The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has grown over the past decade to something that has taken on a life of its own. I began watching Marvel movies when the first Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) movie came out on demand. I fell in love with the storytelling, the characters, and the potential the series had going for it.
The first collective superhero movie of the franchise, The Avengers (2012), showed that a superhero movie could be successful in storytelling across several movies and years. It was the first step in bringing all the solo movies together to form a cinematic universe all on its own. Something DC Comics has never been able to accomplish successfully, until Zack Snyder’s cut of Jutsice League (2021), which is still debatable to this day among superhero fanatics.
My favorite thing about the MCU is the payoff. Personally, I love seeing the growth and development of characters. The use of giving heroes their own origin film or show allows the character to be set up in the universe for further use in other movies and shows going forward. For instance, we first met Wanda Maximoff in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), and she has been in the major Avengers movies since. She grows and changes across the other movies she appears in, especially following Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and it led to her own solo, critically-acclaimed, Disney+ show, WandaVision (2021).
The characters are relatable, funny, and have a development that is worth witnessing, especially for future projects. Recently, I just came upon the old Marvel Netflix shows that were created and put on this platform before Disney+ was made. Daredevil (2015-2018) is such a well-thought-out show with one of my new favorite Marvel characters, Matt Murdock. His anti-hero energy with his want to save Hell’s Kitchen makes for a dark drama that is my current obsession. I’m so glad that these characters are now on Disney+ because more people can fall in love with these characters as I have. Matt Murdock will be shown in upcoming MCU projects, and it is possibly getting a reboot on Disney+, so I recommend watching it now.
Some of my favorite memories are those of going to the movie theater on the day of a Marvel movie premiere after preordering tickets months in advance with my friends. Seeing these stories unfold with a live audience, is a collective experience I hope everyone gets to experience at the movie theater one day. There is screaming, crying, sharing of tissues, and enjoyment. I get to share this experience with my friends who love Marvel, but I also get to experience it with strangers. They are memories and a visceral feeling I will never forget, and you will get to experience that if you go see a Marvel movie live.
Marvel’s partnership has been one of the best decisions they could have made. The use of the Disney+ platform gives life to characters who may have not gotten a chance to be in a feature film. This furthers the development and stories the writers wish to adapt from the comics. The Disney+ shows are some of the best material the universe has created over the years. The use of Disney’s budget, time, energy, and resources allows for these short, binge-worthy shows to get their time to shine, especially the fan-favorite characters, such as Loki, Bucky Barnes, and Wanda Maximoff.
Kevin Feige is the main producer and president of Marvel Studios who oversees all the MCU movies and shows. He ensures that all the stories align with the way each phase is supposed to go. The MCU’s projects are separated into phases that have similar themes and purposes to lead to the film that brings all the characters together, which is seen in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). As of right now, we are in phase four of the MCU, and it is reminiscent for early fans of Marvel. This is because many of the projects right now are origin-style films, such as the Eternals (2021) and Shang-Chi (2021). This phase allows for the early stages of new superheroes to take center stage before a collective film comes out bringing all the characters together to deal with the Multiverse.
This phase has also shown Marvel’s depth and consideration of diversity, feminism, and mental health. For instance, Black Widow (2021) had feminist themes that did not involve the over-sexualization of female superheroes for a male audience. The Falcon and Winter Soldier (2021) Disney+ show also has directly commented on race as Sam Wilson, an African American man, will take up the mantle of Captain America. The MCU comments on current social topics and makes them an intricate part of the stories, especially in the critically-acclaimed Black Panther (2018). Shang-Chi (2021) is also a movie with Asian American and Pacific Islander representation that reflects the growth of diversity over the years with the MCU.
Right now, Marvel is airing Moon Knight (2022), a show that depicts our main heroine with Dissociate Identity Disorder (DID), which is characterized by an individual with two or more distinct personalities, and it can originates out of coping with trauma. 1.5 % of the global population lives with DID. The MCU is commenting on mental health, while also making it a part of mythology. At one point in the show, Marc Spector asks for help because of the need to seek refuge from the torment of his mental illness. It is such a strong and emotional scene that shows that the MCU is not just superheroes, fighting, and powers. These are stories about the reality of human beings. WandaVision (2021) is another Disney+ show that deals with grief. There is a show or movie for everyone that can touch something they have dealt with as well. I felt Wanda’s pain when I witnessed her grief and the actions that came from it.
Overall, the writing of the MCU truly shows the effort, creativity, and passion of everyone involved. The content never fails to disappoint, especially as the stories continue to develop and relate to each other in different ways. I cannot wait to see what the writers plan to do with Phase 5 following the set up of the Multiverse in Phase 4. The MCU also proves that this content can be critically-acclaimed, even if they are considered “superhero” movies. In the upcoming years, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more of these projects winning Emmys and Oscars.
If you are someone who enjoys elaborate storytelling, action, acting, and social commentary, then you should begin your deep dive into all Marvel content that is all on Disney+, except for the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies, which are fantastic and can be found on Starz.
Here is the chronological order of the MCU Movies
This is my personal preference for the order of viewing. However, you can always watch the projects in the release date order of how they came out to the public. There are years of great storytelling and characters throughout these movies. I hope to see you waiting for the end credits scenes at the next Marvel movie premiere!
- Captain America: The First Avenger – takes place during WWII
- Captain Marvel – occurs in 1995
- Iron Man – takes place in 2008
- Iron Man 2 – takes place after Iron Man
- The Incredible Hulk – time unspecified, pre-Avengers
- Thor – events occur six months before Avengers
- The Avengers – takes place in 2012
- Iron Man 3 – takes place six months after The Avengers
- Thor: Dark World – post-Avengers, pre-Ultron
- Captain America: Winter Soldier – post-Avengers, pre-Ultron
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 – sometime in 2014
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – set after Guardians
- Avengers: Age of Ultron – occurs in 2015
- Ant-Man – takes place in 2015
- Captain America: Civil War – post-Ultron, pre-Infinity War
- Black Widow – takes place right after Civil War
- Spider-Man: Homecoming – post-Civil War, pre-Infinity War
- Doctor Strange – takes place in 2016
- Black Panther – takes place in 2017
- Thor: Ragnarok – post-Ultron, pre-Infinity War
- Avengers: Infinity War – occurs in 2017
- Ant-Man and The Wasp – ambiguous, but fits nicely between Infinity War and Endgame (so around 2017)
- Avengers: Endgame – starts in 2017, finishes in 2022
- WandaVision – three weeks after Endgame
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – around six months after Avengers: Endgame
- Spider-Man: Far From Home – set eight months after Endgame
- Loki – post-The Avengers in 2012, but best watched after Endgame
- What If…? season 1 – technically, this spans the entire multiverse, but it’s best watched after Endgame
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – set in the ‘present’ day of the MCU, i.e. 2022
- Eternals – set in the ‘present day’ of the MCU, although it travels through 7,000 years of human history
- Spider-Man: No Way Home – mostly set in the MCU’s ‘present’ day, but its first 10 minutes take place right after Far From Home
- Hawkeye – one year after Endgame
- Moon Knight – set in the ‘present day’ of the MCU. By this point, that’s likely to be around 2024