Plan on rewatching the MCU anytime soon? We have a new rewatch series for you to use and rearrange the whole timeline based on the chronological events of the series.
For any fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe [MCU], starting from scratch or rewatching the series can be quite the undertaking. As of 2023, there have been 33 official films released and the MCU has begun the expansion of not only the main films and shows in the overarching story, but other Marvel media that connect to the main story through the multiverse. Here at Nerd Union, we want to present the ultimate watch guide for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, specifically a chronological order of events within the films. First up, is rearranging the theatrical releases of Phase One, while adding a film from Phase Three – into what we will call Nerd Union’s MCU Guide, Part 1 – for optimal storyline flow when viewing.
Chronological Events within the MCU, Part 1
1. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
2. Captain Marvel (2019) – [save mid credit scene for Part 3]
3. Iron Man (2008)
4. The Incredible Hulk (2008) – [could also be watched as 5. or 6.]
5. Iron Man 2 (2010) – [could also be watched as 4. back-to-back with the first Iron Man or 6. after all the main heroes for The Avengers are introduced]
6. Thor (2011) – [could also be watched as 5. if wanting to watch all The Avengers origins in a row before watching the Iron Man 2 sequel]
7. The Avengers (2012)
The theatrical releases of Phase 1 create such a wonderful setup to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as a really great self-contained story arc. They serves as an introduction to some of the biggest players in this franchise along with some absolutely wonderful supporting characters and villains, most storylines culminating in The Avengers (2012). Adding Captain Marvel (2019) to the mix actually helps strengthen the foundations and through-lines of strong, independent women absolutely owning their convictions and abilities in a genre that has historically been dominated by men. Having this addition from Phase 3 round out Nerd Union’s MCU Guide, Part 1 is cemented further by key characters Nick Fury and Phil Coulson really driving this section as regular human beings who are also expertly trained S.H.I.E.LD. agents. These two are pretty much the glue building all these movies into a solid arc responsible for bringing these heroes together.
**IMPORTANT: pivotal recurring themes are noted in BOLD & ITALICS**
1. Captain America: The First Avenger. TIME SPAN: 1942 – 1945, 2011
SUPERHERO: Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America
STRATEGIC SCIENTIFIC RESERVE: Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter; Dominic Cooper as inventor Howard Stark; Tommy Lee Jones as Col. Chester Phillips; Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine
HYRDA: Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt / Red Skull; Toby Jones as Dr. Arnim Zola
HOWLING COMMANDOS: Sebastian Stan as Sergeant James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes;
Neal McDonough as Timothy ‘Dum Dum’ Dugan; Derek Luke as Gabe Jones; Kenneth Choi as Jim Morita;
JJ Feild as James Montgomery Falsworth; Bruno Ricci as Jacques Dernier
S.H.I.E.L.D.: Samuel L. Jackson as Director Nick Fury
The bulk of this story takes place during World War II. The war introduces best friends Steve Rogers and Sergeant James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, Dr. Abraham Erskine, Agent Peggy Carter, Colonel Chester Phillips, and genius inventor Howard Stark versus evil physicist Johann Schmidt [A.K.A. the Red Skull] and accomplice Dr. Arnim Zola. Steve Rogers is recruited by SSR geneticist Dr. Abraham Erskine to be part of a super soldier program, which successfully enhances Steve Rogers with super strength. Johann Schmidt finds the Tesseract, housing an infinity stone known as the space stone, which he and Arnim Zola use for experiments through a Nazi science division called Hydra. Another group formed in this story are the Howling Commandos, a group of POW soldiers saved in the first mission Steve Rogers mounts as Captain America to rescue his best friend “Bucky” Barnes; they join Captain America in covert missions against Hydra and the Nazi’s. During one of the Howling Commandos’ missions, the team infiltrates a train and capture Zola … but this gain is immediately undermined by the loss of Bucky, when he falls from the deadly height of the train tracks spanning a bridge through the Austrian Alps.
Steve soon realizes that Schmidt has been corrupted by an earlier version of the super serum – which has caused the skin of Schmidt’s face to be warped into pure red, embracing the moniker “Red Skull” – and is planning a huge attack on major U.S. cities. Steve ends up being the sole member to board the team’s plane in an effort to stop the Red Skull. During the fight, the Red Skull tries to wield the Tesseract but instead a wormhole opens, zapping the evil Hydra leader away to somewhere in space. The Tesseract then phases through the bottom of the plane, landing in the ocean. Steve discovers the controls in the plane have been destroyed, making it impossible for him to stop the plane. True to Captain America’s nobility, Steve sacrifices himself by flying the plane into the freezing waters of the arctic.
