, use them to bring everyone back, and then return the stones to their respective places.

    Black Widow sacrifices herself for the Soul Stone. Hulk volunteers to use the stone to bring everyone back, believing he was the only one strong enough to survive their power.

    A variant of Thanos and his army follows the Avengers back to the present, fighting to ensure his victory. Stark uses the six stones to de-materialize Thanos and his army at the expense of his own life.

    Cap chooses Falcon as his replacement
    Cap chooses Falcon as his replacement

    Captain America volunteers to return the stones by himself but decides to stay in the past and live a life with Peggy Carter. In the present, Steve as an old man visits the time machine and chooses Falcon to take over as Captain America.

    Wanda receives a gift from Vision post-mortem. Vision had bought a plot of land in the suburbs and planned to build a house for the two of them to turn into a home. In her grief, Wanda uses her magic to turn the entire town into a sitcom happy place.

    Monica Rambeau develops light-based powers after exposure to Wanda's magic. Vision's body, repaired by Rambeau's agency, SWORD, is revived also from exposure to Wanda's magic. He has none of Vision's memories or personality. His whereabouts are currently unknown.

    Wanda is revealed by rival witch, Agatha Harkness, to be the prophecized Scarlet Witch, a being with an innate, natural ability to spellcast.

    2024

    Wenwu dies reviving the Dweller, a dark force which had tricked Wenwu into thinking it was Wenwu's dead wife. His last act was to grant his Ten Ring weapons to his son, Shang-Chi. His daughter, Xu Xialing, takes over the Ten Rings organization.

    Aftermath of an extrajudicial killing
    Aftermath of an extrajudicial killing

    John Walker was announced as the US government’s choice for the new Captain America until he was recorded in public beating a suspect to death with the shield. Sam Wilson, who was initially hesitant of taking the role, finally embraces the mantle of Captain America.

    Spider-Man’s identity as Peter Parker is outed by Mysterio on the internet just as he is dying.

    Jennifer Walters is driving with her cousin, Bruce Banner, when they get into a bad car wreck. Banner is injured, and Jessica is exposed to his blood becoming a gamma mutate. Banner takes her to an island refuge set up by Stark so she could learn to control her powers.

    Tiamut
    Tiamut

    Tiamut the Communicator, the Celestial incubating at the center of the Earth, begins to rise out of the Earth. Its rise is stopped by the Eternals, who didn’t want the planet destroyed. Part of its hand and head are currently sticking out of the planet.

    Peter Parker asks Doctor Strange for help erasing the world’s memory of his identity, but the spell goes wrong and breaks through the multiverse. Two variants of Peter Parker as well as some of the villains they had faced are brought to the main timeline.

    Wong is revealed to be the new Sorcerer Supreme

    Aunt May is killed by a variant of the Green Goblin. To restabilize the multiverse, Peter had Strange re-do the spell without any exceptions for the friends and family that Peter originally wanted to remember.

    Scarlet Witch temple on Wundagore Mountain
    Scarlet Witch temple on Wundagore Mountain

    America Chavez is chased into the main timeline by agents of the Scarlet Witch. Wanda wanted to use her powers to find variants of herself who had children. Doctor Strange protected America and eventually finds her a home in Kamar-Taj

    Wanda seemingly dies at the Scarlet Witch temple on Wundagore Mountain.

    During the week of Christmas, Hawkeye meets his number one fan, Kate Bishop, who helps him retrieve the Ronin costume and a SHIELD spy-watch that were recovered from the Avengers Compound rubble and sold on the black market.

    2025

    She-Hulk’s powers interfere with her job as a lawyer. She is eventually hired by a law firm that wants her to specialize in superhuman cases.

    T’Challa dies from an “incurable disease.”

    Namor vs Shuri
    Namor vs Shuri

    Riri Williams creates a vibranium tracking prototype in college which is stolen by the US government. This gets her the attention of both Wakanda and Talokan, an underwater civilization with their own vibranium stockpile. Talokan wants her dead, but Wakanda offers to protect her.

    Ramonda is killed by Namor, King of Talokan.

    Shuri makes a breakthrough on genetically modifying a new strain of the heart shaped herb. She uses it to become the new Black Panther and take a stand against Namor.

    Wilson Fisk considers a mayoral campaign

    Kamala Khan finds an heirloom of her grandmother, which turns out to be a Quantum Band. She manifests light based powers and is investigated by Damage Control.

    Jane Foster is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She investigates using Norse magic for a cure, and the broken Mjolnir reassembles to protect her.

    Gorr meets Eternity
    Gorr meets Eternity

    Jane Foster and Thor team up against Gorr the God-Butcher. When he gets a single wish from Eternity, Jane convinces him to revive his daughter rather than end the lives of all the gods. Thor promised to care for her, since Gorr was already dying.

    Elsa Bloodstone wins her late father’s power source, the bloodgem, after a competitive monster hunt.

