 Before we get started, Marvel Studios movies, from the start, have been about one thing. Making money! War. It doesn't matter which movie we're talking about, each one, in their way, examines war, real or fantastical, the warriors involved and the power it takes to create them. Since Tony Stark first exited the cave in 2008 as Iron Man, the stakes in this battle between good and evil have only gotten higher and blurrier. Of course, the Marvel mythos began long before Iron Man. Here's a history of Marvel's ultra-confusing, ultra-explosive war beginning at the dawn of the universe, leading all the way up to Avengers Age of Ultron. So let's go way, way back, all the way to antiquity, before the universe even began. Before the universe began, there were six singularities. After the Big Bang, those singularities were concentrated into six powerful ingots, known as the Infinity Stones. They're extremely important, have power over creation itself, and influence events throughout history. For instance, 5,000 years ago, the Dark Elves of Svartalheim planned on using the Aether of the Infinity Stones to destroy the Nine Realms during an event known as the Convergence. Why? Because the Nine Realms are planets in the universe linked by the cosmic tree Yggdrasil. Asgard is the ruling realm, but Earth, or Midgard, is pretty important too, seeing as that's where most of the action that matters to you and me happens. So during that conflict, the father of Odin, Bor, defeats the Dark Elves and nearly wipes them out, save for Malekith and his minions. So then thousands of years later, Odin defeats the frost giants of Jotunheim on Earth and adopts Loki. However, the Tesseract, another of the Infinity Stones, lands on Earth, in Norway, because we need that to link to Norse mythology. If the 20th century was the American century, it was also a period where humanity, at least in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, started to strive toward a higher form of war. The World Wars presented the kind of existential threats Midgard had never really seen. To fend off those threats, the world saw the birth of the Super Soldier, which meant great and terrible things for everyone. Around 1935, German scientist Dr. Abraham Erskine develops Super Soldier Serum and is forced to use it on Nazi officer Johann Schmidt. And this is how he becomes Agent Smith. No wait, hold on. The Red Skull. After the war breaks out, Red Skull rediscovers the Tesseract in Norway, using it to power Hydra, the Nazi's mystical research wing. Back in the States, Steve Rogers enlists in the army alongside his buddy Bucky and meets Chester Phillips, Peggy Carter, and later Howard Stark, Tony Stark's father. Thanks to Erskine, Rogers becomes Captain America. He'd go on to lead the Howling Commandos, which, you could argue, are the Avengers' wartime forerunners. Later, behind enemy lines, Cap's friend Bucky is captured, freed, and falls to his apparent demise. In a climactic battle, Cap defeats Red Skull and crashes into the Arctic. The Tesseract is lost, and will remain so for nearly 70 years. So while Cap sleeps, Chester Phillips, Peggy Carter, and Howard Stark eventually co-found S.H.I.E.L.D. Sweet start-up, bro! However, the remnant of Hydra left behind after Red Skull's defeat quietly infiltrates S.H.I.E.L.D., as S.H.I.E.L.D. slowly becomes a global superpower. During this time, Bucky is found and is brainwashed by S.H.I.E.L.D., becoming the Winter Soldier. Dude, even lift, bro? A super soldier who assassinates global leaders over the course of decades. Meanwhile, Howard Stark works on Arc Reactor technology, the tech that would eventually power an Iron Man's suits. He does this with Anton Vanko, but steals credit from Vanko because he's a bit of a jerk. At this point, the Soviets begin work on their own super soldiers, creating the Red Room and Black Widow program. Can you guess who's a product of that program? Years pass, and things start to quiet down a little. President Reagan is elected into office, Michael Jackson releases Thriller, and a young boy named Peter Quill is abducted by aliens. By the end of the Clinton years, it's one big party in the Marvel Universe. But things are just on the horizon. At a New Year's Eve party in 1999, Tony Stark meets Maya Hansen, the inventor of Extremis, and one ugly Aldrich Killian. He'll be important later on. After 9-11, America found it needed new super soldiers, as it faced threats it could