This past November, prior to the release of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, I
tried out an idea that I had been developing for new posts on this blog. Due to
the fact that franchises play a key part in the film industry nowadays, I
figured that it may be hard for some newcomers whenever they go into the latest
installment of a franchise potentially without having seen any of its previous
installments. So in honor of the release of what was the final installment of The Hunger
Games, I did a post in which I recapped the events of the previous three
films in order to A.) get newcomers up-to-speed with what’s going on in the
story and B.) refresh the memories of those who have seen the films but may not
have seen them in a while. And overall, it seems that a lot of you really liked
that post based on its view-count. So as a result, I decided to continue on with
this ‘Story so Far’ series and today I’m tackling the current king of film
franchises. That’s right, I’m doing the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Back when it
all started in 2008 with the original Iron
Man, I bet no one would have expected that this would one day lead to one
of the biggest franchises in recent memory. But now here we are just less than
a week away from the release of the MCU’s 13th installment, Captain America: Civil War, which also
marks the beginning of the franchise’s ‘Phase Three’. So today, to keep
everyone up to speed with what’s been going on in the continually expanding
world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I’ll be going through almost everything
that’s happened in the previous two phases/twelve films. The reason why I say
‘almost’ everything is because if I covered every single event that happened in
the MCU up to this point, I’d be here all day.
Now this is going to play out much differently than the ‘Story
so Far’ post for The Hunger Games.
Instead of this post playing out like a straight-forward re-telling of the
events of the MCU films, it’s more going to be like a bulleted timeline
detailing specific moments from each entry in the franchise. Also, I’m not just
going to do this in the order in which the films were released, starting with Iron Man and then finishing off with the
most recent release, 2015’s Ant Man.
Instead, I’m going to recount the events of the MCU in order of where they
stand on what would be considered as the series’ official ‘timeline’. Now
obviously there’s a lot to cover here so I’m restricting it to the most
important moments in the franchise; in other words, the general plots of each
installment. And yes, I’m also including the TV shows in here as well even
though recently it seems like they’ve begun to stray away from the continuity
of the films. Because if you ask me, until it’s clearly evident that they are
100% separate from the events in the MCU films, for now they are still a part
of that continuity even if only in minor detail. For reference, I used the
following websites (listed below) in order to construct this post. If you want
to learn more about the MCU timeline, at least more than what I’ll be covering
today, I implore you to check out the latter link which will lead you to an
‘official’ wiki site for the MCU. But for now, sit back, relax, and follow
along with me as we go through the VERY long history of the world that is Marvel
Studios’ Cinematic Universe two phases into its run.
*In 2988 B.C., the Asgardian army,
led by Bor (Tony Curran), confront the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim before they
can destroy the Nine Realms with the mysterious substance known as the Aether.
Realizing that they’re in the middle of a losing battle, the Dark Elves’ leader
Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) sacrifices most of his army and places both
himself and his surviving forces into suspended animation. Bor then proceeds to
hide the Aether to keep it out of enemy hands. (Thor: The Dark World)
*In the year 965, the Asgardians, led by Odin (Anthony
Hopkins), confront the Frost Giants of Jotunheim when the latter group attempts
to conquer Earth. After forcing them back to Jotunheim and then proceeding to
steal their power source, the Casket of Ancient Winters, Odin negotiates a
truce with the Frost Giant leader Laufey (Colm Feore). After the battle, Odin
comes across an abandoned Frost Giant infant, who he then proceeds to adopts as
his own, Loki. (Thor)
*In the midst of World War II, Brooklyn native Steve Rogers
(Chris Evans) attempts to join the military but is continuously rejected due to
his frail status. However, Rogers’ determination to join in the fight attracts
the attention of defecting German scientist Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci),
who selects him for a special ‘super-soldier’ project run by the Strategic
Scientific Reserve. While the experiment does prove to be a success, transforming
Rogers into a much taller and stronger figure, Erskine is killed by an assassin,
resulting in Rogers being the only one to be subjected to the super-soldier serum.
