Every Single Avengers Movie (In Chronological Order)

The world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been inspiring to say the least. For years, comic book characters popped up in their own movies, but outside of trilogies, they never really connected to form an overwhelming connected universe. That all changed with the MCU and the first movie that came out in that world was Iron Man.

At this time, there are 20 movies in the MCU, all interconnected and all centered around the superhero team of The Avengers. However, watching the movies in the order they were released is just one way to enjoy them. If you want to watch them in the order that they happened chronologically within the universe, we have you covered.

Here is a look at all the interconnected Avengers Movies in Chronological Order.

Last updated: November 27, 2019 to reflect the latest additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

22 CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

While it was the fifth movie produced by the MCU, Captain America: The First Avenger was actually the first chronologically. This is obviously due to the fact that this is an origin story and Cap came to power during World War II.

The end of the movie, when Captain America woke up in the present day, the movie jumps ahead of the next few movies on this list. However, as the title states, Cap was the very first Avenger.

21 IRON MAN

The first movie released by the MCU was Iron Man and this was where things really started to take off. There weren’t any known superheroes at the time, so Iron Man was also the first superhero on Earth for the new generation.

By the end of the movie, Nick Fury approached Stark and asked if he wanted to be part of the Avengers Initiative. As a side note, when Captain Marvel premieres, it will replace Iron Man as the second Avengers movie chronologically, and will hopefully explain why no one knows who she is.

20 IRON MAN 2

Iron Man 2 was the third MCU movie but actually took place before the events of The Incredible Hulk, the second released movie for Marvel. What puts this movie first is the fact that the rampage with The Hulk is shown on television during this movie.

There is also the fact that Tony Stark shows up to talk to General Ross in the post-credits of The Incredible Hulk, which puts it squarely before that movie, based on the events in Iron Man 2.

19 THE INCREDIBLE HULK

While The Incredible Hulk was released before Iron Man 2, the post-credit scene in this movie shows that it concludes after Tony Stark finally starts officially working with S.H.I.E.L.D.

This is also the weird movie in the series, as it is the only time Ed Norton plays Hulk and no one but General Ross ever appears again. The post-credit scene also plays into the idea of General Ross moving up into the position he holds in Captain America: Civil War.

18 THOR

Thor got things slightly back to normal again in the timeline, although many of the events in the movie happened around the same time as those in Iron Man 2 and Incredible Hulk. That has everything to do with Mjolnir.

Thor started off the movie with Mjolnir but lost it when he angered Odin and was banished to Earth. In the post-credits of Iron Man 2, Agent Coulson finds Mjolnir. Then, Thor gets it back and saves the world in this movie, with the three finally lining up to lead into the first Avengers movie as a team.

17 AVENGERS

By the time The Avengers rolled around, everyone had pretty much been introduced. Black Widow was in Iron Man 2, Hawkeye had a cameo in Thor and the other four had their own solo movies.

This was the big movie that everything built to. It ended with The Avengers saving the world and that ended Phase 1 of the MCU.

16 IRON MAN 3

Iron Man 3 takes place six months after The Avengers. The movie follows up the events of that film with Tony Stark dealing with PTSD based on almost dying in the alien invasion and shaken by the fact that there are aliens at all.

This is also the story that finishes the Iron Man trilogy. While Iron Man would return for more movies, this was the end of his traditional hero’s story.

15 THOR: THE DARK WORLD

Thor: The Dark World has the God of Thunder back on Asgard and his brother imprisoned for his actions in The Avengers. The timeframe here is one year after that movie, which puts it six months after Iron Man 3.

The post-credit scene here shows Sif and Volstagg taking the Aether to the Collector, which puts it before the events of Guardians of the Galaxy.

14 CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

Taking place two years after The Avengers and one year after Thor: The Dark World, the MCU brought back Captain America and created an espionage movie that remains one of their best films to date.

13 GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Up next is Guardians of the Galaxy. This movie was hard to classify because it takes place off Earth and kicks off the cosmic Marvel Universe. However, there are clues to when this takes place.

The main clue is that Peter Quill is stolen from Earth in 1988. The movie then takes place 26 years later — which means it takes place in 2014 — the same year as Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

12 GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2

Now, this is where things get a little confusing. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 takes place in Phase 3 of the MCU and there were four movies between the first and second releases in this franchise. However, this film actually came next in the Avengers chronology.

According to James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 takes place only three months after the first movie, which explains why Groot is still a baby.

11 AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

Avengers: Age of Ultron is next and brings all the heroes back together again for another giant battle. The movie starts with the team charging the castle base introduced in the post-credits of Winter Soldier and introduces Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, who were in that post-credit scene as well.

