All 12 MCU TV Shows That Aren’t Canon (But Should Be)

The MCU contains a plethora of TV shows that aren’t canon, despite many still being intrinsically linked to the franchise years after release. The Infinity Saga is oft-touted as the MCU’s crown jewel, with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame uniting an expanse of Marvel heroes’ storylines, including The Avengers, The Guardians, and the peoples of Wakanda. This formula of converging narratives is proven to deliver instantaneous success for the MCU, with Endgame ranking as the 2nd highest-grossing film of all time.

Despite the unbridled success owed largely to the gratuitous cameos in the MCU’s Infinity Saga, there remains a trove of MCU TV shows that are no longer considered canon by Marvel Studios. Avengers executive producer James Gunn has repeatedly stated that WandaVision is the first true MCU show despite its TV roster stretching back to 2013, while its director Matt Shakman has admitted it is not a prerequisite for the MCU’s creative teams to watch older Marvel TV installments. Kevin Feige’s absence at the helm of older MCU TV series has further cemented this idea in the Marvel consciousness that the majority of MCU-inspired television is somehow a separate entity from the universe’s canon.

Yet, there is a growing clamor to reinstate all 12 Marvel TV shows preceding Disney+’s WandaVision into MCU canon despite the dogmatic approach of its current creative team. MCU TV shows produced by Marvel Entertainment comprise over 80% of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date, making the majority’s removal an affront to long-time fans of the franchise. Early installments such as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter paved the way to establishing the canon the Infinity Saga exists in, with their elimination as origin stories throwing up numerous continuity issues for the modern MCU. Here are all 12 MCU TV shows that aren’t currently canon but should be.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Debuting in 2013, Joss Whedon’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. broke swathes of new ground as the first TV show to be set within the MCU. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. serves as a content-laden prequel to The Avengers, following Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) as he assembles an espionage team to combat various threats within the Marvel universe. The scope of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. cannot be understated, with the debut MCU TV show delivering the production value of its movie counterparts despite a broadcast television budget. The series not only exists within the confines of the established MCU but thrives upon it, establishing canon critical to The Avengers story, such as Hydra and Hive. Notably, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. also directly crosses over with MCU films such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which makes its current omission from the MCU proper all the more confusing. Removing Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s carefully crafted narrative for villains like American-parallel Hydra and replacing them with What If…?‘s versions suggest that many MCU fans’ last decade of dedication may have been misplaced, as well as making the vast majority of pre-Infinity War Avengers installments feel very jarring.

Agent Carter

Agent Carter‘s lack of admission from the Marvel creative team is, in ways, even more damning than the refusal to note Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as canon. The series expands on Captain America: The First Avenger and sees Peggy Carter navigating 1940’s America as a secret agent while also mourning the loss of her great love Steve Rogers. Hayley Attwell received acclaim for her turn as Carter, successfully stepping out of Captain America’s shadow, while the show’s production value was also praised. Agent Carter is the only MCU TV series to be produced by Kevin Feige, making its erasure from confirmed canon all the more confusing. As with its predecessor, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter establishes key plotlines on which The Avengers movies are erected, with Jarvis’ emergence as Tony Stark’s mentor the pick of the bunch here.

Daredevil

Daredevil is an explosive tale set within the MCU contingency that does exceptionally well to banish memories of Ben Affleck’s lackluster turn as Matt Murdock. Murdock is a blind lawyer-by-day who fights crime as a masked vigilante by night while reconciling the trauma of his childhood experiences and strict Catholicism along the way. Upon release in 2015, Daredevil set a new benchmark for Marvel TV, delivering expertly choreographed and gritty fight sequences alongside compelling star performances from Charlie Cox as Murdock and Vincent D’Onofrio as Daredevil and Spider-Man villain, Kingpin. Daredevil also serves as a marker for the birth of The Defenders and brings various MCU characters such as The Punisher into the fold, which means Daredevil‘s absence in the MCU is keenly felt given the enduring popularity of Cox’s character. As Daredevil is stated to take place immediately after the fallout from The Avengers‘ battle of New York, removing it from the MCU undermines the very reason The Avengers assembled in the first place.

Jessica Jones

Jessica Jones crests the same wave of gritty superhero popularity that Daredevil so prominently enjoyed in 2o15. Krysten Ritter’s Jones is a tortured soul who deals with multiple facets of addiction as a former superhero fallen from grace. Now working as a private detective, Jones eventually battles her resurfaced nemesis Kilgrave through a redemption arc which garnered universal acclaim for Ritter’s engaged antihero. Jessica Jones is the first MCU TV installment to champion a previously unseen female character from the Marvel comics, paving the way for the likes of Scarlet Witch to thrive onscreen in WandaVision. While critical consensus dwindled for Jessica Jones‘ two follow-up seasons, her position as a critical component of The Defenders should not be overlooked when considering the wider MCU.

Luke Cage

On the surface, Luke Cage appears to deviate very little from its predecessors’ well-worn superhero formula. Cage (Mike Colter) is the victim of an experiment that grants him super strength and impenetrable skin, who goes from fugitive to hero as he looks to save his city from organized crime. Yet despite Luke Cage toeing the popular superhero TV trope line very closely, the series is a watershed moment for the MCU due to its championing of Black culture in NYC’s Harlem. Luke Cage‘s positive reviews and overwhelming social media buzz opened the door for much-needed African-American representation in the MCU, with Luke Cage acting as a natural precursor to 2018’s wildly successful Black Panther in this way.

