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Rewatching the MCU, Take 2: Aliens and Infinity Stones
When I saw Captain Marvel on opening night, I went with some friends who have seen most of the movies in the MCU, but not all, and haven't lived and breathed the details of canon the same way that I have. Although they enjoyed the film very well, they were confused by a lot of the deeper lore, particularly everything relating to the various alien races and the Infinity Stones. Then they started talking about rewatching the entire canon in order to better understand what might be going on. Given that Avengers: Endgame comes out in just about a month, that seems rather an ambitious project, so I offered to come up with a suggested watch list, based on what seemed most useful for understanding both Captain Marvel and Endgame.
First, here's a table that I created for all the movies and ABC shows, with notes on the Infinity Stones and alien-related content, as well as suggestions of other interesting connections. I skipped the Netflix shows entirely because none of them have content of relevance for this purpose, at least not to my knowledge. Of necessity, there are LOTS of spoilers within, although most of them are alluded to rather than outright stated. Bear in mind that I am just guessing about what might be connected to Endgame, since we don't entirely know what will happen. Also, I have no particular reason to believe that the Kree or any other alien race will figure into Endgame; I just include those connections here because my friends requested them.
Second, based on their request, here's a proposed rewatch plan. Cut for length and MCU spoilers throughout.
1. Iron Man - Only if you haven't seen it in awhile. It doesn't have strong direct connections but it does set the tone of the entire franchise.
2. Captain America: The First Avenger - Introduces the Tesseract (aka the Space Stone), the Infinity Stone we see the most of and know the most about.
3. Thor - If you have time. Introduces the concept of other worlds, introduces Loki as an important antagonist, and also sets up a lot for Agents of SHIELD.
4. The Avengers - Features two Infinity Stones (although we only know about the presence of one) and sets a lot of other things in motion.
5. Agents of SHIELD, Season 1, Episode 4 - This episode quietly gets the ball rolling on the Kree/Inhumans story that is so important to AoS, although that doesn't become clear until much later.
6. Thor: The Dark World - You could probably get away with just watching the post-credits scene where Sif delivers the Aether (aka the Reality Stone) to the Collector.
7. Agents of SHIELD, Season 1, Episode 14 - A wham episode with regards to the Kree... if you know what you are looking for.
8. Captain America: Winter Soldier - No Infinity Stone or alien content, true. But it's my favorite film in the franchise and provides a huge turning point for the overarching story.
9. Agents of SHIELD, Season 1, Episodes 17-22 - Optional to this project, but a wonderful follow up to Winter Soldier.
10. Guardians of the Galaxy - If nothing else, watch the scene where the Collector tells the story of the Infinity Stones. But it has a lot of info about the various alien races, including the Kree, and the Power Stone, and it's the first time you really meet Thanos.
11. Agents of SHIELD, Season 2, Episodes 7-10 - this is the meat of the Kree/Inhumans arc, where you learn the backstory and are set up for a lot more.
12. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - No Infinity Stones, but lots of aliens, and sets up the relationship between Thanos and Gamora a little more.
13. Avengers: Age of Ultron - I wish it were skippable, but it really is not. Lots of Infinity Stone content and the post-credits scene is significant as well.
If you have time: Ant-Man.
14. Captain American: Civil War and Black Panther - These are very significant to the overall story of the MCU, but light on Infinity Stone and alien content. So I might skip them for the narrow purposes of an "aliens-and-Infinity-Stones" rewatch project, but if you're doing a catchup on the big picture story, absolutely recommended.
If you have time: Spider-Man: Homecoming
15. Doctor Strange - Another one I wish I could tell you to skip, but here we are introduced to the Time Stone, and he's actually pretty important to Infinity War.
If you have time: Thor: Ragnarock
16. Avengers: Infinity War - Obviously.
17. Captain Marvel - This is mostly a chronological list, but for purposes of understanding the big picture story it makes more sense to watch it here. You might be able to swap this and Infinity War
So this is what I propose, but I'm open to suggestions! Anything really vital that I'm missing? Or can this list be pruned even further? Let me know what you think.
