An Armchair Guide To Marvel’s Cinematic Universe

2012’s The Avengers was the end-point of an unparalleled event in cinematic history: a six-film run which introduced an array of properties in an entwined world dubbed the ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’ (or MCU). Throughout what Marvel have called ‘Phase One,’ audiences were introduced to Iron Man and his politicized tech-world, Captain America and the fictional past connecting World War II to the present MCU, The Hulk’s curse and surrounding military interests, Thor’s world of Norse mythology, and SHIELD, the secret security agency run by the ever-manipulative Nick Fury.

Ahead of the release of Iron Man 3 on April 24 (the first film of Marvel’s ‘Phase Two’), we thought it timely to reflect on the events of Marvel’s films to date, as well as what’s to come beyond Iron Man 3. Before we begin, though, you’ll need a rough idea of the characters involved, which you can quickly obtain through this The Avengers trailer in the style of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Phase One: Avengers Assembled

Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers

Thor
The MCU’s history started somewhere around 1400 AD with the realm of Norse mythology introduced in Thor. The Tesseract (or Cosmic Cube, or source of all of the MCU’s problems not involving girls and fatherhood) was hidden on Earth by the great god Odin in order to prevent its power being abused by the more developed realms of the Norse world. After brashly invading the long-peaceful Frost Giant realm for kicks, Odin’s son Thor is banished to Earth to think about what he’s done (and also romantically bang Natalie Portman). Thor is forgiven when he saves the realm of Asgard from his step-brother Loki’s evil plot, while Loki’s second plot is foiled by the combined might of The Avengers. Now, Thor has to deal with the embarrassment of being associated with his arsehole of a brother, and after returning to Asgard, go long-distance with Natalie Portman.
TLDR: It’s a film about responsibility.

Captain America
Captain America’s World War II setting rounds out the history of the MCU. The Tesseract hidden on Earth by Odin is discovered by Nazi scientist Johann Schmidt (the Red Skull), who uses its power to overthrow the Nazi regime with his own terrorist organisation — HYDRA — who then become WWII’s biggest European threat. The American response is to create Captain America, using the ‘Super Soldier Serum’ created by an ex-German scientist. Captain America defeats HYDRA and is a success story, right up until the point where he flies himself and the Cube into the Arctic Ocean in one of the most unnecessary film suicides in movie history. Fifty years later, Captain America’s body is discovered frozen in suspended animation, thawed out to become… the MAN OUT OF TIME. He’s then used in The Avengers as the straight man who doesn’t get anyone’s jokes.
TLDR: It’s a film about coming to terms with ageing.

Iron Man
Tony Stark is like the Steve Jobs of US National Security, if Steve Jobs was a child genius, ladies’ man and, you know, alive. As the head of the world’s largest weapons manufacturer, Stark becomes Iron Man after receiving a dose of shrapnel to the heart during a terrorist attack on his weapons demonstration in Iraq. Via the gift of Science, he then turns a stop-gap First Aid job into a metal suit, escapes his prison, becomes a superhero, is humbled by the experience, and closes the weapons division of Stark Industries in favour of general philanthropy. Of course, the military wants a piece of this world-breaking piece of weaponry, and after addressing his problems with his now dead father and the teetering threat of his alcoholism, he’s thrust into The Avengers as the only untrained, un-powered being in a new world of superheroes.
TLDR: It’s a film about forgiveness.

The Hulk
The Hulk is the result of the US Military’s attempt to recreate the serum that created Captain America. Brilliant researcher Bruce Banner heads the scientific arm of the project and, after ignoring OH&S protocols, tests his work on himself, thus creating an unstoppable beast who is released whenever Banner’s mild-mannered exterior gets jostled. Banner is then left to deal with the shame of his greatest mistake, as well as his own perverse attraction to becoming something more than just a timid man in a lab coat. He’s later brought in by SHIELD to track the Cosmic Cube as part of The Avengers, while secretly, Nick Fury just wants to unleash Hulk on the coming alien army.
TLDR: It’s a film about self-discovery.

The Avengers
Eventually, all those characters and worlds came together in The Avengers, which featured an alien force in servitude to a mysterious ‘Other’ who was never seen or even referred to by name. The ‘Other’ is revealed after the credits to be the purple-skinned nihilist Thanos, the threat that’s to begin Marvel’s run to 2015’s The Avengers 2.
TLDR: It’s a film about responsibility, ageing, forgiveness, and self-discovery.

Phase Two: The Two-ening

Iron Man 3, Thor 2: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers 2

Unlike Phase One, where the first two films were only tentatively linked prior to the budgetary slap on the back that allowed Marvel to pursue their new universe, Phase Two is entirely planned out. It begins with this month’s Iron Man 3, which explores Tony Stark’s place in a world that has just seen the simultaneous introduction of superheroes, aliens and otherworldly beings intent on conquering Earth. It leaves Iron Man in post-traumatic stress, making new suits to cover every occasion via a paranoid inferiority complex. Meanwhile, both the US Government and international terrorist The Mandarin have their sights on Stark’s empire.

Also coming this year is Thor 2: The Dark World, which is set to investigate the other realms of Asgardian mythology and the Science of the MCU, which (no shit) sees Earth connected to eight other realms by ‘the tree of life.’ Where The Avengers left Thor returning his step-brother back home to Asgard for trial, Thor 2 will see conflict with the realm of the Dark Elves. Also, Natalie Portman gets to romantically bang Thor again.

In 2014, the MCU expands with Guardians of the Galaxy, a space flick consisting of Groot (a talking tree), Rocket Racoon (a talking raccoon), Gamora (the last of an alien race), Drax the Destroyer, and Star-Lord (‘Andy’ from Parks and Recreation). A left-field property for Marvel to develop, the Guardians prevent intergalactic wars and add a cosmic element to the existing universe. The space setting means this is most likely where we’ll first meet Thanos, a villain well beyond the capabilities (hint) of the d-grade ensemble.

2014 will also see the release of Captain America 2, taking inspiration from Ed Brubaker’s great Captain America stories, which made the most boring character in Marvel Comics history somehow compelling, tragic and complex. It will see Cap’s past catch up with him, as SHIELD discovers that a mythical assassin from Soviet Russia is alive and responsible for some of the world’s most famous political murders. This will be a political thriller, with Captain America coming to terms with the present day, all in the protective employ of SHIELD and Nick Fury.

After crumbling Iron Man’s empire, thrusting Thor back into mythical wars shortly after his homecoming, revealing the man-out-of-time story of Captain America and taking the entire Universe to intergalactic limits with Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel will culminate this phase with The Avengers 2, featuring Thanos as the major villain.

And yes, Marvel already has Phase Three planned out, too.