Welcome to the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki! We are glad that you are here to join us in gathering as much information as we can about the Marvel Cinematic Universe as is available! The Wiki does not allow the use of Visual Editor and asks that you instead use Source Editor, so here is how to edit and create pages using Source Editor!
Important Pages:
Creating a Page[]
So you want to create a page for the Wiki? There are two ways to do this:
Creating a Page from Scratch[]
First, you're going to hold your mouse over the three dots on the top right of the page. There, you will see a drop-down menu where the first option is to "Add new page"! Just click on that option to be sent to the next step!
After this, a box should appear which asks you to "Write your page title here:". This is where you will create the name of your article. Make sure the name of the article follows the naming policy that we have here on the wiki! Once you have named the article, you can click "Next" on the bottom right of that box.
This will lead you to the editing space! Follow the instructions below in order to edit and create your page!
The final step in this version is to make sure that your page is linked to on the correct articles! This way, people will be able to see the work you put in and we can make sure the article is prepared.
Creating a Page from a Red Link[]
Sometimes, articles will have links that are red, indicating that the link leads to a page that has not been created. If you click on this link, it will take you to the same editing space you had been brought to by following the procedure in the above section, ready to make your page!
Adding Templates[]
Infoboxes[]
Now that you're in the editing space, if you are creating a page, you will want to start by adding a template. There are various templates to use depending on whether the subject of your article is a Template:Character, Template:Item, Template:Organization, Template:Vehicle, Template:Event, Template:Conflict, or more! Following any of those links will show you what to type in your editing field. Simply copy and paste the code into your editing space and fill in the information you know! For example, here is what the Character template looks like without being filled out:
Now, for an easy character as an example, here's what that template looks like when applied to Leila Taylor's article:
Notice how the items from the template that do not have any information that belongs in them have been removed from the template. This is to avoid cluttering the page with code.
These templates create what's called an "Infobox," which you can see on Taylor's page on the right side of the page at the top, including a picture of Taylor and the information provided in the code. This infobox belongs in almost every article, with various versions of the template depending on the subject. If you are unsure of what infobox should go in your article, try looking at similar subjects which have already been created. For example, if you are unsure about whether Ryan Reynolds' template should be Template:Actor or Template:Filmmaker, since Reynolds both starred in and produced Deadpool & Wolverine, you can look at the page for Scarlett Johansson, who both starred in several movies and produced Black Widow. Both are primarily actors, so they get the Actor template.
However, it is important to note that this system might not always work. Joe Russo, for example, appeared in every movie he directed. However, since he is primarily a director, he has the Filmmaker template.
Sometimes things in inboxes require multiple lines. In order to do this, look at the code on Miek's infobox again, specifically the "citizenship" and "movie" sections. Miek is Asgardian and was formerly Sakaaran, and the two things are separated by the symbols "<br>", which indicate that there is a line break between the two. The same thing happens in "movie," which lists his appearances in Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Endgame, and Thor: Love and Thunder, using that same "<br>" code to separate them.
Other Templates[]
Other templates can be added to pages to communicate various things. To add a template such as Template:Stub, Template:Imageless, or Template:Spoiler, add the name of the template between "{{ }}" symbols. For example, typing:
Results in this:
Such templates go at the top of a page (in all cases except for the Template:SomethingElse and Template:Otheruses templates, which we will talk about later).
Some templates ask for more information than simply what template you are using. For instance, the Spoiler template requires you to say which movie the article contains spoilers for. That template is only used for movies within a month of their release date. The way to give this other information is to put a "|" symbol in between the name of the template and the extra information (the symbol which shares a key with the backward slash [ \ ] on the keyboard). For example, typing:
Results in this:
| For the actor in Divide -- And Conquer, see Francisco Rodriguez |
In this example, "SomethingElse" indicates the template to be used, "the actor of ''[[Divide -- And Conquer]]''" indicates what other use the reader might have intended, "Francisco Rodriguez (actor)" indicates which page should be linked to, and "Francisco Rodriguez" indicates what words should appear in the template that link to the article "Francisco Rodriguez."
