241-664: The Infinity Stones are fictional items in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise , based on the Infinity Gems of the Marvel Comics . As expounded across several interwoven MCU multimedia titles, the six Infinity Stones are reputed to embody and control essential aspects of existence—Space, Mind, Reality, Power, Time and Soul—thereby making them critical artifacts in the MCU and, together,
482-573: A 1990 feature film resulting in critical and financial failure. In the mid-2000s, Kevin Feige realized that Marvel still owned the rights to the core members of the Avengers , which included Captain America. Feige, a self-professed "fanboy", envisioned creating a shared universe just as creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had done with their comic books in the early 1960s. In 2005, Marvel received
723-543: A FedEx delivery man, referring to Lee's cameo in Captain America: Civil War . This acknowledged the fan theory that Lee may be portraying the same character in all his cameos, with writer and director James Gunn noting that commentators believed Lee was portraying the character Uatu the Watcher and "that all of these cameos are part of him being a Watcher . So, Stan Lee as a guy who is working for
964-581: A Nano Gauntlet to house the Stones, which Banner uses to undo the Blip. An alternate 2014 Thanos, having been alerted by their actions due to Nebula's cybernetic systems connecting with her alternate 2014 self, brings his army to the future, destroying the compound and intending to use the Stones to destroy and recreate the universe out of revenge for the Blip being undone, but is ultimately defeated when Stark sacrifices himself to disintegrate Thanos and his army with
1205-645: A circular shield made of vibranium , a rare, nearly indestructible metal. Over the next two years, Rogers and the Howling Commandos help to turn the tide of the war in favor of the Allies . The team eventually captures top Hydra scientist Dr. Arnim Zola on a train, but Barnes falls to his presumed death during the battle. Using information extracted from Zola, Rogers leads an attack on the final Hydra stronghold to stop Schmidt from using weapons of mass destruction on major American cities. Rogers infiltrates
1446-604: A crossover film; Arad, who resigned in 2006, doubted this strategy would work. He insisted that it was his reputation that helped secure the initial financing. In 2007, Feige was named studio chief. To preserve its artistic integrity, Marvel Studios formed a creative committee of six people familiar with its comic book lore: Feige, Marvel Studios co-president Louis D'Esposito , Marvel Comics' president of publishing Dan Buckley , Marvel Entertainment's chief creative officer Joe Quesada , comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis , and Marvel Entertainment president Alan Fine , who oversaw
1687-645: A scepter given to Loki in his efforts to get the Space Stone from Earth. The Stone returned within the scepter in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) where it was being used on human test subjects. The Mind Stone was eventually used to give Vision life. Thor: The Dark World (2013) introduced the Reality Stone in its liquid form known as the Aether. It temporarily infected Jane Foster before it
1928-496: A "hands-on role" in each series' development. Feige said these series would "tell stories... that we wouldn't be able to tell in a theatrical experience—a longer-form narrative". He added that being asked by Disney to create these series "energized everyone creatively" within Marvel Studios, since they "could play in a new medium and throw the rules out the window in terms of structure and format". Television specials from
2169-515: A $ 525 million investment from Merrill Lynch , allowing them to independently produce ten films, including Captain America . Paramount Pictures agreed to distribute the film. "Casting Captain America was super hard. I started to think, 'Are we not going to be able to find Captain America, and if we can't, what are we going to do with Avengers ? Is the whole thing going to fall apart?' And, then, finally opening ourselves up to Chris Evans, who we had initially sort of just looked past because he
2410-512: A 1:1 scale Infinity Gauntlet with the Stones capable of lighting up with the use of embedded LED lights. Lego also released their own Infinity Gauntlet set in 2021 to celebrate the Infinity Saga. The Snap and the Blip entered the popular lexicon as a metaphor for the idea of unilaterally bringing into being one's desired goals through one's force of will alone. In a November 30, 2023, article for SFGate , columnist Drew Magary reacted to
2651-414: A 2018 agreement between Alonso and Disney to not work for a competing studio. The decision was made by a group that included Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman and Disney's human resources and legal departments. Alonso reportedly did not seek permission to work on the film and was asked by Disney to stop working on it or promoting it. The situation was deemed serious enough that Disney requested
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#17327723999052892-504: A Marvel film if asked. When developing the crossover miniseries The Defenders , showrunner Marco Ramirez consulted with the creators of all the individual Marvel Netflix series, having them read each of the scripts for The Defenders and provide insight into individual characters' worlds. In December 2021, Feige confirmed that Cox would reprise the role of Daredevil in Marvel Studios MCU productions, with Cox first reprising
3133-694: A S.H.I.E.L.D. satellite launch vessel, the Lemurian Star , that has been hijacked by a terrorist group led by Georges Batroc . Rogers and S.T.R.I.K.E successfully rescue the hostages, but Batroc escapes when Rogers discovers Romanoff has her own agenda: to extract data from the ship's computers for Fury. Rogers returns to the Triskelion , S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters, to confront Fury and is briefed about Project Insight: three Helicarriers linked to spy satellites designed to preemptively eliminate threats against America. Rogers, citing his moral issues with such
3374-570: A U.N. panel to oversee and control the team. The Avengers are divided: Stark supports oversight because of his role in Ultron's creation and Sokovia's devastation, while Rogers is hesitant to give the government that kind of control over the team. Helmut Zemo , seeking to destroy the Avengers as revenge for the death of his family in Sokovia, tracks down and kills Barnes' old Hydra handler, stealing
3615-693: A big idea they would like to explore or build to in a project, such as Hydra infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), but they leave it up to the filmmakers to interpret and "improv a little bit" to get that point. After these ideas have been developed, the creative team then begins exploring ideas from other future projects to see how to make any larger universe connections. In August 2012, Marvel signed The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) director Joss Whedon to an exclusive contract through June 2015 for film and television. With
3856-587: A big, giant visual-effects movie to do a big, giant visual-effects movie for us. You just have to have done something singularly sort of awesome." The studio ensures directors are open to the idea of the shared universe and are willing to include connective material, such as Kenneth Branagh and Joe Johnston needing to include scenes that set-up The Avengers (2012) in their respective Phase One films Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger (both 2011). Marvel Studios usually has
4097-552: A book containing the trigger words that activate Barnes' Winter Soldier brainwashing. Barnes is framed for the Vienna bombing that kills King T'Chaka of Wakanda, and T'Chaka's son T'Challa , the Black Panther , vows vengeance. Rogers and Wilson track Barnes to Bucharest and attempt to protect him from T'Challa and the authorities, but are apprehended. Impersonating a psychiatrist sent to interview Barnes, Zemo sends Barnes on
4338-691: A brief time before the other Guardians joined with him. They seal the Power Stone in a new Orb and entrust it to the Nova Corps for safekeeping. In 2016, Dr. Stephen Strange finds the Eye of Agamotto, which houses the Time Stone, and learns how to use it to save the Earth from Dormammu by trapping him in a time loop until the demon abandons his plans for Earth. Strange returns the Eye of Agamotto to
4579-464: A cable and fly them back 50 feet, but he's going to go down, probably not getting back up, which I think humanizes it. It makes it something that, again, I think everyone can relate to a little bit more, which I really like." Evans said that Rogers is much darker in The Avengers (2012): "It's just about him trying to come to terms with the modern world. You've got to imagine, it's enough of
4820-509: A common one is that he is hidden in a secret moonbase . The government names John Walker as the new Captain America and gives him the shield. Barnes confronts Wilson, who reveals that he did not feel comfortable being Rogers' successor. Walker indicates his desire to fill Rogers' shoes but comes into conflict with Wilson and Barnes, who refuse to work with him and the Global Repatriation Council (GRC) in tracking down
5061-450: A critical view of this position, Magary, wrote: "But Musk, who told Sorkin that he believed data to be more valuable than gold, remains committed to the idea that owning X means owning the chief information exchange for all of this planet's 8 billion citizens. He thinks he can Thanos Snap wars and recessions into being merely by posting a recycled Pepe the Frog meme from 2016 on there. There
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#17327723999055302-432: A father and Avenger. Quantumania writer Jeff Loveness wrote the material from the memoir that was featured in the film. Various composers have created the film and television scores of the MCU films, television series, One-Shots, Special Presentations, and other related projects of the MCU, primarily released by Marvel Studios's record label Marvel Music . Original songs have also been created specifically for use in
5543-604: A final battle against Thanos. During the battle, Rogers witnesses Danvers' return. With no other options for victory, Stark steals the Infinity Stones from Thanos and snaps his fingers. Thanos and his army disintegrate, and Stark dies while Rogers looks on in grief. After attending Stark's funeral, Rogers reunites with Barnes, Wilson, and Banner before returning the Infinity Stones and Mjolnir to their appropriate timelines. However, Rogers also decides to visit an alternate 1949 to reunite with Carter, where he marries and lives
5784-406: A full life with Peggy Carter, with his elder self later appearing in the present to pass on his shield to Sam Wilson . Theater actor Leander Deeny was the body double in some shots in the first film for Steve Rogers' pre-transformation physique, while Patrick Gorman served as the body double for elderly Steve Rogers. In January 2021, Evans was reportedly close to signing a deal with to reprise
6025-559: A full life with her. Returning to Barnes, Wilson, and Banner, he appears as an elderly man finally at peace, and passes his shield and mantle to Wilson. In spring 2024, Wilson struggles with the idea of taking up Rogers' title as Captain America and instead gives the shield to the U.S. government so it can be displayed in a Smithsonian museum exhibit dedicated to Rogers. Joaquin Torres mentions to Wilson that discussions about Rogers' whereabouts have become an internet conspiracy theory , and
6266-473: A high-protein diet. For Civil War , his costume in the film received "subtle changes to all the details and cut" as well as its color, becoming a combination of the stealth suit from Winter Soldier and the Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) suit. In Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Rogers receives new vibranium gauntlets from Shuri to replace his traditional shield. In his civilian attire throughout
6507-467: A member of the 107th Infantry Regiment , was killed by mustard gas during World War I . He was raised by his mother, a nurse, who died of tuberculosis , leaving Rogers alone at the age of eighteen. At just 5-foot-4-inch (1.63 m) tall and weighing only 90 pounds (41 kg), Rogers was also afflicted with a number of medical issues including asthma , scoliosis , heart arrhythmia , partial deafness , stomach ulcers , and pernicious anemia . At
6748-585: A mercenary, from stealing a biological weapon from a lab in Lagos . Rumlow attempts to kill Rogers with a suicide bomb , but Maximoff saves him. However, she accidentally kills several Wakandan humanitarian workers in the process. This leads to U.S. Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross informing the Avengers that the United Nations is preparing to pass the Sokovia Accords , which will establish
6989-633: A multi-million dollar compensation settlement in April. Disney CEO Bob Iger said in July 2023 that the company would be reducing the amount of Marvel content created moving forward, admitting that Marvel Studios' expansion into Disney+ series and more films had "diluted focus and attention" after several underachieving films at the box office. He clarified their plans in May 2024, saying Disney would now release two, or at most three, Marvel films and two Marvel series
7230-400: A new agreement be signed. The company consistently reminded her of this while she continued to promote the film following its September 2022 premiere, ultimately leading to her firing. Alonso's lawyers refuted these claims, saying Disney was aware of, and agreed to, Alonso's work on Argentina, 1985 and Alonso had been "silenced [and] was terminated when she refused to do something she believed