Flashing forward to the year 2011, Steve Rogers wakes up and realizes he is NOT in his proper time. S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury arrives to tell him that he had been asleep for almost 70 years.
*Summary Note: With most of this taking place in the 1940’s, it serves as a great beginning to this huge world Marvel is establishing.
2. Captain Marvel. TIME SPAN: 1989, 1995, 2018
SUPERHERO: Brie Larson as Fighter Pilot Carol “Avenger” Danvers / Vers / Captain Marvel
KREE: Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser – who is employing fellow Kree in STARFORCE: Jude Law as Yon-Rogg; Djimon Hounsou as Korath; Gemma Chan as Minn-Erva
S.H.I.E.L.D.: Samuel L. Jackson as Agent Nick Fury; Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson
AIR FORCE PROJECT PEGASUS: Annette Bening as rebel Kree Mar-Vell / Dr. Wendy Lawson (Bening also embodies the Supreme Intelligence when appearing to Carol Danvers / Vers)
Lashana Lynch as Fighter Pilot Maria “Photon” Rambeau (Maria’s daughter, Monica Rambeau, is played by Azari Akbar at five-years-old and Akira Akbar at eleven-years-old)
SKRULL: Ben Mendelsohn as Talos
Theatrically released in Phase 3 of the MCU, audiences are introduced to the characters of Carol Danvers (or Vers), a young Nick Fury (who is still just an agent), and his partner Agent Phil Coulson.
In flashbacks to 1989, Dr. Wendy Lawson (later revealed as Kree defector Mar-Vell) is introduced alongside Maria Rambeau and her daughter Monica Rambeau; in 1995, the Rambeau’s recognize Vers as Carol Danvers, even though Vers doesn’t initially remember her best friend or little buddy. Vers believes she is Kree and has been working for 6 years with fellow Kree Starforce teammates Yon-Rogg (who also serves as Vers’ mentor) and Korath in service to the Kree Empire under Ronan the Accuser. This faction are on a mission to stamp out Skrulls, an alien race demonized for being shapeshifters, which leads Vers into multiple interactions with Talos, a Skrull who is ambiguously motivated.
This has a great origin story for Captain Marvel and – if watching in chronological order – the first film to show off a much bigger universe within the MCU. When Vers makes her way to Earth, she uncovers that the supposedly dangerous Skrulls that the Krees have been hunting are actually refugees desperately looking for a new home. In addition to this discovery, Vers learns she is Air Force Pilot Carol “Avenger” Danvers from Earth and she only gained her powers in 1989 from an advanced fighter jet/spacecraft called the Pegasus, powered by the Tesseract which has been retrieved from the ocean since 1945, when she absorbed the Tesseract energy after being shot down by the Kree Yon-Rogg while she was piloting the craft. Yon-Rogg kidnaps the now amnesiac and uber powerful Carol Danvers, keeps her in outer space under the ruse of being a Kree named Vers, and proceeds to gaslight her for 6 years anytime vague memories of life on Earth surface in her dreams. After recovering her memories, Carol Danvers defeats her former Starforce Kree teammates on Earth, then agrees to help the Skrulls find a new home in the galaxy – telling Fury to *only* contact her in case of an emergency via an amped up pager. Thus begins Nick Fury’s “Avenger Initiative”.
*Summary Note: One thing that does get annoying with placing the movie in Nerd Union’s MCU Guide, Part 1 is the mid credit scene that takes place in 2018, soon after the events of Avengers: Infinity War, so best way is to watch the movie and save the mid credit scene for after Infinity War. The end credits scene is perfectly fine to watch, as it does take place in 1995.