The final category of templates you might want to use is those where the extra information does not appear on the article, but is important for editors to know. The most common example of this is the Template:Expand template. If a biography or history is lacking knowledge from the first episode of the first season of Inhumans, Behold... The Inhumans!, one would type in this at the top of the biography section (or the subsection which is missing the information if necessary):
This code would look like this in the article:
| This section requires expansion |
While this at first seems pointless, by clicking on the word "expansion" takes users to the editing space, where they can easily see that the expansion work is from "I101," Inhumans Season 1 Episode 01, Behold... The Inhumans!. To see the full list of codes similar to I101, you can look here.
List of Templates[]
So with all of that in mind, a complete list of templates other than infoboxes that you can put into your articles, where they are placed, and what they communicate can be found here.
Adding Sections and Subsections[]
To break up an article into sections, which we do in every article we make, equal signs ("=") are used. Generally on the Wiki, the biggest section we use is made with two equal signs, for example, this section began with this code:
This is how you would format "Biography," "History," "Personality," "Powers and Abilities," "Capabilities," and "References" sections, for example. Within certain sections, there might be a need for subsections. For instance, pages with long biographies such as Daimon Helstrom can have their biographies broken down for easier navigation. Helstrom's page even goes so far as to have another layer of subsections. These levels can keep getting added by adding more equal signs to both sides (two on each side, then three on each side, then four on each side, et cetera). The beginning of Helstrom's biography section, for example, looks like this:
After a description of Helstrom's life growing up as the son of a serial killer, the next subsection is written as:
This indicates that, while we are still within Helstrom's early life, we have moved on from the "Son of a Serial Killer" portion of his early life and are now describing his involvement in the Kidnapping of Ana Helstrom. Also notice that the event page is linked by having two brackets ("[ ]") on either side of the word. This is to be done when a section is simply describing the character's involvement in an event, such as this case.
There's one more subsection under the "Early Life" category, and then the next subsection is shown as this:
The three equal signs around "Family Reunion" indicate that we have moved on from the "Early Life" portion, which also had three equal signs, and are moving into the "Family Reunion" portion of his life. The four equal signs indicate that the first part of the Family Reunion from Helstrom's perspective is when he performed an exorcism on Archer Cavallo. You can look at Helstrom's page to see how this code translated into the page.
The existence of these sections and subsections automatically leads to the creation of a table of contents at the top of the page. If you are still looking at Daimon Helstrom's page, you can see the way the demonstrated coding leads to the table to contents being created. To know what sections and subsections belong on a given page, you can look at the layout guide.
Writing Articles[]
While writing articles, there are certain things you might want to do to follow the formatting of our Wiki. Some of the smaller things will be covered here.
Linking within the Wiki[]
To create a link to another page on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki, put the name of the article between sets of two brackets ("[ ]"). For example, typing this:
Results in seeing the link to Iron Man's page, as demonstrated here. Links appear as blue text if the article exists, and red text if it does not (for more on non-existing articles, see the "Creating a Page from a Red Link" section on this page).
If you want to create a link to Iron Man's page, but you don't want the text to say "Iron Man," you can type this for example:
This would look like this: really rich person. Clicking on that link will still send you to Iron Man's page, but "really rich person" is what you see.
Linking to Wikipedia[]
The only other place one might link to within an article is Wikipedia, which is used when referencing real people who do not have pages on the Wiki. To do this, one would look at the Wikipedia article being linked to, for this example, let's say George R. R. Martin. This would be linked by typing:
This will result in seeing: George R. R. Martin. Links, like links within the Wiki, appear as blue text. It is important to make sure you are linking to the correct thing as well. For example, linking to "{{WPS|Anne Hathaway}}" leads to the American actress. If you were intending to link to the page for the wife of William Shakespeare, you would have to type {{WPS|Anne Hathaway (wife of Shakespeare)}}, the title of the article on Wikipedia.