After initially being used solely for promotional purposes by a U.S. senator,
Rogers soon joins in the fight for real as ‘Captain America’ as he and his
squad, the Howling Commandos, take on the Nazi organization known as Hydra, led
by Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) AKA the ‘Red Skull’, who intends on using a
powerful relic known as the Tesseract to take over the world. However, during
his final fight with Cap onboard his weapons-loaded aircraft, Schmidt ends up
getting ‘dissolved’ by the Tesseract. In order to keep the plane’s weapons from
detonating in a civilian-populated area, Rogers ‘sacrifices’ himself by
crashing the plane into the Arctic. (Captain
America: The First Avenger)
*One year after the end of World War II, SSR agent Peggy
Carter (Hayley Atwell), who was Cap’s love interest in The First Avenger, struggles to cope with his ‘loss’ while
continuing to work for the SSR. She soon finds herself having to go against her
superiors in order to help inventor Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) when he is
framed for supplying weapons to enemies of the U.S. With the help of Stark’s
butler Edwin Jarvis (James D’Arcy), Peggy successfully prevents the
organization known as Leviathan from using said weapons against the U.S. while
also finally coming to terms with the loss of Steve. (Agent Carter: Season 1)
*One year after that, Peggy finds herself sent to Los
Angeles on assignment in order to help LA SSR Chief Daniel Sousa (Enver Gjokaj)
deal with a mysterious body found frozen in a lake (during a heat wave, no
less). This investigation soon leads Peggy and co. into a confrontation with
scientific prodigy Whitney Frost (Wynn Everett), who has created a substance
known as Zero Matter which she ends up absorbing during this time. (Agent Carter: Season 2)
*Sometime after that, Peggy, after retrieving the mysterious
serum known as the ‘Zodiac’ from enemy hands, is recruited by Howard Stark to
be the co-head of his new organization: S.H.I.E.L.D. (Marvel One-Shots: Agent Carter)
*In 1988, a young Peter Quill is forced to witness the death
of his mother Meredith due to cancer. As he tearfully rushes out of the
hospital, he is then abducted by a group of space pirates known as the
‘Ravagers’ led by Yondu Udonta (Michael Rooker). (Guardians of the Galaxy)
*In 1989, S.H.I.E.L.D. associate Dr. Hank Pym (Michael
Douglas) furiously resigns from the organization when he learns that they have
been trying to duplicate his ‘Ant-Man’ shrinking technology behind his back. (Ant-Man)
*Many years later, genius/billionaire/playboy/philanthropist
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) ends up getting critically wounded while in
Afghanistan for a demonstration of his company’s new weapon, the ‘Jericho’
missile. He is then captured by the terrorist group known as ‘The Ten Rings’,
who blackmail him into building a ‘Jericho’ missile for them in exchange for
his freedom. Instead, Tony, with the help of fellow captive Yinsen (Shaun Toub),
builds a suit of armor powered by an arc reactor generator that Tony also uses
to power the electromagnet that’s keeping him alive in the wake of his
injuries. After escaping from the Ten Rings and returning to the U.S., Tony
then decides to use his new suit of armor to take on those who have been using
his company’s weapons on innocent people, becoming the superhero ‘Iron Man’.
However, Tony soon finds himself in conflict with his business partner Obadiah
Stane (Jeff Bridges), who is revealed to be the one who orchestrated Tony’s
kidnapping. Stane collects the prototype suit that Tony created to escape from
the Ten Rings and dons it to become the ‘Iron Monger’. After successfully
defeating Stane, Tony then publicly reveals to the world that he is Iron Man.
