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A little while ago I was answered a question about what order Marvel Studios’ Solo Avengers movies are supposed to be in. Captain America: The First Avenger was clearly set first right? But was Iron Man 2 after, or before The Incredible Hulk. How about the famous Easter Eggs that appear at the end of the films? Oh and what on Earth is the MCU?
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| Original & ultimate Nick fury |
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is what Marvel Studios calls their attempts to replicate the Marvel Universe on film. It takes elements from both the primary & Ultimate Universes (For example the MCU’s Nick Fury is the black ‘modern’ version modelled on Samuel L Jackson and conveniently enough played by him in the films; not the White 60’s style super spy of the main Marvel Universe. Also the Avengers being created by Fury & S.H.I.E.L.D is from the Ultimate comics. Except there the team was originally called The Ultimates). However even thought there are now two separate, ongoing, Marvel Universes (standard & Ultimate) Marvel Studios are still restricted to using only characters that they retain movie rights to in their films. So even though Ultimate Spider-Man (Peter Parker) died a short time ago and there is now a different, mixed race, Spider-Man in the Ultimate universe, with different powers and a new costume, don’t expect him to swing by when the Avengers are defending New York from Loki’s army next summer. Sony has the movie rights to Spider-Man and I’d expect a rather costly law suit if Miles Morales (the new Ultimate Spider-Man made an appearance in Marvel Studios film) Nor will the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, The Ghost Rider, Blade or the X-Men be anywhere in sight, as those characters all have their movie rights with other studios. (20th Century Fox & Sony).
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| Mile Morales - New Ultimate Spider-Man |
ay, 29 April 2011
So to the basic super simple, if you are just going to throw the Blu-Rays in the player watch order should go...
1. Captain America: The First Avenger
2. Iron Man
3. Iron Man 2
4. The Incredible Hulk
5. Thor
6. The Avengers.
Simple enough yes? Er, well no. Thanks to those clever people at Marvel we now have (or will do when Captain America gets released later this year) we now have two shorts that fill in a little bit of the space between movies. The first one ‘Marvel One-shot: The Consultant’, spells out exactly what happened between the end of Iron Man 2 (Where Fury / Widow conclude that Iron Man would be a great Avenger, but Tony Stark not so great) and the end of The Incredible Hulk; where Tony Stark advises General Bah I failed to catch Hulk again” Ross about them “..putting a team together.” The second ‘Marvel One0shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the way to Thor’s Hammer’, fils the gap between Iron Man 2 & Thor. So a slightly trickier, but still simplified viewing order would be...
1. Captain America: The First Avenger
2. Iron Man
3. Iron Man 2
4. MO-S: The Consultant
5. The Incredible Hulk
6. MO-S: A Funny Thing Happened on thee way to Thor’s Hammer
7. Thor
8. The Avengers.
But we don’t like simple or nearly simple around here or in geek-land! No sir we want to know what happened when. So surely we need to begin at the beginning and that would be with Odin and the Asgardian armies defending puny Vikings from the ferocious Frost Giants...
So here’s a brief look at the major events in the first 5 films and the order (I think) they happened. It goes a little something like this...
Thor:-
965AD (A Rare fixed point in time, with an actual date; with the Asgardians being extremely long lived and extremely slow to age, this date never has to change)
Frost Giants attack Earth, landing at Tønsberg in Norway, with a ‘Science so advanced it’s next of kin to magic’ item, the casket of Ancient Winters. Odin leads Asgard’s forces to fight alongside humans against the Frost giants, thus giving rise to the Norse Myths. Thor finds the infant Loki, abandoned in Jotunheim, and adopts him; hiding his Frost Giant nature from everyone, Loki included. Thor and Loki begin training to become king and to defend the 9 realms. Sometime between Their Childhood and WWII the Cosmic Cube / Tesseract is stolen / lost from Odin’s vault and ends up on Earth.