Similarly, if you want to link to George R. R. Martin's page with words other than Martin's name to appear, such as to say "Such and such character was a fan of Game of Thrones and its author," you would type:
Notice how in the example sentence it looks the same as it would normally. This is to be used when linking to subjects that do not have pages on the wiki
Formatting[]
It is not uncommon to need to put text on the Wiki in bold and italics. The Wiki italicizes every episode, movie, and comic title it refers to, both in-universe and out-of-universe. Aliases which are considered, "main aliases," as well as the name of the article the first time it appears, are put in bold. Both of these functions are accomplished using apostrophes ('). For bold, typing this:
Leads to this: Text. Use three apostrophes to receive bold text. For italics, use two apostrophes. So this:
Leads to this: Text
Bulleted Lists[]
The "Behind the Scenes," "Trivia," and other sections of articles are formatted as bulleted lists. To create a bulleted list, use asterisks (*). For example, this coding in the "Trivia" section on Pop's page:
*Pop and his [[Pop's Barber Shop|barbershop]] are a reference to the {{WPS|The Notorious B.I.G.}} song "Warning."
*Pop's swear jar is a reference to {{WPS|Prince (musician)|Prince}}, who kept one at his home. [[Cheo Hodari Coker]] included it in the hopes it would encourage the late singer to appear on the show.
Leads to this appearing on the page:
- Pop and his barbershop are a reference to the The Notorious B.I.G. song "Warning."
- Pop's swear jar is a reference to Prince, who kept one at his home. Cheo Hodari Coker included it in the hopes it would encourage the late singer to appear on the show.
Sometimes, bulleted lists have multiple levels. For example, the "Relationships" Darius Davis' page lists the Runaways as Situational Enemies. Underneath that bullet point, there are bullet points listing each member of the Runaways that he is enemies with (separating out Alex Wilder, who is listed as an ally). They use two asterisks (**) underneath the main bullet point, in this case "Runaways." This looks like this in the code:
*[[Runaways]] - Situational Enemies
**[[Nico Minoru]]
**[[Karolina Dean]]
**[[Gert Yorkes]]
**[[Chase Stein]]
**[[Molly Hernandez]]
And results in this on the page:
- Runaways - Situational Enemies
This makes it clear that these characters are members of the Runaways and continues the bulleted list. There can be multiple levels of this as well. For example, Melinda May's Relationships section covering her enemy relationship with members of the Centipede Soldiers looks like this:
*[[HYDRA]]
**[[Alexander Pierce]] † - Former Superior
**[[Daniel Whitehall]] †
**[[Gideon Malick]] †
**[[Hale]] † - Temporary Ally
**[[Centipede Project]]
***[[John Garrett]] † - Former Colleague
***[[Ian Quinn]] †
***[[Kaminsky]]
***[[Centipede Soldiers]]
****[[Brian Hayward]] †
****[[Centipede Soldier 2]]
****[[Centipede Soldier 3]]
In this case, HYDRA is the first bullet, being the Centipede Soldiers' main parent program. Individual members of HYDRA Alexander Pierce, Daniel Whitehall, Gideon Malick, and Hale are all listed as a second-level sub-bullet, indicating that May's interactions with them were in their capacity as members of HYDRA. Beneath that is the Centipede Project, another parent organization of the Centipede Soldiers' that is within HYDRA. Being an organization within HYDRA, they get the second-level bullet, with its members getting the third-level bullet, those being John Garrett, Ian Quinn, and Kaminsky. Then, since the Centipede Soldiers are an organization within the Centipede Project, it gets a third-level bullet and its members get fourth-level sub-bullets, those being Brian Hayward, Centipede Soldier 2, and Centipede Soldier 3. This looks like this on the page:
- HYDRA
- Alexander Pierce † - Former Superior
- Daniel Whitehall †
- Gideon Malick †
- Hale † - Temporary Ally
- Centipede Project
- John Garrett † - Former Colleague
- Ian Quinn †
- Kaminsky
- Centipede Soldiers
Quotes[]
Most articles try to contain quotes from the media said about or by the subject of the article. Such an example is on the page Three Fates. In this case, one starts by typing "{{Quote|" and then entering the quote after "|". Then insert another "|" and link using brackets ("[ ]") to who said the quote. Then insert another line and type the name of the media the quote is from without using brackets. Then enter "}}". The page for the Three Fates uses a quote said by Fandral in the tie-in comic Thor, The Mighty Avenger. The code looks like this:
This appears on the article as this:
If the quote has multiple lines of dialogue, separate each line with a "<br>" between each line. Each sentence should have a quotation mark at the beginning and end, EXCEPT for the beginning of the first line and then end of the last line. For listing who said the line, simply list all the speakers in order of when they speak. For example, Bobby McBurty's page features a quote which is coded as:
This interaction between Jessica Jones and Ronnie Velasco appears on the page as:
- "Bobby McBurty stole the snowblower. His statement didn't add up."
