This article contains major spoilers for all of the MCU movies, including Captain Marvel. If there are any of the films that you haven’t seen, proceed with caution…
With Avengers: Endgame on the horizon, now is as good a time as any to get up to speed with the events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But if you don’t have time to watch the movies, here’s our attempt at putting all of the key information from the first 21 films into some kind of coherent story (in the order in which they take place in the MCU timeline).
Captain America: The First Avenger
During World War 2, Steve Rogers is rejected from the army for being medically unfit. Luckily for everyone, he’s chosen to be the test subject for a new breed of super-soldier! Although they only get around to making one. Rogers becomes Captain America, the world’s first (?) superhero. Along with Peggy Carter, Howard Stark and the Howling Commandoes, Steve manages to help defeat the paramilitary organisation HYDRA who are using the power of the Tesseract – a strange device which contains one of the Infinity Stones – to defeat the allied forces. During the fighting, Steve’s best friend Bucky is apparently killed but the Red Skull’s plan to attack America is stopped. Unfortunately, Steve and the Red Skull are apparently killed and the Tesseract lost when the plane crashes in Antarctica – until Steve’s body and the Tesseract are recovered from the ice and reawakened by SHIELD in the present day.
Watch Captain America: The First Avenger on Amazon
Captain Marvel
Kree Starforce member Vers, who suffers from amnesia, is led on an away mission by her mentor Yon-Rogg to track down a group of enemy Skrulls. When her unit is ambushed, she’s kidnapped by Skrull commander Talos, who attempts to unlock her memories, but she manages to escape and crash lands on Earth in the mid-’90s. There, she meets up with SHIELD agent Nick Fury and discovers her Earth-born heritage and her real name: Carol Danvers. While looking into her past, Fury and Danvers – a former US Air Force pilot – uncover details about a secret project she was involved with: an experimental warp engine powered by the Tesseract and built by Dr Wendy Lawson. Talos hunts them down, before explaining that his Skrulls are in fact refugees, and were being helped by Lawson – aka rogue Kree scientist Mar-Vell – to find a new home out of reach of the Kree. Mar-Vell was killed by Yon-Rogg and the engine destroyed; the resultant blast gave Carol her powers but wiped her memory.
Danvers, Talos and Fury locate Mar-Vell’s cloaked lab in Earth’s orbit, where they find the Tesseract and the rest of Talos’ family and fellow refugees in hiding. Yon-Rogg and the Kree attack, but Carol’s full powers manifest and she defeats them, while the Tesseract is safely recovered thanks to a cat-like alien Flerken named Goose. Danvers leaves Earth to help the Skrulls find a new homeworld, but leaves her new pal Fury with a modified pager that’s able to contact her in case of emergency. The SHIELD agent, blinded in one eye by a scratch from Goose, conceives the idea of a team of heroes like Danvers and names the fledgling initiative after her old call sign, “Avenger”.
Iron Man
When weapons manufacturer, inventor and absolute cad Tony Stark (the son of Howard Stark) is captured by the terrorist organisation the Ten Rings in Afghanistan, he secretly builds a mechanical suit of armour powered by his father’s arc reactor technology to escape – and keep him alive after bomb shrapnel gets lodged in his chest. When he returns to the US he builds a new version of the armour and turns over a new leaf, neutralising warzones as the superhero Iron Man. When Stark refuses to turn the armour and reactor into a product his business partner Obadiah Stane attempts to create his own version, though he later dies in battle with Stark. When the dust settles, Stark reveals to the world’s press that he is Iron Man. Afterwards, Nick Fury – now director of SHIELD – visits Stark at home and suggests they talk about the Avengers Initiative…
The Incredible Hulk
The victim of a strange gamma radiation accident, Bruce Banner is tempted back from exile in Brazil in search of a cure – however, the military forces led by General Ross are determined to capture him. When one of Ross’s soldiers, Emil Blonsky, is injured in battle with Banner’s alter-ego The Hulk, he undergoes an experimental procedure that turns him into the Abomination. Hulk and the Abomination fight in Harlem and the Hulk wins, though the destruction caused leads Banner to return to exile.