not control. But as the years wore on, it became clear that some threats were out of this world. Get it out of this......pup memory. In a bid to recreate Erxine's super soldier serum, General Thaddeus Ross enlists Bruce Banner and his daughter Betty Ross to work on a new version of the serum at Culver University. This time they're using gamma radiation, which is probably a bad idea. Because Banner becomes the Hulk and destroys everything in the lab and escapes. Meanwhile, Tony Stark becomes an arms dealer, because we wouldn't want to cash in on their genius during wartime. He's aided by Pepper Potts, his personal assistant, and Happy Hogan, his driver. Stark winds up getting captured by the Ten Rings, a terrorist organization in the Middle East. In order to escape, he and fellow captive Yinsen create a mini-arc reactor, which is similar to the one his father first designed. This powers a suit of armor that helps him escape. After unearthing corruption in Stark Industries linked to his capture, Stark, in his brand new Iron Man suit of armor, fights and wins his first battle. After announcing himself as Iron Man, Tony Stark is approached by Nick Fury about the Avengers initiative. Elsewhere, Hulk is attacked in Rio by Thunderbolt Ross and super soldier candidate Emil Blonsky. Banner manages to escape and makes his way back up to the States. The Big Week So this is where things really heat up. And then Marvel jumps into a giant pile of money. Three different movies happen in the span of one week. Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, and Thor. Some time passes and Tony Stark upgrades his suit. He's at the top of his game. He's looking great. But soon, discovers the arc reactor in his chest is killing him. Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, is hired at Stark Industries. So then Ivan Vanko, Anton Vanko's son, attacks Tony Stark at the Monaco Grand Prix. After that we get reintroduced to Colonel James Rody Rhodes, an Air Force pilot and good friend of Tony's. He then becomes War Machine after beating down a drunken, volatile Stark. Meanwhile, back on Asgard, Thor is about to be crowned king. However, his coronation comes to an abrupt end when the Frost Giants invade. After some soul searching and reviewing his father's old notes, Tony creates a new type of rave light. Just kidding, it's a new element. That's cool still though, right? That element powers his new arc reactor, saving his life in the process. Thor and his friends, namely adoptive brother Loki, Sif, and the Warriors 3, Voltag, Phandrel, and Hogan, invade Jotunheim to take down the Frost Giants. They fail. Odin eventually saves Thor, but banishes him to Earth, stripping him of his powers. Sorry man. Meanwhile on the run, Bruce Banner secretly returns to Culver City to reunite with Betty. Meanwhile again, an upgraded Iron Man and War Machine defeat Ivan Vanko. Nick Fury offers Tony Stark a role as a SHIELD consultant, showing him footage of the rampaging Hulk. Later, Phil Coulson discovers Mjolnir. So Jane Foster, an astrophysicist doing research on wormholes just like the one that brought Thor to Earth, meets Thor after he lands in New Mexico. Coulson takes Jane's research. Loki discovers he's a Frost Giant and sets out to rule Asgard in Thor's place. Meanwhile, Emil Blonsky becomes a super soldier using a modified Banner serum. Thor raids the SHIELD camp to retrieve Mjolnir. Unfortunately, he fails in that attempt. He's still unworthy. Banner just completely hulks out at Culver University. By now, Thor has started a relationship with Jane. However, Loki sends the Destroyer, an Asgardian metal warrior, to Earth to take Thor out. After sacrificing himself for Jane's sake, Thor's powers return. He then returns to Asgard and defeats Loki. This way, Bruce Banner heads to New York and tries to cure himself. Coveting the Hulk's power, Blonsky injects himself with Banner's blood, becoming the Abomination. In order to defeat Abomination, Banner decides to hulk out in Harlem. And now that he's more in control of his power, he wins. Now we're at the end of the week. Banner escapes to Calcutta. James Cameron discovers the Tesseract and Captain America. Dr. Selvig works with the Tesseract under S.H.I.E.L.D. Finally, The Avengers. Loki returns with a staff that contains the Infinity Stones given to him by Thanos. Thanos is known as the Mad Titan and is bent on the destruction of all life. He's a big deal, but his