"I know. But sometimes you gotta let things slide." - ―Jessica Jones and Ronnie Velasco[src]
Although including the name of the comic or episode (which is what AKA The Double Half-Wappinger is) may not at first seem like it appears anywhere within the quote template, the superscript which says "[src]" links to that source, so it is important to write the name of the article. not the source. For example, instead of writing "Iron Man," which links to the character's page, you would want to write "Iron Man (film)," which links to the first Iron Man movie.
Quote Pages[]
When a character has five or more quotes related to them, a quote page may be created. When doing so, make sure to cover all of these check points:
- Add quote link to the character page
- Format the quotes
- Add an image to the top with 300px
- If it is a series, add the quote to any series pages. (i.g. Daredevil/Quote goes in Daredevil (TV series)/Quote)
Images[]
Adding images to an article is a process. If the image is not already on the Wiki, it must first be uploaded.
Uploading a Picture[]
Uploading a Picture Directly[]
To do this, hover your mouse of the three dots on the top right of the screen and click on where it says "Upload New File."
You will then be directed to this screen:
Click on "Choose File," which will direct you to your computer's files and ask you what picture you would like to upload. Select the picture you want to upload (using this method you can only upload one at a time) and click "Upload." Then, change the "Destination File Name" to match the picture naming policy. The source for the image goes in the summary box; however, this is a process.
The template that we use to source our media has its text in the instructions, making it easy to copy and paste into the text box. In the field which says "media," type out media with the same format as references. The text in the box should look like this, for example, if the screenshot is from the The Falcon and The Winter Soldier episode Truth:
In source, we then provide the source for the image, regardless of whether it is the same as media. If the source is directly from the media, you can copy and paste the media into the source. If the source is a social media post, type an opening square bracket ([) and copy and paste the link to the post right after the bracket. Then, type a space and type the name of the posting account, followed by the word "on", the social media platform, and a closing square bracket (]). For example, if Marvel Studios posted a promotional image on Instagram, the source would look like this:
Under "type," there are specific types of files that can be identified for the purposes of the template. For example, a cropped infobox image would be a "Cropped Screenshot." A promotional image with the same aspect ratio as a regular screenshot would be a "Promo Screenshot." A complete list of types can be seen at the top of the Special:Upload page along with the actual template. Make sure that the two closing curly brackets (}}) remain present at the end of the template, and that there should be a space before and after every equal sign.
After finishing the Summary box, navigate to the dropdown box below, select what type of media the picture is from, and press "Upload File." The picture will then be uploaded.
Once that is finished, make sure to add images to galleries. Take a look at the image and see the contents. Depending on what is shown in the photo, add it to its corresponding media, character, location, item, race, organization, and team. If it is a cropped image (usually used for infoboxes), it should not be added to galleries. To learn how to place images in galleries, see here.
