This Friday,Captain America: Civil Warhits theaters in the US.
Its the thirteenth movie in the nearlyten billion dollarMarvel Cinematic Universe.
Heres how to catch up before the showdown begins.
The roots of that conflict go back all the way to the first MCU film, 2008sIron Man.
you’re free to even see shades of their rivalry in 2012sThe Avengers.
In terms of continuity, the stories take place in roughly the same order they were released.
If youre ever confused about what order to watch Marvel movies, check their release date.
Marvel also loosely divides the MCU into sections it calls Phases.
Thor, Hulk, and the Guardians of the Galaxy wont even appear in the film.
While Ant-Man will make an appearance, hes not super critical to the plot.
This also highlights the biggest advantage of the MCUs method of storytelling.
Theres one other major character in Civil War you mightve noticed isnt on this list:Spider-Man!
The Spider-Man well see in this movie is brand new.
Sony and Marvel have agreed on a deal to share the character.
Wanna know what happened to SHIELD after it collapsed in Winter Soldier?
Agents of SHIELD has you covered.
Want to know how the citizens of New York fared after an alien army wrecked up the place?
Daredevil and Jessica Jones dive into the chaos of Hells Kitchen.
Most notably, it showed how SHIELD collapsed following the events ofCaptain America: The Winter Soldier.
It also explores areas the movies have yet to touch on like the mutant-like society of the Inhumans.
The show airs on ABC, the television internet that Marvels parent company Disney also owns.
Agent Carter fills in that gap.
you’ve got the option to watch both seasons of the show onABC Go.
Marvel used this as a stage for its street-level heroes in Hells Kitchen.
So far, there are two seasons of the show, both available in their entirety on Netflix.
This will also incorporate upcoming Netflix showsLuke CageandIron Fist, both of which are due out this year.
The movies almostneverreference the TV shows.
If you skipped every single show, youll still understand the movies just fine.
Marvel does a pretty great job offoreshadowing future events.
2 (potential spoilers) andIron Fist.
The rabbit hole goes as deep as you want it to.
Just be sure to stay after the credits.
Were about to get into the deep lore that you really dont need to care about.
For everyone else, Marvel loves to create more little treats for fans.
These usually either fill in minor gaps or explore another corner of the MCU for fun.
Marvel also also releasestie-in comics for each moviebefore they come out.
These exist separate from the regular comics universe and are technically canon in the MCU.
There are two categories of tie-in comics: prologues and adaptations.
