Read our guide to watching every Marvel film, short and episode in correct chronological order

written by adam mathew
published by brodie fogg
design by dean pham
10 years,
24 movies,
10 TV shows,
5 short films...
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has come a long, long way since our very first post-credits scene where Nick Fury approached Tony Stark about something called the “Avengers Initiative”.
Ten years on and the MCU has spun an intricate web of characters, relationships and otherworldly threats that extends far beyond Stark’s little tiff with Obadiah Stane.
A new era of heroes has been ushered in.
So as we march to war, kicking off the first part of our epic Avengers conclusion, we’ve taken a look back at the movies and TV shows that got us here.
We’ve organised every MCU film, TV season, episode and Marvel One-Shot short film in correct chronological order. We’ve also included exactly where you can stream or purchase each one in case you’re willing to take on the Infinity binge.
We’ve done our due diligence and ordered everything as per the time it was set but there are a few points of contention: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1 and 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming. We’ve placed the first Guardians after Civil War and the second immediately after it based on comments from director James Gunn himself. We’ve also ignored Marvel’s slip which placed Homecoming 8 years after the Battle of New York (2012), implying Homecoming was set in 2020, before Infinity War. There are also cases where single movies go span an indeterminate space in time but we’ve tried our best to cover off all bases.
Disagree with our chronological order? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.
THE OGs
events 1-12
The first slate of Marvel movies started with a stumble – an Incredible Hulk that wouldn’t spawn a sequel and would eventually recast its lead. However, every movie after went from strength to strength, introducing our Avengers (and some memorable villains) one-by-one, ending with the climactic Battle of New York.
$3.81 BILLION
TOTAL BOX OFFICE
12
events
23HRS, 53MINS
TIME TO INVEST
1
Captain America:
The First Avenger
124mins
It's 1941 and the world is in the throes of a war that's amazingly bereft of actual Nazi imagery. Steve Rogers wants to do his part, but in order to do so, he must hit the 'roids harder than Carrot Top.
Where can I watch?
2
Agent Carter:
Season 1, ep 1-8
344mins
In 1946, Peggy Carter is relegated to secretarial duties in the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR). When Howard Stark is accused of treason, Peggers has to clear his name with the help of a man pretty much christened into being a butler – Edwin Jarvis.
Where can I watch?
3
Agent Carter:
Season 2, ep 1-10
430mins
Agent Carter moves west from the Big Apple and settles in 1940’s Los Angeles. Fate's idea of a welcome basket for her is an unidentified form of radiation named Zero Matter. Despite its deceptive name, the substance does in fact matter.
Where can I watch?
4
Marvel One-Shot:
Agent Carter
15mins
Peggers gets to say one final goodbye to Steve Rogers before he goes off to set a world record for post-war chill out sessions. With WWII won, her next battle is against sexism within the Strategic Scientific Reserve.
Where can I watch?
Watch it on Iron Man 3 DVD extras or Vimeo
5
Iron Man
124mins
After being held captive in an Afghan cave by nondescript Middle Eastern types, billionaire engineer Tony Stark indulges an Iron Giant fetish by building a suit of armour. It gives his tech expo appearances some extra pizazz. Also, evil gets fought. A little.
Where can I watch?
6
Iron Man 2
124mins
With the world now aware of his identity as Iron Man, Tony Stark must contend with a bum ticker, a whip-smart villain and the fact that his best friend, “Rhodey”, has been replaced by an imposter who's trying to downplay the switch, all casual like.
Where can I watch?
7
The Incredible Hulk
135mins
Bruce Banner, a scientist with anger management issues who weirdly bears no likeness to Mark Ruffalo here, is on the run from the US government. He's out to find a cure for his condition and to discover the mystery of why his trousers expand into cut-offs rather than explode.
Where can I watch?
8
Marvel One-Shot:
The Consultant
4 mins
Agents Coulson and Sitwell plan to derail General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross from interfering with S.H.I.E.L.D.’s affairs with a very special person. Basically, two people sit and talk in this. That's all the budget allowed...
9
Marvel One-Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer
4 mins
...because 80% of the One-Shot money was used on this. Agent Coulson stops at a convenience store and deals with a coincidental robbery during his visit. What happens next can't be classed as funny, and you now have grounds to sue Disney for false advertising.