Uploading a Picture in The Editing Space[]
If you are already in the editing space and want to upload a picture, not to worry! Simply save the picture you want uploaded to your computer and make sure it is appropriately named. You can then click on the image picture to the right and see the below:
From here, as the section implies, you can either click on "SELECT A FILE" to be directed to your computer files so you can select what picture(s) you want to upload, or you can drag them from your desktop or files directly in. Using this method, you may upload multiple photos at once, but make sure to still go back to those photos and cite the source and licensing the same way you would if you used the above technique.
Putting a Picture in an Article[]
So you've uploaded your picture, or you're using a picture that's already uploaded, and you want to know how to add it to your page? Well here's the place for you! To add an image to the infobox, simply put the name of the file, including ".jpg," ".png," etc., next to the "|image = " label in the infobox template.
Ego tells the Guardians of the Galaxy about his life
To add an image to the body of the article is more involved, but not too difficult. You're going to begin by typing "[[File:" and then the name of the picture, including ".jpg," ".png," etc.. You are then going to enter a "|" symbol and write "{{AltFloat}}". After that, put in one more "|" symbol and write the caption you want to appear under the picture and end it with a final "]]". So, for example, the image you see next to this paragraph was coded like this:
You'll find that, even though the picture's coding is not complete, the first time a "]]" appears in the caption (in this example, the link to Ego's page) will be highlighted blue and the "]]" that appears at the end will not be highlighted. Do not be worried though, this is how the website works.
Phastos activates the Domo
The use of {{AltFloat}} is only applicable to Biography and History sections. If you would like to add an image to any other section, place "thumb|250px" in place of the {{AltFloat}}, since that code automates a left-right-left-right pattern for pictures' orientation. For example, the image you see coded to the right of this paragraph was coded as:
Galleries[]
Creating a picture gallery is easy! In the place where you want the gallery to start, type "<gallery>". Then put the name of the file you want to use in the line below it, and create a list of files with each file name getting its own line. If the photo needs to have a caption, put a "|" after the name of the file and then enter your caption on the same line. For example, this code:
Results in this gallery:
When creating these galleries, make sure to cover this checklist below:
- Add gallery link to the article page
- Remove existing gallery section on the article and place it in the new gallery
- Format the gallery
- Add either an organized or unorganized template (or upcoming if it's an unreleased project)
- If it is a series, add the gallery to any series pages. (i.g. Daredevil/Gallery goes in Daredevil (TV series)/Gallery)
Appearances[]
To add an appearance to an article, use "{{Appearance|". You can then add the input of the media that you want to add. This input can be found at Template:Appearance and almost always follows an abbreviation format. The Formatting Guide gives a very specific step by step for specific tags to use such as "mentioned" or "photo".
References[]
Referencing Media[]
To add references in articles, start by typing "{{Ref|". The next part of the process will vary depending on what type of media you are citing. If you are citing a film, you'll then type the initials of the film, case-sensitive. If you are citing a television episode, you'll then type the initials of the TV series that it comes from, case-sensitive, followed by the season and episode number. If the episode number is in the single digits, be sure to add "0" before the episode number. To see the specific code needed for every film and TV series episode, see the module.
For example, take this paragraph and look at how the references are formatted in this paragraph from Attack on the HYDRA Research Base:
This paragraph was coded like this:
Occasionally, you'll need to cite a deleted scene, director's commentary, or audio commentary. To do this, simply add "DS" after the film/TV episode code for a deleted scene, "DC" for a director's commentary, and "AC" for an audio commentary. Keep in mind that these codes will only work where the additions are applicable.
You can see in the "References" subsection what this coding looks like in the References section of the article, or you can check the event page itself.
Referencing an Image[]
Sometimes, information requires you to reference a specific image. Abraham Erskine's page, for example, references an image of S.H.I.E.L.D. files next to his Date of Birth. As another example, the page for the city of Houston has Spider-Man: Homecoming listed as an appearance since the name of the file appears in the logo of Midtown School of Science and Technology. Therefore, an image of the logo needs to be referenced. To reference an image, begin with the text "<ref name=", then a shorthand name for the image in quotation marks ("). Erskine's page, for instance, uses "S.H.I.E.L.D. Files". Houston's page uses "Midtown Logo". After the second quotation mark, put a ">" symbol.