He is then approached by S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson),
who intends to talk to him about the ‘Avengers Initiative’. (Iron Man)
*After being exposed to gamma radiation as part of an
experiment by the government intended to re-create the ‘super-soldier’ program,
physicist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is transformed into a large green
monster, the ‘Hulk’, and is forced to go on the run as a fugitive of the U.S.
military. Years later, Banner, who has been living a low-key life in Brazil,
tries to search for a cure for his ‘condition’. This soon leads to him
returning to the U.S., where he reunites with his ex-girlfriend and fellow
scientist Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) while still being pursued by her father,
General Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt), and the military. During this time, Ross
attempts the ‘super-soldier’ experiment again by testing it on soldier Emil
Blonsky (Tim Roth). However, like Banner, the serum ends up having a negative
effect on Blonsky, who then proceeds to transform into the monstrous
‘Abomination’. After stopping Abomination, Bruce then proceeds to go back into
hiding and is seemingly now able to keep his ‘condition’ in check. (The Incredible Hulk)
*When S.H.I.E.L.D.’s overseers, the World Security Council,
intend to recruit Blonsky into the ‘Avengers Initiative’, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents
Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Jasper Sitwell (Maximiliano Hernandez) sabotage
their plan by having Tony Stark meet with General Ross instead (this was also
the ‘post-credits scene’ for The
Incredible Hulk) so that he and the military wouldn’t give Blonsky over to
S.H.I.E.L.D. (Marvel One-Shots: The
Consultant)
*Six months after revealing his identity as Iron Man to the
world, Tony Stark is continuously pressured by the government into giving them
his technology. While all of this is going on, Tony is also trying to find a
replacement for his arc reactor’s palladium core as it has begun to poison him.
He is soon confronted by physicist Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), the son of a
former associate of Howard Stark (whose older self is played by John Slattery)
who builds an arc reactor of his own to seek revenge against Tony’s family for
ruining his own family’s life, eventually gaining the help of Tony’s business
rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). With the help of notes from his late father,
Tony manages to create a new element that he uses in order to better power his
arc reactor and, more importantly, not die. And with the help of his friend,
Colonel James Rhodes (who, starting with this film, is played by Don Cheadle
after being played by Terrence Howard in the first Iron Man), who had taken one of Tony’s previous Iron Man suits to
become ‘War Machine’ for the military, Tony is able to defeat Vanko and his army
of robot drones at the Stark Expo in New York. However, Nick Fury then proceeds
to inform Tony that S.H.I.E.L.D. only intends to use him as a ‘consultant’ for
the ‘Avengers Initiative’ due to his “compulsive behavior, self-destructive
tendencies, and textbook narcissism”. (Iron
Man 2)
*After briefly serving as Tony Stark’s ‘supervisor’ during
the events of Iron Man 2, Agent
Coulson is reassigned to investigate a strange occurrence in New Mexico. While
on the way there, he subdues a few robbers at a convenience store. (Marvel One-Shots: A Funny Thing Happened on
the Way to Thor’s Hammer)
*After he accidentally ends up breaking the truce between
Asgard and the Frost Giants, Odin’s son Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is banished to
Earth and stripped of his powers. While on Earth, Thor meets, befriends, and
falls in love with astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Meanwhile,
back on Asgard, it is revealed that Thor’s brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who
learns of his true identity as an adopted Frost Giant, had masterminded Thor’s
banishment in order to take over as the ruler of Asgard. However, Thor ends up
regaining his powers after proving himself worthy of them and returns to Asgard
in order to confront Loki. During their battle, Loki seemingly perishes after
falling into an abyss. However, it is later revealed that Loki did survive the
fall and has taken control of Thor’s scientist friend on Earth, Erik Selvig
(Stellan Skarsgard). (Thor)
*Scientists in the Arctic uncover the crashed aircraft that
Captain America was in, resulting in Cap waking up in the present day and
learning that he’s been ‘asleep’ for about 70 years. (Captain America: The First Avenger)
*S.H.I.E.L.D. begins to experiment on the mysterious
Tesseract, recovered by Howard Stark in the 40’s following Cap’s ‘sacrifice’, with
the help of Dr. Selvig. However, they are soon attacked by Loki, who takes the
Tesseract and hypnotizes both Selvig and Agent Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) AKA
Hawkeye into being his minions. This leads Fury into finally bringing in the
members of his ‘Avengers Initiative’: Iron Man, Cap, Thor, Hulk (now played by
Mark Ruffalo), as well as SHIELD agent Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) AKA
Black Widow and Barton after he’s freed from his hypnosis. Together they take
on Loki and his army of Chitauri alien soldiers as they attack the city of New
York, after Loki brought them to Earth through a portal created by the
Tesseract. While Hulk thrashes Loki around to get him out of the fight, Iron
Man ‘sacrifices’ himself by sending a missile through the portal in order to
destroy the Chitauri mothership. Thankfully he manages to get back through the
portal just in time before it closes. With the day saved, Thor brings the imprisoned
Loki back to Asgard while the Avengers go their separate ways for now.
