WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW BY SHOLA ABODUNRIN

Chronological order of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies (part I)

First, here's the order of when all the MCU movies take place. This is a chronological order, not release order: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 released in 2017 but is set shortly after the original, several films are set directly in the wake of Captain America: Civil War, while 2019's Captain Marvel is set in 1995.

• 1943-1945: Captain America: The First Avenger
• 1995: Captain Marvel
• 2010: Iron Man
• 2011: Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor
• 2012: The Avengers, Iron Man 3
• 2013: Thor: The Dark World
• 2014: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
• 2015: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man
• 2016: Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Black Panther
• 2016 through to 2017: Doctor Strange
• 2017: Thor: Ragnarok
• 2018: Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man & the Wasp
• 2019: Avengers: Endgame

The Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to follow the so-called "cyclic model," with an eternal cosmos locked in an endless cycle of death and rebirth. According to the Collector, the Infinity Stones come from the universe before our own. As he told the Guardians of the Galaxy:

"Before creation itself, there were six singularities. Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots... Infinity Stones."

The Infinity Stones weren't the only thing to survive the previous universe. The dying days of the universe before ours were ruled by the Dark Elves, some of whom also somehow made their way into this cosmos. They were used to a reality that was in the last stages of heat death, an infinite darkness. They settled on the realm of Svartalfheim, and would forever seek to restore their dark universe.

Sources: Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: The Dark World

THE AGE OF THE CELESTIALS

The powerful race known as the Celestials were born in the earliest days of the universe. These beings were forged from so-called "living light," which they used to manipulate matter itself and create their own bodies. It's possible these were the beings who "forged" the Infinity Stones into their current form. They certainly took possession of the Power Stone, and the Collector showed footage of the Celestials using it to judge entire worlds and civilizations.

The final fate of the Celestials is unclear, but it seems likely that other races rose up to wage war against them. The Celestials were rendered virtually extinct, with just fragments of their bodies left behind; one gigantic skull would ultimately become the mining installation Knowhere. Only one last Celestial was left, the newborn being who would come to call himself Ego.

According to the Collector, the Power Stone was briefly acquired by a group of lesser beings, who used its power for moments before being consumed. It's possible they used it against the Celestials, and that these monstrous alien beings were destroyed by their own weapon. The Power Stone was ultimately secreted on the planet Morag.

Sources: Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

THE FOUNDING OF WAKANDA

2.5 million years ago, a Vibranium meteorite impacted East Africa. The entire area was transformed by Vibranium dust, with the energies emitted from the rare metal leading flora and fauna to evolve in a unique way. Humans settled in the area over 10,000 years ago, and warring tribes battled it out. The tribal conflict ultimately came to an end when one warrior-chieftain, Bashenga, received a vision from the Panther God. He was guided to the rare Heart-Shaped Herb, and ingesting this granted Bashenga tremendous superhuman powers. Bashenga used these powers to unite the tribes, and formed the world’s first civilization – Wakanda. He became the first Black Panther.

Wakanda was mostly dedicated to worship of the Panther God, Bast, although the Jabari tribe continued to worship Hanuman. It seems likely Bashenga was the one who first guided the Wakandans to begin tapping into the secrets of Vibranium, as they named the Vibranium mound after him. The Black Panthers became ancestral defenders of Wakanda, with successive Black Panthers protecting their nation from any threats. Wakanda became increasingly isolationist over the millennia, distancing itself from the rest of the world.

Sources: Black Panther; The Art of Black Panther

THE INHUMANS AND THE BEGINNING OF HYDRA

Millennia ago, the blue-skinned race known as the Kree began to form a warlike empire. Around 5,000 years ago, the Kree began to travel the universe, experimenting on other races. Their goal was to create super-soldiers, who would serve as their greatest weapons. Although most of these experiments were unsuccessful, on Earth they succeeded in creating the Inhumans. The first Inhuman, Alveus, possessed the power to take control of other members of his race. He led an uprising against the Kree, driving them away from the planet. It's unclear quite how this happened, given the Kree actually believed the Inhumans had been rendered mostly extinct in the aftermath.

