With the release of Ant-Man this year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has crossed another threshold. It didn't just cross the $9 billion worldwide, it also ended its second cinematic stage, also setting the beginning of the next one, with Captain America: Civil War.
And while we all know when each of the movies was released and how it all began (with the first Iron Man film being released in 2008), the chronological order isn't that clear for everybody - and this list is all about that, because it shows once again why the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the most impressive franchise of all times.
If it all started with just one movie, after 2 Phases we know that each of the flicks has a definitive impact on what is to come next. To make it clear, the hardcore fans new from the start (or thereabout) where it will all lead - but the casual movie goers don't really know. So if this shared universe has a continuity, in what order should one watch each of the films?
To be noted, we will update this list as new entries will be released, though it is pretty clear that the events of Phase III will follow the events seen until now on the big screens.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Captain America: The First Avenger was actually the 5th flick in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, because it depicts events from the Second World War, it is the first entry on this list describing the earliest events depicted in the MCU.
It can be argued that other movies describe events older than that. The first Thor film presents an epic battle between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants in 905 AD, while Guardians of the Galaxy shows events as early as the beginning of the Universe.
Captain America: The First Avenger doesn't just introduce one of the future members of the Avengers, but also the first of the Infinity Stones. And that is the Tesseract, which is later on revealed to be the containment vessel of the actual Gem.
The story is well known - a frail but valiant man undergoes an experiment and is granted superhuman powers. By the end of the movie, after apparently destroying the organization HYDRA, he falls heroically into the ocean, to wake up in time for the events of the first Avengers film. This is the Marvel Cinematic Universe installment which announces the first Avengers flick.
Iron Man (2008)
Though it can be said that the events of Agent Carter take place after Captain America: The First Avenger, this is of little importance at the moment. From a chronological point of view, the second movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the first Iron Man, released in 2008, which introduced the most charismatic of all the Marvel superheroes.
Genius billionaire playboy philanthropist Tony Stark has since become the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His story arc is very interesting, to say the least. If at first he is just a warmonger amassing a fortune from selling weapons and war technologies, he completely changes after facing the horrors of war. He becomes the first modern hero by using only his intellect and designing the coolest of all armors.
He struggles with depression, he struggles with old habits, he struggles against hidden enemies, but he still does everything that it takes in order to keep the world safe. Even if that means clashing with his fellow Avengers.
The first Iron Man also introduced characters such as Colonel James Rhodes (who latter on became the Iron Patriot and the War Machine) and Nick Fury (the leader of SHIELD) - as far as the latter is concerned, this is his first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but not from a chronological point of view (since he also appears in Captain America: The First Avenger).
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Taking cues from the creation of the Super Soldier, General Ross attempts to perfect the formula with the help of Bruce Banner. As always in comic book movies, the experiments go wrong and, in a pure Jekyll and Hyde kind of story, a beast is unleashed. Whenever Banner's heart rate becomes elevated, he transforms into a giant green hulk which cannot be contained.
The Incredible Hulk marks the first appearance of the Jade Giant into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portrayed by Edward Norton. In the subsequent movies, the character is portrayed by Marc Ruffalo, who turned the superhero into a fan-favorite.
Unfortunately, even if it was way better than the 2003 Ang Lee Hulk movie, The Incredible Hulk is the least successful flick of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For that reason (and because the distribution rights are held by Universal), that was also the last time we saw the Green Goliath in a solo movie, with slim chances of seeing a sequel in the future.
But, maybe, it is all for the better, since the Hulk and Bruce Banner are awesome as supporting characters.
Iron Man 2 (2010)
The second Iron Man film continues the story of Tony Stark, who now has to maintain his status as a superhero. After rocking the boat when repurposing his company and after the revealing the breakthrough he had with the Arc Reactor, it was only natural for the entire world to want a piece of the action.
The US Government wants to take over the new technology and weaponized it, while enemies repurpose it and want to take him down. But Tony Stark proves to be more than what everybody else expected and, in the end, with the help of War Machine, emerges once again victorious.
While the plot itself is not the best of what the Marvel Cinematic Universe had to offer, the flick once again demonstrated the audiences' disposition to see what happens next in a newly formed shared universe. Iron Man 2 also introduced another important character, namely Black Widow, while also bringing Senator Stern into the fold (who is later on revealed to be a HYDRA agent).
With the release of Iron Man 2, it became clear that the Marvel Cinematic Universe was just making its first steps.
Thor (2011)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe took a giant leap forward with Thor, since it showed how big the Universe really is, by introducing the Asgardians. Protectors of the 9 realms, users of magic, and seen as literal Gods, the Asgardians are shown preparing themselves for receiving a new king.
But things go awry during the ceremony, with the Frost Giants finding a way into Asgard's vault. Still hotheaded Thor goes on a mission to confront the Frost Giant king, thus breaking the rules imposed by his father and getting himself stripped of all his powers. Sent to Earth, he has to show he is worthy of wielding Mjolnir and becoming the rightful king of Asgard.
It is revealed that everything was a scheme set in motion by his step-brother Loki, who is himself a Frost Giant.
Thor also marked the introduction of several characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The most notable one is Loki himself, who has since become the most important villain of the shared universe. Other notable introductions are the one of Hawkeye and Heimdall, as well as Dr. Selvig (who, in the end, is revealed to be under the control of a presumed dead Loki).
The post-credits scene leads directly into the first Avengers flick.
Marvel's The Avengers (2012)
The most successful of all the Marvel Cinematic Universe installments, the first Avengers continues the story revealed with Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor. Loki is the main baddie, though he is just a general for a greater villain, revealed only in the mid-credits scene.