Iron Fist

While Iron Fist‘s critical reception left a lot to be desired, the Netflix series puts down an important pointer for the MCU’s future direction. The standard fare of Danny Rand having to choose between becoming the Iron Fist or saving his family company makes few original comments on a tired superhero path, but where Iron Fist excels is its choreography. Despite being bashed by critics as “one of the lesser lights in the MCU,” Iron Fist was one of the most-watched original Netflix shows in 2017. While its signifier as a piece of the Marvel franchise is always set to garner attention, most of the positivity surrounding Iron Fist is derived from its martial arts sequences, particularly those featuring its supporting cast, such as Colleen’s (Jessica Henwick) cage fight. Although Iron Fist was canceled after just two seasons due to continually poor reception, the series highlighted that MCU fans were keen to see more martial arts, as long as the next storyline framed it in a more compelling narrative. In this way, Iron Fist can be seen as the spiritual successor to the record-breaking Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which marries the same martial arts focus with a far more compelling series of events.

The Defenders

Acting as a culmination of a quartet of Netflix shows, Marvel’s The Defenders miniseries brings together Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist to fight the mysterious crime syndicate The Hand. Of all the series listed, The Defenders feels the most at home within the MCU given its willingness to converge multiple plotlines into a grander, Endgame-style conflict while ensuring each character continues to evolve. The Defenders ends in defeat for its protagonists, with Elektra dying as the heroes fail to prevent The Hand from detonating their bomb. The Defender’s unexpected defeat, coupled with Daredevil’s subsequent psychological collapse, is a formula utilized almost identically by the MCU’s Avengers. Captain America and company fail to prevent Thanos’ snap in Infinity War, subverting audience expectations and setting up numerous character regressions such as Fat Thor and Smart Hulk. Not including The Defenders in the MCU canon paints the miniseries as almost a dry-run for Infinity War‘s release just a year later and does a big disservice to its revitalization of previously marginalized Marvel characters such as Jessica Jones and Luke Cage.

Inhumans

Marvel’s Inhumans is a partial spin-off from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which first introduced the species to the MCU. Inhumans is a trifle unlucky not to have made it into the MCU proper in the first place, with an Inhumans movie originally slated for the MCU phase 3. This plan was later scrapped, with Inhumans instead revitalized as the first live-action TV series to be filmed for an IMAX release. Based on the comic characters of the same name, the Inhumans royal family successfully escapes to Hawaii before family member Maximus attempts a coup that could annihilate Earth. Inhumans, much like The Defenders before it, feels like a trial run for the MCU given the upcoming Eternals release, in which an alien race seeks shelter on Earth before deciding to protect the planet. Despite ABC prematurely canceling the show, Inhumans‘ IMAX release proves its singularity within the MCU, backed by persisting rumors that Disney+ will helm a reboot in the coming years.

The Punisher

Frank Castle is one of the most beloved Marvel characters and an intersecting point in many Marvel storylines throughout history. The Punisher has appeared in multiple continuities alongside Marvel stalwarts the X-Men, Spider-Man, and more recently, Daredevil, which earned him a Netflix spinoff series in 2017. Jon Bernthal’s Punisher is a portrait of a tortured antihero, with his exacting brutal revenge on New York’s criminals following the untimely death of his family making compelling television. Whereas Netflix’s Daredevil felt stagnant in its final season, bringing back Wilson Fisk for another round, The Punisher‘s 2nd season ended in quintessential style, with Castle reprising his mantle and leaving the narrative wide open. As a result, The Punisher‘s cancellation was taken hard by many fans, who hold out hope he can be reintegrated into the MCU down the line rather than cut out of its canon completely.

Runaways

Despite a 2017 release, Runaways could have ended up being the oldest MCU TV series continuity, with its development in 2008 preceding all but Iron Man within the universe’s canon. However, protracted script discussions, among other factors, delayed its creation, with The Avengers releasing in 2012 ahead of Runaways. The success of The Avengers story, even in its infancy, convinced Marvel to shelve the Runaways project, where it would lay dormant for several years before its Hulu revitalization in 2017. Runaways has drawn positive commentary from numerous reviews that point to its accurate portrayal of teenage angst that still feels natural despite being surrounded by standard superhero fare. Runaways‘ recent renewal for a 3rd season confirms its enduring popularity amongst Marvel fans, with numerous nods to the MCU continuity contained within its narrative.

Cloak And Dagger

The fact that Cloak and Dagger is not MCU timeline canon is puzzling, considering the sheer amount of references it contains to the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe. Its second season, in particular, is littered with a great deal of MCU easter eggs, from Wilson Fisk’s son Richard to Mayhem’s candidacy for the Civil War initiative program. Aside from its strong plot ties to the extended MCU, Cloak and Dagger also promote the same message of teamwork and unity so prevalent in almost all Marvel blockbusters. Cloak and Dagger‘s potential erasure from the MCU would cut this show adrift more than any other, given the levels of fanservice the show goes to as one of Disney+’s first direct Marvel shows.

Helstrom

On a surface level, it is perhaps easier to see why the MCU creative team would be unwilling to accept Helstrom into their midst as canon. The series debuted with poor reviews, and the plot content is considerably darker than any of its other Marvel TV predecessors, alienating a large portion of Marvel’s standard viewer base. Helstrom follows the children of a powerful serial killer who hunt the worst of humanity in a bid to tip the karmic scales of their family’s previously nefarious deeds. Helstrom certainly presents more horror than the superhero action-comedies expected of the MCU, but its macabre tonic for the franchise should not be so easily cast aside. Although Helstrom‘s critical failure led to an almost immediate cancellation of the show in 2020, the TV studios’ willingness (both Marvel and Hulu) to produce a more challenging work should be applauded. Taking on a darker tone for the entirety of a fresh installment could replicate some of the MCU’s most taut moments, such as Thanos killing Heimdall and Loki, and move the MCU into territory currently occupied only by dark superhero satires like The Boys and Doom Patrol.

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