importance to the movies is still developing. Tony Stark finishes construction of the Stark Tower in New York. Loki declares war on humanity with the intent to rule it thanks to his new powers in an army of superpowered aliens known as the Chitauri. It is revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to make weapons with the Tesseract. Remember HYDRA? Evil secrets. The Avengers assemble for the first time to confront Loki's Chitauri army. In the ensuing chaos, much of New York City and the Stark Tower is completely destroyed. Thankfully, it was all CGI. Thor returns to Asgard with Loki as prisoner. Tony Stark starts rebuilding Stark Tower as Avengers Tower. Bruce Banner hangs out with Tony because they're BFFs. And Cap joins S.H.I.E.L.D. Avengers Finn. So now we're living in a post-Chitauri world. Airport security is tightened. From here on out, the world is only going to get more complicated. Everyone has battle scars from the attack on New York, but it's clear that more threats are around the corner. Thor returns to Asgard and works to bring peace to the Nine Realms. Loki is imprisoned. Tony Stark struggles to cope with the events in New York. As a way of calming himself, he builds tons of cool suits. Cap works with S.H.I.E.L.D. on peacekeeping missions, but is troubled by modern-day morality. A terrorist calling himself Mandarin commits atrocities around the world. After Happy Hogan is injured in an attack, Tony makes a public threat against Mandarin. Here's my home address. 10-8-80 Malibu Point, 90265. The Mandarin responds by blowing up Tony's California home. And that ain't San Andreas fault. The terrorist is revealed to be a puppet of Aldrich Killian, who's become super powerful because of the Extremis project. Tony prevails with the help of his suits, war machine, and pepper. Tony destroys most of his suits, but continues designing tech for S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers. Jane Foster discovers a new convergence in her research and is inadvertently affected by Aether. Thor returns to Earth and the Aether is released. Malekith awakens. After making an assault on Asgard, Thor and Loki team up to defeat the Dark Elves. In a battle on Svartalfheim, Loki seemingly dies. Thor fights Malekith in London and defeats him, just as the convergence ends. Thor turns down the throne, but Loki, in the guise of Odin, takes the throne in Asgard. Back on Earth, after a classified mission, Nick Fury consults with senior leader Alexander Pierce. Shortly afterward, he's attacked and sent underground. And then during a battle in Washington, Cap confronts the Winter Soldier, and he's revealed to be his friend Bucky. Cap then discovers that S.H.I.E.L.D. was infiltrated by HYDRA decades prior. With the help from Fury, a new ally in Falcon, and Black Widow, Cap takes down S.H.I.E.L.D. Bucky, however, goes into hiding, soon discovering his past. S.H.I.E.L.D. HYDRA member Baron von Strucker experiments on the twins, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, using Loki's scepter. Way out in space, galactic outlaw Peter Quill steals one of the Infinity Stones. Ronan the Accuser, under new orders from Thanos, chases Quill and the newly formed Guardians of the Galaxy down to nowhere. Ronan attacks the Kree homeworld, but is defeated by the Guardians, who wield the stone together to destroy him. And now, it's been years of fighting, and tedious wire removal, and the war is only getting worse. S.H.I.E.L.D. has effectively been dismantled. Earth is now an open target in the galaxy. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner work together to design a suit of armor for the planet, and that armor is Ultron. Unfortunately, we know that their plans go south. We just don't know how bad things will get from here. Probably pretty bad. 1
 Before we get started, Marvel Studios movies, from the start, have been about one thing.
 Making money!
 War.
 It doesn't matter which movie we're talking about, each one, in their way, examines war,
 real or fantastical, the warriors involved and the power it takes to create them.
 Since Tony Stark first exited the cave in 2008 as Iron Man, the stakes in this battle
 between good and evil have only gotten higher and blurrier.
 Of course, the Marvel mythos began long before Iron Man.
 Here's a history of Marvel's ultra-confusing, ultra-explosive war beginning at the dawn
 of the universe, leading all the way up to Avengers Age of Ultron.