3. Iron Man. TIME SPAN: 2010
SUPERHERO: Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man
COLLEAGUES: Gwyneth Paltrow as personal assistant Virginia “Pepper” Potts; Terrence Howard as U.S. Air Force Lieutenant colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes; Jeff Bridges as mentor Obadiah Stane / Iron Monger; Paul Bettany as the voice of AI system J.A.R.V.I.S.; Jon Favreau as bodyguard and chauffer Harold “Happy” Hogan; Shaun Toub as Dr. Ho Yinsen
THE TEN RINGS: Faran Tahir as Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar, the leader
S.H.I.E.L.D.: Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson; Samuel L. Jackson as Director Nick Fury
Here we get into the story of Howard Stark’s son, Tony Stark and his invention of the Iron Man suit. Tony Stark has inherited his father’s genius and charisma, essentially becoming the top weapons dealer of the 2000’s. While giving a presentation in Afghanistan, he is injured during an ambush by a group claiming to be The Ten Rings and held captive, as he must make his weapons for the terrorist organization. Tony instead builds a mini arc reactor (the power source of Stark Industries), which helps keep him alive but also powers a suit – which is the very first Iron Man suit – that he uses to escape. After escaping, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson shows up, due to S.H.I.E.L.D. having an interest in what happened. It is revealed that Obadiah Stane hired The Ten Rings to kill Tony in an orchestrated attempt to take over Stark Industries using the remnants of the Iron Man prototype suit to become the Iron Monger and attack Tony in his new Iron Man suit. With help from Pepper Potts following his directions to overload the main arc reactor onsite, Tony defeats Iron Monger in an explosive showdown. The movie ends with a filmed press release, where Tony impulsively announces he is Iron Man. By the end credit scene, Nick Fury has arrived at Tony Stark’s mansion to discuss with him the Avenger Initiative.
4. The Incredible Hulk. TIME SPAN: 2010-2011
SUPERHERO: Edward Norton as Bruce Banner / The Incredible Hulk
SPECIAL FORCES: Tim Roth as UK Royal Marines Commando Emil Blonsky / Abomination; William Hurt as U.S,. Army General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross
IMPORTANT ALLIES: Liv Tyler as cellular biologist and former love interest Betty Ross; Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man in an end credit cameo
Bruce Banner is hiding in Brazil, due to an attempted super soldier serum recreation experiment that failed and turned him into the Hulk. He is tracked down and confronted by a special forces unit headed by Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross and Emil Blonsky, whom eventually takes the super soldier serum himself and becomes Abomination. This chases Bruce out of Brazil and makes his way back to the US, hopefully to find a cure. He makes it back home and reunites with Betty Ross, his old girlfriend, cellular biologist – who also happens to be Thunderbolt Ross’ daughter. They make their way into Culver University to get the data on that incident; which is where he was injected by the super soldier serum years prior. There, they are then confronted by Thunderbolt and Blonsky. Hulk gets away, but the incident draws a bit of media attention. Blonsky goes rouge and amplifies his powers, turning into the Abomination. Hulk and Abomination fight, with Hulk winning, but putting Bruce on the run again. The movie ends with Tony Stark visiting Thunderbolt in a bar, mentioning a team being put together.
5. Iron Man 2. TIME SPAN: 2011
SUPERHERO: Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man
COLLEAGUES: Gwyneth Paltrow as former personal assistant, now CEO of Stark Industries, Virginia “Pepper” Potts; Don Cheadle as U.S. Air Force Lieutenant colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes / War Machine; Paul Bettany as the voice of AI system J.A.R.V.I.S.; Jon Favreau as bodyguard and chauffer Harold “Happy” Hogan
S.H.I.E.L.D.: Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson; Samuel L. Jackson as Director Nick Fury; Scarlett Johansson as a new personal assistant “Natalie Rushman” hired to replace Pepper, but turns out to be Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow working undercover
ANTAGONISTS: Mickey Rourke as Russian physicist Ivan Vanko / Whiplash; Sam Rockwell as rival weapons manufacturer Justin Hammer of Hammer Industries
Starting right where the first Iron Man left off, we meet Ivan Vanko, son of an old Stark Industries employee, Anton Vanko, seeing the press release where Tony Stark reveals to the world that he is Iron Man. Ivan Vanko begins to build his own arch reactor that his father helped build during the original production aimed at powering Stark Industries. Picking up six months later, the government is wanting Tony to sell the rights of his Iron Man suit, now being the most sought after technology after the super soldier serum, while also insinuating that Tony is unfit to keep this technology for himself. Eventually that leads to a conflict with his good friend James “Rhodey” Rhodes, where eventually Rhodey steals one of his suits and brings it to the Air Force for modification. S.H.I.E.L.D. begins to make their presence more in the open with Tony, as Nick Fury and Phil Coulson pay him a visit, and it is revealed that Tony’s new assistant is an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. Coulson soon has to take off due to something going on in the southwest region of the US (stay tuned for Thor). After that, Tony learns that Ivan Vanko has helped Justin Hammer build super soldier drones which is led by Rhodey and his new War Machine suit. Tony flies to warn Rhodey of what’s going on which reunites the two while a battle ensues. Soon after their win, Tony has a meeting with Nick Fury – while this is occurring, in the background here is a news report happening, which is actually coming from Culver University in The Incredible Hulk.