10
Thor
115 mins
The powerful god Thor, whose mother dost not know he weareth her drapes, is cast out of Asgard to live among humans in Midgard (Earth). He soon becomes one of their finest defenders and an avid cosplayer of Bodhi from Point Break.
Where can I watch?
11
The Avengers
143 mins
The blind first date for Earth's mightiest goes off  about as well as you'd expect when you throw together a cocky billionaire, a goody two-shoes Encino Man, a golden-haired god and an untamed hunk of pure aggression. Thankfully, the crew manages to work their way through an early misunderstanding to band together and defend New York from an alien invasion and the Mad Titan's proxy, Loki.
Where can I watch?
12
Marvel One-Shot:
Item 47
12 mins
S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Sitwell, the poor man's version of Agent Coulson, is assigned to recover an abandoned Chitauri weapon being used by a pair of young bank robbers named Benny and Claire. They're a poor man's version of Bonnie and Clyde.
1 Day, 1 Hour and 36 Mins
phase 1 trivia
Avengers
Janet Van Dyne, aka The Wasp, was almost an Avenger.
The Wasp (now played by Evangeline Lilly) almost made the team for the original MCU Avengers. However, Black Widow's introduction in Iron Man 2 allowed her to show up in Avengers without too much backstory, so Wasp was swatted out.
Iron Man 2
Too many characters?
Nay, more.
At the end of Iron Man 2, we get a glimpse of a map with various "points of interest". One pinpoints Wakanda, foreshadowing T'Challa's arrival seven years later. The other pinpoints the middle of the Atlantic Ocean – the sub-domain of Namor and the Atlantean people. Just simple fan baiting? We'll sea…
The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Leader?
During Ed Norton’s run as Banner, Dr Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) cops a smidge of the Hulk’s blood in his eye. We begin to see his cranium throb and mutate, subtly implying the birth of a staple Marvel villain: Leader. Unfortunately, The Incredible Hulk never got a sequel and fans never got to see Leader fully mutated.
EVIL WITHIN
events 13-35
The fallout from the Chitauri invasion breeds international fear that opens the gates to new threats from outside and within: HYDRA infiltrates S.H.I.E.L.D., the Aether awakens an ancient Asgard foe and Stark’s fear of failure breeds a new kind of villain. Luckily, the Guardians of the Galaxy join the fray and brighten things up.
$5.27 BILLION
TOTAL BOX OFFICE
23
events
4 days, 3 hour, 3 mins
TIME TO INVEST
13
Iron Man 3
130 mins
When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution. He also perfects cellular regeneration technology but never uses it ever again to solve any medical emergencies the Avengers have.
Where can I watch?
14
Marvel One-Shot:
All Hail the King
14 mins
A documentary filmmaker interviews the Mandarin from behind bars. This One-Shot was made to say “sorry” to fans who were angry about the twist in Iron Man 3. It's a pretty poor apology if I'm being honest.
Where can I watch?
15
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 1, ep 1-7
315 mins
These are the missions of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. Led by a guy who died but somehow didn't die, the agents must solve a number of unusual crimes. The forecast for most episodes: dark and stormy with a 100% chance of heil. Heil Hydra.
Where can I watch?
16
Thor: The Dark World
112 mins
When Dr Jane Foster gets cursed with a powerful entity known as the Aether, Thor learns of an impending catastrophe. Basically, thousands of years ago, a race of beings known as Dark Elves tried to send the universe into darkness and they're at it again in Thor: The Dark World. It gets pretty dark.
Where can I watch?
17
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 1, ep 8-16
405 mins
S.H.I.E.L.D. looks into a plot to find and assemble an Asgardian Berserker Staff which imbues the holder with super strength and McEnroe levels of rage. With Thor off the grid (read massive budgetary constraints), assistance comes from Dr Elliot Randolph.
Where can I watch?
18
Captain America:
The Winter Soldier
136 mins
As Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world, and understand pop culture references, he teams up with Black Widow to battle a new threat from history: an assassin who's really good in left-handed arm wrestling competitions.
Where can I watch?
