A SERIES OF MARVELLOUS EVENTS
YOU KNOW NOT ALL THE MARVEL MOVIES ARE IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, RIGHT? NO? HERE’S A HANDY TIMELINE FROM THE 1940S TO THE NOT-TOO-DISTANT FUTURE
1940s
STEVE ROGERS BECOMES CAPTAIN AMERICA Dr Erskine uses a Super Soldier Serum to transform Steve Rogers. ( Captain America: The First Avenger)
BUCKY BARNES SUPPOSEDLY DIES James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes falls to his apparent death during a mission to capture Hydra scientist Arnim Zola. ( Captain America: The First Avenger)
CAPTAIN AMERICA IS FROZEN IN ICE Captain America crashes the Hydra plane Valkyrie in the Arctic to prevent a catastrophic attack on American soil. ( Captain America: The First Avenger)
S.H.I.E.L.D. IS FOUNDED Peggy Carter and Howard Stark form the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, while Arnim Zola secretly keeps Hydra alive within its ranks. ( Marvel One-shot: Agent Carter)
1980s
THE ORIGINAL WASP SEEMINGLY DIES Suiting up as the Wasp for S.H.I.E.L.D. missions alongside husband and original Ant-man Hank Pym, Janet Van Dyne goes subatomic to disable a missile, possibly becoming lost in the quantum realm. ( Ant-man)
PETER QUILL IS ABDUCTED FROM EARTH Following the death of his mother, a young Peter Quill is abducted by Yondu and the Ravagers, who are working for his celestial father, Ego. ( Guardians of the Galaxy)
1990s
TONY STARK IS ORPHANED After creating a new Super Soldier Serum, Howard Stark and his wife, Maria, are assassinated by the Winter Soldier while under
Hydra’s control. ( Captain America: Civil War) T’CHAKA KILLS PRINCE N’JOBU Prince N’jobu enlists weapons dealer Ulysses Klaue to steal vibranium from Wakanda in order to arm the oppressed. As a result, King T’chaka kills his brother N’jobu and abandons his nephew Erik in Oakland. ( Black Panther) CAPTAIN MARVEL RISES Details are still hazy, but the Brie Larson–starring film will be set in the 1990s. ( Captain Marvel)
2000s
THE HULK IS BORN Bruce Banner is exposed to gamma radiation and a formula derived from Dr Erskine’s serum, leading to the creation of his angry alter ego. ( The Incredible Hulk)
2010s
TONY STARK BECOMES IRON MAN The industrialist is critically wounded while being kidnapped by the Ten Rings in Afghanistan, prompting Stark to build the first arc reactor, which will eventually power the Iron Man suit. After going public with his superhero identity, he’s approached by S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury to join the Avengers. ( Iron Man)
BLACK WIDOW INFILTRATES STARK INDUSTRIES Under the guise of being Tony Stark’s personal assistant, former KGB agent–turned–s.h.i.e.l.d. spy Natasha Romanoff keeps tabs on Tony amid fears he’s dying from palladium poisoning from his arc reactor. ( Iron Man 2)
THOR CRASHES TO EARTH Thor lands on Earth, befriending scientists Jane Foster and Erik Selvig while his brother Loki tries to steal the throne back in Asgard. ( Thor)
CAPTAIN AMERICA DEFROSTED After spending nearly 70 years on ice, Steve Rogers is discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. and thawed out, having not aged. ( Captain America: The First Avenger)
THE BATTLE OF NEW YORK Loki steals the Tesseract from S.H.I.E.L.D. to unlock a portal and unleash the alien Chitauri to enslave Earth, but the Avengers team up to stop him. Upon their victory, the Tesseract is returned to Asgard. ( The Avengers)
TONY DE-POWERS, WHILE PEPPER POTTS POWERS UP Tony defeats the Mandarin, who had inflicted Pepper Potts with now-stabilised Extremis powers, and has surgery to remove the shrapnel near his heart, rendering his personal arc reactor obsolete. ( Iron Man 3)
THOR BATTLES THE DARK ELVES Thor stops Dark Elf Malekith from harnessing the Aether during the Convergence, leaving it in the care of the Collector. ( Thor: The Dark World)
THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY DEFEAT RONAN The Guardians meet and prevent Kree radical Ronan the Accuser from destroying Xandar with the Power Stone. ( Guardians of the Galaxy) PETER MEETS HIS DADDY
Ego attempts to use Peter as a battery to terraform thousands of planets and effectively take over the universe. Gamora’s sister Nebula vows to kill their father, Thanos. ( Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)
HAIL HYDRA! Planning to subjugate the world, Hydra finally reveals it has long infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.’S ranks. Captain America discovers that one of Hydra’s agents, the Winter Soldier, is actually a brainwashed but still alive Bucky, who tries to kill Nick Fury, forcing the S.H.I.E.L.D. boss to fake his own death. ( Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
THE BIRTH OF ULTRON With the help of the gem in Loki’s sceptre, Tony and Bruce accidentally create the egomaniacal artificial intelligence Ultron, who aims to destroy the world. Tony turns his AI companion J.A.R.V.I.S. into Vision. The European nation of Sokovia is levelled. ( Avengers: Age of Ultron)
SCOTT LANG BECOMES ANT-MAN Hank Pym enlists his daughter Hope Van Dyne and well-meaning thief Scott Lang to block Darren Cross from selling powerful shrinking tech to Hydra. ( Ant-man)
THIS MEANS (CIVIL) WAR After an accident caused by Wanda Maximoff leads to the registration of superheroes, Steve tries to protect his friend when Bucky is framed for the death of Wakandan king T’chaka, leading heroes to take sides as Black Panther and Tony Stark seek revenge against the Winter Soldier. ( Captain America: Civil War)
BLACK PANTHER RETURNS HOME Shortly after the death of his father, T’challa takes his rightful place as king. But he is challenged by his cousin Killmonger, who is ultimately killed by T’challa. ( Black Panther)
SPIDER-MAN SAYS NO TO THE AVENGERS Having aligned with Tony Stark during the civil war and desperate to prove himself, Peter Parker hunts down local villain the Vulture. But after saving the day, he turns down a spot on the Avengers. ( Spider-man: Homecoming)
STEPHEN STRANGE DEFEATS DORMAMMU The Sorcerer Supreme uses the mystical Eye of Agamotto to vanquish the world-conquering Dormammu. ( Doctor Strange)
THE DESTRUCTION OF ASGARD Following the death of Odin, his firstborn, Hela, conquers her former home, forcing Thor to enact Ragnarok, but not before Loki seemingly steals the Tesseract from Asgard’s vault. ( Thor: Ragnarok)