Meanwhile, in another part of the universe, a mysterious purple-skinned figure
is notified of the failed invasion. (The
Avengers)
*Tony begins to suffer from PTSD following his near-death
experience during the Battle of New York. To make matters worse, a sinister
terrorist known as ‘The Mandarin’ begins attacking various sites all over the
U.S. When Tony goads him on after his former bodyguard Happy Hogan (played by Iron Man/Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau) is injured in one of the bombings,
the Mandarin destroys Tony’s Malibu home and Tony is forced to fly all the way
over to North Carolina, where he begins to mount an all-out offensive on the
Mandarin. As it turns out, the man who he thought was the Mandarin (Ben
Kingsley) is actually a drunk British actor named Trevor Slattery while the
real mastermind behind all of the bombings was scientist Aldrich Killian (Guy
Pearce), who Tony had ignored years earlier while at a New Year’s Eve party in
Switzerland. Tony defeats Killian with the help of Rhodey, saves his girlfriend
Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) from being subjected to Killian’s Extremis
formula, destroys most of the Iron Man suits that he had developed since New
York, and finally gets the shrapnel in his body removed once and for all. (Iron Man 3)
*After being arrested at the end of Iron Man 3, Trevor Slattery is put in prison and is interviewed by
documentary filmmaker Jackson Norriss (Scoot McNairy). However, it turns out
that Norriss is actually a member of the Ten Rings, who aren’t too pleased with
Slattery’s recent portrayal of ‘The Mandarin’, particularly the real Mandarin.
(Marvel One-Shots: All Hail the King)
*Agent Phil Coulson, who was believed to have been killed by
Loki prior to the Battle of New York, is revealed to be alive and proceeds to
form a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to combat all sorts of threats in the wake
of the first Avengers film. His team
includes pilot/former field agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), black ops
specialist Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), engineering genius Leo Fitz (Iain De
Caestecker), and biochemist Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge). During their
first mission, Coulson also ends up recruiting a hacktivist named Skye (Chloe
Bennet) who is associated with the hacker group known as the ‘Rising Tide’.
When Skye’s connections with the Rising Tide start to threaten her relationship
with the rest of the team, she admits to Coulson that she joined the team
because she’s been looking for her parents. (Agents of SHIELD: Season 1- Episodes 1-7)
*After Jane Foster accidentally comes into contact with the
Aether, Thor is forced to bring her to Asgard for protection, as the release of
the Aether awakens Malekith and his forces from their long sleep. When the Dark
Elves begin to pose a serious threat to the people of Asgard as well as the
Nine Realms in general, Thor is forced to do the unthinkable; ally with his
brother Loki as he is the only one who knows of a secret way into Svartalfheim.
During a fight with Malekith’s forces, Loki is seemingly killed. Thor, with the
help of Jane and her friends, then proceed to defeat Malekith in London.