6. Thor. TIME SPAN: 2011
SUPERHERO: Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson, crown prince of Asgard
NINE REALMS: Tom Hiddleston as the trickster mage Loki; Anthony Hopkins as Odin, All-Father to Thor and Loki and ruler of Asgard; Rene Russo as Frigga, mother to Thor and Loki, spouse to Odin, and queen of Asgard; Idris Elba as omniscient, omniaudient Asgardian Heimdall who controls the Bifröst bridge, a wormhole that allows travel between the Nine Realms; Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif who often joins Thor and the Warriors Three in their escapades; Colm Feore as King Laufey of the Frost Giants
THE WARRIORS THREE: Tadanobu Asano as Hogun; Josh Dallas as Fandral; Ray Stevenson as Volstagg
SCIENTIST TEAM: Natalie Portman as astrophysicist Jane Foster, the first human Thor meets; Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Jane’s intern who’s actually a political science major at Culver University; Stellan Skarsgård as theoretical astrophysicist Erik Selvig and Jane’s mentor who has tenure at Culver University (and therefore is acquaintances with Bruce Banner)
S.H.I.E.L.D.: Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson; Samuel L. Jackson as Director Nick Fury; Jeremy Renner as the eagle-eyed Clint Barton / Hawkeye; Maximiliano Hernández as Agent Jasper Sitwell
This is the story of Thor Odinson and his journey towards his father’s throne as ruler of Asgard. We are introduced to Thor, his family – Loki, Odin, and Frigga – and his friends – Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, as well as Heimdall, the keeper of the Bifröst. When Thor is about to inherit the throne, but his ascendance is interrupted by Frost Giants attacking Asgard. Thor then leads Loki, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three to the Frost Giants world, Jotunheim, to kill them against the direct wishes of Odin to maintain the truce the two kingdoms have … and it goes badly, to say the least. It comes down to Odin having to come save them. As All-Father, Odin announces that due to Thor’s arrogance, he is being stripped of his powers and his mighty hammer, Mjölnir, then banished to Earth through the Bifröst. Thor then meets Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, Erik Selvig, astrophysicists who were tracking thermonuclear disturbances they detected, which prove to have been signatures of first Mjölnir then later Thor’s being sent to Earth via the Bifröst. S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents Phil Coulson, Jasper Sitwell, and Hawkeye also have tracked down Mjölnir and have essentially put it in quarantine while trying to figure out what it is and where it came from. Back in Asgard, Loki is revealed to have been behind the Frost Giant attack, as a way to stop Thor from taking over the throne he wishes to have as his own. Due to Loki having also joined the attempted siege on Jotunheim, he learns that he himself was a Frost Giant “runt” that Odin saved when Loki was a baby. While on Earth, Thor falls in love with Jane Foster and this relationship helps him grow in humbling himself. Once Thor finds his core self again, his power as the God of Thunder returns, as does his ability to wield Mjölnir. Upon learning of Loki’s deceit, Thor returns to Asgard to fight his brother. Ultimately, Thor has to destroy the Bifröst in attempt to prevent Loki’s plan of waging all out war across the Nine Realms. The destruction cuts him off from Earth and his new community, while Loki jumps to what appears his death, but actually into a wormhole that ends up taking him to Earth. The end credit scene shows Selvig going deep into a S.H.I.E.LD. bunker where he meets Director Fury. Fury shows Selvig the Tesseract, asking if he can help harness its power which he eagerly agrees to, but only the audience can see that Loki survived and is somehow controlling Selvig.
Pre-Avengers Summary
2011 is a big year in the MCU timeline and can be a little confusing navigating a good order. Steve Rogers is found alive and most of The Incredible Hulk takes place in that year, along with Iron Man 2 and Thor. But some of the events cross one another or may start before one movie and end after another. For example, at the end of Iron Man 2, Fury sees the news reports on the battle of Hulk at Culver University, so the middle of Hulk takes place around the same time as Iron Man 2. But also depicted in Iron Man 2: Phil Coulson is still assigned to Tony Stark to keep an eye on him, but is then called away to take care of something happening in the southwest region of the US. Coulson goes to New Mexico where the Earth events of Thor are taking place. Since the ending of The Incredible Hulk takes place soon after the Culver University battle, Thor and the finale of The Incredible Hulk take place around the same time. So, what is the best way to watch these? The story of Phil Coulson flows very well from Iron Man 2 to Thor, so Iron Man 2 comes before Thor. And since Thor brings the Tesseract back into the story, it really does a good job to set up that story bit for The Avengers. The Incredible Hulk can be put almost anywhere in the 2011 order, but I personally like to put it in-between Iron Man and Iron Man 2, since it starts before Iron Man 2 and events from it are briefly shown in Iron Man 2.