Humans and Inhumans alike feared the power of Alveus. They united to banish Alveus through a Kree Monolith, sending him to the planet Maveth. Alveus's disciples formed a secretive cult with the sole purpose of finding a way to bring him back to Earth; always seeking power, this cult would endure through the millennia, known as Hydra.

Tension grew between the humans and Inhumans, with humanity fearing their power. The bulk of the Inhumans chose to relocate to a Kree outpost on the Moon, which they dubbed "Attilan." There, the Inhumans established a strict caste system in order to control their population.

Sources: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3, 'Failed Experiments'; Inhumans

THE AGE OF ASGARD

In 2,988BC, the Dark Elves recognized that a cosmic event known as the Convergence would see the fabric of reality weakening. They sought to use the Reality Stone (which they called the Aether) to recreate their own universe of darkness. Fortunately, the Dark Elves were opposed by the forces of Asgard, under the leadership of Bor. When the dust settled, Bor thought he had committed genocide, wiping the Dark Elves out. Believing the Reality Stone to be too dangerous, he had it secreted away. Unknown to Bor, the last survivors of the Dark Elves – including their leader, Malekith – locked themselves in suspended animation, awaiting the next Convergence.

Bor would be succeeded by his son, Odin, who initially pursued an imperial policy. The forces of Asgard ransacked other worlds and civilizations, taking their treasures for themselves. Odin’s greatest warrior was his daughter, Hela, who cut a bloody swathe through all Asgard’s opponents. Finally, as the centuries passed, Odin began to believe he was leading Asgard in the wrong direction. He attempted to push Asgard towards a more benevolent policy, but was fiercely opposed by Hela. The All-Father ultimately banished his daughter, trapping her with his own might; it was a decision that cost Asgard dearly, as she briefly escaped and slaughtered Asgard’s famous Valkyrie warriors.

Odin may have renounced the old imperialism of Asgard, but he was still willing to intervene in galactic affairs. He led Asgard in defense of other realms, most notably Midgard (the Asgardian name for Earth). When King Laufey of Jotunheim invaded Midgard in approx. 1,000AD, the Asgardians intervened. The Frost Giants were driven back to Jotunheim, and their most powerful weapon – the Casket of Ancient Winters – was secreted away in Odin’s Vault. The All-Father stumbled upon a Frost Giant child, who he adopted as his own son in the hope he would become a bridge between the two races. Asgard would launch another campaign on Midgard in the 1300s, and one of their Berserker warriors would choose to desert. A century later, in 1409, Odin decided to hide the Tesseract with a group of worshipers in Tønsberg, Norway. It would remain hidden until the 20th Century.

Sources: Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1, 'The Well', Marvel Studios: The First 10 Years

THE FALL OF TITAN

Another alien society developed upon the planet Titan, a rich and lush world. Population growth on Titan was explosive, not helped by the exceptional long lives of the world's inhabitants. One of Titan's philosophers, Thanos, game to believe that population growth was in danger of outstripping Titan's natural resources. He believed this would lead to a global catastrophe. Thanos's solution was an act of genocide, the proposed slaughter of half of Titan's population. "At random," he explained. "It would be fair, for rich and poor alike." This inhuman idea was dismissed by Titan's rulers, and Thanos was called a madman.

Tragically, Thanos's warning came to pass. Somehow, overuse of Titan's resources led to an extinction level event. Thanos, who had seen the disaster coming, was the sole survivor of Titan. As he looked out at the universe, Thanos realized he saw the same pattern repeating on a cosmic scale; everywhere he looked, life was flourishing, and consuming resources. Thanos would ultimately decide to apply his twisted philosophy to the rest of the cosmos.

It's impossible to accurately date the fall of Titan. All life on the world seems to have been consumed, and this may have even affected the planet's bacteria, meaning the normal process of decay no longer affects the planet. Thanos's exceptionally long life actually means this could actually have happened millennia ago.

Source: Avengers: Infinity War

There's now something of a gap in the MCU timeline, running up to the 20th century. There have only ever been occasional flashbacks to the last 1,000 years or so of world history, but all they've done is confirm that everything we've seen so far was still ongoing. Hydra were still sending sacrifices through the Monolith, the Hand and the Chaste were waging war, and an Asgardian berserker was becoming a legend on Earth.