Unbeknownst to Thor, Loki survived and has somehow managed to take Odin’s place
as ruler of Asgard. (Thor: The Dark World)
*Coulson and his team continue to investigate strange forces
on Earth. During this time, they learn of a mysterious figure known as ‘The
Clairvoyant’ who is in charge of an organization known as Project Centipede
that Coulson and co. have come across a few times. Coulson and May also learn
that Skye is what S.H.I.E.L.D. refers to as an ‘0-8-4’, an object of unknown
origin. When Skye is critically wounded during a mission, Coulson and the team
head to a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility where Coulson was supposedly
resurrected. It is here that Coulson learns that the drug that revived him,
which is subsequently used to save Skye, came from the corpse of a blue alien
creature. (Agents of SHIELD: Season
1- Episodes 8-15)
*Following the Battle of New York, Steve Rogers finds
himself trying to adjust to modern life in Washington D.C. while also finding
himself conflicted with S.H.I.E.L.D.’s arguably extreme tactics of espionage.
When Nick Fury is supposedly killed by a mysterious assassin known as the
Winter Soldier, Cap and Black Widow, along with Steve’s new friend Sam Wilson (Anthony
Mackie) AKA Falcon, investigate into the matter. They soon learn that Hydra,
who was thought to have been eliminated after WWII, still lives on and has
taken over S.H.I.E.L.D. Steve also learns that the Winter Soldier is actually
his best friend from the 40’s, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who supposedly
died during the events of The First
Avenger. When Hydra plans to use a series of new Helicarriers to wipe out
anyone who poses a threat to them, Cap and company go on an all-out offensive
against them. They succeed in destroying the Helicarriers and, as a result of
Cap’s fight with Bucky, it appears that Bucky has begun to return to his normal
self. During this time, Hydra associate Baron von Strucker (Thomas Krestchmann)
begins to examine the scepter that Loki had used during the Battle of New York.
He is also shown to have two special-powered beings imprisoned; Wanda (Elizabeth
Olsen) and Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) Maximoff AKA Scarlet Witch and
Quicksilver. (Captain America: The Winter
Soldier)
*During their hunt for the Clairvoyant, Coulson and his team
quickly learn of the whole Hydra situation. It is revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D.
agent John Garrett (Bill Paxton) is the ‘Clairvoyant’ and, to matters worse,
Ward is also a Hydra mole and Garrett’s protégé. Without S.H.I.E.L.D.’s vast
array of resources to help them, Coulson and his team are forced to take on
Garrett’s forces by themselves. They succeed in both killing Garrett and
imprisoning Ward. The season ends with Coulson, who is promoted to the role of
‘Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ by Nick Fury (who was forced to go on the run
following the events of Winter Soldier),
beginning to exhibit a strange fixation by carving mysterious symbols into a
wall. (Agents of SHIELD: Season 1-
Episodes 16-22).
*26 years after he is initially abducted by the Ravagers,
Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) AKA Star-Lord comes across a mysterious orb artifact
while on the planet Morag. He soon finds himself pursued by the subordinates of
the Kree fanatical Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) and at one point ends up
getting arrested along with Ronan’s defecting assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana),
adopted daughter of the Mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin) AKA that mysterious
purple being seen at the end of The
Avengers, and bounty hunters Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and the
tree-like creature Groot (Vin Diesel). Soon joined by warrior Drax the
Destroyer (Dave Bautista), the group of misfits team up in order to stop Ronan
from using the artifact within the orb, an Infinity Stone (which was also the
power source of both the Tesseract and the Aether), to destroy the planet of
Xandar. They succeed and Peter learns that he’s half-alien through his unknown
father. (Guardians of the Galaxy)
…also, Howard the
Duck.