7471-404: A program, expresses concern that the project will likely result in the deaths of innocent people. He visits an elderly Carter who expresses regret that Rogers never got to live the life he deserved. Unable to decrypt the data recovered by Romanoff, Fury becomes suspicious about Insight and asks senior S.H.I.E.L.D. official Alexander Pierce to delay the project. Fury, ambushed by assailants led by
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7712-534: A rampage to cover his own escape. Rogers stops Barnes and hides him. When Barnes regains his senses, he explains that Zemo is the real Vienna bomber and wanted the location of the Siberian Hydra base, where other brainwashed "Winter Soldiers" are kept in cryogenic stasis. Rogers and Wilson go rogue; they recruit Barton, Scott Lang , and Maximoff to their cause. Stark assembles a team composed of Romanoff, Rhodes, Vision, T'Challa, and Peter Parker to capture
7953-641: A series of direct-to-video short films that are included as special features in the MCU films' Blu-ray and digital distribution releases. The films included The Consultant (2011), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (2011), Item 47 (2012), Agent Carter (2013), and All Hail the King (2014). Following the One-Shots becoming available on Disney+ in January 2022, Marvel classified
8194-433: A series of photorealistic animated shorts starring Baby Groot for Disney+. In November 2016, Feige explained that the studio would often put together a "lookbook" of influences from the comics and art by Marvel's visual development department, to create a visual template for a project. These are put together at company retreats, which the studio holds approximately every 18 months to plan out future projects and develop
8435-423: A series of in-universe YouTube videos serving as the center of a viral marketing campaign to promote the films and universe. In December 2016, a six-part web series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot , debuted on ABC.com . It follows Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez on a secret mission, shortly before the start of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 's fourth season , with Natalia Cordova-Buckley reprising her role from
8676-412: A shock to accept the fact that you're in a completely different time, but everybody you know is dead. Everybody you cared about ... He was a soldier, obviously, everybody he went to battle with, all of his brothers in arms, they're all dead. He's just lonely. I think in the beginning it's a fish-out-of-water scene, and it's tough. It's a tough pill for him to swallow. Then comes trying to find a balance with
8917-413: A sidekick, a teenaged Bucky Barnes . In the 1960s, Marvel decided to test bringing the character back as part of the Avengers, with the premise that the character had been frozen for the two decades since the war, and was "haunted by past memories, and trying to adapt to 1960s society". Live-action performances of the character in television and film serials began within a few years after its creation, with
9158-497: A step back from the skills shown in The Winter Soldier , and made sure Rogers' fighting style advanced, showing "a consistent display of strength" and having Rogers utilizing his environment. Evans' training regimen to get in shape for the role included weight lifting, which consisted of "the classic bodyweight and bodybuilding stuff", gymnastics and plyometrics , while staying away from cardio-based exercises, along with
9399-544: A synthetic vibranium body powered by the Mind Stone . Rogers fights Ultron in an attempt to keep him from completing the upload. He is assisted by the Maximoff twins who side with the Avengers after learning Ultron plans to exterminate humanity. They retrieve the synthetic body, but Romanoff is captured. At Avengers Tower, the Avengers have a dispute over the synthetic body which is activated and becomes Vision . Rogers and
9640-613: A threat to Hydra. They are ambushed by the Winter Soldier, whom Rogers recognizes as James Barnes, his best friend whom he thought had died during World War II. S.H.I.E.L.D. operative Maria Hill manages to extract the trio to a safehouse where Fury, who faked his death, is waiting with plans to sabotage the Helicarriers by replacing their controller chips. After the World Security Council members arrive for
9881-541: A tribute video, with Rogers being included. That same year, the Statue of Liberty is modified and undergoes construction to replace the torch with Captain America's shield. Additionally, a Broadway theatre production entitled Rogers: The Musical is created as an homage to Rogers. While Barton is in New York City, he attends the musical with his family and is displeased with the musical's upbeat depiction of
Infinity Stones - Misplaced Pages Continue
10122-543: A weapon to destroy the Stones called the Infinity Crusher. When the Crusher fails due to it being designed to only work for the Stones in its respective universe, the heroes kill Ultron by uploading Arnim Zola 's analog consciousness into his body. The Stones are nearly taken by Killmonger , but he is stopped by Zola, who tries to take the Stones for himself. Strange Supreme and the Watcher imprison them along with
10363-477: A year. This was a decrease from up to four films and around four series being released in some recent years. The company was reducing output and focusing on quality across all its divisions, but Iger felt the change was especially needed for Marvel. Feige and D'Esposito said 2023 had been a particularly difficult year and a "rough time" for the studio but they had learned their lesson on trying to make too much content at once. They added that no longer being "on top" of
10604-435: Is a superhero primarily portrayed by Chris Evans in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise —based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name —commonly known by his alias , Captain America . Rogers is depicted as a World War II -era super soldier who was given a serum that provided him with superhuman abilities, including enhanced durability, strength, and athleticism. During his fight against
10845-608: Is a left handed metal Gauntlet used to house the six Stones. A right-handed Gauntlet appears in Thor (2011), where it's stored in Odin 's vault, though this one was later revealed to be a fake by Hela in Thor: Ragnarok . The mid-credits scene of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) revealed Thanos had acquired a left-handed Infinity Gauntlet. In Infinity War , it is revealed Thanos invaded Nidavellir and forced Eitri to create
11086-656: Is also placed here in The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline . The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z , Vol. 5, published in 2008, originally designated the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Earth-199999 within the continuity of Marvel's comic multiverse , a collection of fictional alternate universes, although, this designation was rarely used officially outside of
11327-465: Is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios . The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The franchise also includes several television series , short films, digital series, and literature. The shared universe, much like the original Marvel Universe in comic books,
11568-474: Is in the comics, to purple in the middle of development on Guardians of the Galaxy because Marvel decided that the Aether was going to be the Reality Stone. In the comics, Thanos is motivated to retrieve and use the Infinity Gems to impress Lady Death as she believed that the universe was overpopulated and headed for mass extinction. In the films, there is no mention of Lady Death, and Thanos wishes to reduce
11809-770: Is keeping a captured Nebula . He uses the Power Stone to torture her in front of Gamora, forcing Gamora to agree to take him to Vormir to find the Soul Stone. On Vormir, they encounter the Stone keeper, Red Skull. Thanos reluctantly sacrifices Gamora to fulfill the requirements to obtain the Soul Stone once the Red Skull explains to them that the Stone requires the sacrifice of a loved one to earn it. Maw gets sucked out of an airlock and his ship takes Stark, Strange, and Parker to Titan , Thanos' home planet, where they run into Quill, Drax, and Mantis. Before Thanos arrives, Strange uses
12050-759: Is killed on Titan by the Illuminati . The Infinity Stones played a big role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe 's Infinity Saga , but they were not the original story plan. Despite the Space Stone being introduced in Thor , and the Mind Stone and Thanos debuting in The Avengers , there were no official plans until at least 2012 to make the Stones the MacGuffins of the Saga. James Gunn revealed that it wasn't until after he completed his first draft for Guardians of
12291-708: Is lost in the ocean and with no way to land the plane without the risk of detonating the bombs, Rogers reluctantly bids farewell to Carter via the plane's communications system and crashes it and himself in the Arctic. In 2011, Rogers awakens in a 1940s-style hospital room. Deducing from an anachronistic baseball radio broadcast that something is wrong, he flees outside and finds himself in present-day Times Square , where S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury informs him that he has been frozen in suspended animation for nearly 70 years. Rogers learns that most of his World War II-era comrades are deceased, and he struggles to adjust to
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#173277239990512532-582: Is no reasoning with someone who is so megalomaniacal and so, SO stupid." A 2018 article in Extreme Mechanics Letters proposed that Thanos would have needed "a minimum grip strength of over 40,000 tons, which is approximately 750,000 times that of a typical man", to break the Tesseract depicted in the film, presuming that the object was an "all-carbon nano-tesseract or hypercube projected into 3D space". A study published in 2020 focused on
12773-527: Is recruited into the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) as part of a super-soldier experiment under Erskine, U.S. Army Colonel Chester Phillips , and British MI6 agent Peggy Carter . The night before the treatment, Erskine reveals to Rogers that Nazi officer Johann Schmidt , head of the science division called Hydra , underwent an imperfect version of the procedure and suffered permanent side-effects. Nonetheless, Rogers agrees to
13014-501: Is represented by different gems: The Time Stone is a Colombian emerald nearing 23 carats, the Space Stone is a sapphire from Madagascar, with over 30 carats, the Reality Stone is a natural ruby from Mozambique, Africa with over 15 carats, the Power Stone is a natural amethyst with more than 35 carats, the Soul Stone is spessartite , exceeding 35 carats, and the Mind Stone is a cut yellow diamond , that's close to 35 carats. After Infinity War released in theaters, Hot Toys unveiled
13255-630: Is shown to have switched to a Softail Slim model for commuting around New York City, before using the Street 750 model when fleeing from pursuing Hydra agents in The Winter Soldier . Rogers later uses other models such as the Breakout, V-Rod and the Softail Slim S. In Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Steve Rogers begins as a frail, sickly young man who is enhanced to the peak of human ability by an experimental serum in order to aid
13496-643: Is the first mutant (a term related to the X-Men) in the MCU. Namor is also revealed to be a mutant in the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), as he is in the comics. Kelsey Grammer appears as Dr. Hank McCoy / Beast in The Marvels (2023), reprising the role from the X-Men films series, which also introduces the mutant Binary , an alternate version of Maria Rambeau , portrayed by Lashana Lynch . Feige called Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
13737-544: Is the first film in Phase Four , which concluded with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), while Phase Five began with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) and will conclude with Thunderbolts* (2025). Phase Six will begin with The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) and it will conclude with Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). Marvel Television expanded
13978-459: Is unable to complete the removal of the Mind Stone from Vision's head before she is attacked by Glaive. Thanos arrives looking to get the Stone himself, using some of the Stones against the Avengers and Wakandans trying to fight him off. As a result of the Stone still being in Vision's head, Wanda is forced to destroy Vision and the Stone to try to prevent Thanos from getting it, only for Thanos to use
14219-553: The Marvel Legacy series to match the film versions. In the MCU, the Time Stone is housed in the Eye of Agamotto and the Space Stone is housed in the Tesseract. However, the Marvel Comics versions of these two stones have no connections to these relics. The existence of the Infinity Stones in the MCU has been described as the "one driving force that unifies all the robot-alien-hero fighting" by The Verge . The use of
14460-667: The Team Thor mockumentary shorts as One-Shots. Team Thor is a series of direct-to-video mockumentary short films that were released from 2016 to 2018, consisting of Team Thor , Team Thor: Part 2 , and Team Darryl , all written and directed by Taika Waititi . I Am Groot is a series of photorealistic animated short films for Disney+ starring Baby Groot going on adventures with new and unusual characters. Vin Diesel reprises his role, with five shorts releasing on August 10, 2022. A second season with five additional shorts