 So let's go way, way back, all the way to antiquity, before the universe even began.
 Before the universe began, there were six singularities.
 After the Big Bang, those singularities were concentrated into six powerful ingots, known
 as the Infinity Stones.
 They're extremely important, have power over creation itself, and influence events throughout
 history.
 For instance, 5,000 years ago, the Dark Elves of Svartalheim planned on using the Aether
 of the Infinity Stones to destroy the Nine Realms during an event known as the Convergence.
 Why?
 Because the Nine Realms are planets in the universe linked by the cosmic tree Yggdrasil.
 Asgard is the ruling realm, but Earth, or Midgard, is pretty important too, seeing as
 that's where most of the action that matters to you and me happens.
 So during that conflict, the father of Odin, Bor, defeats the Dark Elves and nearly wipes
 them out, save for Malekith and his minions.
 So then thousands of years later, Odin defeats the frost giants of Jotunheim on Earth and
 adopts Loki.
 However, the Tesseract, another of the Infinity Stones, lands on Earth, in Norway, because
 we need that to link to Norse mythology.
 If the 20th century was the American century, it was also a period where humanity, at least
 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, started to strive toward a higher form of war.
 The World Wars presented the kind of existential threats Midgard had never really seen.
 To fend off those threats, the world saw the birth of the Super Soldier, which meant great
 and terrible things for everyone.
 Around 1935, German scientist Dr. Abraham Erskine develops Super Soldier Serum and is
 forced to use it on Nazi officer Johann Schmidt.
 And this is how he becomes Agent Smith.
 No wait, hold on.
 The Red Skull.
 After the war breaks out, Red Skull rediscovers the Tesseract in Norway, using it to power
 Hydra, the Nazi's mystical research wing.
 Back in the States, Steve Rogers enlists in the army alongside his buddy Bucky and meets
 Chester Phillips, Peggy Carter, and later Howard Stark, Tony Stark's father.
 Thanks to Erskine, Rogers becomes Captain America.
 He'd go on to lead the Howling Commandos, which, you could argue, are the Avengers'
 wartime forerunners.
 Later, behind enemy lines, Cap's friend Bucky is captured, freed, and falls to his apparent
 demise.
 In a climactic battle, Cap defeats Red Skull and crashes into the Arctic.
 The Tesseract is lost, and will remain so for nearly 70 years.
 So while Cap sleeps, Chester Phillips, Peggy Carter, and Howard Stark eventually co-found
 S.H.I.E.L.D.
 Sweet start-up, bro!
 However, the remnant of Hydra left behind after Red Skull's defeat quietly infiltrates
 S.H.I.E.L.D., as S.H.I.E.L.D. slowly becomes a global superpower.
 During this time, Bucky is found and is brainwashed by S.H.I.E.L.D., becoming the Winter Soldier.
 Dude, even lift, bro?
 A super soldier who assassinates global leaders over the course of decades.
 Meanwhile, Howard Stark works on Arc Reactor technology, the tech that would eventually
 power an Iron Man's suits.
 He does this with Anton Vanko, but steals credit from Vanko because he's a bit of a
 jerk.
 At this point, the Soviets begin work on their own super soldiers, creating the Red Room
 and Black Widow program.
 Can you guess who's a product of that program?
 Years pass, and things start to quiet down a little.
 President Reagan is elected into office, Michael Jackson releases Thriller, and a young boy
 named Peter Quill is abducted by aliens.
 By the end of the Clinton years, it's one big party in the Marvel Universe.
 But things are just on the horizon.
 At a New Year's Eve party in 1999, Tony Stark meets Maya Hansen, the inventor of Extremis,
 and one ugly Aldrich Killian.
 He'll be important later on.
 After 9-11, America found it needed new super soldiers, as it faced threats it could not
 control.
 But as the years wore on, it became clear that some threats were out of this world.
 Get it out of this...
...pup memory.
 In a bid to recreate Erxine's super soldier serum, General Thaddeus Ross enlists Bruce
 Banner and his daughter Betty Ross to work on a new version of the serum at Culver University.