*After defeating Garrett, Coulson and his team are now
forced to operate in secret following the ‘fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ as seen in The Winter Soldier. They soon learn that
the mysterious symbols that Coulson has been carving are a map to an ancient
alien city, which they race to before it can be found by Hydra. During this
process, Skye’s true identity is revealed as a member of the society known as
the Inhumans when she gains earthquake-generating powers after coming into
contact with a substance known as Terrigen Mist. She also finally comes into
contact with both her long-lost father Calvin Johnson (Kyle MacLachlan), who
reveals that her true name is Daisy, and mother/fellow Inhuman Jiaying (Dichen
Lachman). (Agents of SHIELD: Season
2- Episodes 1-19)
*After being permanently blinded by hazardous chemicals as a
kid, lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) moonlights as a vigilante crime-fighter
in the Hell’s Kitchen district of New York, effectively becoming the ‘Devil of
Hell’s Kitchen’. His actions soon lead to him crossing paths with businessman
Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), who intends to destroy Hell’s Kitchen and
‘rebuild’ it through his various dealings with the area’s criminal gangs. Matt,
with the help of his best friend and fellow lawyer Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson)
and their new assistant Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), is able to publicly oust
Fisk’s true intentions, who is then subsequently arrested. (Daredevil: Season 1)
*After being ‘given’ a vision (courtesy of Scarlet Witch) of
the Avengers completely decimated and aliens attacking the Earth unopposed,
Tony Stark decides to use the energy from Loki’s scepter, recovered from Baron
von Strucker, to power his ‘Ultron’ defense system. However, Ultron (James
Spader) ends up becoming a sentient being hell bent on destroying mankind.
Eventually the Avengers confront him in the city of Sokovia, which Ultron lifts
up into the air as a means of destroying the world once it crash-lands back on
Earth. With the help of Sokovia natives Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (who were
initially opposed to the Avengers, specifically Tony Stark whose company
manufactured the missile that killed their parents) as well as the being Vision
(Paul Bettany), who was created from a synthetic body powered by both an
Infinity Stone (the aforementioned ‘energy source’ from Loki’s scepter) and Tony’s
A.I. Jarvis, the Avengers stop Ultron though Quicksilver is tragically killed
during the battle. Afterwards, Tony and Hawkeye decide to ‘retire’ from the
team while Thor returns to Asgard in order to investigate further into the
‘Infinity Stones’ situation that has arisen in the past year. This leaves Cap
and Black Widow in charge of training the new members of the Avengers: Vision,
Falcon, Scarlet Witch, and War Machine, in their new facility in New York. (The Avengers: Age of Ultron)
*The conflict between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Inhumans gets
nasty when Jiaying masterminds a plot to incite a war between the two parties
so that the Inhumans wouldn’t be taken over by S.H.I.E.L.D. While initially
torn between the two sides, Daisy helps Coulson and his team stop Jiaying from
unleashing Terrigen Mist upon the world, revealing those who are Inhuman and
killing those who aren’t. However, sources of the substance do end up leaking
into the ocean. This leads Coulson and Daisy into forming a new team of
‘gifted’ individuals like her. The season ends with Agent Simmons being sucked
into a mysterious alien monolith that S.H.I.E.L.D. had recently found. (Agents of SHIELD: Season 2- Episodes
20-22)
*Sometime after the events of Age of Ultron, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is released from prison after
he was arrested for hacking his former company. Looking to turn over a new leaf
so that he can be with his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson), Scott is
approached by Hank Pym, who along with his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) recruit
Scott into their plan to steal a new piece of technology, the Yellowjacket
suit, from Pym’s former protégé Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), who is close to
perfecting his own shrinking technology similar to Pym’s Ant-Man technology.
