Marvel Cinematic Universe



The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a shared universe created by Marvel Studios, designated as Earth-199999 within Marvel's multiverse system. The universe is comprised mainly by films independently made by Marvel Studios, that are always set within this same universe, much like Marvel has done with their comics.

The universe includes a series of short films, called Marvel One-Shots, launched with each film's Blu-ray release starting with Thor and finishing with Thor: The Dark World. These short films were, however, eventually discontinued.

Starting with the release of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the universe expanded into television series, including series premiered in the ABC and Freeform channels, and in the Netflix streaming platform.

The franchise also includes a series of tie-in Comics and video games, released as promotional material to the films, all set within the same reality. However, some of them, especially video games, do not match the events featured in other products following their release, and are classified as non-canonical parts of this universe.

Phase One

 * Iron Man (2008)
 * The Incredible Hulk (2008)
 * Iron Man 2 (2010)
 * Thor (2011)
 * Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
 * The Avengers (2012)

Phase Two

 * Iron Man 3 (2013)
 * Thor: The Dark World (2013)
 * Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
 * Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
 * Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
 * Ant-Man (2015)

Phase Three

 * Captain America: Civil War (2016)
 * Doctor Strange (2016)
 * Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
 * Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
 * Thor: Ragnarok (2017) (unreleased/post-production)
 * Black Panther (2018) (unreleased/post-production)
 * Avengers: Infinity War (2018) (unreleased/post-production)
 * Ant-Man & the Wasp (2018) (unreleased/pre-production)
 * Captain Marvel (2019) (unreleased/development)
 * Avengers 4 (2019) (unreleased/pre-production)

Phase Four

 * Spider-Man 2 (2019) (unreleased/development)
 * Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (TBA)
 * (Untitled Movie) (2020)
 * (Untitled Movie) (2020)



One Shots

 * The Consultant (2011)
 * A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (2011)
 * Item 47 (2012)
 * Agent Carter (2013)
 * All Hail the King (2014)

ABC Series

 * Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-TBA)
 * Season One (2013-2014)
 * Season Two (2014-2015)
 * Season Three (2015-2016)
 * Season Four (2016-2017)
 * Season Five (2018)
 * Agent Carter (2015-2016)
 * Season One (2015)
 * Season Two (2016)
 * Inhumans (2017)
 * Season One (2017)
 * Damage Control (TBA)
 * (John Ridley's TV project) (TBA)

Netflix Series

 * Daredevil (2015-TBA)
 * Season One (2015)
 * Season Two (2016)
 * Season Three (TBA)
 * Jessica Jones (2015-TBA)
 * Season One (2015)
 * Season Two (TBA)
 * Luke Cage (2016-TBA)
 * Season One (2016)
 * Season Two (TBA)
 * Iron Fist (2017)
 * Season One (2017)
 * Season Two (TBA)
 * The Defenders (2017)
 * Season One (2017)
 * The Punisher (2017)
 * Season One (2017)

Hulu Series

 * Runaways (2017)
 * Season One (2017)

Freeform Series

 * Cloak and Dagger (2018)
 * Season One (2018)
 * New Warriors (2018)
 * Season One (2018)

Web Series

 * WHiH Newsfront (2015, 2016)
 * Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot (2016)

Behind-the-scenes features
 * Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Double Agent (2015)
 * Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Academy (2016)