 This time they're using gamma radiation, which is probably a bad idea.
 Because Banner becomes the Hulk and destroys everything in the lab and escapes.
 Meanwhile, Tony Stark becomes an arms dealer, because we wouldn't want to cash in on their
 genius during wartime.
 He's aided by Pepper Potts, his personal assistant, and Happy Hogan, his driver.
 Stark winds up getting captured by the Ten Rings, a terrorist organization in the Middle
 East.
 In order to escape, he and fellow captive Yinsen create a mini-arc reactor, which is
 similar to the one his father first designed.
 This powers a suit of armor that helps him escape.
 After unearthing corruption in Stark Industries linked to his capture, Stark, in his brand
 new Iron Man suit of armor, fights and wins his first battle.
 After announcing himself as Iron Man, Tony Stark is approached by Nick Fury about the
 Avengers initiative.
 Elsewhere, Hulk is attacked in Rio by Thunderbolt Ross and super soldier candidate Emil Blonsky.
 Banner manages to escape and makes his way back up to the States.
 The Big Week
 So this is where things really heat up.
 And then Marvel jumps into a giant pile of money.
 Three different movies happen in the span of one week.
 Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, and Thor.
 Some time passes and Tony Stark upgrades his suit.
 He's at the top of his game.
 He's looking great.
 But soon, discovers the arc reactor in his chest is killing him.
 Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, is hired at Stark Industries.
 So then Ivan Vanko, Anton Vanko's son, attacks Tony Stark at the Monaco Grand Prix.
 After that we get reintroduced to Colonel James Rody Rhodes, an Air Force pilot and
 good friend of Tony's.
 He then becomes War Machine after beating down a drunken, volatile Stark.
 Meanwhile, back on Asgard, Thor is about to be crowned king.
 However, his coronation comes to an abrupt end when the Frost Giants invade.
 After some soul searching and reviewing his father's old notes, Tony creates a new type
 of rave light.
 Just kidding, it's a new element.
 That's cool still though, right?
 That element powers his new arc reactor, saving his life in the process.
 Thor and his friends, namely adoptive brother Loki, Sif, and the Warriors 3, Voltag, Phandrel,
 and Hogan, invade Jotunheim to take down the Frost Giants.
 They fail.
 Odin eventually saves Thor, but banishes him to Earth, stripping him of his powers.
 Sorry man.
 Meanwhile on the run, Bruce Banner secretly returns to Culver City to reunite with Betty.
 Meanwhile again, an upgraded Iron Man and War Machine defeat Ivan Vanko.
 Nick Fury offers Tony Stark a role as a SHIELD consultant, showing him footage of the rampaging
 Hulk.
 Later, Phil Coulson discovers Mjolnir.
 So Jane Foster, an astrophysicist doing research on wormholes just like the one that brought
 Thor to Earth, meets Thor after he lands in New Mexico.
 Coulson takes Jane's research.
 Loki discovers he's a Frost Giant and sets out to rule Asgard in Thor's place.
 Meanwhile, Emil Blonsky becomes a super soldier using a modified Banner serum.
 Thor raids the SHIELD camp to retrieve Mjolnir.
 Unfortunately, he fails in that attempt.
 He's still unworthy.
 Banner just completely hulks out at Culver University.
 By now, Thor has started a relationship with Jane.
 However, Loki sends the Destroyer, an Asgardian metal warrior, to Earth to take Thor out.
 After sacrificing himself for Jane's sake, Thor's powers return.
 He then returns to Asgard and defeats Loki.
 This way, Bruce Banner heads to New York and tries to cure himself.
 Coveting the Hulk's power, Blonsky injects himself with Banner's blood, becoming the
 Abomination.
 In order to defeat Abomination, Banner decides to hulk out in Harlem.
 And now that he's more in control of his power, he wins.
 Now we're at the end of the week.
 Banner escapes to Calcutta.
 James Cameron discovers the Tesseract and Captain America.
 Dr. Selvig works with the Tesseract under S.H.I.E.L.D.