7. The Avengers. TIME SPAN: 2012
SUPERHEROES: Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man; Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America; Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / The Hulk; Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson; Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow; Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye
S.H.I.E.L.D.: Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson; Samuel L. Jackson as Director Nick Fury; Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill who works directly with Fury; Maximiliano Hernández as Agent Jasper Sitwell
OTHER ALLIES: Gwyneth Paltrow as CEO Pepper Potts; Paul Bettany as the voice of AI system J.A.R.V.I.S.; Stellan Skarsgård as theoretical astrophysicist Erik Selvig who wants to help the Avengers but has to fight against Loki keeping him under mind control
ANTAGONISTS: Tom Hiddleston as Loki; Alexis Denisof as “the Other”, leader of the Chitauri alien race; Damion Poitier cameos as Thanos
The movie opens on Loki in space, speaking with the Other – leader of the Chitauri – asking for help to conquer Earth. The Other gives Loki a scepter to control the Chitauri army. On Earth, at a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, Fury, Maria Hill, Selvig, Coulson, and Hawkeye are looking into the energy of the Tesseract. Loki suddenly transports into the room through the Tesseract. The scepter amplifies Loki’s ability to mind control others, including Hawkeye, Selvig, and several other agents, in order to steal the Tesseract and destroy the facility. Fury tells Coulson they are going to need some help – it’s time for S.H.I.E.L.D. to activate the Avengers! Fury tries to convince Rogers, Coulson is tasked with Stark, and Black Widow is sent to bring in Banner while also trying to NOT trigger the Hulk to lash out. They are tasked with retrieving Loki, apprehending him in Germany. On their way back to the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base, Loki is tracked down by Thor, who has found a way to be transported back to Earth. After an initial scuffle against Thor, they come to an agreement for detaining Loki on a S.H.I.E.L.D. heli-carrier. During the subsequent mission, Phil Coulson is killed by Loki during his successful escape. Black Widow gets the drop on Hawkeye and help his mind control wear off. As the escaped Loki arrives in New York City, he makes Selvig use the Tesseract to open a wormhole and the Chitauri arrive – attacking en masse. Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye pull together to stop Loki and the Chitauri. After the Battle of New York, Thor brings Loki and the Tesseract to Asgard, while the others all go their separate ways. The mid-credit scene shows the Other telling his boss about the failed attempt to conqueror Earth. His boss is revealed to be Thanos, an alien knowns as a Titan, who is looking for all six infinity stones.
Casting Changes coming from “Creative Differences”
Even while the MCU was still in its Phase 1, recasting was already going on!
(The following image compilations are credited to Eric Frederiksen with GameSpot)
First up, Iron Man 2 has Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard as Rhodey, which had fans talking, and recast elder Howard Stark from Gerard Sanders (who was only visible in photographs during Iron Man) with John Slattery taking on the role.
Then we have the Hulk. Apparently Marvel was having a heck of a time trying to find the right Dr. Jekyll of a Bruce Banner to the Mr. Hyde of The Incredible Hulk (not to mention the 2003 Hulk movie starring Eric Bana), with the MCU originally installing Edward Norton as the mild manner scientist. That was short lived and he was replaced by Mark Ruffalo – who was the original first choice actor by Hulk director Louis Leterrier before Marvel overruled. This makes Ruffalo the only super-powered Avenger to not star in his own character-focused, self-titled film.
One of Thor’s Three Warriors, Fandral, went through several recastings just in the process of producing Thor! The first choice was Zachary Levi but he had to drop out due to his starring role in the TV show Chuck. Then Stuart Townsend, who played Dorian Gray in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen – which is team similar to the Avengers but make it Alan Moore – was cast before suddenly being replaced with Josh Dallas of ABC’s Once Upon a Time Prince Charming fame. Audience won’t see the effects until MCU Phase 2/Nerd Union’s MCU, Part 2 with the second Thor: The Dark World, when Levi ends up finally being able to embody Fandral for the rest of the character’s time in the MCU … side note: Levi eventually became the embodiment of the superhero Shazam! over at the DCEU.
Nerd Union’s MCU Guide, Part 1 Conclusion
So there you have it! Part 1 really laid the groundwork well for the overall MCU story while telling a pretty well contained arch within itself as well, and also setting up quite a bit more in future films and eventually TV series.
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