The Trickster God comes to Earth to take over the world, with the help of an alien army (the Chitauri). In order to face this threat, Nick Fury assembles the Avengers - all the superheroes and heroes presented until that point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Loki's plan is nonetheless more ample than just that and it also involves having the newly assembled team tear itself from the inside - and, until one point, he manages to do that. But the death of a SHIELD agent brings them back together, with Iron Man being the one who saves the city in the end from a nuke deployed by the government.
This is the Marvel Cinematic Universe installment which showed the fans who is the biggest threats of them all - Thanos, who sent Loki to retrieve the Tesseract. It is later on revealed that Thanos gave Loki one of the Infinity Stones, contained in a Scepter, without the Asgardians realizing this.
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Iron Man 3 takes places about 6 months after the New York invasion. Since he was the one who nearly died when sending the nuke into the Chitauri mothership, Stark now has to deal with posttraumatic stress. Since he know that a second alien invasion may not be as easy to stop, his only interest is designing new and improved Iron Man armors.
In the meantime, a figure from his past emerges and reveals to be the mastermind of all the terrorist attacks which took place in the US, in recent times.
While the trailer for Iron Man 3 showed that it will be the darkest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe installments, the excitement the fans had for this sequel had one other reason: Tony Stark was finally going to face the Mandarin, his arch nemesis from the comic books. It wasn't so, though, even if the All Hail the King one-shot showed that the Mandarin actually exists.
By the end of it all, Tony Stark managed to deal with the PTSD and removed the arc reactor from his chest.
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Thor: The Dark World is the second Marvel Cinematic Universe installment who explicitly reveals an Infinity Stone: the Aether.
In Asgard, Thor has become the noble leader his father wanted him to be. Loki, after the failed invasion of Earth, is in a jail. But when Malekith the Accursed threatens to plunge the whole universe into darkness, he teams up with his step-brother in order to stop the evil Dark Elf.
The fight takes place in London and, eventually, Thor subdues his opponent. Loki is believed dead by his fellow Asgardians, after facing the powerful Kurse - little does anybody know, since he took the place of Odin on the throne, with the latter being presumably killed. It isn't known yet whether or not Loki is still working for Thanos.
Thor: The Dark World also introduced the Collector into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, who may or may not work for the Mad Titan. What is known until this point is that he is entrusted with the Aether, since Asgard is proved to be unsafe for storing two Infinity Stones. Introduction of the Collector also means that the shared Universe has expanded even further, in a way announcing the appearance of another team of superheroes.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Widely regarded as the best flick of Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase II, Captain America: The Winter Soldier showed everybody that HYDRA was far for being dead. It is revealed that Senator Stern is one of its agents and that even SHIELD was compromised at all its levels.
Furthermore, the movie also brings back a figure from Steve Rogers' past, in the form of the Winter Soldier - captured by HYDRA during the events of Captain America: The First Avenger, Bucky Barnes has been brainwashed and transform into an assassin. Sent after Nick Fury, he clashes with Steve Rogers, without recognizing him.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier also introduces the Falcon, as one of the future Avengers. The mid-credits scene leads directly into Avengers: Age of Ultron - baron von Strucker has found the Scepter of Loki and used it to create new superpowered beings, namely Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
The surprise hit of 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy introduced a barely known comic book team into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the action taking place outside of Earth, the Universe expanded even further, while also introducing the new superheroes: Star Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Raccoon and Groot.
This is also the third Marvel Cinematic Universe installment which explicitly reveals an Infinity Stone, while also presenting the history of these powerful artifacts. Thanos also makes an appearance, as the puppeteer behind the main villain Ronan the Accuser. Nebula, his second step-daughter, is also introduced, with her whereabouts being unknown by the end of the movie.
The Collector also makes an appearance, with his intention of gathering all the Infinity Stones for himself - though it isn't clear yet whether or not he works for Thanos (most likely, he has other plans than the Mad Titan).
The Nova Corps are also introduced, thus hinting at the appearance of another superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sometime in the near future.
With Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel has shown that it has indeed amassed a great number of fans, since the movie about the barely known team is now the 4th highest grossing installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, behind only the Avengers films and Iron Man 3.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Avengers: Age of Ultron follows directly the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. After SHIELD is dissolved, the Avengers are searching for the stolen Scepter of Loki. When finding it, they face the twins Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch and find themselves overwhelmed by just two kids.
Tony Stark uses the scepter without letting his fellow teammates know and creates Ultron, a powerful AI who wants to destroy the world. All the Avengers are present in the final confrontation, which takes place in Sokovia. The final epic battel sees the death of Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch switching sides and fighting alongside the Avengers, as well as the introduction of Vision, another powerful android, powered by an Infinity Stone.
The movie also introduces Ulysses Klaue, thus hinting at the appearance of another superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, namely Black Panther.
Avengers: Age of Ultron also leads directly into Captain America: Civil War, while also setting the stage for Thor: Ragnarok. Thor's vision shows him that somebody is seeking to unite the Infinity Stones.
After clashing with Steve Rogers, Tony Stark leaves the team - it is fairly obvious that these two are meant to fight during the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Civil War.
Ant-Man (2015)
The last flick, so far, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced another barely known hero - Ant-Man. But the movie also introduced another type of expansion of the Universe, via the Pym particles. With Ant-Man, new dimensions are opened, most likely meant to be explored by Doctor Strange in 2016.
The movie also introduces Hope Van Dyne (who will become the Wasp in the already announced sequel), while also leading straight into the Civil War. The post-credits scene presents Captain America and Falcon finally finding a captured and bruised Winter Soldier - they wish to contact Ant-Man and ask for his help.