HYDRA ALLIES WITH NAZISM

In the twentieth century, Hydra used the rise of Nazism as an opportunity to gain power and influence. The most notable figure was Johann Schmidt, a scientist who believed the legends of Asgard were the key to ancient, advanced science. He ingratiated himself within the SS, and in June 1934 took advantage of the Night of the Long Knives to take control of the Nazi's weapons testing program in Kumersdorf

Under Schmidt's leadership, Hydra pursued two avenues of research. Arnim Zola continued to develop advanced weapons systems, which Hydra secretly tested during the Spanish Civil War. But Schmidt himself was more interested in attempts to create the perfect human, and became fascinated by the theories of Dr. Abraham Erskine. When Erskine attempted to flee Germany in September 1935, Schmidt intercepted him, and forced him to cooperate with Hydra.

1940 proved a turning point in the history of Hydra, with war now raging across Europe. British Intelligence stole footage of weapons testing in Guernica, sharing it with the United States; this evidence persuaded the Strategic Scientific Reserve to prepare for outright war with Hydra, and they recruited genius industrialist Howard Stark. In November that year, Schmidt forced Erskine to pursue human trials of his super-soldier serum, and was transformed into the Red Skull. British Intelligence smuggled Erskine out of Germany before Erskine could be killed for his apparent failure.

In December 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor forced the United States to finally enter the Second World War. Only three months later, though, Hydra’s weapons programs received a terrifying boost; the Red Skull was finally able to locate the Tesseract, the Space Stone, which had apparently been left on Earth by Odin. Hydra swiftly recognized that they could use the Tesseract as a powerful energy source.

Sources: Captain America: The First Avenger; Captain America: First Vengeance

HYDRA

The SSR's super-soldier program proved successful, but Erskine was assassinated by Hydra after creating just one super-soldier: Steve Rogers, a skinny kid from Brooklyn who Erskine recruited for his strength of character. Although the so-called "Captain America" was initially used as a propaganda tool, in October 1943 Rogers launched an unauthorized mission behind enemy lines to rescue POWs. He proved successful and was recruited by the SSR as a field operative against Hydra. Rogers would serve across the entire European continent, leading an attack on the SSR's Leviathan submarine, neutralizing a Hydra base in the Danish Straits, and capturing a Hydra spy in London

Meanwhile, Hydra operatives continued to research paranormal phenomenon. In 1945, Werner Reinhardt conducted a dig in Portugal, discovering an ancient Kree Obelisk. He returned to his base in Austria, where he conducted human trials. The same year saw the 5th U.S. Infantry Division encounter the phenomenon known as “Zero Matter,” likely another Hydra experiment.

Finally, the SSR successfully captured senior Hydra scientist Arnim Zola, although at a cost; Rogers's friend Bucky Barnes was believed killed. Using Zola's intelligence, the SSR launched a crippling campaign against Hydra. Desperate, the Red Skull used Tesseract technology to empower his Valkyrie bomber, and piloted it in a bombing run on the United States. Captain America stole aboard, and the two super-soldiers battled. The Red Skull was (apparently) consumed by the power of the Tesseract, while Rogers crashed the Valkyrie into the Greenland Ice Cap. Both Steve Rogers and the Red Skull were believed dead; in reality, Rogers was left in suspended animation, while the Red Skull was transported to the distant world of Vormir.

All that was left for the SSR was the mopping up, and the last Hydra base to be taken out was Reinhardt’s Austrian headquarters. The Kree Obelisk became the SSR’s first “0-8-4” (object of unknown origin).

Sources: Captain America: The First Avenger; Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2, 'Shadows'; Captain America & Thor: Avengers!, Captain America: First Vengeance, Marvel's The Avengers: The Avengers Initiative

S.H.I.E.L.D. AND THE "BEAUTIFUL PARASITE"

The SSR had badly underestimated their opponents, though, believing Hydra merely to be a rogue Nazi science division. In reality, Hydra was a vast and ancient organization, and Hydra agents could still be found in other countries. Barnes’s battered body had been found by Hydra agents and ferried into the USSR. There, Hydra would begin the long and arduous program of transforming him into the Winter Soldier.

