A Look at a Marvel-ous Universe

Hello everyone,

  Since 2008, Marvel Studios has produced 10 films and a TV show. As of October 28, 2014, 11 more movies, another TV show, and a Netflix series have been slated to release over the next 5 years. Sounds like quite a bit of material to cover, am I right? With the recent announcement of 9 more movies in production, I realized that it might be a bit complicated for newcomers to these movies to figure out which movies to watch first, and in which order. So I thought I'd compile a list for you all to follow.
  To start, Marvel Entertainment began in 1939 as Timely Publications. In 1969 the modern incarnation of Marvel Comics began to launch titles based on their characters Iron Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, and many others. Fast forward 10 years later, after producing several successful movies, Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment. From then on, movies began to be produced faster.
  The collective Universe created from these movies is called the "Marvel Cinematic Universe" or the "MCU" for short. This Universe is divided into three segments called "Phases." So, naturally let's begin with Phase 1.
  (Please note, these will be brief synopses, but each sequel may bring about some spoilers)

  Phase 1 began with Iron Man. The story focuses on the eccentric Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.), owner of a weapon production company called Stark Industries.
  Tony is abducted by a terrorist organization called the Ten Rings, where he is forced to use his technology to build them a weapon they can mass produce. Instead, Tony uses the parts to build the prototype armor for his escape that people would eventually come to know as "Iron Man."
  The next movie to release nearly a month later was The Incredible Hulk. Dr. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton), meets with General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt), hoping that the two of them could recreate a World War II era "super soldier" program. In the process, Bruce gets exposed to gamma radiation. It's side effects cause him to transform into a green "Hulk" every time his heart rate raises to 200.
  Over the next few months, Bruce would begin searching for forms of peace, that would keep him from transforming into the beast again, but as events turn out, hiding his angry form becomes more of a challenge.
  Note that the actors who play as Bruce Banner/The Hulk are not consistent. Although they perform as the exact same character, Edward Norton was replaced by Mark Ruffalo in "The Avengers."

  The MCU would continue with Iron Man 2. Tony Stark opens up the "Stark Expo," a gathering of scientists for the future of the planet. One scientist, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), is there to present a line of military robots that he hopes will replace Stark Industries as the primary weapon's manufacturer of the world. However he finds his robots to be lacking.
  Meanwhile, Tony is suffering from being poisoned by the materials that power the "Arc Reactor" in his chest (Tony wears the light that you see amplified on the Iron Man armor's chest inside his own chest to keep himself alive). In his final days, he hands over his company to his girlfriend and heads to Italy where he intends to live a more exciting last days. He signs himself up to race in the Monaco Grand Prix, where he is attacked by Whiplash (Mickey Rourke), a man with a serious grudge towards Stark.
  This movie was released about two years after the first two Phase 1 movies. This was also the first movie in the MCU to introduce more than one super hero, as both Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and War Machine (Don Cheadle) were featured prominently.

  Thor is the fourth movie in the MCU. During the first century, Earth was invaded by the Frost Giants of Jotunheim aided by the world-freezing relic, the Casket of Ancient Winters.
  Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and the men of Asgard defended the Earth and defeated the Frost Giants, and sealed the Casket away.
  After years of peace, the Frost Giants infiltrated Asgard in attempt to steal the Casket back, inadvertently interrupting Thor (Chris Hemsworth), son of Odin's coronation as king of Asgard.
  Seeking vengeance for the interruption, and against his father's orders, Thor takes Loki (Tom Hiddleston), his adopted brother, along with some of Thor's compatriots to Jotunheim, ultimately sparking war with the Frost Giants again.
  This was the first movie of the MCU to take place outside of Earth for a portion of the movie, eventually opening the way for more "alien" characters to show up in later movies.
  The penultimate chapter of Phase 1 was Captain America: The First Avenger.

  The movie takes place during World War II, where a scrawny, health condition riddled man named Steve Rogers (Chris Evans),  lies to get into the military to serve his country. After being deemed unfit for battle, Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) enlists Steve as a primary test subject for a "super-soldier" project (Thank-you Incredible Hulk for some foreshadowing. Many of these movies have little foreshadowing moments throughout each movie. Keep your eyes peeled as you watch).
  Meanwhile, Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), leader of Hydra, a secret Nazi organization created under Hitler's nose, has located an ancient weapon called The Tessaract: a small, glowing blue cube said to contain unbelievable amounts of power. With the Tessaract, Schmidt plans a terrorist attack like no other, while no one is the wiser.
  Before we get to the final movie of Phase 1, allow me to mention a few things before going on.
  First off, all of these movies, even from the beginning have been specifically designed to be interconnected. In order to do this, they introduced an original character, Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg). Throughout each of these movies (excluding Incredible Hulk and Captain America), Agent Coulson would be a secondary character, following the orders of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (or S.H.I.E.L.D. for short). However, he wasn't the only character who would pop in and out of these movies. Until his official appearance in Iron Man 2, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) would appear in quick scenes after the credits roll by. Here, Nick Fury would foreshadow future events. My advice to you, stay after the credits are finished during every Marvel movie you watch! There's almost always something to be seen!
  Second, this last movie is hard to explain without spoiling several things from previous movies, so I will be brief. It is by far my favorite of the Phase 1 movies.

  The Avengers was the culmination of all that began in 2008. As mentioned before Nick Fury appeared throughout the movies. During these moments, he typically would invite people to join "The Avengers Initiative." None of them ever officially accepted.
  So when Loki transports himself to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s base of operations, takes over the mind of Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and runs away with the *SPOILER* in tow, Nick Fury issues the band of super heroes together to defend the Earth against Loki's plans.

  And that concludes this brief overview of the first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Next week I'll be covering what we have of Phase 2 as well as a look at what we know about Phase 3.

Thanks all,

-Peter