Comics

 * Iron Man: The Price of Doing Business (2008)  (Non-Canon)
 * Iron Man: Fast Friends (2008)
 * Iron Man: Security Measures (2008)
 * The Incredible Hulk: The Fury Files (2008)
 * The Incredible Hulk: The Big Picture (2008)
 * Nick Fury: Spies Like Us (2008)
 * Iron Man: I Am Iron Man! (2010)
 * Iron Man: Limited Edition (2010) (no official title)
 * Iron Man: Will Online Evils Prevail? (2010)
 * Iron Man Royal Purple Custom Comic (2010)
 * Iron Man 2: Security Breach (2010)
 * Iron Man 2: Public Identity (2010)
 * Iron Man 2: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2010)
 * Iron Man 2: Fist of Iron (2010)
 * Iron Man 2: Forewarned is Four-Armed! (2011) (Non-Canon)
 * Thor, The Mighty Avenger (2011)
 * Captain America: First Vengeance (2011)
 * Captain America: Evil Lurks Everywhere (2011)
 * Captain America & Thor: Avengers! (2011)  (Thor - Non-Canon)
 * The Avengers Prelude: Fury's Big Week (2012)
 * The Avengers: Iron Man Mark VII (2012)
 * The Avengers: The Avengers Initiative (2012)
 * The Avengers Prelude: Black Widow Strikes (2012)
 * Iron Man 2 Adaptation (2012)
 * Iron Man 3 Prelude (2012)
 * Iron Man: The Coming of the Melter (2013)
 * Thor Adaptation (2013)
 * Thor: The Dark World Prelude (2013)
 * Thor: Crown of Fools (2013)
 * Captain America: The First Avenger Adaptation (2013)
 * Captain America: The Winter Soldier Infinite Comic (2014)
 * Captain America: Homecoming (2014)
 * Guardians of the Galaxy Prequel Infinite Comic (2014)
 * Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude (2014)
 * Guardians of the Galaxy: Galaxy's Most Wanted (2014)
 * Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Chase (2014)
 * The Avengers Adaptation (2014)
 * Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude - This Scepter'd Isle (2015)
 * Ant-Man Prelude (2015)
 * Ant-Man - Scott Lang: Small Time (2015)
 * The Avengers: Cutting Edge (2015) (Non-Canon)
 * Avengers: Operation HYDRA (2015)
 * Ant-Man: Larger Than Life (2015)
 * Avengers: Age of Ultron Episode 0 (2015) (Non-Canon)
 * Jessica Jones (2015)
 * Captain America: Civil War Prelude (2015)
 * Captain America: Civil War Prelude Infinite Comic (2016)
 * The Avengers: King of the Road (2016) (Non-Canon)
 * Captain America: Road to War (2016)
 * Doctor Strange Prelude (2016)
 * Doctor Strange Prelude Infinite Comic - The Zealot (2016)
 * Doctor Strange: Mystic Apprentice (2016)
 * Doctor Strange: Episode 0 (2016)
 * Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Prelude (2017)
 * Spider-Man: Homecoming Prelude (2017)
 * Thor: Ragnarok Prelude (2017)
 * Spider-Man Homecoming: Fight or Flight (2017)

​Undeveloped Movies

 * Alien Legion
 * Black Widow
 * Blade
 * Gargoyle
 * Hawkeye
 * Inhumans
 * Iron Man 4
 * Ka-Zar
 * Loki
 * Longshot
 * Morbius
 * Mort the Dead Teenager
 * Nick Fury
 * Nighthawk
 * Power Pack
 * Prime
 * Runaways
 * The Incredible Hulk 2
 * War Machine
 * Werewolf by Night
 * Warriors Three

Undeveloped TV series

 * Most Wanted

Video Games

 * Iron Man video game (2008)
 * The Incredible Hulk video game (2008)
 * Iron Man 2 video game (2010)
 * Thor: God of Thunder (2011)
 * Captain America: Super Soldier (2011)
 * Iron Man 3 - The Official Game (2013)
 * Thor: The Dark World - The Official Game (2013)
 * Captain America: The Winter Soldier - The Official Game (2014)

Artbooks

 * The Art of Iron Man (2008)
 * The Art of Iron Man 2 (2010)
 * The Art of Thor (2011)
 * The Art of Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
 * The Art of The Avengers (2012)
 * The Art of Iron Man 3 (2013)
 * Iron Man Manual (2013)
 * The Art of Thor: The Dark World (2013)
 * The Art of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
 * The Art of Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
 * Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season One Declassified (2014)
 * The Art of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
 * The Road to Avengers: Age of Ultron - The Art of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (2015)
 * Agent Carter: Season One Declassified (2015)
 * The Art of Ant-Man (2015)
 * Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season Two Declassified (2015)
 * Daredevil: Defender of Hell's Kitchen: Season One (2015)
 * The Art of Captain America: Civil War (2016)
 * The Art of Doctor Strange (2016)

