Timeline Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a a media franchise consisting of superhero films and tv series by Marvel Studios. The films and shows are all connected in the same universe allowing for mega crossover events. The main timeline can be tricky to understand as many events in the series take place at the same time as others. We have created a list down below that should help you understand the MCU timeline better.
The Timeline
The timeline of the MCU begins with Captain America: The First Avenger which takes place in a two-year span from 1943-1945. Steve Rogers is chosen as the test subject to become America’s first Super Soldier. He goes on to become Captain America when he faces the Red Skull who attempts to conquer the world using the Space Stone (The Tesseract). The Red Skull is sucked into a portal and Steve sacrifices himself by crashing the Red Skull’s plane into the frozen waters below where he remained lost for almost 70 years.
One year later in 1946, Peggy Carter returns to New York City where she worked for the SSR and joins forces with Howard Stark to stop a new villain named Dottie Underwood.
Another year later in 1947, Peggy Carter moves to Los Angeles where she continues her detective work while dealing with a new villain called Whitney Frost who harnesses a new energy called Zero Matter.
Skipping a few decades, Captain Marvel takes place in the summer of 1995. Captain Marvel faces a war between the Kree and the Skrulls which causes her loyalty to change as she discovers her origins along with Nick Fury and SHIELD. They are able to end the war for the present and as Captain Marvel helps the Skrulls find a new home, Fury begins working on the Avengers Initiative.
15 years later, Iron Man takes place in November 2010. Tony Stark is kidnapped and injured by The Ten Rings where he escapes by creating his first Iron Man armor. He returns to the United States and becomes the super hero Iron Man as he faces his friend, Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger. Tony is able to defeat Stane and in the aftermath, Tony announces to the world that he is indeed Iron Man! Later, he is confronted by Nick Fury who wants him for the Avengers Initiative.
6 months later, Iron Man 2 takes place in May 2011. Tony is being pressured to give the Iron Man armor to the government while facing a deadly disease caused by his arc reactor. Tony is attacked by Ivan Vanko/Whiplash and Justin Hammer as they want to discredit the Stark name. Tony teams up with James “Rhodey” Rhodes as War Machine and they defeat both villains while Tony begins a relationship with Pepper Potts.
During the exact same week, The Incredible Hulk occurs. Bruce Banner is hunted by General Thunderbolt Ross and teams up with Betty Ross to rid himself of the Hulk. Meanwhile, Emil Blonsky becomes the Abomination and Bruce is able to control the Hulk long enough to defeat Blonsky. Bruce goes back into hiding while Ross is confronted by Tony Stark who informs him of the development of the Avengers.
Again, during the same week is Thor. After reigniting an ancient war, Odin banishes his son Thor to Earth as a mortal. He meets Jane Foster and learns humility. Meanwhile, Loki attempts to take over Asgard and tries to kill both Odin and Thor but is stopped when Thor returns to Asgard. Loki falls into a black hole, believed to be dead. Thor denies the Asgardian throne from Odin and desires to be with Jane again.
A few months later, Captain America is revived and introduced to Nick Fury and SHIELD.
1 year later is The Avengers which takes place in May 2012. Loki is rescued by Thanos who gives Loki the Mind Stone (The Scepter) and gives the Chitauri army to him to invade Earth. Nick Fury recruits Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye to take down Loki. The climax occurs in New York City when the Chitauri attack. The team is able to defeat Loki and he is taken into custody and returned to Asgard with Thor. The rest of the team return to their normal lives as Fury looks toward a bright future as the Avengers have become a global force to be reckoned with.
Next, Iron Man 3 takes place in December 2012. Tony is struggling with PTSD after The Avengers and has strained his relationship with Pepper Potts. Meanwhile, the US is being terrorized by a man called The Mandarin who is blamed for a string of public bombings. Tony antagonizes The Mandarin who then destroys Tony’s mansion with helicopters. Tony goes on a quest to stop the Mandarin but finds out he is fake and that the bombs are people injected with Extremis by Aldrich Killian whom Tony defeats. Tony ends up having surgery to rid himself of the arc reactor but claims he will always be Iron Man.