THE WAR BETWEEN THE SSR AND HYDRA

The SSR's super-soldier program proved successful, but Erskine was assassinated by Hydra after creating just one super-soldier: Steve Rogers, a skinny kid from Brooklyn who Erskine recruited for his strength of character. Although the so-called "Captain America" was initially used as a propaganda tool, in October 1943 Rogers launched an unauthorized mission behind enemy lines to rescue POWs. He proved successful and was recruited by the SSR as a field operative against Hydra. Rogers would serve across the entire European continent, leading an attack on the SSR's Leviathan submarine, neutralizing a Hydra base in the Danish Straits, and capturing a Hydra spy in London.

Meanwhile, Hydra operatives continued to research paranormal phenomenon. In 1945, Werner Reinhardt conducted a dig in Portugal, discovering an ancient Kree Obelisk. He returned to his base in Austria, where he conducted human trials. The same year saw the 5th U.S. Infantry Division encounter the phenomenon known as “Zero Matter,” likely another Hydra experiment.

Finally, the SSR successfully captured senior Hydra scientist Arnim Zola, although at a cost; Rogers's friend Bucky Barnes was believed killed. Using Zola's intelligence, the SSR launched a crippling campaign against Hydra. Desperate, the Red Skull used Tesseract technology to empower his Valkyrie bomber, and piloted it in a bombing run on the United States. Captain America stole aboard, and the two super-soldiers battled. The Red Skull was (apparently) consumed by the power of the Tesseract, while Rogers crashed the Valkyrie into the Greenland Ice Cap. Both Steve Rogers and the Red Skull were believed dead; in reality, Rogers was left in suspended animation, while the Red Skull was transported to the distant world of Vormir.

All that was left for the SSR was the mopping up, and the last Hydra base to be taken out was Reinhardt’s Austrian headquarters. The Kree Obelisk became the SSR’s first “0-8-4” (object of unknown origin).

Sources: Captain America: The First Avenger; Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2, 'Shadows'; Captain America & Thor: Avengers!, Captain America: First Vengeance, Marvel's The Avengers: The Avengers Initiative

THE RETURN OF THE CELESTIALS

Meanwhile, in the depths of space, the last of the Celestials - Ego - had created an entire world around his "living light." Creating a biological form for himself, Ego traveled the cosmos, seeking any hint that others of his race had survived. He ultimately realized he was alone. Ego forged an insane plan to absorb the rest of the galaxy into himself, but swiftly realized he would need another Celestial in order to achieve this. The solution, Ego decided, was to travel the galaxy and sire progeny, in the hopes some race would prove compatible with Celestial DNA. In 1980, Ego arrived on Earth, and met Meredith Quill.

To Ego's horror, he realized he was genuinely coming to fall in love with Meredith. He was increasingly tempted to abandon his cause, and instead live on Earth. Separated from his "living light," Ego would become mortal, and die a human. This temptation was dangerous, and so Ego chose to create a tumor within Meredith, one that would gradually kill her. He then left Earth forever.

Meredith gave birth to a son, who she named Peter. Over the years, Meredith's cancer progressed, and she finally died in 1988. Sensing her impending death, Ego hired the Ravager Yondu to collect Peter and bring him to Ego's Planet. Instead, Yondu adopted the child as his own, bringing him up as a "Star-Lord."

Sources: Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

HYDRA'S QUEST FOR SUPER-SOLDIERS

 Hydra grew particularly interested in the so-called "Pym Particle," discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant Hank Pym. Pym had unlocked the ability to change size, and had used these powers to run a number of key missions. He'd paid a terrible price, though, with his wife Janet Van Dyne sacrificing herself in order to stop an ICBM strike on the US.