Stories Inspired by the Universe

 * Iron Man: Teen Novelization (2008)
 * Iron Man: The Junior Novel (2008)
 * Iron Man: A New Hero (2008)
 * Iron Man: I Am Iron Man! (2008)
 * Iron Man book (2008)
 * The Incredible Hulk Movie Novelization (2008)
 * The Incredible Hulk: A Hero Called The Hulk (2008)
 * The Incredible Hulk: Larger Than Life! (2008)
 * The Incredible Hulk: Movie Sticker Book (2008)
 * Iron Man 2 book (2010)
 * Iron Man 2: The Official Movie Storybook (2010)
 * Iron Man 2: The Junior Novel (2010)
 * Iron Man 2: Iron Man's Friends and Foes (2010)
 * Iron Man 2: Meet the Black Widow (2010)
 * Iron Man 2: Iron Man vs. Whiplash (2010)
 * Iron Man 2: Iron Man Fights Back (2010)
 * Iron Man 2: The Reusable Sticker Book (2010)
 * Thor Junior Novel (2011)
 * Thor: Movie Storybook (2011)
 * Thor: Heroes & Villains (2011)
 * Thor: From Asgard to Earth (2011)
 * Thor: Attack on Asgard (2011)
 * Thor: Thor's Revenge (2011)
 * Captain America: The First Avenger (junior novelization) (2011)
 * Captain America: The First Avenger: Movie Storybook (2011)
 * Captain America: The First Avenger: America's Secret Weapon (2011)
 * Captain America: The First Avenger: The Hydra Files (2011)
 * Captain America: The First Avenger: Operation: Super-Soldier (2011)
 * Captain America: The First Avenger: The Great Escape (2011)
 * The Avengers: The Avengers Assemble (2012)
 * The Avengers: Movie Storybook (2012)
 * The Avengers: Battle Against Loki (2012)
 * The Avengers: The S.H.I.E.L.D. Files (2012)
 * The Avengers: Reusable Sticker Book (2012)
 * Iron Man 3: Suits of Armor (2013)
 * Thor: The Dark World (junior novelization) (2013)
 * Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Falcon Takes Flight (2014)
 * Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Rescue at Sea (2014)
 * Guardians of the Galaxy (junior novelization) (2014)
 * Guardians of the Galaxy: Battle of Knowhere (2014)
 * Guardians of the Galaxy: Friends and Foes (2014)
 * Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket and Groot Fight Back (2014)
 * Avengers: Age of Ultron (junior novelization) (2015)
 * Avengers: Age of Ultron: Avengers Save the Day (2015)
 * Avengers: Age of Ultron: Battle at Avengers Tower (2015)
 * Avengers: Age of Ultron: Friends and Foes (2015)
 * Avengers: Age of Ultron: Hulk to the Rescue (2015)
 * Ant-Man: I Am Ant-Man (2015)
 * Ant-Man: The Amazing Adventures of Ant-Man (2015)
 * Ant-Man: The Incredible Shrinking Suit (2015)
 * Captain America: Civil War: The Junior Novel (2016)
 * Captain America: Civil War: Avengers Declassified (2016)
 * Captain America: Civil War: Captain America Versus Iron Man (2016)
 * Captain America: Civil War: Choose A Side! (2016)
 * Captain America: Civil War: Escape From Black Panther (2016)
 * Captain America: Civil War: The Rise of Crossbones (2016)
 * Captain America: Civil War: We Are The Avengers (2016)
 * Doctor Strange (junior novelization) (2016)
 * Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (junior novelization) (2016)