14701-557: The ALICE webbing that was used in Vietnam . Using the straps as the stripes across his torso then seemed like an elegant design solution. In the end, the main design aspects of this suit are meant to be about making it appear soldier-like, functional and tough." In The Avengers (2012), his suit was made to look "a bit more 'superhero'" in comparison to The First Avenger , at Joss Whedon 's request. Costume designer Alexandra Byrne stated
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#173277239990514942-570: The Bifrost . Years later, the Asgardian prophecy of its destruction by the fire demon Surtur comes true. Loki takes the Tesseract from the vault before escaping. The Stone is originally housed in a scepter given to Loki by Thanos and the Other to help locate the Tesseract and conquer Earth with its ability to control people's minds and project energy blasts. After Loki's defeat, it falls into
15183-528: The Collector explains that the Infinity Stones are the remnants of six singularities that existed before the Big Bang , which were compressed into Stones by cosmic entities after the universe began and which were dispersed throughout the cosmos. Four years later, it is further explained by Wong and Stephen Strange that each Infinity Stone embodies and controls an essential aspect of existence. In 1942,
15424-417: The Fantastic Four to Marvel Studios, although Feige explained that despite the acquisition finalizing in 2019, access and integration of these characters and concepts were unavailable "for a very long time" because of corporate acquisition laws. Some of the first elements to be integrated into the MCU following the acquisition were the organization S.W.O.R.D. in the Disney+ series WandaVision (2021) and
15665-409: The Flag Smashers , a group of terrorist super soldiers. Barnes introduces Wilson to Isaiah Bradley , an African-American successor to Rogers that he came into conflict with during the Korean War . Bradley was kept a secret (even from Rogers), imprisoned for thirty years, and experimented on by the government and Hydra. Wilson and Barnes learn that Bradley's blood was used to create a new variation of
15906-539: The Infinity War directors commentary, they confirmed that the Stone has some of the elements of its comic counterpart including "conjuring the spiritual representations of the dead on another plane of existence". At San Diego Comic-Con in 2022, Marvel and East Continental Gems announced the Infinity Collection of Gemstones, a set of six Gem stones representing each Stone and displayed in an Infinity Gauntlet created by Gentle Giant Ltd. All six gems combined are over 150 carats and valued at USD $ 25 million. Each Stone
16147-415: The Iron Man films. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot (2016) is one of several Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. web series created for ABC.com and produced by Marvel Television that is a supplement to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , with the main cast reprising their roles. The first two seasons of The Daily Bugle (2019–2022) are an in-universe current affairs show serving as a viral marketing campaign for
16388-500: The MacGuffin of the dedicated Infinity Saga . The Stones, with the exception of the Soul Stone, made their debuts in films leading up to Avengers: Infinity War (2018). The Space Stone, the first Stone to appear, was featured in a post-credit scene for Thor (2011), housed within the Tesseract. The Stone / Tesseract established its significance in the MCU through the antecedent films, Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and The Avengers (2012). In The First Avenger ,
16629-413: The Nazi secret organization Hydra , he was frozen in the Arctic for nearly seventy years until being revived in the 21st century. Rogers becomes a founding member and leader of the Avengers . Following internal conflict within the Avengers due to the Sokovia Accords and Thanos initiating the Blip , Rogers leads the team on a final mission, and they successfully restore trillions of lives across
16870-414: The Quinjet , his brother Thor arrives and frees him, hoping to convince him to abandon his plan. After a confrontation between Thor, Stark, and Rogers, Thor agrees to take Loki to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s flying aircraft carrier, the Helicarrier . The Avengers become divided, both over how to approach Loki and the revelation that S.H.I.E.L.D. plans to harness the Tesseract to develop weapons much like Hydra had in
17111-533: The Raft , and heads to Wakanda with Barnes, where Barnes chooses to return to cryogenic sleep until a cure for his brainwashing is found. Wanted by the U.N. for breaking the Sokovia Accords, Rogers, Maximoff, Romanoff, and Wilson go into hiding, while Barton and Lang strike a deal with the government for house arrest so that they can be with their families. In 2018, Rogers, Romanoff, and Wilson rescue Maximoff and Vision in Scotland from Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight , two of Thanos ' children . They return to
17352-556: The Red Skull steals the Tesseract, which contains the Space Stone, from a church and uses it to power Hydra 's weaponry during World War II . During Steve Rogers 's final fight against Red Skull, the Tesseract transports the latter to the planet Vormir . Afterwards, the Tesseract falls into the Arctic Ocean, where it is later recovered by Howard Stark and taken to a secret base. Dr. Wendy Lawson unsuccessfully tries to use
17593-623: The Red Skull used the power of the Stone to power Hydra 's weaponry during World War II . In The Avengers , Loki was sent to Earth by Thanos to get the Stone from S.H.I.E.L.D. The Space Stone did not make another appearance until Phase Three , when it made a minor appearance in Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and played a major role in Captain Marvel (2019) when it was revealed that the Stone gave Carol Danvers her powers. The Mind Stone first showed up in The Avengers , housed in
17834-494: The Russo brothers and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely . This was to ensure their storytelling aligned for the Infinity Saga's culmination. Marvel Studios began contracting their actors for multiple films, including signing actor Samuel L. Jackson to a then-unprecedented nine-film contract. Feige said the studio had all actors sign contracts for multiple films, with the normal number being for three or more while
18075-481: The Spider-Man films. Multiple limited series or one-shot comic books that tie into the MCU films and television series have been published by Marvel Comics. They are intended to tell additional stories about existing characters or to make connections between MCU projects, without necessarily expanding the universe or introducing new concepts or characters. The Wakanda Files: A Technological Exploration of
18316-595: The Winter Soldier , escapes and warns Rogers that S.H.I.E.L.D. is compromised. Fury is gunned down by the Winter Soldier, but hands Rogers a flash drive containing Romanoff's data. Pierce summons Rogers to the Triskelion, revealing evidence that Fury hired Batroc to hijack the ship as cover to retrieve the data, but when Rogers withholds Fury's information, Pierce brands him a fugitive . Hunted by S.T.R.I.K.E., Rogers escapes capture and meets with Romanoff. Using
18557-598: The X-Men which were respectively licensed to Sony, New Line, and Fox, Marvel owned the rights to the Avengers team. Feige, a self-described "fanboy", envisioned combining these characters in a shared universe similar to the one created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for Marvel Comics in the 1960s. "It's never been done before and that's kind of the spirit everybody's taking it in. The other filmmakers aren't used to getting actors from other movies that other filmmakers have cast, certain plot lines that are connected or certain locations that are connected, but I think... everyone
18798-552: The crossover film The Avengers (2012). Phase Two comprises Iron Man 3 (2013), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), and Ant-Man (2015). Captain America: Civil War (2016) is the first film of Phase Three , and is followed by Doctor Strange (2016), Guardians of
19039-624: The highest-grossing media franchises of all time, and it has received generally positive reviews from critics. The studio attributed several Multiverse Saga projects performing below expectations to the increase in the amount of content being produced after the 2019 film Avengers: Endgame , and began decreasing its content output from 2024. The MCU has inspired other film and television studios to attempt similar shared universes and has also inspired several themed attractions, an art exhibit, television specials, literary material, multiple tie-in video games, and commercials. By 2005, Marvel Entertainment
19280-591: The second season of What If...? , appearing in the last two episodes. In the season's penultimate episode , Steve Rogers unwillingly strikes the Time Stone while fighting Thanos and in the final episode where the Gauntlet is used by another version of Thanos, who is then killed by Killmonger. A Gauntlet appears in a flashback sequence in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) after Thanos
19521-586: The untitled fourth Spider-Man film (2026), and will conclude with Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). The planned film Blade is also intended to be part of the phase but does not have a release date. Marvel Television produced multiple television series set in the MCU across broadcast, streaming, and cable. Its ABC series included Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020), Agent Carter (2015–2016), and Inhumans (2017); its Netflix series included Daredevil (2015–2018), Jessica Jones (2015–2019), Luke Cage (2016–2018), Iron Fist (2017–2018),
19762-475: The 1940s. Agents possessed by Loki, including Clint Barton , attack the Helicarrier, disabling one of its engines in flight, which Stark and Rogers work together to restart. Loki escapes, and Stark and Rogers realize that for Loki, he needs to overpower them publicly to validate himself as ruler of Earth. Rogers recruits Barton to join the Avengers after he is freed from his mind control by Romanoff. Loki uses
20003-475: The Aether, to destroy the Nine Realms . His plan was to return the universe to its pre-Big Bang state, only to be thwarted by Bor , who had it hidden. In 2013, Jane Foster becomes infected by the Aether after coming across its resting place, though Malekith later draws it out of her. After Malekith is defeated by Thor , Sif and Volstagg , they seal the Aether in a lantern-like container and entrust it to
20244-429: The Asgardian ship on its way to Earth after the destruction of Asgard. Thanos kills half of the occupants and threatens to kill Thor as well, but Loki gives up the Tesseract to save his brother's life. Thanos proceeds to crush the Tesseract to acquire the Space Stone. He tells his children to acquire the two Stones on Earth. He then uses the Power Stone to destroy the ship as he teleports his children and himself away with
20485-576: The Avengers Compound, reuniting with Banner and Rhodes. Rhodes refuses Secretary Ross's order to arrest Rogers, Romanoff, Wilson, and Maximoff; and Rogers informs Ross they intend to defend the Earth against the incoming threat, with or without permission from the Sokovia Accords. Rogers and the team travel to Wakanda to have Shuri remove the Mind Stone from Vision without destroying him in the process. Rogers orders Maximoff to destroy
20726-533: The Avengers Compound. One day, Rogers and Romanoff are shocked when Lang arrives at the Compound and explains that he has been trapped in the Quantum Realm and suggests using it as a form of time travel . Rogers, Romanoff, and Lang visit Stark at his lakeside cabin but he refuses to help. They meet Banner at a diner who agrees, however, their initial attempts at time travel are unsuccessful. Stark returns to
20967-648: The Avengers Tower, before escaping. In Johannesburg , the Avengers confront and battle Ultron, Wanda, and Pietro. Rogers is subdued by Wanda after she produces hallucinatory visions. After Maximoff also causes the Hulk to ravage the city before being subdued by Stark, Rogers and the other defeated Avengers take refuge at Barton's safe house so they can recover. While there, they are encouraged by Fury to assemble and stop Ultron. In Seoul , Rogers, Romanoff, and Barton attempt to stop Ultron from uploading his network into
21208-504: The Avengers and Beyond is "a collection of papers, articles, blueprints, and notes amassed throughout history by Wakanda's War Dogs" at the request of Shuri . It is organized by areas of study and covers the technological advancements throughout the MCU. The book, which exists within the universe, was written by Troy Benjamin and published by Epic Ink and Quarto Publishing Group. The Wakanda Files has content printed with UV ink that can be viewed with Kimoyo bead–shaped UV lights included with
21449-601: The Avengers collected them from. Despite being destroyed, the Stones make appearances in the Multiverse Saga , including in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) in an alternate universe where Thanos was defeated on his home planet of Titan by the Illuminati before he can collect all of the Stones. They also make appearances in several of the MCU television series on Disney+ , between flashbacks in WandaVision (2021) and alternate universes in
21690-477: The Avengers then return to Sokovia, where they engage in a battle against Ultron and are able to defeat him, but at the cost of Pietro's life and the complete destruction of the city. At the new Avengers Compound in Upstate New York , Rogers and Romanoff begin training new team members – Wanda, James Rhodes , Vision, and Wilson. In 2016, Rogers, Maximoff, Romanoff, and Wilson stop Rumlow, now working as