Watch The Incredible Hulk on NOW TV
Iron Man 2
The US government insists that Stark give them a version of the Iron Man suit, so he eventually allows an older (but ultimately much cooler) model to be piloted by his best friend James Rhodes, aka War Machine, aka the best MCU superhero. Meanwhile, Ivan Vanko – the son of Howard Stark’s business partner – is recruited by Tony’s rival, Justin Hammer, to build Iron Man suits. Vanko tricks Hammer and creates humanoid drones that he sends against Tony and Rhodes, although they are ultimately victorious. Tony’s new assistant reveals herself to be the Black Widow, an agent of SHIELD, and helps them defeat Hammer and Vanko. Tony and his former assistant Pepper (who we probably should have mentioned earlier but she doesn’t do a lot to be fair) begin a relationship.
Thor
Heir to the throne of Asgard, Thor is exiled to Earth after disobeying his father Odin. His brother Loki, who is jealous of Thor, attempts to prevent his return and eventually sends the Destroyer to kill Thor. Aided by Jane Foster, Eric Selvig and the Warriors Three, Thor manages to defeat the Destroyer, proving in the process that he’s worthy enough to wield his hammer and return to Asgard. Also Jane and Thor fall in love apparently, it’s sort of hard to tell from watching the film. Also, Hawkeye’s around for about 8 seconds. Thor comes home just in time to save his father from exiting the franchise early at the hands of Loki’s betrayal, and Loki is cast into the exterior darkness.
Avengers Assemble
Loki returns to Earth in an attempt to recover the Tesseract and conquer Earth. Nick Fury assembles the Avengers to stop him. Loki mind controls Hawkeye and Eric Selvig but he’s eventually captured by a combination of Iron Man and Captain America and later Thor turns up to recover him. The Black Widow convinces Bruce Banner to return from exile to assist the team. Hawkeye is rescued, but Loki escapes and apparently kills Agent Coulson who has only been making cameos up until now so you’ll have to trust us that this mattered. Loki then attempts to open a portal so that a Chitauri army can attack Earth, but the Avengers succeed in defeating them and capture Loki. In a post-credits sequence, it’s revealed that Thanos is the one who sent Loki to get the Tesseract.
Iron Man 3
In what is arguably the best MCU movie (depending on who you’re arguing with), Tony Stark is recovering from his experiences defeating the Chitauri when a terrorist named “The Mandarin” begins to threaten his life. Meanwhile, War Machine is rebranded by a thinktank named AIM as the Iron Patriot. It soon emerges that AIM is behind both Iron Patriot and the Mandarin, who is actually a disgraced actor named Trevor Slattery. They kidnap the President and Tony succeeds in rescuing him. He also gets the shrapnel removed from his chest, so we don’t have to worry about that plot device anymore.
Thor: The Dark World
When a planetary alignment breaks down the walls between dimensions, Jane Foster wanders into an ancient vault and is attached to the Aether, another infinity stone. Thor brings her to Asgard and Malekith and the Dark Elves attack, while Frigga dies protecting Jane. Malekith gets hold of the Aether and Thor gives chase with Loki, who is apparently killed. Thor battles Malekith across the dimensions and eventually defeats him with Jane’s help. After rejecting the throne of Asgard, Thor returns to Earth to be with Jane, and Loki is revealed to be alive, but posing as Odin to rule Asgard.
Watch Thor: The Dark World on Amazon
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
When Nick Fury is apparently killed, Captain America and the Black Widow uncover something rotten at SHIELD: the organisation has been infiltrated by Hydra, who are planning to use three new helicarriers to execute and control the population. While on the run, Steve and Natasha are pursued by the Winter Soldier and join up with Sam Wilson, the Falcon. Nick Fury reveals that he faked his death, and Steve realises that the Winter Soldier is his friend, Bucky, who is somehow alive but amnesiac. The four heroes take down SHIELD’s helicarriers and Nick Fury heads off to Europe for a vacation.