19
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 1, ep 17-22
405 mins
As per the revelations in The Winter Soldier, S.H.I.E.L.D. becomes a veritable whack-a-mole for Hydra infiltrators. Worse, Coulson still believes that his bromance with Fury is over.
Where can I watch?
20
Guardians of the Galaxy
121 mins
A group of intergalactic criminals are forced to work together to stop a fanatical warrior from taking control of the universe. Their roster includes a green chick, a guy stuck in the 80s, a giving tree with “bad vocabulistics”, a trash panda and a warrior with sensitive nipples.
Where can I watch?
21
Guardians of the Galaxy:
Vol. 2
136 mins
It's another bad day for the galaxy (and names, thanks to characters called Ego and Taserface). Worse, the Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill's true parentage. Things get better when Mary Poppins makes a cameo.
Where can I watch?
22
Daredevil
Season 1, ep 1-13
706 mins
Matt Murdock, with his other senses superhumanly enhanced, fights crime as a blind lawyer by day and a vigilante by night. Pro tip: I don't care how many members you have in your gang, you do NOT start a fight with this guy in a hallway.
Where can I watch?
23
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 2, ep 1-10
450 mins
Phil Coulson and his team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and allies must attempt to rebuild the organisation following its collapse after the infiltration by the terrorist organisation Hydra. Weirdly, everybody pretends to be okay with Phil's death explanation.
Where can I watch?
24
Jessica Jones
Season 1, ep 1-13
728 mins
Following the tragic end of her brief superhero career, Jessica Jones, queen of snarky one-liners, tries to rebuild her life as a private investigator. She deals exclusively with cases involving metahumans – oh, and Luke Cage shows up.
Where can I watch?
25
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 2, ep 11-19
180 mins
In the wake of [redacted]'s death, Phil Coulson looks to give Hydra hell (as opposed to heil). S.H.I.E.L.D. enacts a plan that leads them to high-ranking Hydra agents, who are then killed off. Clearly, this super villain group is just a bunch of octopussies.
Where can I watch?
26
Avengers: Age of Ultron
141 mins
Tony Stark and Bruce Banner ignore every unsubtle warning in every Terminator film ever by jump-starting an AI peacekeeping program called Ultron. Don't forget to stick around for a post-credits scene involving the Infinity Gauntlet which creates a massive plot hole for Infinity War.
Where can I watch?
27
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 2, ep 20-22
180 mins
After Sokovia, the S.H.I.E.L.D. board is grateful to Coulson for Fury using the secret helicarrier to help save the world, and they agree to merge their factions. In this new marriage, Coulson gets to wear the big-boy pants as the new director.
Where can I watch?
28
Daredevil
Season 2, ep 1-4
180 mins
With Wilson Fisk stuck in jail (presumably staring at the wall and remembering his awful childhood), Hell's Kitchen continues to serve up new challenges for DD. Most notably: the Irish Mob, the Cartels and a lone vigilante who seems intent on “punishing” people. Oh, my. Who could it be?
Where can I watch?
29
Luke Cage
Season 1, ep 1-4
180 mins
When a sabotaged experiment gives him super strength, unbreakable skin and an obsession with hoodies, Luke Cage becomes a fugitive attempting to rebuild his life in Harlem. Nobody ever thinks to shoot him in the eye or up a nostril.
Where can I watch?
30
Daredevil
Season 2, ep 5-11
270 mins
As if dealing with The Punisher isn't enough, Murdock now has to contend with a psychotic ex-girlfriend. Elektra Natchios, the bored daughter of a wealthy Greek ambassador, is back in town with a few days to kill. Literally. Female assassin. Pun.
Where can I watch?
31
Luke Cage
Season 1, ep 5-8
180 mins
The villainous Stokes eyes a new type of weapon, the Judas bullet, built from alien metal and based on a prototype stolen from Hammer Industries. It could kill Cage if used correctly but is very expensive. Unfortunately, bullets can't be put on layaway.
Where can I watch?
32
Daredevil
Season 2, ep 12-13
90 mins
As this season comes to a close, Elektra, The Punisher and Daredevil work together to defeat a ninja clan known as the Hand. Apparently, this group is completely different from the Foot clan featured in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Where can I watch?