The next step is to type two open brackets ([[) followed by a colon (:). This makes it clear that you are linking to the page of the image and not wanting to put the image itself in the reference. After the colon, type the name of the image. The files used on Erskine's page, for instance, are in a picture called File:SSR files 2.jpg. The one used on Houston's page is called File:Midtown Technical High School (Logo).png When making these references, include the "File:" ".jpg" or ".png" portions. After typing the name of the image, type a "|" symbol followed by what the reference should say. Erskine's page uses "S.H.I.E.L.D. Files", and Houston's uses "Midtown Tech High Logo". Then put in two closed brackets (]]) and type "</ref>"
.png){kind=link}
So, to use these two examples, you references should look like this:
Similar to references media, you can then shorten future references to these same images by simply typing the first part (until the ">" symbol") and adding a slash (/) before the ">" symbol. To see all of this and how it looks, consider this paragraph:
That paragraph was coded like this:
Referencing Outside Websites[]
Sometimes, an article requires that an outside website be referenced. For example, Eddie Brock's page links to an interview with Kevin Feige showing that the end-credits scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage was set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In order to code this, start the same was any other reference, with "<ref name=". Now, put a shorthand for the article in quotation marks ("). Depending on what the source is confirming, sometimes it has the last name of the person who said it, the name of the website, a word or two about what was confirmed, etc.. After the second quotation mark, type ">[" and then copy and paste the link to the website. After the link is pasted, insert a single space and type the name of the article being referenced. Then type "]</ref>". For example, the reference Brock's page could be coded like this:
In this example, the source confirms that the events of Venom: Let There Be Carnage (abbreviated in this example as "LTBC") are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe narrative (hence "MCU" in the example). The reference will be attached to this sentence so you can see what it looks like in the "References" subsection below.[5]
Reference List[]
Now that you've created all of these references, you want them to be listed on the bottom of the page surely! In order to do this, make the last section (second-to-last if there is an "External Links" section) "==References==" and then go to the next line. Then type "{{Reflist}}" and that will create a references list! You can see what that code results in below:
References[]
Note[]
If the article exceeds 29 references, then a scroll box should be added with the "{{Reflist}}". To do this, type "{{Scroll box|content={{Reflist}}}}".
Adding Categories[]
On the Wiki, we categorize our articles in various ways. By adding certain templates, categories are automatically added. To know what categories to have, you can check similar articles and see how they were categorized. There are two ways to add categories:
Adding Categories in Source Mode[]
While writing the article, categories can be added by typing "[[Category:" and then the name of the category, followed by "]]" at the bottom of the page. Then go to the next line and do it again to add a new category.
Adding Categories without Editing[]
To add categories without entering the editing space, simply go to the bottom of the article and click "ADD CATEGORY." Then type the name of the category and click on the one you want as it comes up.
New Releases[]
When a piece of new media releases, there are many tasks that you can do to help out the wiki! Anything that could be of use to do when there is a new release can be found below:
- Remove the "unreleased" tag from crew members and actors
- Remove the "unreleased" tag from in-universe articles
- Remove the "upcoming" template from in-universe articles
- Add the "spoiler" tag to relevant articles
- Create red links
- Source existing photos (for series)
- Move existing photos from miscellaneous to their episode galleries (for series)
- Organize galleries
- Add appearances from the project to their respective pages
Final Step[]
So your article is all written up! You followed the advice on this page, you made sure to follow the layout guide, and you are ready to publish the article/your edit! All you have to do now is click on the "SAVE" button on the bottom right of the screen, and it will be saved and on the Wiki!
Have patience, there is a learning curve for everyone! The Wiki is a great place and we would love to have you! And by following this advice, you can make it even better!