21931-668: The Avengers to victory over Loki, prepares to coordinate search and rescue of civilians when he encounters the time traveling 2023-Rogers in Stark Tower. 2012-Rogers, having heard that Loki escaped custody, believes 2023-Rogers is Loki using magic to disguise himself, and attacks him. After a brief confrontation, 2012-Rogers manages to put 2023-Rogers in a chokehold but is tricked into releasing him when 2023-Rogers, using his knowledge of future events, mentions Barnes being alive. 2023-Rogers uses Loki's scepter to render 2012-Rogers unconscious. Several alternate versions of Rogers appear in
22172-570: The Battle of New York. A memorial plaque commemorating the first assembling of the Avengers is seen by the Grand Central Terminal , and as the leader, Rogers' name is on the top of the memorial. In 2025, a statue of Rogers is seen at the entrance of AvengerCon at the rebuilt Camp Lehigh. Other versions of Rogers are depicted in the alternate realities of the MCU multiverse. In an alternate 2012, Rogers, having successfully led
22413-583: The Blip, he goes to the Avengers Compound and brings up the idea of a time heist using the Quantum Realm to collect each Stone from different points in time as changing the past does not change the future and instead creates alternate timelines. The surviving Avengers split up into teams to each focus on one Stone. Rogers, Stark, Lang, and Banner travel to an alternate 2012, where the Space, Mind, and Time Stones are all located. Stark and Lang attempt to steal
22654-523: The Blip. However, the strain of channeling the combined powers still causes him considerable pain and leaves him with a crippled right arm. During the battle at the Avengers Compound, an alternate variant of Thanos from 2014 attempts to use the Nano Gauntlet. Although he successfully acquires it, Stark magnetically removes the Stones from the Nano Gauntlet and, wielding a makeshift Gauntlet formed within his armor, uses them to erase Thanos, his army, and
22895-626: The Captain America title stripped from him by the government. Wilson eventually takes up the mantle as Rogers intended. Wilson, with assistance from Barnes, Walker, and Sharon Carter, defeats the Flag Smashers, and Wilson convinces the GRC to end its forced resettlement practices. Wilson later has a memorial dedicated to Isaiah Bradley added to the Captain America museum exhibit. Students at Midtown School of Science and Technology create
23136-521: The Collector to keep it separate from the Tesseract, as the three of them consider it unwise to have multiple Infinity Stones close to each other. The Aether, once bonded to a host, can turn anything into dark matter as well as suck the life force out of humans and other mortals. The Aether can also disrupt the laws of physics and repel threats if it senses any. Housed in the Orb hidden on the planet Morag ,
23377-401: The Compound, revealing he has unlocked the key to successful time travel, and he and Rogers conclude their nearly decade-long feud, reestablishing their trust in one another with Stark returning Rogers' shield. After Barton, Thor, Rhodes, Rocket, and Nebula return to the Compound, the team formulates a plan and Rogers teams up with Stark, Banner, and Lang to travel to an alternate 2012 to retrieve
23618-519: The Compound. After making a plan, Rogers leads Rocket, Danvers, Thor, Romanoff, Rhodes, Banner, and Nebula into space on the Benatar to hunt Thanos at his garden planet. They confront and subdue Thanos and are horrified to learn that he destroyed the stones to prevent his mission from ever being undone. A defeated Rogers watches an enraged Thor decapitate Thanos. In 2023, Rogers leads a support group for grieving survivors in New York City, while living at
23859-522: The Galaxy (2014) that Marvel Studios decided to put a bigger focus on the Stones moving forward. Gunn revealed during the press tour for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) that he wrote the scene introducing the Stones' backstory in an hour and a half starting with the Power Stone being in possession of the Collector at the time. The Power Stone's color had to be changed from red like it
24100-671: The Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) are also included in the phase. Phase Five includes Secret Invasion (2023), the second season of Loki (2023), the second season of What If...? (2023), Echo (2024), Agatha All Along (2024), the third season of What If...? (2024), the first season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2025), the first season of Daredevil: Born Again (2025), and Ironheart (2025). Phase Six will include Eyes of Wakanda (2025), Marvel Zombies (2025), Wonder Man (2025), and Vision Quest (2026). Marvel One-Shots are
24341-569: The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). The second three phases are collectively known as "The Multiverse Saga", and include television series on Disney+ . Phase Four includes Black Widow (2021), Shang-Chi and
24582-478: The Guardians. After learning about the Power Stone, however, Ronan betrays Thanos and tries to use its destructive power to destroy the planet Xandar . During the battle to protect Xandar, by sharing the burden of the Power Stone's energy, the Guardians are able to use it to kill Ronan. It is later revealed that Peter Quill's half-Celestial physiology was what allows him to withstand the Stone's power on his own for
24823-444: The Helicarriers' launch, Rogers exposes Hydra's plot causing an internal conflict within S.H.I.E.L.D. Rogers and Wilson storm two Helicarriers and replace the controller chips, but the Winter Soldier destroys Wilson's suit and fights Rogers on the third. Rogers fends him off and replaces the final chip, allowing Hill to have the vessels destroy each other. Rogers refuses to fight the Winter Soldier in an attempt to reach his friend, but as
25064-602: The Hydra facility, freeing Barnes and 400 other prisoners. Rogers confronts Schmidt, who reveals himself to be the " Red Skull " and escapes. Despite disobeying orders, Rogers is rewarded for his heroics and is formally promoted to the rank of Captain . He recruits Barnes and several other elite soldiers, who were among the prisoners he rescued, to form a team called the Howling Commandos to attack other Hydra bases. Stark outfits Rogers with advanced equipment, most notably
25305-496: The Infinity Gauntlet by threatening to kill his people, though he did so anyway once it was completed, as well as removing Eitri's hands to prevent his making of anything else. After obtaining all six Infinity Stones, Thanos snaps his fingers in the Gauntlet and erases half of all life in the universe. In Endgame , the Gauntlet is revealed to be burnt and permanently bound to Thanos' swollen arm. After Thor kills Thanos,
25546-411: The Infinity Gauntlet containing the Stones, causing the Blip . Thanos eventually uses the Stones again to destroy them and five years later, the surviving Avengers form a plan to go back in time to collect the Stones from other time periods to undo Thanos' snap. After defeating Thanos and undoing his actions from 2018, Steve Rogers / Captain America returns the Stones to the exact moments in time that
25787-478: The Infinity Gauntlet. Rogers survives the Blip , but is left defeated. Returning to the Compound, Rogers and Romanoff assess the worldwide casualties and discover that Thanos destroyed half of all living things. They are met by Carol Danvers , who arrives answering Fury's pager. Sometime after, Rogers shaves his beard, before hearing the Benatar arrive. He, Romanoff, Rhodes, Banner, Rocket, and Pepper Potts go outside and see Danvers bringing Stark and Nebula to
26028-413: The Infinity Stones as a plot device led to fan speculation as to the location of as-yet undiscovered Stones, and the possible appearance of additional Stones. One theory popular with fans was that words describing the nature or location of the Stones spelled out the name "THANOS", and that the as-yet undiscovered Soul Stone was somehow associated with the character Heimdall . Another theory proposed prior to
26269-407: The Infinity Stones for herself. Carter is able to wield the Infinity Stones against Strange alongside Hela's crown and the weapons of some of the freed prisoners. By punching Strange with the Infinity Stones, Carter manages to bring him back to his senses temporarily. On Earth-838 , the Illuminati fought against Thanos on Titan who was in possession of five Infinity Stones. They killed him, leaving
26510-820: The Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Eternals (2021), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). Phase Five begins with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), followed by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), The Marvels (2023), Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), and Captain America: Brave New World (2025), and will conclude with Thunderbolts* (2025). Phase Six begins with The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), followed by Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and
26751-410: The MCU films for the following 10 years. That July, Feige announced some of the films and series for Phase Five and Phase Six at San Diego Comic-Con, revealing that the second three Phases were collectively known as " The Multiverse Saga ". After the "creative experience" of ending Phase Three and "The Infinity Saga" with Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame , and the expansion in
26992-649: The MCU's primary reality as Earth-199999. 20th Century Fox 's X-Men film series is designated as Earth-10005 in Deadpool & Wolverine . That film features several actors reprising their roles from the X-Men film series along with characters from Fox's films Daredevil and its spin-off Elektra , Fantastic Four (2005) and its sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), and New Line Cinema 's Blade film trilogy . Phases Four, Five, and Six comprise " The Multiverse Saga ". With
27233-419: The MCU. Each short was designed to be a self-contained story that provided more backstory for characters or events introduced in the films. In March 2015, Marvel's Vice President of Animation Development and Production, Cort Lane , said animated tie-ins to the MCU were "in the works". That July, Marvel Studios partnered with Google to produce the faux news program WHIH Newsfront with Christine Everhart ,
27474-633: The Masters of the Mystic Arts' secret compound Kamar-Taj in Kathmandu, Nepal, but soon begins wearing it again. An object that has the ability to manipulate the soul and essence of a person, control life and death, and contains a pocket dimension called the Soul World . At some time in the past, Thanos tasks Gamora to find the Soul Stone, as there is little record of its existence compared to
27715-504: The Mind Stone, which itself contains an artificial intelligence that grants sentience to the computer program Ultron, who steals the scepter and removes the Stone to create a newly upgraded body. The Avengers steal the Mind Stone–infused body from Ultron and upload the A.I. J.A.R.V.I.S. into it, giving birth to the android Vision . Eons ago, Malekith attempts to use the Reality Stone, appearing in its fluid-like weapon state called
27956-532: The Multiverse Saga after Thanos in the Infinity Saga, because Kang was a different villain in part because he has multiple variants from different timelines within the multiverse. The studio did not initially plan to build the next saga around Kang, and made that decision after seeing actor Jonathan Majors 's performance in the first season of the Disney+ series Loki (2021), as well as dailies from
28197-461: The Multiverse Saga's new antagonist Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom (after previously portraying the superhero Tony Stark / Iron Man in the MCU from 2008 to 2019) for both Doomsday and Secret Wars . In December 2017, Disney agreed to acquire assets from 21st Century Fox . The transaction officially closed on March 19, 2019. This saw the return of the film rights for Deadpool , the X-Men, and
28438-526: The Nano Gauntlet. The original Gauntlet appears in flashback sequences from Infinity War in WandaVision (2021). Alternate versions of the Infinity Gauntlet made brief appearances in What If...? , first in the fifth episode, when a zombified Thanos shows up in Wakanda , and the eighth episode when Thanos arrives on Earth but is swiftly killed by Ultron . The Gauntlet returns in a small capacity during
28679-558: The Netflix series by Marvel Television. Loki and What If...? are excluded from the diagram because they occur outside of the main timeline. Werewolf by Night is also excluded given the special explicitly does not indicate where it takes place in the MCU. Disney+'s timeline order places the first seasons of Loki and What If...? between Avengers: Endgame and WandaVision , their second seasons after The Marvels , and Werewolf by Night after Thor: Love and Thunder ; Werewolf by Night
28920-526: The Phases in addition to their feature films. Each series is released on Disney+. Phase Four includes the series WandaVision (2021), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), the first season of Loki (2021), the first season of the animated series What If...? (2021), Hawkeye (2021), Moon Knight (2022), Ms. Marvel (2022), and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022). The television specials Werewolf by Night (2022) and The Guardians of
29161-469: The Power Stone is capable of increasing the user's strength and destroy entire civilizations with a single blast. However, the Stone is too much for most mortal beings to physically handle because its power will destroy them on contact. In 2014, Ronan the Accuser seeks the Orb for Thanos, but Peter Quill finds and steals the Orb from Morag's resting spot before Korath can. Ronan eventually steals it from