Trivia

 * So far, the released movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have grossed $10,026,042,620 worldwide. It is the first major film franchise to cross the $9 billion and $10 billion marks.
 * The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the highest-grossing franchise of all time.
 * Due to financial difficulties Marvel faced in the past, they had to sell the film rights to several of their comic book characters. Some of these sales are still in effect today, and thus the characters cannot be used in the MCU.
 * Due to Fox owning the rights to the, the X-Men films take place in a different universe to the MCU. Fox also owns the rights to the Fantastic Four film franchises.
 * Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch fall under both companies rights, as they are mutants by origin but are heavily associated with The Avengers. Both companies have certain limitations however:
 * Fox cannot make any reference to the Twins' involvement with the Avengers.
 * Marvel cannot make any reference to the Twins being mutants, the children of, or their association with the X-Men.
 * Similar to the Twins (Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch), the Skrulls film rights have been confirmed by Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn to fall under Marvel and Fox film rights as they are associated with the Fantastic Four, but are an important part of the Marvel Universe as such some specific members of the Skrull race can be used in the MCU, while others can't be used because of Fox ownership over them.
 * Although they debuted in a Fantastic Four comic, The Watchers have appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 in a post credits scene suggesting both Marvel and Fox share film rights to those characters (similar to Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and the Skrulls).
 * Similarly, Spider-Man's film rights are owned by Sony Pictures Studios, and both the and  were set separate from the MCU; although after the last movie in the latter franchise, a deal was made between the two companies, resulting in another reboot of the series, this time making it set in the MCU.
 * The initial indication of an element of cooperation between Sony and Disney was when Sony gave permission for Disney to use the OsCorp Building for a background cameo in The Avengers; however, due to budget and time constraints the idea was abandoned.
 * Furthermore,, the actor who played Spider-Man in the Amazing Spider-Man series, had expressed interest in appearing in an Avengers sequel.
 * On February 10th 2015, it was announced that Sony and Disney had struck a deal for setting Spider-Man in the MCU. The character, played by Tom Holland, is set to make his first appearance in the MCU in Captain America: Civil War followed by the second reboot of the franchise, a solo film titled Spider-Man: Homecoming which is set to release in 2017. Additionally, it was announced that Sony would have full creative control over the character and the franchise whilst setting it in the MCU, allowing characters from other MCU properties to appear in it and vice-versa. Additionally, the planned spin-offs to the franchise by Sony are also reportedly in development, but has since abandoned after The Amazing Spider-Man 3 's cancellation.
 * The cinematic rights to lie with Marvel Studios currently but due to 'older contracts with other parties' it seems they couldn't use them yet.
 * As of June 2016, the films rights to Namor now lies with Marvel Studios, and can now be used for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
 * The cinematic rights to Man-Thing lie with Marvel Studios, while they originally used to lie with Lionsgate and thus he couldn't be used in the MCU at that time.
 * After the release of Iron Man, Marvel Studios made a deal to produce five further movies with Paramount Pictures - Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers and Iron Man 3. In 2009, Disney purchased Marvel and gained the distribution rights to The Avengers and Iron Man 3. In 2013, they gained the distribution rights to Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger to close the acquisition of Marvel. The Incredible Hulk is the only MCU film not currently owned by Disney due to a separate agreement between Marvel and Universal Studios.
 * A recurring theme in the solo movies is that the main protagonist often isn't the one who defeats the main antagonist, or needs help from an ally to do so.
 * Iron Monger and Aldrich Killian were killed by Pepper Potts, and War Machine helped Iron Man defeat Whiplash, who ends up committing suicide.
 * Thor's fight with Loki was interrupted by Odin, and Malekith was killed by Erik Selvig.
 * Red Skull was vanished by the Tesseract, Nick Fury shot Alexander Pierce, and Captain America's fight with Winter Soldier ended as a stalemate.
 * Dormammu took with him Kaecilius to the Dark Dimension as he left Earth.
 * Doctor Strange did force Dormammu to leave Earth after trapping him in a time loop though.
 * Hulk, Ant-Man and Spider-Man are currently the only exceptions, as they defeated Abomination, Yellowjacket and Vulture respectively by themselves. Ant-Man is also the only one who intentionally killed the antagonist.