Watch Captain America: The Winter Soldier on NOW TV
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Abducted from Earth as a child, Peter Quill finds himself on the trail of The Orb (spoilers: another Infinity Stone) as rival forces attempt to obtain it. Ronan, an agent of Thanos, and Nebula, Thanos’ daughter, manage to obtain the stone before Ronan turns rogue against his master and uses it to attack the Nova Corps homeworld. The Guardians, who comprise of Quill (Star-Lord), Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket, manage to stop him and in the process become a team of space adventurers and surrogate family. How nice. Although Groot is apparently killed but releases a seedling that later grows into a baby Groot. Also, the Nova Corps take possession of the Orb so they can keep it safe. Don’t forget that one.
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Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
Shortly after the events of the first movie, Peter Quill encounters his biological father, Ego, a celestial who has assumed the form of a planet who has assumed the form of Kurt Russell. The Guardians and Nebula discover Ego’s plan to… er… wait let us get back to you after we’ve read Wikipedia. Oh right. The Guardians and Nebula discover Ego’s plan to transform thousands of worlds into extensions of himself, and potentially apparently killing billions, and defeat him with the help of Yondu, the Ravagers, and Ego’s own ward Mantis. Sadly Yondu is apparently killed, but the Guardians are rewarded for their bravery as the galaxy’s foremost team of heroes.
Watch Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 on NOW TV
Avengers: Age Of Ultron
After assembling repeatedly, the Avengers have defeated Hydra and recovered Loki’s sceptre. After dismantling it, they realise it contains an Infinity Stone. After Tony uses the Mind Stone’s protective AI as the basis for a new global defence system called Ultron, the AI becomes self-aware and attempts to take over the world. Ultron enlists the help of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, two Sokovians who had been radicalised by Hydra and given superpowers. The Avengers put a combination of JARVIS and the Mind Stone into Ultron’s new body to create the Vision. When the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver realise that Ultron is evil, they turn on him and assist the Avengers, eventually defeating Ultron though Quicksilver is killed. Although they save the world, Sokovia is nearly destroyed in the process. Vision then executes Ultron although he does do it very nicely. Meanwhile, Bruce Banner returns to exile and Thor leaves to investigate the constant and worrying appearance of the Infinity Stones.
Watch Avengers: Age of Ultron on Amazon
Ant-Man
Reformed criminal Scott Lang is convinced to perform one last job, breaking into the home of former SHIELD scientist Hank Pym. There, he discovers the Ant-Man suit, which allows him to shrink and talk to ants. When Pym’s company is threatened by Darren Cross, an evil businessman, Hank’s daughter Hope teams up with Scott and his friends to defeat Cross and stop Pym’s technology being weaponised. Although they have a brief altercation with The Falcon when they attempt to steal a vital component from the Avengers HQ, they successfully defeat Cross. Proud of his daughter’s achievements, Hope gives her the equipment once meant for her mother so that she can become the Wasp.
Captain America: Civil War
Following the destruction of Sokovia, the World Security Council decides to regular the actions of super-powered individuals including the Avengers, causing an ideological split in the team – not least because Cap remembers how easily SHIELD was corrupted by Hydra. When the Winter Soldier resurfaces and is framed by Heinrich Zemo for a fatal attack on the Wakandan King, Cap and Iron Man find themselves on opposite sides of an extremely cool fight as Iron Man attempts to apprehend Bucky and Captain America attempts to prevent him from being apprehended. Although the team apparently reconciles, Stark discovers that it was Bucky who killed his parents and is unable to forgive him, or Cap for protecting him. Several Avengers are imprisoned for breaking the Sokovia Accords, though Cap – still at large – releases them from jail. Black Panther and Spider-Man are also hanging around being cool.
Watch Captain America: Civil War on Amazon
Doctor Strange
When expert surgeon Stephen Strange is injured in a car accident, he turns to mysticism to repair his hands. Under the tuition of The Ancient One, Strange masters the mystic arts even as the disciples of Dormammu attempt to undermine the entire magical order. When The Ancient One dies, Strange and his friend Wong are left to defend the world, and Strange manages to defeat Dormammu by using the power of the Eye of Agamotto – actually the Time Infinity Stone – by trapping them both in a loop until the demon backs down. Strange abandons his plans to return to surgery while his former partner, Mordo, renounces all magic and decides to remove it from the world permanently.