29402-476: The Space Stone. Thanos' four children split up, with two looking to collect the Time Stone from Strange and the other two going after Vision for the Mind Stone. In New York, Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian attempt to steal the Time Stone from Strange, but are foiled by Stark, Parker, and Wong. Strange is teleported up to Maw's ship with Stark and Parker sneaking on board. In Edinburgh, Vision is injured by Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive in their attempts to get
29643-515: The Stone as soon as it is removed from his head. As Thanos' children and the Outriders invade the battlefield, Rogers, Barnes, Romanoff, Wilson, Rhodes, Banner, T'Challa, and the Wakandan armies mount a defense and get support when Thor, Rocket Raccoon , and Groot arrive. Rogers attempts to rally the Avengers against Thanos who successfully destroys Vision, obtains the Mind Stone, and completes
29884-610: The Stone from his head. After the pair are defeated, Vision is taken to Wakanda to have the Stone removed by Shuri , in the hope that Vision would be able to live without it. While his children are on Earth, Thanos acquires the Aether from the Collector on Knowhere and turns it back into the Reality Stone, allowing for him to repel the Guardians of the Galaxy 's attacks by turning Drax to rocks, Mantis into ribbon strips, and causing Peter Quill's gun to shoot bubbles. Thanos then teleports Gamora and himself back to his ship, where he
30125-476: The Stone to the surviving heroes to take to Wakanda, sacrificing himself out of guilt. However, a zombified Thanos arrives in Wakanda, possessing the other five Infinity Stones in his Gauntlet. In another scenario, Thanos once again arrives on Earth with five Stones, only to discover that the Avengers lost to Ultron , who is in possession of Vision's vibranium body and the Mind Stone. Ultron kills Thanos and takes
30366-428: The Stones for himself, using them to conquer and destroy his universe. When this task is complete, Ultron attains a higher level of consciousness and uses the Stones to travel into other dimensions and duel the Watcher . To stop Infinity Ultron expanding into other universes, the Watcher assembles the Guardians of the Multiverse , a team of heroes from various alternate realities, including Strange Supreme, and gifts them
30607-466: The Stones in a pocket dimension, frozen outside of time so that neither they nor the Stones from Ultron's universe can be a threat anymore. In Kahhori 's universe, the Tesseract crashes into a lake in pre-colonial America after surviving Ragnorok and breaks, releasing unmitigated Space Stone energy into the lake's waters. As a result, a portal opens to another dimension called the Sky World, granting
30848-469: The Stones in the Nano Gauntlet. After Stark's funeral, Rogers returns all of the past Stones to the points in time that they were collected from, although without the Tesseract, scepter, Orb, and with the Reality Stone still in its solid form. Three weeks after Thanos' snap is undone, a still grieving Wanda Maximoff uses her connection with the Mind Stone to reanimate a fake Vision. Later on, Agatha Harkness shows Maximoff various points in her past, including
31089-581: The Stones. In an alternate version of World War II , Howard Stark uses the confiscated Tesseract as the power source for the Hydra Stomper . In another universe , T'Challa , rather than Peter Quill, finds the Power Stone on Morag. In an alternate version of 2016 , Stephen Strange attempts to use the Time Stone to prevent the death of Christine Palmer , only to find her death is an absolute point in his universe, meaning no matter what he does, she's destined to die, despite his countless attempts to avert
31330-538: The Super Soldier Serum for the Power Broker but was stolen and used by the Flag Smashers. Helmut Zemo destroys all but one of the remaining vials of the serum, which is secretly retrieved by Walker, who uses it and gains super soldier abilities. Walker murders a Flag Smasher with the shield while a horrified crowd watches and records him. Wilson and Barnes forcibly take the shield from Walker, who has
31571-560: The Tesseract in 1989 to unlock light-speed travel to help the Skrulls find a new home. However, her experiments result in Carol Danvers being granted superhuman strength, flight, and the ability to generate energy blasts. Danvers eventually recovers the Tesseract and hands the object over to S.H.I.E.L.D. , but it is temporarily swallowed by a Flerken named Goose , who later vomits it out on Nick Fury 's desk. In 2012, Fury shows
31812-506: The Tesseract to Dr. Erik Selvig , when the Tesseract suddenly opens a portal allowing for Loki to come through. Loki steals the Tesseract and later opens a wormhole , using it to transport the Chitauri army to New York City in an attempt to conquer Earth. After the Avengers repel the invasion, Thor returns the Tesseract to Asgard for safekeeping in Odin's vault, and it is used to repair
32053-504: The Tesseract to open a wormhole in New York City above Stark Tower , allowing the alien army of the Chitauri to invade. Rogers successfully leads the Avengers in defending the city and they defeat and capture Loki. Following the battle, Rogers coordinates the search and rescue of injured civilians. Thor returns Loki to Asgard to face justice for his invasion and the Avengers go their separate ways. Rogers, with newfound purpose in
32294-443: The Time Stone to look into future timelines and viewing millions of possible outcomes of their conflict, learning of only one future in which they win. Thanos arrives expecting Maw, and fights the Avengers and Guardians using the Stones. He defeats them all, leading Strange to surrender the Time Stone to prevent Thanos from killing Stark to ensure the winning future comes to pass. Thanos' remaining children arrive in Wakanda where Shuri
32535-528: The Time Stone to repair them both and collect the latter. Thanos uses all of the Stones to initiate the Blip , where he is briefly transported into the Soul World and encounters a vision of a young Gamora. He then teleports away with the Space Stone to the Garden . Thanos uses the Stones to destroy them to prevent further use in the future. After Scott Lang is freed from the Quantum Realm five years after
32776-522: The Time Stone, and uses it to save Earth from the demon, Dormammu . The Soul Stone was the last Stone to make an appearance, first showing up in Infinity War when Thanos collects the Stone on Vormir after sacrificing Gamora . Thanos sets out to collect all six Stones to use them to wipe out half of all life in the universe, believing that his plan will save it from extinction. In 2018, Thanos accomplishes his goal and snaps his fingers while wearing
33017-606: The United States in World War II. Regarding the extent of the character's abilities Evans remarked, "He would crush the Olympics . Any Olympic sport he's gonna dominate. He can jump higher, run faster, lift stronger weight, but he can be injured. He could roll an ankle and be out for the season. He's not perfect, he's not untouchable. So a lot of the effects, if I'm going to punch someone they're not going to put them on
33258-619: The Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Entertainment for $ 4 billion. Disney said future Marvel Studios films would be distributed by its own studio once the prior deal with Paramount expired. The films of Phase Three were announced at a special press event in October 2014. By September 2015, Marvel Studios was integrated into Walt Disney Studios . Feige was reporting to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan F. Horn instead of Marvel Entertainment CEO Isaac Perlmutter , and
33499-705: The Watchers was something that I thought was fun for the MCU." Feige added that Lee "clearly exists, you know, above and apart from the reality of all the films. So the notion that he could be sitting there on a cosmic pit stop during the jump gate sequence in Guardians ...really says, so wait a minute, he's this same character who's popped up in all these films?" Following Lee's death, Marvel Studios chose not to create any new Lee cameos in future projects. NY1 news anchor Pat Kiernan has also appeared in multiple MCU films and television series as himself. Steve Rogers (Marvel Cinematic Universe) Steven Grant Rogers
33740-588: The ability to control matter as Thanos does while using the Stones. The researchers found that on a macroscopic level , someone would need a large amount of energy to control matter, similarly to the Stones. However, microscopicly scientists can mimic Thanos' control of matter at the colloidal level. The researchers were able to make billions of colloidal particles with changeable responsiveness, patchiness, shapes, and sizes by manipulating them using triggers, including temperature, pH, and light. Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe ( MCU )
33981-603: The alternate 2012 Tesseract confiscated by the Time Variance Authority (TVA). Later, Loki tries to retrieve the Tesseract only to find that it is powerless in the TVA, along with all the other Stones, in which the TVA has captured dozens of each from other timelines. The Stones are used as paperweights in the TVA, as such the founder of the TVA and his several Kang the Conqueror variants are more powerful than
34222-553: The alternate 2012 Tesseract, but the alternate 2012 Hulk accidentally knocks Stark down and the 2012 Tesseract is taken by the alternate 2012 Loki, who uses it to open a wormhole and escape. Rogers retrieves the scepter containing the 2012 Mind Stone, using it to render his alternate 2012 self unconscious after he mistook him for a disguised Loki. Banner convinces the Ancient One to relinquish that timeline's Time Stone, promising to return it after they are done using it to ensure that
34463-444: The alternate 2014 Peter Quill before taking the 2014 Power Stone in its Orb. Romanoff and Clint Barton travel to Vormir in an alternate 2014, where each attempts to sacrifice themselves to allow the other to return with the Stone, ultimately ending with Romanoff sacrificing herself. All of the Stones are brought back to the present day and removed from their containers while the 2013 Aether is turned into its solid state. Stark creates
34704-462: The alternate timelines will survive. After failing to retrieve the 2012 Space Stone, Stark and Rogers travel to an alternate 1970 and take the alternate 1970 Tesseract from Camp Lehigh, New Jersey and use a stolen briefcase to smuggle it out. Thor and Rocket travel back to Asgard in an alternate 2013 to extract the alternate 2013 Aether from the alternate 2013 Jane Foster. James Rhodes and Nebula travel back to Morag in an alternate 2014, subduing
34945-498: The animated series What If...? , in which he is voiced by Josh Keaton . Chris Evans portrays Steve Rogers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). In addition, Evans makes uncredited cameo appearances as
35186-549: The beginning of Phase Four. That phase also saw the studio expand to television specials, known as Marvel Studios Special Presentations , starting with Werewolf by Night (2022). The MCU includes various tie-in comics published by Marvel Comics, a series of direct-to-video short films called Marvel One-Shots from 2011 to 2014, and viral marketing campaigns for some films featuring the faux news programs WHIH Newsfront (2015–16) and The Daily Bugle (2019–2022). The franchise has been commercially successful, becoming one of
35427-599: The book. It was released on October 20, 2020. Look Out for the Little Guy , the fictional memoir written by Scott Lang as seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania , was released by Hyperion Avenue on September 5, 2023. It was created alongside Marvel Studios and the Quantumania filmmakers, and was written by Rob Kutner , featuring "over 20 short pieces exploring different aspects of Scott's experiences" as
35668-594: The box office allowed them to be underdogs again, as they had been when starting work on Phase One, and they would be "coming back strong" with the hope of surprising audiences and exceeding expectations. Feige expected the studio to begin releasing two films and three series per year after 2025, when they were planning to release three films and six series that had been in development for a long time and were ready to be released. In 2024, Marvel Studios introduced their "Marvel Animation" and "Marvel Television" banners for their animated and live-action series, respectively. This
35909-417: The bunker, and the pair realize that Pierce is Hydra's leader. Rogers and Romanoff enlist the help of former USAF pararescueman Sam Wilson , whom Rogers befriended earlier, and acquire his powered "Falcon" wingpack . Deducing that S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jasper Sitwell is a Hydra mole , they force him to divulge Hydra's plan to use satellite-guided guns to eliminate individuals identified by an algorithm as
36150-469: The character in Ant-Man (2015) and Captain Marvel (2019), and as Loki impersonating him in Thor: The Dark World (2013). Evans confirmed that he intended to retire from the role after the fourth Avengers film, leading to speculation that the character would die over the course of the final film; in the finale of Endgame , Rogers uses a means of time travel to go back and live out
36391-478: The character received mixed reception, but gradually became a fan favorite. Chris Evans's portrayal of Steve Rogers has received acclaim, and the character is often cited, along with Robert Downey Jr. 's Tony Stark , as cementing the success of the MCU. His story arc is considered to be one of the best in the MCU, and the Captain America films within the " Infinity Saga " are commonly referred to as