33
Luke
Season 1, ep 9-13
180 mins
An injured Cage limps through a predominantly white neighbourhood and is confronted by angry police officers. It goes about as well as you’d expect. Elsewhere, a crime boss named Colon narrowly avoids getting the shaft. Ha! “Colon”.
Where can I watch?
34
Ant-Man
117 mins
Armed with a super-suit that has the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, an ex-con named Scott Lang is somehow trusted to wield incredible power. Later, some Avengers’ tech is required for a grand plan and Falcon is the only one pulling guard duty because of budget restraints.
Where can I watch?
35
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 3, ep 1-10
450 mins
The season takes inspiration from the Secret Warriors comic, combining it with the Inhuman and Hydra storylines while paralleling the film Captain America: Civil War.
Where can I watch?
5 Days, 2 Hour and 10 Mins
phase 2 trivia
Guardians of the Galaxy
Line, please:
I… am Groot
While you may think Groot’s vast vocabulary of “Groot”, “I am Groot” and “I am Groot” speaks for itself, Vin Diesel actually knows exactly what our forest friend is trying to express. Vin Diesel (who does voice and motion capture for the garden-variety Guardian) gets a special script with Groot’s lines translated so he knows exactly how to express the character’s otherwise limited communication method. James Gunn has also broken our hearts with the revelation that Groot calls Rocket Racoon “Dad”.
Doctor Strange
Dormammumberpatch
Think you recognise that barbarous baritone in Dormammu’s death sentence for Stephen Strange? Lou Ferrigno, perhaps? Vin Diesel? No, Dormammu’s lines were actually performed by Benedict Cumberbatch himself. Let’s not forget, he did voice Smaug in The Hobbit trilogy. It’s the MCU equivalent of rehearsing in the mirror. Tony Todd (who voices Zoom on The CW’s Flash) originally auditioned for the role but never made the cut.
Captain America: Winter Soldier
Rogers’ Re(Cap)
By the time we see Steve Rogers in Winter Soldier, he’s been so busy he hasn’t had a chance to get up to speed on important historical and pop-culture references. Always a boy scout, Cap notes down important bands, foods and movies to catch up on such as Nirvana, Star Wars and Thai food in a “blink and you’ll miss it” scene. Depending on the region you’re watching in, his areas of research differ slightly. The Australian version has one of the more hilarious localisations with AC/DC, Space Travel (?), Skippy the Bush Kangaroo and Tim Tams added to his list.
FAMILY VALUES
events 36 - 55
After Ultron’s attack on Sokovia, public opinion and government interference split our family of Earth’s finest down the middle. Meanwhile, the second volume of Guardians of the Galaxy gives us a closer look at Thanos’s family drama and the world is treated to Tom Holland’s chirpy Peter Parker and Ryan Coogler’s wonderful Wakanda. Fragile alliances and family drama must be overcome before going toe-to-toe with the Mad Titan himself.
$7.61 BILLION
TOTAL BOX OFFICE
20
events
4 days, 18 hrs, 9 mins
TIME TO INVEST
36
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 3, eps 11-19
405 mins
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrive in Bogotá to investigate Yo-Yo, a very important Inhuman. She has super speed, but she must return to where she began moving from after one heartbeat. It's a super power with strings attached you might say.
Where can I watch?
37
Iron Fist
Season 1, ep 1-13
718 mins
A young man is bestowed with incredible martial arts skills and a mystical force known as the Iron Fist. Then, for 13 hours, he proceeds to use said fist for like three minutes and thirty seconds. In none of that time do we get to see him fight a dragon, either. It's just implied he did. Excellent.
Where can I watch?
38
Captain America:
Civil War
147 mins
Political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability when the actions of the Avengers lead to collateral damage. The new status quo deeply divides members of the team. But who cares because Spider-man shows up, proceeds to do whatever a spider can, and Tony calls him “Underoos”. Classic.
Where can I watch?
39
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 3, eps 20-22
90 mins
Following the signing of the Sokovia Accords, Talbot and Coulson discuss registering their Inhuman agents. The proposition sounds pretty inhumane. It really shouldn't be a problem then, all things considered.
Where can I watch?
40
The Defenders
Season 1, ep 1-8
398 mins
Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and that other guy with the fist of iron, or whatever, team up to fight crime in New York City. Ultimately, the Defenders big plan to save the Big Apple may or may not involve just blowing up a large chunk of it.
