Lauren Fazackarley
It’s hard to imagine a time BMCU (Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe), but when you think about it, it really wasn’t all that long ago. After all, Mark Ruffalo has only recently stepped into the rather large and green shoes of The Hulk – and we all know how his predecessors got on. Yikes. Yuh-huh, in the space of just ten years, Marvel have brought us some of the most ridiculous TV shows and movies you will ever watch in your life. There are superheroes, there are superpowers, and there are super cast members who have made us all fell in love with them (Scarlett Witch, we’re totes talking about you, gurl).
However, with so many Marvel movies and TV shows out there, it can be pretty darn difficult to know where to start. If you’re a Marvel novice, we would 100% tell you to sit your whotsit down on the couch and watch all of them – but do you watch them in order of release? Do you watch the movies first and then the TV shows? The TV shows and the movies at the same time? And then what the heck do you do with the one-shots that are in the DVD special features?! It’s just all too much to handle. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be as stressful as it sounds. It’s actually as easy as 1, 2, 3.
No, that’s not just a really cheesy phrase that we plucked out from thin air. If you really want to watch all of the Marvel TV shows and movies in order, you need to split your viewing method into three different phases. If you do this, you will be able to follow the MCU timeline in chronological order, and we can guarantee that nothing will make you any happier. So, grab your popcorn, grab your dancing Groot table topper, grab your giant cardboard cut-out of Thanos, and watch all of the Marvel movies and TV shows in order. We hope you have a few weeks to spare.
Phase One
Captain America: The First Avenger
Agent Carter (Season 1)
Agent Carter (Season 2)
Agent Carter (One-shot, Iron Man 3 DVD special features)
Iron Man
Iron Man 2
The Incredible Hulk
The Consultant (One-shot, Thor DVD special features)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer (One-shot, Captain America: The First Avenger DVD special features)
Thor
Avengers Assemble
Item 47 (One-shot, Avengers Assemble DVD special features)
Phase Two
13. Iron Man 3
14. All Hail the King (One-shot, Thor: The Dark World DVD special features)
15. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Season 1, episodes 1-7)
16. Thor: The Dark World
17. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Season 1, episodes 8-16)
18. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
19. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Season 1, episodes 17-22)
20. Guardians of the Galaxy
21. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2
22. Daredevil (Season 1)
23. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Season 2, episodes 1-10)
24. Jessica Jones (Season 1)
25. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Season 2, episodes 11-19)
26. Avengers: Age of Ultron
27. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Season 2, episodes 20-22)
28. Daredevil (Season 2, episodes 1-4)
29. Luke Cage (Season 1, episodes 1-4)
30. Daredevil (Season 2, episodes 5-11)
31. Luke Cage (Season 1, episodes 5-8)
32. Daredevil (Season 2, episodes 12-13)
33. Luke Cage (Season 1, episodes 9-13)
34. Ant-Man
35. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Season 3, episodes 1-10)
Phase Three
36. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Season 3, episodes 11-19)
37. Iron Fist (Season 1)
38. Captain America: Civil War
39. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Season 3, episodes 20-22)
40. The Defenders (Season 1)
41. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Season 4, episodes 1-6)
42. Black Panther
43. Doctor Strange
44. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Season 4, episodes 7-8)
45. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Slingshot (Season 1, episodes 1-6)
46. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Season 4, episodes 9-22)
47. Spider-Man: Homecoming
48. Thor: Ragnarok
49. Inhumans (Season 1)
50. The Punisher (Season 1)
51. Runaways (Season 1)
52. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Season 5, episodes 1-10)
53. Jessica Jones (Season 2)
54. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Season 5, episodes 11-18)
55. Cloak & Dagger (Season 1)
56. Luke Cage (Season 2)
57. Iron Fist (Season 2)
58. Daredevil (Season 3)
59. Ant-Man and the Wasp
60. Avengers: Infinity War
61. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Season 5, episodes 19-22)
So, there we have it. If you really want to watch all of the Marvel movies and TV shows in order (and we highly suggest that you do just that), then you should probably call in sick right now. You know, for the next four weeks. You’ve gotta give this your all. We believe in you. MCU forever!