36632-468: The charred damaged Gauntlet is left abandoned on the Garden planet. Five years later, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Rocket use nanotechnology to create a right-handed Nano Gauntlet to use the alternate universe versions of the Infinity Stones. Banner in his " Smart Hulk " form, due to being the most immune to the gamma radiation that the Infinity Stones' combined powers emit, uses the Nano Gauntlet to reverse
36873-670: The comics, the gems had other rules, and simply being in possession of one wasn't good enough. Each gem was powered by mastering a primordial force characterized by one of the other gems. For example, mastering the Power Gem was dependent on the user's mastery of the mind, while mastery of the soul correlated with the power of the Mind Gem. The colors of the stones were originally different in the comics. They were purple for Space, yellow for Reality, red for Power, blue for Mind, orange for Time, and green for Soul. The stone colors were updated in
37114-407: The committee. Feige initially referred to the shared narrative continuity of the films as the "Marvel Cinema Universe", but later used the term "Marvel Cinematic Universe". Since the franchise expanded to other media, some have used this phrase to only refer to the feature films. The MCU films are released in groups called "Phases", beginning with Phase One and Phase Two . In December 2009,
37355-551: The company who help to elevate each other's projects where possible. In November 2017, Feige said Avengers: Endgame (2019) would provide a definitive conclusion to the films thus far and begin a new period for the franchise. He later said Phase Three would conclude " The Infinity Saga ". Disney was reportedly developing a Marvel-based television series for their new streaming service Disney+ by November 2017. In July 2018, Feige said discussions had begun with Disney regarding any potential involvement Marvel Studios could have with
37596-525: The conduct of billionaire entrepreneur and Twitter owner Elon Musk , who contended that large advertisers who left Twitter after Musk had praised a tweet espousing the Great Replacement theory as "the actual truth" would be to blame if their exodus bankrupted that company, rather than Musk himself. When New York Times contributor Andrew Ross Sorkin stated that those advertisers would likely dispute this, Musk replied, "Tell it to Earth." Taking
37837-488: The creative committee began having only "nominal" input on the films. They continued to consult on Marvel Television productions, which remained under Perlmutter's control. All key film decisions moving forward were to be made by Feige, D'Esposito, and executive vice president Victoria Alonso . The studio went on to establish the Marvel Studios Parliament , a "brain trust" of long-time executives at
38078-689: The creator or co-creator of many of the characters adapted in the MCU, made cameo appearances in all of the feature films and television series except Inhumans . In Iron Fist , it is revealed his on-set photograph cameo in the Marvel Netflix series is as NYPD Captain Irving Forbush . His cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 sees Lee appearing as an informant to the Watchers , discussing previous adventures that include Lee's cameos in other MCU films; he specifically mentions his time as
38319-507: The crossover miniseries The Defenders (2017), and The Punisher (2017–2019); its young adult series included Runaways (2017–2019) streaming on Hulu and Cloak & Dagger (2018–2019) airing on Freeform ; and the Hulu series Helstrom (2020) was originally intended to be the start of a planned "Adventure into Fear" franchise, but was ultimately "not tied to the MCU", according to showrunner Paul Zbyszewski . Beginning with Phase Four, television series were included as part of
38560-711: The crossover miniseries The Defenders . In April 2016, Netflix ordered The Punisher , a spin-off of Daredevil . By February 2019, Netflix had canceled all of its Marvel series. In April 2016, the Disney-owned cable network Freeform announced Cloak & Dagger . In May 2017, Marvel announced that Runaways had received a series order from Hulu . In May 2019, Marvel announced that Helstrom had been greenlit for Hulu. In October 2019, further corporate restructuring saw Feige named Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment, with Marvel Television becoming part of Marvel Studios and executives of Marvel Television reporting to Feige. In December 2019, Marvel Television
38801-459: The data, they discover a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. bunker below Camp Leigh, Rogers' old military training base in New Jersey , where they activate a supercomputer containing the preserved consciousness of Arnim Zola. Zola reveals that after S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded following World War II, Hydra has secretly operated within its ranks and creating world crisis that will eventually cause humanity to sacrifice freedom for security. A S.H.I.E.L.D. missile destroys
39042-411: The deal, Whedon contributed creatively to all of the Phase Two films and also developed Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , the first television series set in the MCU. In April 2017, Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) writer and director James Gunn revealed that he would be working with Marvel to help plan future stories for the Guardians of the Galaxy characters and
39283-452: The difference between both suits were "the fabrics that are available. Today we have a lot of stretch fabrics and there weren't any 'technofabrics' then", and called his design "the most technically difficult" of the Avengers' costumes. For Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Evans trained in parkour , Brazilian jiu-jitsu , karate , boxing , kickboxing , and gymnastics , as the Russo brothers believed that bringing Rogers into
39524-404: The event a film had to debut on Disney+ instead of in theaters. TheWrap reported that the new contracts would likely only apply to films about to enter production. It was unclear if any adjustments would be made to contracts for films already completed but not yet released. For Marvel Television, Loeb said he and his executives were involved in all aspects of production: "whether it's being in
39765-466: The fictional country Madripoor in the series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021). Additionally, Patrick Stewart appeared as Professor Charles Xavier in the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), portraying a different version of the character that he previously played in Fox's X-Men film series , while Kamala Khan was revealed to have a genetic mutation in Ms. Marvel , with star Iman Vellani confirming that she
40006-424: The film's screenwriters sometimes as well. Marvel Comics worked with Brad Winderbaum , Jeremy Latcham , and Will Corona Pilgrim at Marvel Studios to decide which concepts would be carried over from the Marvel Comics Universe to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, what to show in the tie-in comics, and what to leave for the films. Marvel later clarified which of the tie-in comics are considered canonical MCU stories, with
40247-412: The film, defers to Rogers as leader of the newly formed team to defend New York against a large-scale attack. Describing his character's continuing adjustment to the modern world in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Evans said, "It's not so much about his shock with [technology]... It's more about the societal differences. He's gone from the '40s to today; he comes from a world where people were
40488-447: The filming of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). After Majors was found guilty of assault and harassment amidst legal issues in December 2023, he was fired by Disney and Marvel Studios. At that time, Marvel was internally referring to The Kang Dynasty as Avengers 5 . Alonso was fired from her role at Marvel Studios in March 2023 for serving as a producer on the Amazon Studios film Argentina, 1985 (2022), in breach of
40729-435: The films Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home , with the videos released on YouTube and TikTok . It is based on the fictional sensationalist news outlet of the same name that appears in the MCU—itself based on the fictional newspaper agency of the same name appearing in several Marvel Comics publications. J. K. Simmons and Angourie Rice reprise their roles as J. Jonah Jameson and Betty Brant from
40970-427: The films, however, it was noted all of these outside projects were part of the larger Marvel canon. In early 2024, Marvel Studios formally integrated Marvel Television's group of Netflix series into their Disney+ timeline. As of the Phase Five television series Secret Invasion and the film The Marvels , the "present day" in the MCU is 2026. The following covers and discusses MCU media released by Marvel Studios and
41211-403: The final Hydra base with the help of the SSR, including Carter who reveals her mutual romantic feelings toward Rogers and the two share a kiss before Schmidt escapes in an aircraft carrying the weapons and is pursued by Rogers. During the confrontation, the source of Hydra's advanced weapons, the Tesseract , is physically handled by Schmidt causing him to vanish within a bright light. The Tesseract
41452-412: The first animated series from Marvel Studios, and by July 2021 the studio was creating an "animation branch and mini studio", known as Marvel Studios Animation , to focus on more animated content beyond What If...? . Alonso said Marvel had around 31 projects in various stages of development by September 2021. In April 2022, Feige said he and Marvel Studios were on a creative retreat to plan and discuss
41693-513: The first seasons of Loki (2021–2023) and What If...? (2021–present). Scientific studies relating to the Stones have been conducted, mostly since the release of Infinity War , including one focusing on the control of matter. The stories of the Stones in the MCU take place in the Earth-616 universe. The fictional information below includes events that happened with the Stones from more than one Earth-616 timeline, as well as events that happened with them in multiple other universes . In 2014,
41934-406: The franchise's best trilogy . Alternate versions of Rogers from within the MCU multiverse also appear in the film Avengers: Endgame (2019) and in the animated series What If...? (2021–2023), voiced by Josh Keaton . These versions include an incarnation of Rogers, who, instead of receiving the serum, wears a mechanized suit of armor and becomes the Hydra Stomper . Captain America
42175-424: The franchise, while Brian Tyler and Michael Giacchino have both scored fanfares for the Marvel Studios production logo . The fictional timeline of the MCU includes the feature films, television series, television specials, short films, and the I Am Groot shorts from Marvel Studios and Marvel Television's Netflix series. While the early films of Phase One and Phase Two of the franchise followed each other in
42416-443: The gauntlet and the Stones in their responsibility. Two variants of the Reality and Time Stones are shown to be embedded in a sling ring Cassandra Nova had taken from an unidentified variant of Stephen Strange. This allows her to open a portal from the Void to Earth-10005 and allow Deadpool and Wolverine to return to it. She later uses it to send the Deadpool Corps to that timeline to keep them from reaching her. The Infinity Gauntlet
42657-414: The hands of Hydra leader Baron Wolfgang von Strucker , who uses it to experiment on people, including siblings Pietro and Wanda Maximoff , who are the only surviving subjects of Strucker's experiments. Von Strucker's experiments cause Pietro to gain superhuman abilities and amplify Wanda's powers. Strucker's base is attacked by the Avengers, who take back the scepter. The Avengers discover that it contains
42898-486: The inhabitants of that world incredible powers. After getting transported into a dying universe in the year 1602, Captain Carter, with the help of Tony Stark, discovers a device powered by the Time Stone that had been caused when Steve Rogers, while fighting Thanos during the Battle of Wakanda, accidentally hit the Time Stone with one of his shields. Using Stark's device and the Time Stone, Carter and Rogers are able to set things right, returning Rogers to his own time and ending
43139-433: The main universe of the MCU as well. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness , the main universe of MCU events was designated as Earth-616 (a designation first referenced in Spider-Man: Far From Home ), sharing the name of the main Marvel Comics universe , while another universe was designated as Earth-838 . Sony's animated film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse references the events of No Way Home , citing
43380-407: The media hype around Rogers' actions and has him tour the nation in a colorful costume with the title of Captain America to promote the sale of war bonds . While on tour in Italy , Rogers learns that the 107th – Barnes' unit – was MIA in a battle against Schmidt's forces. Rogers asks Carter and engineer Howard Stark to fly him behind enemy lines to mount a solo rescue attempt. Rogers infiltrates
43621-420: The modern day also meant that he had studied and mastered modern fighting styles and techniques. The filmmakers also looked to make the character's shield, which has traditionally been used for defense, a more offensive weapon. For Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Evans said that he was able to maintain the strength he built up for The Winter Soldier by working out up to an hour a day. Evans didn't want to take