Where can I watch?
41
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 4, ep 1-6
270 mins
This season kickstarted many a comic fan’s heart by featuring supernatural Robbie Reyes, aka Ghost Rider. This is all meant to coincide with the film Doctor Strange (which explores mysticism in the MCU).
Where can I watch?
42
Doctor Strange
115 mins
While on a journey of physical and spiritual healing, a brilliant surgeon named Strange is drawn into the world of the mystic arts. What follows is an LSD trip into the coolest CGI in recent memory as Strange begins a near-hopeless struggle against cultists and those who seek to call him mister.
Where can I watch?
43
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 4, eps 7-8
90 mins
Now that the MCU has gone all mystical, Coulson, Fitz and Reyes get trapped between dimensions. Worse, none of them have the ability to loop time nor bargain with Dormammu for a better deal.
Where can I watch?
44
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot
Season 1, ep 1-6
27 mins
This follows Yo-Yo Rodriguez, also known as Slingshot, on a personal mission. She's an Inhuman who can move at super speed for a beat of her heart before returning to the point she started moving from. She can also rock the hell out of cradles and walk dogs like nobody’s business, presumably.
45
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 4, ep 9-22
90 mins
Here's when the LMD, or Life-Model Decoy, subplot begins. The general idea is to preserve key S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel by having their android doubles take bullets for them. Building a bunch of Terminators – what could go wrong there?
Where can I watch?
46
Spider-Man: Homecoming
133 mins
Peter Parker balances his life as an ordinary high school student in Queens with using his new superhero abilities to stop grand theft… bicycle. It's been slow going since Civil War. All that changes when Batma– uh, The Vulture shows up with some wonderful toys he got from somewhere. Possibly WayneTech.
47
Black Panther
134 mins
T'Challa rises to the throne in the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda, a place where everybody uses English as a main language despite never being colonised. Anyway, a vengeful outsider makes a play for the throne and there are metal rhinos in there, too.
48
Inhumans
Season 1, ep 1-8
360 mins
An isolated community of genetically altered superhumans struggle to protect themselves, their history, and their culture from outside influences. And I mean struggle in the literal sense. I've seen Punch and Judy puppet shows with better fight choreography.
49
The Punisher
Season 1, ep 1-13
715 mins
After the murder of his family, Marine veteran Frank Castle became a vigilante known as "The Punisher". His only goal in life is to avenge them and take a full 11 episodes to figure out he needs to do it while wearing a black shirt with a bad-ass skull motif.
Where can I watch?
50
Runaways
Season 1, ep 1-10
600 mins
After discovering their parents are supervillains in disguise, a group of teenagers band together to run away from their homes in order to atone for their parents' actions and to discover the secrets of their origins. How typical – a bunch of selfish kids instinctively rebel against their oldies. Goddamned brats.
Where can I watch?
51
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 5, ep 1-10
450 mins
This season was split into two "pods". The first sees the S.H.I.E.L.D. team transported to a future in which the Earth has been destroyed and then....
Where can I watch?
52
Jessica Jones
Season 2, ep 1-13
780 mins
Confession: we missed having Kilgrave in this season. Without him our favourite Defender had a bit of a slow-burn adventure. It only gets good when the plot wrinkle that is IGH  (Industrial Garments & Handling) starts to unfold a bit.
Where can I watch?
53
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 5, ep 11-19
405 mins
…in the second half of this series, S.H.I.E.L.D. attempts to prevent an awful future in the present. The end of the season dovetails with events of the film Avengers: Infinity War.
Where can I watch?
54
Thor: Ragnarok
130 mins
In a live-from-the-improv retcon, Thor is imprisoned on the planet Sakaar and must race against time to prevent Ragnarök, the destruction of his world. Cue: an epic battle with Hela, the suggestion that Mjolnir provides hand release and the most perfect use of Led Zeppelin's “Immigrant Song” ever.
Where can I watch?
55
Avengers:
Infinity War
The Avengers and their allies must defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe. Bigger problem for everybody: Marvel went all George R. R. Martin during the scriptwriting process. You guessed it – House (Tony) Stark is about to get downsized.
149 mins
1 Week, 2 Days, 19 Hours and 36mins
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