Between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and TV shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Defenders, it’s often difficult to keep track of the monumental franchise built and molded by Marvel’s brain trust.
It’s one which reached a cataclysmic climax just recently thanks to Avengers: Infinity War, which arrived after 10 years and 18 movies’ worth of exposition and carefully crafted post-credits sequences. Mind you, it’s merely the first chapter in a two-part story, as the untitled Avengers 4 is still scheduled for release in 2019.
But let’s suppose you’re introducing a friend to the Marvel franchise – and we mean the entire franchise, from Jessica Jones to Agent Carter and everything in between – where do you start? Thankfully, the folks at ComicBook.com have done the math, crunched the numbers and lined up all six Infinity Stones to reveal the official chronological viewing order of The Marvel Cinematic Universe.
From The Golden Age right through until the Infinity Age, which is all about laying the foundations for Avengers: Infinity War and its galactic conflict, it’s all here. But let’s begin at the start, shall we?
1. Captain America: The First Avenger (July 2011)
2. Peggy Carter (Season 1) (January – February 2015)
3. Peggy Carter (Season 2) (January – March 2016)
4. Captain Marvel (March 2019)
5. Iron Man (May 2008)
6. The Incredible Hulk (June 2008)
7. Iron Man 2 (May 2010)
8. Thor (May 2011)
9. The Avengers (May 2012)
After The Avengers, up next comes the Age of Heroes and the Age of Ultron, which encompasses everything from Daredevil to the original Guardians of the Galaxy.
10. Iron Man 3 (May 2013)
11. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season 1, Ep. 1-7) (September – November 2013)
12. Thor: The Dark World (November 2013)
13. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season 1, Ep. 8-15) (November 2013 – March 2014)
14. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (April 2014)
15. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season 1, Ep. 16-22) (April – May 2014)
16. Guardians of the Galaxy (August 2014)
17. Daredevil (Season 1) (April 2015)
18. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season 2, Ep. 1-19) (September 2014 – April 2015)
19. Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 2015)
20. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season 2, Ep. 20-22) (May 2015)
21. Ant-Man (July 2015)
22. Jessica Jones (Season 1) (November 2015)
23. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season 3, Ep. 1-10) (September – December 2015)
24. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (May 2017)
Up next is season 2 of Marvel’s Daredevil series, before things take a hard right into Wakanda, home of the famous Black Panther. It’s during this era where Kevin Feige and Co. begin sowing the seeds of Avengers: Infinity War, too, as Civil War ends with Bucky Barnes seeking refuge in the fictional African nation.
25. Daredevil (Season 2) (March 2016)
26. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season 3, Ep. 11-19) (March – May 2016)
27. Captain America: Civil War (May 2016)
28. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season 3, Ep. 20-22) (May 2016)
29. Black Panther (February 2018)
30. Luke Cage (Season 1) (September 2016)
31. Doctor Strange (November 2016)
32. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season 4, Ep. 1-15) (September 2016 – February 2017)
33. Iron Fist (Season 1) (March 2017)
34. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season 4, Ep. 16-22) (April – May 2017)
35. Spider-Man: Homecoming (July 2017)
36. The Defenders (Season 1) (August 2017)
37. Inhumans (Season 1) (September – November 2017)
Last but not least, we arrive at the Infinity Age, which actually begins on the small screen with The Punisher:
38. The Punisher (Season 1) (November 2017)
39. The Runaways (Season 1) (November 2017 – January 2018)
40. Jessica Jones (Season 2) (March 2018)
41. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season 5) (December 2017 – May 2018)
42. Ant-Man and The Wasp (July 2018)
43. Thor: Ragnarok (November 2017)
44. Avengers: Infinity War (April 2018)
The fact that both Captain Marvel and Ant-Man and the Wasp are included in this timeline makes this the definitive guide to Marvel’s juggernaut, so if you’re ever wanting to scrub up on your MCU history, or there’s one section that’s particularly foggy, this viewing order is here for you to fall back on. And number 45? It’s being reserved for the so-far untitled Avengers 4, which is due to make land on May 3rd, 2019.