The first season of Agents Of Shield occurs a year and a half after The Avengers and takes place over the course from September 2013-May 2014. Phil Coulson is resurrected by mysterious forces and returns to working with SHIELD with a new team consisting of Melinda May, Grant Ward, Leo Fitz, Skye, and Jemma Simmons. Together they battle a new threat called the Clairvoyant.
Thor: The Dark World takes place during the early episodes of Agents Of Shield and a year and a half after The Avengers in November 2013. Jane Foster accidentally finds the Reality Stone (The Aether) and awakens the Dark Elves led by Malekith who wants the Aether. Thor and Loki team up to save Jane and are able to defeat Malekith but Loki sacrifices himself for Thor but later is revealed to be alive and impersonating Odin as king of Asgard.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier takes place in April 2014, almost 2 years after The Avengers. Steve Rogers is working with SHIELD and teams up with Black Widow and Sam Wilson/Falcon when it is revealed that SHIELD is secretly being controlled by Hydra. Together, they are able to defeat Hydra but end up collapsing SHIELD at the same time. Nick Fury and Black Widow go into hiding to rebuild SHIELD and Steve and Sam go on the hunt for The Winter Soldier who is revealed as Steve’s best friend : Bucky Barnes.
At the same time, Coulson’s team deals with the collapse of SHIELD and find out that Ward was one of the members of Hydra inside SHIELD.
Guardians Of The Galaxy takes place in August 2014 and centers on a group of extraterrestrial criminals: Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot who battle Ronan The Accuser who attempts to destroy the Galaxy with The Power Stone (The Orb). They defeat Ronan and become famous across the Universe as the Guardians Of The Galaxy and become heroes for hire.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 takes place 2 months later in October 2014. The team encounters Ego, an ancient being who claims to be Quill’s dad. The team soon finds out that Ego plans to cover over the universe with his expansion plan and they are forced to kill him. In the battle, Quill’s mentor: Yondu is killed and the team holds a funeral for him which is joined by members of the original Guardians Of The Galaxy. In the aftermath, Mantis joins the team and a priestess called Ayesha begins breeding a new weapon known as “Adam”.
The second season of Agents Of Shield takes place from September 2014-May 2015. The team faces a new threat in a species called the Inhumans while Skye discovers her true parentage by finding out that she is an Inhuman as well. In the end, Coulson and his team discover the left over Hydra bases and send the info to Fury and The Avengers.
The first season of Daredevil takes place during the latter episodes of Agents Of Shield S2. Matt Murdock was blinded by chemicals as a child but also gained superhuman senses as a side effect which he uses to patrol Hell’s Kitchen as Daredevil. Meanwhile, a new crime lord named Wilson Fisk rises to power which leads to a showdown between him and Matt. Matt defeats Fisk and sends him off to prison as he continues his career as Daredevil.
Avengers: Age Of Ultron takes place 1 month after Daredevil and immediately after Agents Of Shield S2. Tony and Bruce accidentally create Ultron: a peacekeeping program that goes rogue and attempts to eliminate mankind. The Avengers gain new members in Wanda Maximoff, her twin brother Pietro (who ends up being killed by Ultron) and an Android called Vision. The team defeats Ultron and in the aftermath, all Avengers take a leave of absence as Steve and Natasha lead a new Avengers team consisting of Wanda, Vision, Rhodey, and Sam Wilson.
Ant-Man takes place 2 months later in July 2015. Scott Lang is hired by Hank Pym and his daughter Hope Van Dyne to break into Cross Tech and steal Darren Cross’ Yellowjacket suit. Scott becomes the new Ant-Man and it able to defeat Cross but at the same time, gains the attention of the Avengers. Afterwards, Hank also presents a new Wasp suit for Hope.
The third season of Agents Of Shield takes place from September 2015-May 2016. The season focuses on Coulson’s team as they face off against the growing Inhuman population while facing a new threat in an Inhuman called Lash.
The first season of Jessica Jones takes place in November 2015. Jessica Jones is a retired super hero who works as a private investigator. Along with local celebrity, Luke Cage, She is forced back into a war against a mysterious man called Kilgrave who has the ability to control minds. Jessica is able to eventually defeat Kilgrave and continues her career as a PI.