With the release of CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER on Blu-Ray and DVD today, all of the pieces leading up to next summer’s THE AVENGERS are all available for your home viewing pleasure. If you have been paying attention to Marvel Studios self-made movies over the past few years, then it is no longer a surprise that the movies (IRON MAN, IRON MAN 2, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER) all exist in the same universe and that they are all leading up to next summer’s THE AVENGERS. While each of the solo movies have been self-contained stories, they have also had a dual purpose in not only creating awareness for the characters that will come together to save the world that threatens its very existence, but also to establish the world in which they inhabit. In each movie, there are hints and easter eggs that tie them to each other.
While you may very well know that Tony Stark showed up at the end of THE INCREDIBLE HULK to talk to General Ross about putting together a team, did you notice the news coverage of the Hulk’s “battle in the park” on one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors when Nick Fury is asking Tony Stark to be a consultant for the Avengers Initiative at the end of IRON MAN 2? While this is a nice nod to the fans and movie-goers with eagle eyes, it also acts as a way to set up the timeline for each of the movies. What exactly is happening when in each movie in relation to the other movies?
Well, Rich Drees over at FilmBuffOnline has taken the time to painstakingly write out a good timeline of all five of the movies as well as the two short films starring Agent Coulson that are available on the THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER Blu-Rays and DVDs. From there, Andrew Norfolk has created a really amazing visual representation of the timeline over at Tiki-Toki.
Be sure to click on over to Tiki-Toki to see the timeline and be sure to tell us in the comments what you think of this informative work.
Hey Jim, thanks for referencing my timeline website. Was fun to do and great to see people checking it out.
I should mention that even though Rich Drees timeline over at filmbuffonline.com was a massive influence my timeline has moved on a little since then and eagle-eyed readers will spot the key differences.
Also a mention should to Robert Reed and his website (http://rsreed13.blogspot.com/2011/07/mcu-timeline.html?spref=tw) which was also a big source.
Basically putting these two timelines together with a other, in canon, sources and discussions – as well as a lot of homework – has created the Tiki-toki webesite timeline. But, as always, it is never set in stone and is always subject to change when new info comes to light.
Andrew,
Thank you for checking out the site as well as providing us with an update on your sourcing. It was truly a pleasure to view the great job you did with the visual timeline and we just had to share it with our readers. Please keep us updated with any new additions you may add.
Jim