At the same time, Daniel Whitehall began work on what he called a "Particle Infusion Generator." This would allow Hydra to infuse a subject with specific particles, granting them the properties of said particles. Whitehall believed the best subject would be bred for this, and had a Hydra student undergo artificial insemination. Ultimately, Pym Particles proved to be a dead end; when Pym learned S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were attempting to duplicate his technology, he quit. Hydra instead turned their attention to the element Gravitonium, which had been theorized by Dr. Franklin Hall.

In December 1991, Hydra learned that Howard Stark had finally replicated the super-soldier serum. They used the Winter Soldier to assassinate Stark and his wife, and recovered samples of the serum. Hydra's experiments proved unsuccessful; the subjects were dangerously unstable, and Hydra were forced to abandon the project and place them in cryogenic suspension. Whitehall's strategy, to breed and train the perfect test subject, seemed the right way to go.

Sources: Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5, 'Rise and Shine’

PRINCE N'JOBU'S TREACHERY AND KLAUE'S VIBRANIUM SMUGGLING

In the late '80s and early '90s, Wakanda's King T'Chaka began sending his agents out into the world to carefully monitor potential threats. One of these agents was his brother, Prince N'Jobu, but T'Chaka had failed to reckon on N'Jobu's passionate nature. The prince fell in love with an African American woman, and the two had a secret child. Increasingly invested in the outside world, N'Jobu watched with fury as the planet's social system seemed to conspire against black people. He believed Wakanda had a responsibility to intervene, and concluded that Vibranium weapons could be used to arm black insurgencies across the globe.

N'Jobu conspired with the smuggler Ulysses Klaue to smuggle Vibranium out of Wakanda. Wakandan forces captured Klaue, and branded him as a thief; but they failed to appreciate the scale of the threat Klaue posed. In 1991, another near-capture led Klaue to detonate explosives, killing members of Wakanda's Border Tribe. T'Chaka began a personal investigation, and swiftly discovered his brother's treachery.

The confrontation between T'Chaka and N'Jobu turned to tragedy, with N'Jobu actually attacking the king - who killed his brother. Horrified at what he had done, T'Chaka left America, abandoning N'Jobu's son in the United States. Klaue remained Wakanda's most hated enemy, but the smuggler managed to stay under the radar for decades.

Source: Black Panther.

CAPTAIN MARVEL - 1995

In 1989, US fighter pilot Carol Danvers disappeared. She returned to Earth in 1995 as Kree Starforce member Vers on the hunt for invading Skrulls. She discovers her past on Earth and that the Kree-Skrull war she's waging is not quite as it seems. Unlocking her full powers, she vows to protect the universe.

Along the way, she meets S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury who loses an eye and eventually becomes Director, vowing to find more heroes to protect Earth.

Source: Captain Marvel

THE FATE OF THE ZEHOBEREI

Meanwhile, in the depths of space, Thanos the Mad Titan visited the world of Zen-Whoberi. Thanos had concluded that population growth across the universe risked outstripping the cosmos's natural resources, and had launched an insane campaign to slaughter half the life in the universe. As part of this, he had gathered armies and acolytes to himself, and begun to raze world after world. Thanos had half the population of Zen-Whoberi killed, and claimed one surviving Zehoberei - Gamora - as his "daughter." Although Gamora remained with Thanos for over 20 years, in truth she hated Thanos for what he had done, and would ultimately betray him.

In the wake of Thanos's horrific slaughter, the survivors of the massacre grouped together. Over time, they formed what Thanos viewed as a paradise, a world without want or need. He would cite it as an example of his philosophy, a proof that he was doing the right thing.

Source: Avengers: Infinity War

ORIGIN STORIES

There's a sense in which the '90s was the decade of the origin story. In the United States, the young Tony Stark inherited his parents' wealth and connections. This was held in trust until he turned 21 in 1992, when Stark became CEO of Stark Industries. He worked closely with his parents' old friend, Obadiah Stane, unaware that Stane was more than willing to do illegal deals with terrorist groups like the Ten Rings. Only a year later, the young Natasha Romanoff was inducted into the Red Room program, which had outlived the fall of the Soviet Union. She remained active as an agent of the Red Room for several years, until she was brought in by S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clint Barton. Barton persuaded Romanoff to join S.H.I.E.L.D., and she continued to operate under the codename "Black Widow."