 Finally, The Avengers.
 Loki returns with a staff that contains the Infinity Stones given to him by Thanos.
 Thanos is known as the Mad Titan and is bent on the destruction of all life.
 He's a big deal, but his importance to the movies is still developing.
 Tony Stark finishes construction of the Stark Tower in New York.
 Loki declares war on humanity with the intent to rule it thanks to his new powers in an
 army of superpowered aliens known as the Chitauri.
 It is revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to make weapons with the Tesseract.
 Remember HYDRA?
 Evil secrets.
 The Avengers assemble for the first time to confront Loki's Chitauri army.
 In the ensuing chaos, much of New York City and the Stark Tower is completely destroyed.
 Thankfully, it was all CGI.
 Thor returns to Asgard with Loki as prisoner.
 Tony Stark starts rebuilding Stark Tower as Avengers Tower.
 Bruce Banner hangs out with Tony because they're BFFs.
 And Cap joins S.H.I.E.L.D.
 Avengers Finn.
 So now we're living in a post-Chitauri world.
 Airport security is tightened.
 From here on out, the world is only going to get more complicated.
 Everyone has battle scars from the attack on New York, but it's clear that more threats
 are around the corner.
 Thor returns to Asgard and works to bring peace to the Nine Realms.
 Loki is imprisoned.
 Tony Stark struggles to cope with the events in New York.
 As a way of calming himself, he builds tons of cool suits.
 Cap works with S.H.I.E.L.D. on peacekeeping missions, but is troubled by modern-day morality.
 A terrorist calling himself Mandarin commits atrocities around the world.
 After Happy Hogan is injured in an attack, Tony makes a public threat against Mandarin.
 Here's my home address.
 10-8-80 Malibu Point, 90265.
 The Mandarin responds by blowing up Tony's California home.
 And that ain't San Andreas fault.
 The terrorist is revealed to be a puppet of Aldrich Killian, who's become super powerful
 because of the Extremis project.
 Tony prevails with the help of his suits, war machine, and pepper.
 Tony destroys most of his suits, but continues designing tech for S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers.
 Jane Foster discovers a new convergence in her research and is inadvertently affected
 by Aether.
 Thor returns to Earth and the Aether is released.
 Malekith awakens.
 After making an assault on Asgard, Thor and Loki team up to defeat the Dark Elves.
 In a battle on Svartalfheim, Loki seemingly dies.
 Thor fights Malekith in London and defeats him, just as the convergence ends.
 Thor turns down the throne, but Loki, in the guise of Odin, takes the throne in Asgard.
 Back on Earth, after a classified mission, Nick Fury consults with senior leader Alexander
 Pierce.
 Shortly afterward, he's attacked and sent underground.
 And then during a battle in Washington, Cap confronts the Winter Soldier, and he's revealed
 to be his friend Bucky.
 Cap then discovers that S.H.I.E.L.D. was infiltrated by HYDRA decades prior.
 With the help from Fury, a new ally in Falcon, and Black Widow, Cap takes down S.H.I.E.L.D.
 Bucky, however, goes into hiding, soon discovering his past.
 S.H.I.E.L.D. HYDRA member Baron von Strucker experiments on the twins, Wanda and Pietro
 Maximoff, using Loki's scepter.
 Way out in space, galactic outlaw Peter Quill steals one of the Infinity Stones.
 Ronan the Accuser, under new orders from Thanos, chases Quill and the newly formed Guardians
 of the Galaxy down to nowhere.
 Ronan attacks the Kree homeworld, but is defeated by the Guardians, who wield the stone together
 to destroy him.
 And now, it's been years of fighting, and tedious wire removal, and the war is only
 getting worse.
 S.H.I.E.L.D. has effectively been dismantled.
 Earth is now an open target in the galaxy.
 Tony Stark and Bruce Banner work together to design a suit of armor for the planet,
 and that armor is Ultron.
 Unfortunately, we know that their plans go south.
 We just don't know how bad things will get from here.
 Probably pretty bad.
 1