Watch Doctor Strange on Amazon
Black Panther
Following the death of his father at the hands of Zemo, T’Challa (the Black Panther) is crowned King of the futuristic African paradise, Wakanda. Unfortunately, his claim is challenged by Eric Killmonger, the son of an exiled Wakandan who believes the country’s isolationism has caused them to abandon the oppressed. He sort of has a point right? Unfortunately his plan is to wage war on the rest of the planet so that’s where the sympathy stops. Aided by his loyal family and generals – Shuri, Nakia and Okoye – T’Challa reclaims the throne and Killmonger chooses to die to make his point. Meanwhile, under T’Challa, Wakanda decides to open outreach centres across the globe to aid the oppressed. Wakanda forever!
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Fresh from the events of Civil War, Spider-Man is given licence to be a superhero under the supervision of Tony Stark. Meanwhile, blue-collar worker Adrian Toomes sets out on a crime-spree after salvaging alien technology from Loki’s failed invasion. When Spider-Man defies orders to leave it alone, Iron Man strips him of his advanced suit, but Spidey pursues and eventually defeats Toomes. For proving himself, Tony plans to invite him to the Avengers, but Spidey declines in advance thinking it was just another test. At the climax of the movie, Peter is interrupted mid-costume change by his Aunt May…
Watch Spider-Man: Homecoming on NOW TV
Thor: Ragnarok
Unable to find information about the Infinity Stones, Thor returns to Asgard and finally uncovers the deception by his brother Loki. Aided by Doctor Strange, Thor and Loki attempt to find Odin on Earth just in time to witness him apparently die. With Odin gone, Thor and Loki’s sister Hela is released from imprisonment and slaughters many key recurring Asgardians, exiling Thor and Loki to a planet run by the Grandmaster, who puts Thor into his arena where he faces the Hulk, who was transported there following the events of Age Of Ultron. Aided by a former Valkyrie, Thor, Loki and the Hulk escape the Grandmaster and manage to take down Hela by releasing the fire demon Surtur. Asgard is lost, but not before Loki can steal the Tesseract from Odin’s vault. Thor and the remaining Asgardians head out on a ship to find a new world only to be confronted by Thanos’s vessel…
Watch Thor: Ragnarok on NOW TV
Avengers: Infinity War
Thanos and the Black Order, having stolen the power gem from the Nova Corps, attacks the Asgardians in an attempt to recover the Tesseract from Loki. They succeed, apparently killing Loki, but the Hulk is able to return back to Earth while Thor is left adrift in space. There, he encounters the Guardians of the Galaxy who recognise him as a fellow warrior in the fight against Thanos and assist him in creating a weapon to defeat Thanos. Back on Earth, Banner warns Doctor Strange of the threat that’s coming and disbanded Avengers face the Black Order, though the Hulk refuses to come out and fight. Stark, Strange and Spider-Man head into space to fight Thanos, meeting the Guardians and Nebula along the way. Thanos, meanwhile, is assembling the rest of the Infinity Stones, and sacrifices his daughter Gamora to unlock the Soul Stone. Strange and pals directly assault Thanos but are unable to stop him escaping to Earth, and Strange points out that they are now in the endgame, which is a title that will become important later. When Thanos reaches Earth he kills the Vision and completes the set of Infinity Stones, then enacts his plan to wipe out 50% of the universe’s population. Most of the Avengers apparently die, Thanos retires to tend a farm, and then in a post-credits scene we see Nick Fury summon Captain Marvel on a pager before he too apparently dies.
Watch Avengers: Infinity War on NOW TV
Ant-Man And The Wasp
After being penalised for illegally assisting Captain America during the events of Civil War, Scott Lang is finally ready to leave house arrest and rejoin society. Unfortunately, he becomes re-entangled in the likes of Hope and Hank Pym when it turns out he has a connection to the missing Janet Pym, who has been trapped in the Quantum Realm. The group ends up fighting the Ghost, a villain who wants to use Scott’s connection to the Quantum Realm to cure herself. Working together with Hank’s former partner, Bill Foster, they are able to save Janet and work on a cure for the Ghost. However, in a post-credits scene, Hank, Janet and Hope apparently die and Scott is stuck in the Quantum Realm. This may become important later.
