Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki:Formatting Guide

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The Formatting Guide is an official guide as to how links should be formatted across articles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki.

Referencing

Main article: Module:References/data

• When naming references the initials of the media should be used. All references are available on module.
• If a reference is not available on the module, you can add it following the order of "movies, short films, series, web series, comics, books, video games, documentaries, guidebooks, reference books, artbooks, misc. in-universe citations, interviews, other citations, names, conjecture, timeline explanations."
• The only references that do not use modules are certain conjecture templates related to relatives and any temporary reference that will be replaced soon. These mostly include references for upcoming media that will be replaced by the media one released or confirmed.

• Citing from the Module: {{Ref|Module Data Input}}
  • Example: {{Ref|IM}}
• Citing without the Module: <ref name="Selected Name">[Link Title Name]</ref>
  • Example: <ref name="GotGRelease">[https://x.com/MCUWikiFandom/status/1819042856952074715 Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki on X - August 1, 2024]</ref>

Appearances

When the subject of an article exceeds three appearances, the appearances should be displayed in its own section above the section devoted to trivia. When adding an appearance, utilize Template:Appearance and follow the input formatting.

• An exception to the three appearances rule is when a season of a series is six episodes or less. Therefore, three episodes is half the series. In this case, subjects of an article with three appearances may get a separate section as well.

Appearance sections should always be placed in chronological order with the only exception being The Watcher, whose appearances can be listed in narrative order.

• If the character, event, hub or organization involves appearances taking place in alternate universes different from the subject's origin, a tag must be placed in parenthesis beside the appearance with a link to the alternate universe article (e.g. "(alternate universe)").
  • Additionally, a <tabber> can be used to allow for another section placing the appearances in the subject's order of narrative. Due to the nature of the character's narrative order, alternate universe tags are not necessary and neither is splitting the appearances by alternate universes if the subject jumps between multiple universes in one appearance.
  • For articles other than character articles, then the appearances should follow the subject's chronological order (i.e. Captain Carter's Shield going with her to 1602 still should be placed after What If... Captain Carter Fought the HYDRA Stomper? given that the shield is from that time period.
• If the location, item, race or concept involves appearances taking place in alternate universes different from the main universe, they do not get a tag placed in parenthesis beside the appearance with a link to the alternate universe article (e.g. "(alternate universe)"). Instead, they only get a tag if the specific subject's origin is from a different universe.
  • For example, if the 2023 Ant-Man Suit from the main universe time travels with Ant-Man to 2012 New York Time Heist, the appearance still is shown in 2023. However, the Ant-Man Suit owned by Hank Pym in 1970 Camp Lehigh Time Heist has its appearance marked in 1970 with a tag stating it is the Camp Lehigh Time Heist version of the suit.
  • For locations, items, races and concepts, there is no narrative order. Instead, all appearances are in the subject's chronological order.

Following ten total appearances, a collapsible scroll box may be used to inhibit over abundance of space in an article used solely for appearances.

All appearances for upcoming content must be sourced in both the infobox and the appearances section.

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Various appearances must be tagged with more clarification as to the nature of the appearance. Tags include:

• Flashbacks → "(flashbacks)"
• Mentions → "(mentioned)"
• Drawings, paintings, murals, sculptures and anything similar → "(art)"
• Pictures → "(photo)"
• Videos → "(footage)"
• Live videos → "(live footage)"
• Audio → "(voice)"
• Figurines → "(figure)"
• Depictions such as costumes or multiversal shards → "(depiction)"
• Alternate universe appearances → "(alternate universe)" (see guide above)
• Appearances at the same time as others → "(concurrent events)" (see guide below)

If a subject appears in footage, photo, art, figures, depictions or voices, the appearance should be marked when it is viewed, not created.

If the subject appears in a photo or video and is mentioned in the same appearances, photo or video takes priority on the tag unless the subject is mentioned in a separate scene than the photo, then it gets tagged as "(photo and mentioned)" or "(footage and mentioned)".

If the subject is mentioned in a flashback, the tag would be "(mentioned; flashbacks)". Similarly, when the subject is mentioned in something other than dialogue, another clarification may be put. (e.g. "(mentioned; newspaper)" if the subject is mentioned in a newspaper).

When the subject appears in media that takes place at the same time, then the appearance should be indented under the primary appearance using bullet points. A tag of "(concurrent events)" may be added if the appearance is from a new scene or a different point of view of the same scene. Adaptations, archive footage flashbacks, or retellings do not need to have a "(concurrent events)" tag. Additionally, any scenes in alternate universes from the primary appearance do not need a "(concurrent events)" tag either (e.g. the Avengers' appearances during the Time Heist).

When concurrent events take place, the appearances under the primary appearance should be listed as follows: movies in release order, series in release order, short films in release order, web series in release order, comic book adaptations of the primary appearance, comic books in release order, video games in release order, books in release order.

If multiple tags refer to one appearance, a semi-colon can be used to separate the notes in the tag (e.g. another point of view of a mention in a flashback would be tagged as "(mentioned; flashbacks; concurrent events)".

All tags must be shrunk using <small></small>

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Icons for appearances can be changed at any time. If there is a better suggestion to be made, a section can be opened up in Template talk:Appearance.

Rules: The icon must be inspired by an MCU source and has to be a size of 1080x1080.

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For a visual example:

Dates

Links to dates before 2010 must be linked to the proper decade article followed by a # and the proper year. This will direct the user to the portion of the page for that year.

Example:

[[1940s#1945|1945]]

Full dates should be written in the American date format of "month day, year".

Example:

[[2010|January 1, 2010]]

Pluralized Articles

Some articles like Races are named in the pluralized format. When writing is it necessary to remove the pluralization for grammatical reasons.

Example:

[[Humans|Human]]

Armed Forces

All branches of the United States Armed Forces are covered in the same article. When linking it is appropriate to add the correct branch to the link to that page.

Example:

[[United States Air Force]]

[[United States Armed Forces|United States Air Force]]

[[United States Navy]]

[[United States Armed Forces|United States Navy]]

[[United States Army]]

[[United States Armed Forces|United States Army]]

[[United States Marine Corps]]

[[United States Armed Forces|United States Marine Corps]]

Wikipedia Links

Some subjects for which an article is not warranted such as historical figures and cultural references require a link to Wikipedia. In order to link to Wikipedia the WPS Template should be used.

Examples:

{{WPS|Footloose (1984 film)|Footloose}}