During the set-up for the heist, Scott even ends up crossing paths with Falcon
when the former has to collect a specific piece of hardware from the Avengers’
new facility. (Ant-Man)
*As more people around the world begin to be exposed to the
Terrigen mist, S.H.I.E.L.D. begins to assemble a team of Inhumans, led by
Daisy, to help them confront new threats. During this time, Grant Ward begins
to rebuild Hydra following its ‘collapse’ to take on S.H.I.E.L.D. Meanwhile,
President Ellis (William Sadler) creates a new task force, the Advanced Threat
Containment Unit, led by Rosalind Price (Constance Zimmer), following
S.H.I.E.L.D.’s recent fall from grace. While the two parties initially find
themselves in conflict with one another over their handling of the Inhuman
situation, Price ends up being one of the good guys as S.H.I.E.L.D. confronts
Gideon Malick (Powers Boothe), a former member of the World Security Council
and Hydra operative. After rescuing Agent Simmons from the mysterious alien
realm that she ended up in after being ‘taken’ by the monolith at the end of
the previous season, Coulson and Agent Fitz end up traveling to this realm when
Ward and Malick plan on bringing an ancient Inhuman, Hive, back to Earth. While
there, Coulson kills Ward and he and Fitz return to Earth after seemingly
destroying Hive. However, Hive is revealed to have survived and has returned to
Earth having taking control of Ward’s body. (Agents of SHIELD: Season 3- Episodes 1-10)
(And that’s all I’m
going to say for now in regards to Season 3 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. due to the fact that, at the time I’m
writing this, the season is not yet over. I’ll go into more detail over what
happens during the second half of the season in my upcoming review of Season 3.)
*Years after her brief ‘stint’ as a superhero ended on a
dark note, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) has moved on from her past life and
has set up a private investigation office in Hell’s Kitchen. However, her
latest case leads her to have to once again confront the man responsible for
ruining her life, Kilgrave (David Tennant), a man who is able to brainwash anyone
he pleases. With the help of her friends, as well as another ‘gifted’
individual named Luke Cage (Mike Colter) who she falls in love with, Jessica is
able to stop Kilgrave and kills him so that he won’t threaten anyone ever
again. (Jessica Jones: Season 1)
*Following his defeat of Wilson Fisk, Matt Murdock soon
finds himself crossing paths with another vigilante, Frank Castle (Jon
Bernthal) AKA ‘The Punisher’, an army vet who seeks vengeance on the gangs of
Hell’s Kitchen following the deaths of his wife and children. When the Punisher
is captured by the police, Matt and Foggy risk the future of their firm by
taking on his case to keep him from receiving the death penalty. While all of
this is going on, Matt is also approached by an old flame, Elektra Natchios
(Elodie Yung), who seeks his help in dealing with the Yakuza. (Daredevil: Season 2)
And that’s where we’ll end things for today. As you can see,
the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come a very long way since the days of Iron Man. Phase 1, of course, was
responsible for setting up the universe and its primary protagonists, from Iron
Man to Captain America to more otherworldly beings like Thor. As for Phase 2,
you could say that this was the Phase that set up some of the greater forces
that are out there beyond Earth, particularly the cosmic side of the universe
as explored in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Later this year we’ll also be introduced to the mystical side of the MCU
courtesy of Doctor Strange. And while
we’re still a few years away from it, Phase 3 will culminate with the two-part
epic that will be The Avengers: Infinity
War as the Avengers take on the Mad Titan himself, Thanos. Simply put, it’s
a great time to be a MCU fan and as I’ve been saying time and time again, I
believe that Marvel Studios has yet to produce a ‘bad’ film/show. Have there
been some weak ones? Sure, like Thor 2 or
Iron Man 2. However, I’d argue that
even their weakest are better than most entries in the superhero genre and
considering that the Creative Committee that was clearly responsible for some
of the franchise’s more controversial moves (e.g. the creative differences with
Edgar Wright that led to his departure from Ant-Man)
has now been disbanded, I’m confident that Phase 3 will turn out to be the
franchise’s best lineup of films yet. So with that said, what Phase 3 films are
you most looking forward to (aside from Civil
War seeing how that’s coming out soon)? Doctor
Strange? Thor: Ragnarok? Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2? Be sure
to sound off in the comments below.
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