This would also be the last movie in the Avengers chronology that saw them all working together as a cohesive team. This was also the last sighting of Nick Fury for a long time.

10 ANT-MAN

While The Avengers was the final movie of Phase 1, there was one more movie in Phase 2 after Avengers: Age of Ultron. For some reason, the MCU released Ant-Man as the final Phase 2 movie instead of the first Phase 3 film, which made little sense.

This movie takes place a few months after Avengers: Age of Ultron and saw Ant-Man head to their base and face off with Falcon. The flashback scenes with Hank Pym take place in the ’80s, predating Captain Marvel.

9 CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

Up next is Captain America: Civil War. The timing of this is easy since Falcon brings in Ant-Man to help Iron Man in the fight against the heroes who didn’t want to sign the Accords. That means it takes place after Ant-Man.

Then, Spider-Man shows up to help Iron Man as well — which was the first introduction of the Wall Crawler in the MCU. It officially takes place one year after the events of Age of Ultron, which plays into the creation of the Accords.

8 BLACK PANTHER

The events of Black Panther begin almost immediately after the events of Captain America: Civil War, since T’Challa returned home after his father died in that movie to take over as King. Despite the fact that it was released five movies afterward, it still took place before three of them.

There is a little wiggle room here on how long the trip to South Korea took, but the coronation ceremony couldn’t have taken months to plan, so this definitely took place before Spider-Man: Homecoming.

7 SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

Spider-Man: Homecoming takes place just mere months after Captain America: Civil War. One of the teachers mentions that Captain America is a war criminal, people are still watching footage of the battles on the Internet, and Spider-Man is more than ready to become a member of The Avengers.

The movie furthers the relationship between Peter Parker and Tony Stark started in that prior film, while also bringing back Iron Man character Happy Hogan.

6 DOCTOR STRANGE

Now, the placement of Doctor Strange is not as clear. Here is a look at the basic chronology. Tony Stark began his work on the Sokovia Accords the same month that Stephen Strange was in his car crash. Four months later, Strange headed to Nepal and started training the same time that Spider-Man fought Vulture.

With that in mind, Doctor Strange’s story began the same time as Civil War but he didn’t become a hero until after Spider-Man: Homecoming.

5 THOR: RAGNAROK

Doctor Strange gets a visit from Thor in his post-credit scene, so Thor: Ragnarok clearly takes place following that movie. The rough estimate is that this takes place over the summer of 2017 and brings two of the Avengers back together in Hulk and Thor.

It also ends with the post-credit scene showing Thanos’ ship coming upon them — a scene that immediately flows into Avengers: Infinity War’s opening scene.

4 ANT-MAN AND THE WASP

While Thor: Ragnarok takes place immediately before Avengers: Infinity War, the events of that movie took place over a long period of time. With that said, Ant-Man and the Wasp took place over a short timeframe.

Its exact place in the timeline is two years after Captain America: Civil War based on how long Scott Lang has been under house arrest. It ends with his friends perishing at the snap of Thanos’ fingers, during the events of Infinity War, meaning their story ended during or slightly before that movie.

3 AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

That brings the Avengers chronology to Avengers: Infinity War. This is easy to slide into this spot as the movie starts off where Thor: Ragnarok ends, includes Black Panther after the events in his own movie and has the snap that is shown in the post-credits of Ant-Man and the Wasp.

After the mad Titan unleashes his full power we are left hanging, as the universe is left in total chaos. This is the most dramatic cliffhanger of the MCU as fans were left waiting for a resolution, which wouldn’t come until Avengers: End Game.

2 AVENGERS: END GAME

The dramatic conclusion to Infinity Saga, Avengers: End Game gave fans hope, despair, triumph and failure alongside a future they never expected.

It begins five years after Thanos’ snap as the galaxy lies devastated by the loss of half its population overnight. While the events which follow will see a balance restored, nothing will ever be the same again. Heroes were lost, wars were won but the five years in between can never be erased.

1 Spider-Man: Far From Home

As we watch Spider-Man: Far From Home we can see the very real effects of Avengers: End Game as Peter Parker grieves for the loss of his friend and mentor. This movie is a direct follow on and emotions are still raw. Wanting to continue Iron Man’s legacy is a key focus of the plot as the movie begins to show what happened after the universe was restored.

The movie concludes with a dramatic mid-credits sequence that has everyone desperate to know what will happen next to Spider-Man, with him facing his toughest challenge to date, clearing his name. However, it’ll be a long wait to find out as the next installment isn’t set to come to cinemas until Summer of 2021.

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