In Hell's Kitchen, nine-year-old Matt Murdock was involved in a toxic waste accident that left him blinded. He was orphaned not long later and wound up at Saint Agnes' Orphanage. There, Matt came to the attention of Stick, a member of the Chaste. Stick swiftly realized that Matt had somehow gained advanced senses, and attempted to train him to become a weapon against the Hand. In the end, Stick realized that Matt was simply too loving to take on this role, and moved on. He'd always remain close to Matt Murdock, though, watching from the shadows and carefully manipulating his life.

In 1998 the young Jessica Jones and her family were involved in a car accident. Dr. Karl Malus used experimental genetic editing to save both Jessica and her mother. The effects on Alisa Jones left her out of control, and she was kept for observation and monitoring. Jessica was sent back to Metro General Hospital, believing herself to be an orphan. She was adopted by the Walker family, and it didn't take Jessica long to learn that she'd somehow gained superhuman strength.

Finally, sometime around this time young Ava Starr was exposed to a burst of quantum energy when one of her father's experiments went catastrophically wrong. Rendered intangible, Ava was approached by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Bill Foster, who took her under his wing. S.H.I.E.L.D. created technology to help Ava control her powers, and trained her as a Combat and Espionage Specialist.

Sources: Ant-Man & the Wasp, Daredevil season 1, Jessica Jones season 2, Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Iron Man 2, Marvel Studios: The First 10 Years

THE CREATION OF THE HULK

In 2005, the military's continued focus on the super-soldier program led to the creation of the Hulk. General Thaddeus Ross placed immense pressure on his chief scientist, Bruce Banner, who was eager to gain Ross's approval due to his love for his daughter, Betty. Bruce unwisely exposed himself to high levels of Gamma radiation and transformed into the Hulk. Betty was one of the people hospitalized by the Hulk's first rampage.

To Banner's horror, Ross saw the Hulk as a potential weapon. He fled across the Canadian border, becoming one of the world's most wanted men. A year after fleeing the country, Banner made an attempt to reach out to Betty; the message was intercepted by S.H.I.E.L.D.. Seeking to get a read on this mysterious new "enhanced" individual, Nick Fury personally arranged a meeting with Banner, carefully manipulating circumstances so as to trigger a Hulk incident. Fury was less than impressed, concluding that the Hulk was too volatile to become an asset.

Sources: The Incredible Hulk - The Big Picture, The Incredible Hulk: The Fury Files; Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Incredible Hulk

THE AGE OF HEROES

When Marvel released Captain America: Civil War, they appeared to set in place a basic rule of thumb; that, unless otherwise indicated, every Marvel movie happens in the year of its release. That was in line with frequent statements from Marvel insiders; Scarlett Johansson once stated that The Winter Soldier was set two years after The Avengers, and Kevin Feige himself indicated that Infinity War is set in 2018. Continuity isn't perfect - especially in light of Spider-Man: Homecoming, which significantly complicates the issue. But using that approach, it's possible to create a basic timeline of the Age of the Avengers. This runs all the way from the day Tony Stark first suited up as Iron Man, to the encounter between Asgardian refugees and Thanos's ship, the Sanctuary II, just moments before Infinity War.

"I AM IRON MAN" - 2008

Tony Stark had successfully transformed Stark Industries into one of the world's foremost weapons manufacturers. Unknown to Stark, though, senior partner Obadiah Stane was secretly selling weapons to terrorists. The company was actually under investigation by S.H.I.E.L.D., who were unsure whether or not Stark was implicated in his company's crimes. Stane's growing ambitions ultimately caused him to conspire with the Ten Rings terrorist organization to have Tony Stark assassinated. Instead, to Stane's fury, the Ten Rings captured Stark and attempted to force him to create weapons for them.

Injured during the Ten Rings' attack on a convoy in Afghanistan, Stark created a miniaturized Arc Reactor to keep shards of shrapnel away from his heart. He then created the first Iron Man armor, successfully escaping. Returning to the US, Stark dedicated himself to taking illegal Stark Industries weapons off the table. This led him into direct combat with Stane, who successfully created his own armor. Although S.H.I.E.L.D. attempted to help Stark conceal his identity, Stark dropped the cover story in a press conference and admitted himself to be Iron Man.