43862-403: The modern day. Producer Avi Arad said, "The biggest opportunity with Captain America is as a man 'out of time', coming back today, looking at our world through the eyes of someone who thought the perfect world was small-town United States. Sixty years go by, and who are we today? Are we better?" He cited the Back to the Future trilogy as an influence, and claimed he had "someone in mind to be
44103-518: The modern world, rides off on his motorcycle. Sometime afterwards, Rogers records a number of public service announcements for high school students, encouraging them to do things like maintain healthy lifestyles, obey rules, and practice patience. In 2014, Rogers works for S.H.I.E.L.D. in Washington, D.C. under Fury, while continuing to adjust to contemporary society. Rogers and Romanoff are sent with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s counter-terrorism S.T.R.I.K.E. team, led by Brock Rumlow , to free hostages aboard
44344-431: The modern world. In 2012, he is approached by Fury, who has activated the " Avengers Initiative ", with an assignment to retrieve the stolen Tesseract from Loki . Rogers agrees and is introduced to Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner by Phil Coulson . In Stuttgart , Rogers and Loki have a brief physical confrontation until Tony Stark arrives, resulting in Loki's surrender. While Loki is being escorted to S.H.I.E.L.D. on
44585-486: The modern world." Regarding the dynamic between Rogers and Tony Stark, Evans said, "I think there's certainly a dichotomy—this kind of friction between myself and Tony Stark, they're polar opposites. One guy is flash and spotlight and smooth, and the other guy is selfless and in the shadows and kind of quiet and they have to get along. They explore that, and it's pretty fun." A key moment in The Avengers occurs when Stark, who had been dismissive of Rogers at earlier points in
44826-444: The moment of Hydra's experimentation with the Stone on her. Maximoff learns that the exposure to the Stone tapped into and amplifyed her innate magic, as well as giving her a prophetic vision of her as the Scarlet Witch. Other versions of the Stones are depicted in the alternate realities of the MCU multiverse. An alternate 2012 Loki, who escaped during the Avengers attempt to collect all the Infinity Stones to undo Thanos' actions has
45067-402: The nine or twelve film deals were rare. The actors' contracts also feature clauses that allow Marvel to use up to three minutes of an actor's performance from one film in another, which Marvel describes as "bridging material". By the start of Phase Four, Marvel Studios was no longer contracting actors for a large number of projects, with deal lengths varying for each actor and project. Feige said
45308-423: The number of projects being produced by the studio in a short amount of time, Marvel Studios decided to move away from having an Avengers crossover film at the end of each Phase and instead decided to have a crossover culmination at the end of "The Multiverse Saga" with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). The studio was excited to explore Kang the Conqueror as an overarching villain of
45549-418: The other Infinity Stones. Gamora finds a map leading to where it was hidden: in a shrine on the planet Vormir, but chooses to destroy the map and not tell Thanos, only telling Nebula of it and swearing her to secrecy, unaware that Thanos wasn't fooled by their lies. Thanos begins his quest to collect all six Stones by decimating Xandar to obtain the Power Stone. He then tracks down the Space Stone and intercepts
45790-430: The outset of World War II , Rogers attempts to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces but is repeatedly rejected due to his numerous health problems. In 1942, while attending the Stark Expo with his best friend, James Barnes , Rogers again attempts to enlist. Dr. Abraham Erskine overhears Rogers speaking with Barnes and approves his enlistment due to his continued efforts to serve his country despite his physical handicaps. He
46031-451: The phases of the MCU. However, these lookbooks are not always shown to directors, with Marvel sometimes preferring to let the director offer their own ideas first. When choosing a director for a project, Marvel Studios looks for filmmakers to hire who can guide a film. Some of their choices for directors have been considered "out-of-left-field based on those director's previous work. On this, Feige remarked that "you don't have to have directed
46272-449: The population to avoid a repeat of his experience on Titan. Thanos retrieved each gem from a being who held it at the time. The In-Betweener had the Soul Gem, the Champion of the Universe had the Power Gem, the Gardener had the Time Gem, the Collector had the Reality Gem, the Runner had the Space Gem, and the Grandmaster had the Mind Gem. Furthermore, nobody else was even aware of Thanos, therefore no one attempted to stop him. In
46513-505: The projects and distribution. Avi Arad , head of Marvel Entertainment's film division known as Marvel Films , was pleased with director Sam Raimi 's Spider-Man film trilogy (2002–2007) at Sony Pictures and Columbia but was less enthused with some of the other films. Arad decided to form Marvel Studios , Hollywood's first major independent film studio since DreamWorks Pictures was founded in 1994. Kevin Feige , Arad's second-in-command, realized that unlike Spider-Man , Blade , and
46754-476: The quantum realm and attacks the Compound. Rogers, Stark and Thor engage Thanos and during the fight, Rogers proves worthy to wield Thor's hammer Mjolnir . Thanos proves too powerful and Rogers, bruised and battered with his shield in tatters, stands up alone to face Thanos and his entire army. However, the restored Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy , the Wakandan army, Masters of the Mystic Arts , Ravagers , and Asgardians arrive and Rogers rallies them all in
46995-547: The reason that all the filmmakers are on board is that their movies need to stand on their own. They need to have a fresh vision, a unique tone, and the fact that they can interconnect if you want to follow those breadcrumbs is a bonus." —Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige on constructing a shared film universe To raise capital, the studio secured funding from a seven-year, $ 525 million revolving credit facility with Merrill Lynch . Marvel planned to release individual films for their main characters and then merge them in
47236-429: The release of Endgame was that it would involve a seventh Infinity Stone corresponding to an additional Infinity Gem from the comics, the Ego Stone. Charles Pulliam-Moore of Gizmodo thought that the Soul Stone was the least interesting Stone because unlike the others, it was never given a chance to show why it can be formidable on its own like the other Stones had a chance to do in previous MCU films. However, during
47477-533: The release of The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline in October 2023, Feige wrote in its foreword that Marvel Studios only considered, at that time, projects developed by them in their first four phases as part of their " Sacred Timeline ", but acknowledged the history of other Marvel films and television series that would exist in the larger multiverse and said they were "canonical to Marvel". In January 2024, Winderbaum acknowledged that Marvel Studios had previously been "a little bit cagey" about what
47718-429: The rest being merely inspired by the MCU "where we get to show off all the characters from the film in costume and in comic form". In August 2011, Marvel announced a series of direct-to-video short films called Marvel One-Shots . The name was derived from the label used by Marvel Comics for their one-shot comics . Winderbaum said the shorts were "a fun way to experiment with new characters and ideas" and to expand
47959-535: The rogue Avengers. They fight at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany, until Romanoff helps Rogers and Barnes escape. Stark strikes a truce with Rogers and Barnes after finding out about Zemo, but Zemo reveals footage of an automobile Barnes had intercepted in 1991 that contained Stark's parents, whom Barnes subsequently killed. Enraged that Rogers kept this from him, Stark turns on them. After an intense fight, Rogers disables Stark's Iron Man armor and departs with Barnes, leaving his shield behind. Rogers breaks his team out of
48200-526: The role in the film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Additionally, Vincent D'Onofrio first reprised his role as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin from Daredevil in the Disney+ series Hawkeye (2021). Marvel Studios releases its films in groups called "Phases". The first three phases are collectively known as "The Infinity Saga". Phase One consists of Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), and concludes with
48441-510: The role of Captain America in at least one future MCU project. Evans' involvement was said to be similar to how Robert Downey Jr. appeared in large supporting roles in other film franchises, such as Civil War and Homecoming , after concluding the Iron Man film series with Iron Man 3 (2013). Evans tweeted shortly after the report of his return that it was "news to [him]". Costume designer Anna B. Sheppard stated that Captain America's uniform in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
48682-408: The same base for their trip back. While in the S.H.I.E.L.D. base, Rogers sees the 1970 version of Peggy Carter through a window. The Avengers return, save for Romanoff who sacrificed herself for the mission, and the original Avengers hold a silent mourning for her. After Rocket, Stark, and Banner create a gauntlet, Banner reverses the Blip. However, an alternate Thanos from his 2014 timeline emerges from
48923-532: The scenario. It becomes the only Stone left in existence in his universe due to his subsequent actions. As one universe suffers from a quantum zombie outbreak , Vision discovers that his Mind Stone can be used to cure the infected. However, it is unable to cure the infected Maximoff, due to her powers coming from the Stone, prompting Vision to initially try and feed other survivors to Maximoff to keep her calm until he can properly cure her. When other heroes find him, Vision accepts that his actions are wrong and he gives
49164-467: The series as being "bereft of patterns, graphics, imagery or anything you couldn't color in with one singular crayon". In The First Avenger , Rogers uses a weaponized 1942 WLA motorcycle in World War II in his fights against Hydra. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier , this model is shown to be displayed in the Captain America exhibit in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum . In The Avengers (2012), Rogers
49405-638: The series, it has been noted that Rogers "tends to go for a very low key look ... based around very simple pieces that work together". In his earliest appearance, designed by Sheppard, "post-serum Steve was All-American in a devastatingly tight white tee and khaki pants", while in The Avengers Byrne made him "sophisticated enough to beautifully blend plaids and stripes." Costume designer Judianna Makovsky described his fashion evolution between Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War (2016) as becoming increasingly comfortable in his clothes. A New York magazine article, however, criticized his clothing across
49646-543: The series. In September 2019, Sony created a real version of the fictional The Daily Bugle website as part of a viral marketing campaign to promote the home media release of Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). Inspired by real-world "conspiracy-pushing" websites such as Alex Jones 's InfoWars , the website features J. K. Simmons reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson in a video where he speaks out against Spider-Man before asking viewers to "like and subscribe". In December 2020, Marvel Studios announced I Am Groot ,
49887-415: The ship collides with the Triskelion, Rogers is thrown into the Potomac River . Barnes rescues the unconscious Rogers and departs. S.H.I.E.L.D. officially disbands and after Rogers recovers from his injuries, he and Wilson partner together to find Barnes. In 2015, in the Eastern European country of Sokovia , Rogers leads the Avengers against a Hydra facility to recover Loki's scepter . They are attacked by
50128-470: The source material. The television series Loki and What If...? were the first to explore the concept of the multiverse within the MCU, as well as the film Spider-Man: No Way Home , which connected the MCU to other Spider-Man film franchises by featuring characters from Sam Raimi 's Spider-Man trilogy , Marc Webb 's The Amazing Spider-Man films , and Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU). The SSU film Venom: Let There Be Carnage briefly featured
50369-409: The star, and definitely someone in mind to be the director". In February 2006, Arad hoped to have a summer 2008 theatrical release date. In April 2006, David Self was hired to write the script. Joe Johnston met with Marvel to discuss directing the film and signed on in November 2008, hiring Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely to rewrite. Variety reported in March 2010 that Chris Evans
50610-406: The story of Steve Rogers is great. He's a great guy. Even if it [were] just a script about anybody, I would probably want to do it. So it wasn't necessarily about the comic itself." In April, it was reported that Joss Whedon would rewrite the script as part of his negotiation to write and direct The Avengers . Whedon said in August, "I just got to make some character connections. The structure of