    The Guardians of the Galaxy buy Knowhere from The Collector to turn it into a refuge for lost space travelers and their new headquarters.

    For Christmas, Drax and Mantis go to Earth to abduct Kevin Bacon, Quill’s favorite actor, as a Christmas gift. Mantis reveals to Quill that they are half-siblings, since Ego is also her father.

    2026

    Confronted by Kang
    Confronted by Kang

    Scott Lang and his family are pulled into the Quantum Realm after Hank and Cassie Lang, Scott’s daughter, send probes into the realm to continue studying it. A multiversal warlord known as Kang the Conqueror had been exiled to the Quantum Realm and wanted to use the Pym’s technology to escape. He failed and died in the process.

    Star-Lord, Mantis, Drax, and Nebula quit the Guardians. Drax and Nebula decided to focus on the refuge they created at Knowhere. Mantis went on a journey of self-discovery, and Star-Lord returned to Earth to reunite with his grandfather.

    Maria Hill is killed by a Skrull terrorist. Talos is also killed trying to save the US President from Skrull separatists. After the attack, the President of the US outlaws all aliens inside US borders.

    G’iah, daughter of Talos, injects herself with the Harvest, a SHIELD genetic library of every superhuman at the Battle of Avengers Compound.

    Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan’s light based powers become entangled when Kree nationalists start manipulating galactic jump points with the Quantum Band that pairs with Kamala’s. While fixing a jump point, Monica becomes trapped in an alternate reality.

    Rights Issues

    Due to the fact that 20th Century Fox and Sony were making licensed Marvel movies well before Marvel started making its own films, a number of properties are deemed off-limits to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Among the most prominent would be the X-Men and Fantastic Four, as well as most characters associated with them. Director James Gunn has also stated that the Badoon are off-limits as well, thanks to having their film rights owned by Fox. Any and all Spider-Man characters are also barred from appearing, thanks to Sony producing the Spider-Man films. The films are also forbidden from reference the term "Mutants", which is why Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. developed the term "Gifted" to describe people with superpowers.

    Curiously, there are a select few characters who thanks to murky legal statuses, can be used by both studios. Quicksilver appeared in both Fox's X-Men: Days of Future Past and Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron, in both cases played by completely different actors and with completely different roles. This is often chalked up to the fact that despite primarily being associated with the Avengers, the hero originated during the Silver Age X-Men run. Film rights to the Skrulls are also confirmed to be owned by both studios.

    Rights to the Daredevil franchise were previously owned by Fox, but the rights reverted to Marvel after Fox failed to enter a reboot into production before the designated deadline. This meant that film makers behind The Wolverine were forced to abandon plans to use The Hand, and instead opted to use a similar group of ninja known as the Black Clan. In 2015, Marvel will be rebooting the character by introducing their own version of Daredevil in a live-action mini-series show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Netflix. A similar fate nearly befell the Fantastic Four, but Fox was able to start production on the reboot, The Fantastic Four, in time to block Marvel's attempt to regain the property.

    There were plans for Sony and Marvel to crossover their universes by having the Oscorp building from The Amazing Spider-Man appear in The Avengers, but this idea never made it to fruition.

    It has been widely suggested by many (including longtime X-Men writer Chris Claremont) that Disney's sudden interest in the Inhumans was spurred by their desire to create substitutes in the MCU for mutants, and that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch may be depicted as Inhumans in Marvel's films.

    On December 14, 2017, it was announced that Disney would be acquiring the film and television studios owned by 20th Century Fox (now just called 20th Century Studios under Disney's corporate structure). This meant Marvel properties licensed by 20th Century Fox, specifically X-Men, Deadpool, and the Fantastic Four, would now be available to be used as part of the shared canon.

    Non-MCU Marvel Movies Canonized

    Many of the movies that came before the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been treated like separate universes within a Marvel Cinematic Multiverse.

    • J.K. Simmons reprises his role as J.J. Jameson in Spider-Man: Far From Home
    • Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, and Thomas Haden Church reprise their roles from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy in Spider-Man: No Way Home
    • Andrew Garfield, Jamie Foxx, and Rhys Ifans reprise their roles from the Amazing Spider-Man movies in Spider-Man: No Way Home
    • Tom Hardy cameos as Eddie Brock and the voice of Venom from Sony's solo Venom movies in Spider-Man: No Way Home
    • Michael Keaton reprises his MCU role of The Vulture in Non-MCU movie, Morbius
    • Patrick Stewart reprises his role as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
    • Donald Glover reprises his MCU role of The Prowler in the mostly animated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Also included are references to the Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, the Amazing Spider-Man movies, and Spider-Man: No Way Home
    • Kelsey Grammar reprises as the voice of a CGI Beast in The Marvels.
    • Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman reprise their X-Men franchise roles in Deadpool & Wolverine, which is expected to feature many more cameos from Marvel movies produced by Fox.

    Principal Players

    Cast members in the MCU include:

    The cast of Age of Ultron
    The cast of Age of Ultron
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