Sources: Iron Man; Iron Man: Fast Friends, Iron Man: Security Measures

THE WORLD CHANGES - 2008-2011

Stark's announcement effectively made him the world's first celebrity superhero. In Wakanda, T'Challa - who had just become the new Black Panther - was unimpressed. In Russia, Ivan Vanko was furious; his father had worked with Howard Stark on the first designs for the Arc Reactor, and he blamed the Starks for his father's misfortunes and death. Tony Stark, for his part, used his celebrity to launch a campaign to bring an end to war. "I've successfully privatized world peace," he bragged. The fact he sat outside the chain of command, however, made Tony Stark a dangerous loose cannon. S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury assigned Black Widow to go undercover at Stark Industries and monitor Stark's mental health.

Fury believed S.H.I.E.L.D. would play an important role in the age to come. He began to redirect S.H.I.E.L.D.'s funds to two specific projects; a new headquarters, known as the Triskellion, and the so-called Avengers Initiative. Fury's pet project, the Avengers Initiative would see S.H.I.E.L.D. assemble "gifted" assets and "enhanced" individual as a combat unit against exceptional threats. The director believed the world would soon be in real danger from these threats, and an incident in Bahrain in 2009 proved him right. There, a rogue Inhuman - who had left the secretive Inhuman colony of Afterlife - took control of criminal gangs, and rejoiced in causing pain and suffering. S.H.I.E.L.D. Specialist Melinda May was forced to kill the Inhuman, a child who had undergone Terrigenesis despite lacking both emotional and physical maturity.

Fury soon recognized one major problem with the Avengers Initiative; the death of a single "enhanced" individual would effectively devastate S.H.I.E.L.D.'s defense. To that end, he initiated the secretive "Project T.A.H.I.T.I.," an attempt to use Kree technology to resurrect the dead.

Marvel originally intended this time-period to be a little shorter - dialogue in Iron Man 2 suggests it should have only spanned six months. However, that directly contradicts Civil War, which establishes fixed dates for Iron Man and The Avengers. Stretching it out only contradicts a single line of dialogue.

Sources: Iron Man 2; Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1, season 2, 'Melinda'; Iron Man 2: Security Breach, Iron Man 2: Fist of Iron, Iron Man 2: Public Identity, Iron Man 2: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

FURY'S BIG WEEK AND THE AVENGERS INITIATIVE 2011

Although the next three Marvel movies were technically released between 2008 and 2011, they're bound together in a tight chronology by the tie-in comic Fury's Big Week. This establishes that the events of The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, and Thor all intersect. In order to examine how these events relate to one another, we'll mostly examine them from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s perspective.

General Ross tracked down Banner in Brazil, and launched an unsuccessful covert op to bring him in. This led to Banner sneaking into the United States, much to Fury's concern. Unfortunately, this coincided with a difficult period for Tony Stark, whose body was dying of palladium poisoning. Under intense pressure due to an attack from Ivan Vanko, Stark crumbled, and a drunken party turned dangerous. His friend James Rhodes, disgusted, took one of the Iron Man armors and became the superhero War Machine.

FURY'S BIG WEEK - 2011

Although the next three Marvel movies were technically released between 2008 and 2011, they're bound together in a tight chronology by the tie-in comic Fury's Big Week. This establishes that the events of The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, and Thor all intersect. In order to examine how these events relate to one another, we'll mostly examine them from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s perspective.

General Ross tracked down Banner in Brazil, and launched an unsuccessful covert op to bring him in. This led to Banner sneaking into the United States, much to Fury's concern. Unfortunately, this coincided with a difficult period for Tony Stark, whose body was dying of palladium poisoning. Under intense pressure due to an attack from Ivan Vanko, Stark crumbled, and a drunken party turned dangerous. His friend James Rhodes, disgusted, took one of the Iron Man armors and became the superhero War Machine.