50851-418: The streaming service, which he felt was important for the wider company. In September 2018, Marvel Studios was reported to be developing several limited series centered on "second-tier" characters from the MCU films who had not and were unlikely to headline their own films. Each series was expected to be six to eight episodes and would be produced by Marvel Studios rather than Marvel Television, with Feige taking
51092-426: The studio are marketed as " Marvel Studios Special Presentations ". The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022), a Special Presentation, was the first project Marvel Studios began planning for Disney+. In July 2019, Feige announced the Phase Four slate at San Diego Comic-Con , consisting of films and, for the first time, television event series on Disney+. The Phase Four slate includes What If...? ,
51333-501: The studio was looking for actors who were excited to join the franchise and appear in multiple projects without being locked into contractual obligations. He also noted that they were starting to include theme park attractions in actors' deals. By December 2020, because of the impact COVID-19 had on theaters and film studios shifting away from theatrical releases, Marvel Studios began exploring updated contracts for actors, writers, directors, and producers to receive adjusted compensation in
51574-432: The temporal anomaly that was tearing apart the world. Among Doctor Strange Supreme's prisoners that are released by Captain Carter is a Thanos with a completed Infinity Gauntlet. However, having been freed by Carter, Killmonger disintegrates Thanos with his own set of Infinity Stones. Kahhori is able to use her Tesseract-granted powers to separate Killmonger from his Infinity Armor and teleport him away, allowing Carter to take
51815-420: The thing was really tight and I loved it, but there were a couple of opportunities to find his voice a little bit —and some of the other characters'— and make the connections so that you understood exactly why he wanted to be who he wanted to be. And progressing through the script to flesh it out a little bit". Steve Rogers was born on July 4, 1918, in Brooklyn, New York , to Joseph and Sarah Rogers. His father,
52056-400: The three Stones present in New York City during Loki's invasion. They succeed in securing the Time Stone and the Mind Stone, with Rogers having to fight his alternate 2012 version of himself to facilitate this. However, after the Space Stone plan goes awry, it necessitates a trip to 1970 so that Stark can recover it from a S.H.I.E.L.D. base in New Jersey, while Rogers finds Pym Particles at
52297-412: The timeline similar to their release order, Phase Three saw many of the films overlapping with each other in the timeline, while also introducing the first prequel property, Captain Marvel . The Phase Three film Avengers: Endgame featured characters traveling into the past and introduced a five-year time jump, with many subsequent releases in Phase Four and Phase Five set after Endgame ' s events in
52538-627: The timeline. The television series Loki and What If...? were the first properties to occur outside of the main timeline and explore alternative timelines and universes. There have been numerous attempts by Marvel Studios and others to codify the events of the MCU, which have been subject to perceived continuity errors , resulting in Marvel Studios releasing an official timeline book in 2023 for their first four phases that were designated as part of their " Sacred Timeline ". This book did not feature projects produced by other companies, such as Marvel Television's series which all had been loosely connected to
52779-436: The treatment and is injected with Erskine's serum and doused with vita-rays. After Rogers emerges significantly taller and more muscular, an undercover assassin kills Erskine and flees. Rogers, using his remarkable speed and strength increase, pursues and captures the assassin, who reveals he is a Hydra agent and commits suicide with a cyanide capsule. With Erskine dead and the formula lost, U.S. Senator Brandt takes advantage of
53020-408: The true start to Marvel Studios' exploration and use of the Fox characters, and said every project after it would be part of the MCU's "Mutant era". Some of the films between Deadpool & Wolverine and Secret Wars featured additional X-Men characters, with Feige saying the story of Secret Wars would lead into a "new age of mutants" and the X-Men being introduced to the MCU. Marvel Television
53261-399: The twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff , two superhuman experimental volunteers. The Avengers succeed in obtaining the scepter and Rogers captures Hydra leader Baron Strucker . Returning to the Avengers Tower, Stark and Banner use the scepter to complete Stark's " Ultron " global defense program. Afterwards, the Avengers host a celebratory party and Ultron reveals himself and attacks the team at
53502-465: The universe and defeat Thanos. After returning the Infinity Stones to their original timelines, he remains in the 1940s with his lost love, Peggy Carter ; they marry, and Rogers lives a full life. Rogers chooses Sam Wilson to be his successor, passing his shield and the title of Captain America onto him. Rogers is a central figure in the MCU, appearing in eleven films as of 2023. When first introduced in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011),
53743-411: The universe to network television with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC in 2013 before further expanding to streaming television on Netflix and Hulu and to cable television on Freeform . They also produced the digital series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot (2016). Marvel Studios began producing their own television series for streaming on Disney+ , starting with WandaVision in 2021 as
53984-412: The wider "Marvel Cosmic Universe", although Gunn became the co-CEO of DC Studios in November 2022 and signed a four-year deal to work exclusively on DC Comics -based projects. For Phase Three, there was a large amount of collaboration between the filmmakers of the individual character films and the filmmakers of the crossover films Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame , which were directed by
54225-572: The writers' room, editing, on set, casting—every step of the production goes through the Marvel team to tell the best story that we can". He said the studio was able to work on so many series across different networks and platforms because all they needed was one person working on each series to help "guide the process". Actors appearing in Marvel Television series, such as Charlie Cox (who portrayed Matt Murdock / Daredevil in Daredevil ) and Adrianne Palicki ( Bobbi Morse / Mockingbird in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ), were contractually obliged to appear in
54466-422: Was Johnny Storm in a Fantastic Four franchise. Then, bringing him in and showing him the artwork, showing him what was happening in this movie, and he took a weekend to decide." — Kevin Feige , President of Production for Marvel Studios, on casting Chris Evans as Captain America. Originally, the film would stand alone; Feige said "about half" the movie would be set during World War II before moving into
54707-415: Was announced in July as Daredevil: Born Again . In 2008, the first comic book to tie-into the MCU was released. Quesada explained that these comics would be set within the continuity of the films, but were not intended to be direct adaptions. Rather, they would explore "something that happened off screen" or flesh out something briefly mentioned. Feige was involved with the creation of the comics, with
54948-400: Was cast as Captain America; Ryan Phillippe and John Krasinski were also considered for the role. Evans, who previously worked with Marvel as the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four film series , initially declined the part three times before signing a six-picture deal with Marvel, saying, "I think Marvel is doing a lot of good things right now, and it's a fun character. ... I think
55189-410: Was done, along with the previously established Marvel Spotlight banner, to help indicate to audiences that they did not have to watch all of the studio's projects to understand the overall story and could choose which storylines and characters under these banners to follow. At San Diego Comic-Con 2024, the fifth Avengers film was retitled Avengers: Doomsday (2026), with Robert Downey Jr. cast as
55430-632: Was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters. Marvel Studios releases its films in groups called "Phases", with the first three phases collectively known as "The Infinity Saga" and the following three phases as "The Multiverse Saga". The first MCU film, Iron Man (2008), began Phase One which culminated in the 2012 crossover film The Avengers . Phase Two began with Iron Man 3 (2013) and concluded with Ant-Man (2015), while Phase Three began with Captain America: Civil War (2016) and concluded with Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). Black Widow (2021)
55671-411: Was first conceived as a comic book character in 1940, as a direct response to the military actions of Nazi Germany , prior to the United States entering World War II. The initial introduction of the character included the concepts of a soldier named Steve Rogers being given a serum bestowing enhanced strength and agility, wearing a patriotic red, white and blue uniform, carrying a shield , and having as
55912-433: Was folded into Marvel Studios, with Marvel Studios taking over production of the remaining series and no further series expected to be developed by Marvel Television. In January 2021, Feige said "never say never" to potentially reviving the Netflix series, but noted that Marvel Studios was focused on their new Disney+ series. In May 2022, Marvel Studios was revealed to be developing a new Daredevil series for Disney+, which
56153-410: Was given to The Collector to keep it separate from the Space Stone. The Power and Time Stones made their debuts in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Doctor Strange (2016) respectively. Ronan the Accuser seeks out the Power Stone for Thanos, but he is defeated by the Guardians of the Galaxy , who entrust the Stone with the Nova Corps . Stephen Strange finds the Eye of Agamotto, which houses
56394-463: Was launched in June 2010 with Jeph Loeb as head, and had entered into discussions with ABC to create a show set in the MCU by July 2012; the network went on to release Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , Agent Carter , and Inhumans . The latter was a co-production with IMAX Corporation . In November 2013, Disney was set to provide Netflix with the live-action series Daredevil , Jessica Jones , Luke Cage , and Iron Fist , building up to
56635-452: Was on board for it and thinks that it's fun. Primarily because we've always remained consistent saying that the movie that we are making comes first. All of the connective tissue, all of that stuff is fun and is going to be very important if you want it to be. If the fans want to look further and find connections, then they're there. There are a few big ones obviously, that hopefully the mainstream audience will [be] able to follow as well. But...
56876-576: Was part of their Sacred Timeline, noting how there had been the corporate divide between what Marvel Studios created and what Marvel Television created. He continued that as time had passed, Marvel Studios began to see "how well integrated the [Marvel Television] stories are" and personally felt confident in saying Marvel Television's Daredevil was part of the Sacred Timeline. This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in at least three MCU films/series and received main billing credit in at least two franchises. Additionally, Paul Bettany
57117-404: Was partly based on that of paratroopers of the era, explaining, "I think that the challenge of this costume was that it had to look 40s, that's why certain elements like using leather for the straps and belt, metal buckles and not having too tight a fit were important. Forget spandex!" Visual Development Supervisor Ryan Meinerding elaborated, "The straps that come off his chest are very similar to
57358-416: Was planning to produce its own films independently and distribute them through Paramount Pictures . Previously, Marvel had co-produced several superhero films based on Marvel Comics with Columbia Pictures , New Line Cinema , 20th Century Fox , and others. Marvel made relatively little profit from these licensing deals and wanted to get more money out of its films while maintaining artistic control of
57599-447: Was released on September 6, 2023. WHIH Newsfront (2015–16) is an in-universe current affairs show that serves as a viral marketing campaign for some of the MCU films, created in partnership with Google for YouTube . The campaign is an extension of the fictional news network WHIH World News, which is seen reporting on major events in many MCU films and television series. Leslie Bibb reprises her role as Christine Everhart from
57840-437: Was reprehensible"; this was reported to be a disagreement with a Disney executive over the censoring of gay pride elements in Quantumania so the film could be released in Kuwait in compliance with the country's restrictive anti-LGBTQ laws . A Disney spokesperson reiterated that Alonso was fired due to "an indisputable breach of contract and a direct violation of company policy" among other factors. Disney and Alonso reached
58081-419: Was the first actor to portray two main characters within the universe, voicing Tony Stark's artificial intelligence J.A.R.V.I.S. and portraying Vision. J. K. Simmons became the first actor to reprise a non-MCU role in the MCU when he appeared as J. Jonah Jameson (a role he played in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy from 2002 to 2007) in Spider-Man: Far From Home . Prior to his death in 2018, Stan Lee,
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