This piece was originally published at CNET on April 30, 2015.
Infographic: We’ve laid out every Marvel movie and TV show — and the absolute ideal order for watching them — so you can go into the “Avengers” sequel super prepared.
You’ve probably seen most of Marvel’s films, but what about the TV shows?
If you’re like me, that is to say a continuity junkie, timelines are very important to you — but timelines in the world of comics and movies can be more than a little confusing. So to help you fill in the gaps before you see “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” watch all the shows for fun, or even just try to impress your friends, we’ve created a timeline of Marvel’s Phase 1 and 2 properties in the perfect viewing order.
Editors’ Note, August 4, 2015: Parts of this piece have been updated since publishing to reflect that yes, “Incredible Hulk” is still skippable (and why); ABC has more than one Agent returning this year; and some more TV tidbits.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, as it’s called, also sometimes includes connected properties such as comics or shorts. Here we’ve left out smaller properties and stuck to the big two: films on the left side, shows on the right.
Every film listed on the left is a single-character movie, meaning each film revolves around the title character. Some feature additional heroes (for example, Black Widow and Nick Fury appear in “Captain America: Winter Soldier”), but the movie doesn’t usually delve into those characters’ backgrounds too deeply.
Also, note that “The Incredible Hulk” is still skippable, and even William Hurt (General “Thunderbolt” Ross himself) has admitted it. Speaking to IGN, Hurt said that “[Ross in ‘Civil War’] is different because it’s a different style. … And what they’ve done is they’ve taken a character who was the Ross from the older film and made a new version. This is a much newer Ross. A much different Ross.”
You’ll also notice the Marvel “One-Shots” are missing from the graphic. These are brief videos initially created as standalone stories to provide backstory for characters or things seen in the movies; two of them would later become full-fledged shows.
| Title, release date | Takes place… |
| The Consultant (September 2011) | During the end of “Incredible Hulk” |
| A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer (October 2011) | Directly before “Thor” |
| Item 47 (September 2012) | Immediately following the Battle of New York in “Avengers” |
| Agent Carter (August 2013) | One year after “Captain America: The First Avenger;” before “Agent Carter” |
| All Hail the King (February 2014) | Roughly two years after “Iron Man 3;” before “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”” |
There’s definitely some continuity strangeness when you have both movies and television show properties, and those listed on the graphic are no exception.
Season 1 of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” saw the release of two Marvel movies and had to contend with incorporating those plots. Airing after the release of “Thor: The Dark World,” episode 8 of “S.H.I.E.L.D.” definitely takes place directly after those events. Later in the same season, episode 16 aired the same weekend as the release of “Captain America: Winter Solider,” and in a neat bit of continuity, the events portrayed on “S.H.I.E.L.D.” take place at almost the same time as the film.
Netflix’s “Daredevil” also has a wibbly-wobbly timeline. Early in the series, the Battle of New York is referenced as The Incident, and it’s said that it occurred about two years prior. Because of its lack of interaction with any other Marvel characters, it could be said to take place almost anywhere on the timeline between “Thor: A Dark World” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” In our timeline, we placed it concurrent with the second season of “S.H.I.E.L.D.” to stay closer to the time it was actually released.
As I mentioned before, the infographic above only represents Marvel’s first two phases of its Cinematic Universe. Last fall, Marvel announced that Phase 3 would introduce characters Doctor Strange, Black Panther and Captain Marvel; recently it was announced the universe will now also include a new Spider-Man film.
Here’s a list of currently announced Phase 3 films and their release dates:
- “Captain America: Civil War” May 6, 2016
- “Doctor Strange” November 4, 2016
- “Guardians of the Galaxy 2” May 5, 2017
- “Spider-Man” July 28, 2017
- “Thor: Ragnarok” November 3, 2017
- “Avengers: Infinity War, Part 1” May 4, 2018
- “Black Panther” July 6, 2018
- “Captain Marvel” November 2, 2018
- “Avengers: Infinity War, Part 2” May 3, 2019
- “Inhumans” July 12, 2019
As for the small screen, Marvel seems to have just as many projects in the works. It’s already been announced that “Daredevil” will be getting a second season, starring Jon Berenthal as The Punisher — all great signs for these other joint Marvel-Netflix properties coming soon:
- “A.K.A Jessica Jones” (2015): Starring Krysten Ritter, David Tennant, Carrie-Anne Moss
- “Luke Cage” (2016): Starring Mike Colter
- “Iron Fist” (TBA)
- “The Defenders” (TBA; mini-series)
On the small screen, the upcoming fall TV season brings the return of “S.H.I.E.L.D.” at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, September 29 on ABC. And while an official start date hasn’t been announced, “Agent Carter” will be returning to ABC in 2016 (and bound for Hollywood).
Sadly, the proposed “S.H.I.E.L.D.” spin-off with Adrianne Palicki and Nick Blood starring as Bobbi Morse (aka Mockingbird) and Lance Hunter, respectively, has already been canceled. Rumor has it, though, that other ABC-Marvel projects are still moving forward.
Also this fall, Disney XD will premiere an animated version of “Guardians of the Galaxy” at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 26.
The growth of the Marvel universe is extraordinary (har-har), and as the comics giant introduces new fans to new characters (like “Ant-Man“) and partners with cable television and Netflix to expand even further, we could seem some pretty epic pairings, teams and characters come out of the woodwork.
So be honest. Which characters would you want to see in Marvel’s not-yet-announced-but-certainly-inevitable Phase 4 on both the small and big screen?
Continuity Junkie 
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