Fury intervened personally, helping stabilize Stark and point him towards his own father's research to cure his poisoning. This intervention led Black Widow to blow her cover, and Widow supported Stark directly in defeating an attack by Ivan Vanko and Justin Hammer. With Black Widow no longer needed at Stark Industries, Fury sent her to Culver University, to monitor the growing conflict between General Ross and the Hulk. That situation went public when General Ross's illegally-created super-soldier, Emil Blonsky, went on a rampage in Harlem. Blonsky was defeated by the Hulk.

At the same time, Agent Phil Coulson dealt with a first contact situation in New Mexico. Thor was banished to Earth after picking a fight with the Frost Giants; his brother Loki pursued him with the Destroyer. Thor eventually triumphed, and returned to Asgard in order to defeat Loki. In order to do so, he was forced to destroy the Bifrost.

The New Mexico incident made it clear that Earth was dangerously outgunned. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s budget was increased, and Fury focused on both the Avengers Initiative and creating Tesseract weapons. These experiments attracted the attention of Thanos, who claimed Loki as his agent. Meanwhile, in space, the destruction of the Bifrost had plunged the Nine Realms into chaos. The other Realms depended on Asgard for protection, and were now victim to countless forces of raiders.

Sources: The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor; Fury's Big Week, Thor: The Dark World Prelude, Marvel's The Avengers: The Avengers Initiative

THE AVENGERS INITIATIVE - 2012

S.H.I.E.L.D. successfully recovered Steve Rogers, and discovered he was still alive. Rogers was briefly sent to a S.H.I.E.L.D. safehouse in the countryside to acclimatize, before returning to New York. He would soon be needed.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s experiments with the Tesseract drew Loki to Earth, and the Asgardian prince successfully opened a portal for the Chitauri using the Tesseract. Fortunately, Fury was able to assemble the Avengers - who were joined by Thor, sent by Odin to take Loki back to Asgard for trial. The Avengers defeated the Chitauri forces, and deactivated the portal. Although Thor took Loki back to Asgard, it was without the mysterious scepter Loki had wielded; that was stolen by Hydra agents within S.H.I.E.L.D., and taken to a Hydra base in Sokovia.

Although the Avengers had saved the world, it was at a price Nick Fury believed too high; the death of Coulson. Fury reluctantly had Coulson resurrected using Project T.A.H.I.T.I..

The Battle of New York is a pivotal moment in the MCU's history. It marks the point when the world had to accept that aliens existed, but also the moment when the Avengers became public knowledge. Reactions to this dual revelation were mixed; on the one hand, Earth suddenly felt a lot more vulnerable. On the other, though, it had defenders for the first time. World leaders began to consider both how to protect themselves from alien threats, and how to regulate and control "enhanced" individuals. One possible option was to follow the lead of James Rhodes, who continued to operate as the US Government's War Machine. Rhodes wasn't involved in the Battle of New York, as he was in Asia at the time, dealing with a Ten Rings terrorist attack.

Sources: The Avengers; Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1; Iron Man 3 Prelude, Thor: The Dark World Prelude, Avengers: Age of Ultron - This Sceptre'd Isle

EXTREMIS - 2012

The US Government rebranded War Machine as the Iron Patriot, continuing to field him against potential terrorists. One particular challenge was the threat of the Mandarin, an individual blamed for a spate of terrorist attacks across America. In reality, the Mandarin was a cover created by Aldrich Killian in order to generate a climate of fear. Killian's explosives were actually the byproduct of a bioengineering process he called Extremis, one that was dangerously unstable. Although Killian managed to kidnap the President of the United States, he was nevertheless defeated by Iron Man and War Machine.

Hydra took samples of Extremis, and began using it in an attempt to create their own super-soldiers. This particular project was run by a Hydra cell that operated under the code-name "Centipede."

Sources: Iron Man 3, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1, 'Pilot'

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Olushola Abodunrin is a graduate of Philosophy from the University of Ado-Ekiti. He is a professional writer, he writes articles for publication and he anchors – ‘What You Should Know’ on SHEGZSABLEZS’ blog.

‘What You Should Know’ is a column that offers to educate and enlighten the public on general falsehood and myths.