Captain America:-
Red Skull is created and finds the Cosmic Cube, where it has been hidden for ages in of all places, Tønsberg, Norway. (Really this is not the best to live in the MCU!) Howard Stark invents technology that will lead to S.H.I.E.L.D’s flying cars and Hellicarrier as well as the original (Android) human torch. (He did say the flying car was a few years away, just left out the S.H.I.E.L.D only part)
Captain America is created and Howard Stark makes his shield out of what he believes is the only Vibranium on the planet. Both Captain America and the Rd Skull are thought to have died in combat when Captain Ammerica stopped Red Skull from attacking North America. In fact neither person died. Red Skull is accidently sent to one of the other 8 realms (We assume it isn't Jotunheim as the Frost Giants make no mention of him at all) but CA assumes he died. The Captain gets Lost in the Ice but the Super Soldier treatments allowed him to survive in a kind of suspended animation. Howard Stark recovers The Cosmic Cube; The S.S.R (Strategic Scientific Reserve) morphs into S.H.I.E.L.D after WWII ends and the Cube is put under S.H.I.E.L.D’s protection.
The Incredible Hulk:-
Several attempts are made to replicate the super soldier formula used to create Captain America. These experiments eventually fall under the command of General Ross. 5 years before the creation of Iron Man Ross tricks Bruce Banner into using his theories for Super Soldier purposes. The Experiment goes wrong / right and The Hulk is created. Whilst Banner is on the run (around or just before the time he spends in Brazil) Tony Stark is kidnapped...
Iron Man:-
Stark is kidnapped and creates the MkI Iron Man armour. His fight with Stane, revelation that he is Iron Man and Nick Fury’s invitation to join the Avenger Initiative Occur before Bruce Banner is forced to leave Brazil.
Iron Man II:-
First attack by Ivan Vanko (Whiplash) James Rhodes takes the MkII armour and it is converted into the War Machine Armour, meanwhile Nick Fury is chasing leads on The Sub Mariner, The Hulk and is alerted to a wormhole in New Mexico.
Thor:-
Thor leads an attack squad into Jotunheim an as punishment is banished to contemporary Earth. His banishment, as well as the costing of Mjolnir onto Earth attracts the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D and Nick Fury dispatches Agent Coulson (Who had been babysitting Tony Stark) to New Mexico to investigate.
The Incredible Hulk / Iron Man 2:-
Banner meets Betty Ross and explains why he has been in hiding and that he hopes to find a cure. Meanwhile the second Attack by Vanko at the Stark Expo takes place With Iron Man & War Machine barely saving the day, with help from S.H.I.E.L.D special agent Black Widow.
Banner & Ross go back to the university where Banner is attacked and turns into the Hulk. This is on the news on Nick Fury’s video wall when Tony Stark goes to meet him at the end of Iron Man 2. (As are other locations, such as Wakanda, the home of The Black Panther in Africa and the (probable) location of Atlantis and The Sub Mariner.))
Here Nick Fury advises Tony Stark that he is too unstable to be an Avenger, but that he would like him to be a consultant.
Incredible Hulk / Thor:-
Ross’s enhancing of Emil Blonsky goes horribly wrong as he becomes addicted to the power and mixes his, Super Soldier like enhancements, with a Hulk like treatment and becomes The Abomination.
Meanwhile Agent Coulson discovers Thor’s Hammer, Mjolnir. Thor redeems himself, befriends Coulson / S.H.I.E.L.D and returns to Asgard, but has to destroy, what is believed to be the only way back to Earth, to save Jotunheim.
Abomination / Emil Blonsky is defeated and taken into “Hulk-buster” custody. General Ross is in hot water for unleashing a monster far worse than The Hulk.
MO-S: The Consultant:-
S.H.I.E.L.D agents Coulson & Sitwell discuss The Abomination / Blonsky. The World Security Council have apparently sanctioned Nick Fury & S.H.I.E.L.D’s Avenger Initiative. But with “...the most idiotic, ill conceived request...” They are insisting on the Abomination (Tim Roth) being a part of the team, choosing to believe he is still a hero and all the bad must have been Hulk / Banner’s fault. To ensure that Ross doesn’t turn him over they send The Consultant. Tony Stark, Incredible Hulk:
Tony Stark tracks down General Ross and tells him they are putting a team together. As shown in MO-S The Consultant his brief is to discuss Blonsky’s release with General Ross. Stark’s ability to drive people insane scuppers negotiations (as hoped) and therefore The Abomination remains in army, not S.H.I.E.L.D, custody.
Thor:-
Nick Fury recruits Dr Selvig to try and uncover the secret of the Cosmic Cube and potentially “rescue” Thor. Loki reveals himself to be very much alive and possibly controlling Dr Selvig through suggestion.
Captain America:-
It hasn’t been made 100% clear yet at what point Captain America is discovered and revived; but the assumption is that this is the last event to take place prior to the start of The Avengers.
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