First, here's a table that I created for all the movies and ABC shows, with notes on the Infinity Stones and alien-related content, as well as suggestions of other interesting connections. I skipped the Netflix shows entirely because none of them have content of relevance for this purpose, at least not to my knowledge. Of necessity, there are LOTS of spoilers within, although most of them are alluded to rather than outright stated. Bear in mind that I am just guessing about what might be connected to Endgame, since we don't entirely know what will happen. Also, I have no particular reason to believe that the Kree or any other alien race will figure into Endgame; I just include those connections here because my friends requested them.
Second, based on their request, here's a proposed rewatch plan. Cut for length and MCU spoilers throughout.
1. Iron Man - Only if you haven't seen it in awhile. It doesn't have strong direct connections but it does set the tone of the entire franchise.
2. Captain America: The First Avenger - Introduces the Tesseract (aka the Space Stone), the Infinity Stone we see the most of and know the most about.
3. Thor - If you have time. Introduces the concept of other worlds, introduces Loki as an important antagonist, and also sets up a lot for Agents of SHIELD.
4. The Avengers - Features two Infinity Stones (although we only know about the presence of one) and sets a lot of other things in motion.
5. Agents of SHIELD, Season 1, Episode 4 - This episode quietly gets the ball rolling on the Kree/Inhumans story that is so important to AoS, although that doesn't become clear until much later.
6. Thor: The Dark World - You could probably get away with just watching the post-credits scene where Sif delivers the Aether (aka the Reality Stone) to the Collector.
7. Agents of SHIELD, Season 1, Episode 14 - A wham episode with regards to the Kree... if you know what you are looking for.
8. Captain America: Winter Soldier - No Infinity Stone or alien content, true. But it's my favorite film in the franchise and provides a huge turning point for the overarching story.
9. Agents of SHIELD, Season 1, Episodes 17-22 - Optional to this project, but a wonderful follow up to Winter Soldier.
10. Guardians of the Galaxy - If nothing else, watch the scene where the Collector tells the story of the Infinity Stones. But it has a lot of info about the various alien races, including the Kree, and the Power Stone, and it's the first time you really meet Thanos.
11. Agents of SHIELD, Season 2, Episodes 7-10 - this is the meat of the Kree/Inhumans arc, where you learn the backstory and are set up for a lot more.
12. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - No Infinity Stones, but lots of aliens, and sets up the relationship between Thanos and Gamora a little more.
13. Avengers: Age of Ultron - I wish it were skippable, but it really is not. Lots of Infinity Stone content and the post-credits scene is significant as well.
If you have time: Ant-Man.
14. Captain American: Civil War and Black Panther - These are very significant to the overall story of the MCU, but light on Infinity Stone and alien content. So I might skip them for the narrow purposes of an "aliens-and-Infinity-Stones" rewatch project, but if you're doing a catchup on the big picture story, absolutely recommended.
If you have time: Spider-Man: Homecoming
15. Doctor Strange - Another one I wish I could tell you to skip, but here we are introduced to the Time Stone, and he's actually pretty important to Infinity War.
If you have time: Thor: Ragnarock
16. Avengers: Infinity War - Obviously.
17. Captain Marvel - This is mostly a chronological list, but for purposes of understanding the big picture story it makes more sense to watch it here. You might be able to swap this and Infinity War
So this is what I propose, but I'm open to suggestions! Anything really vital that I'm missing? Or can this list be pruned even further? Let me know what you think.
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I think CA:TWS and Black Panther are the two movies that explicitly deal with questions of morality, ethics and so forth. (Okay, and CA:TFA is where "Be a Good Man, not a Perfect Soldier" is actually said, but it's the through line as Steve deals with a world where he's apotheosized and returned.) They are also two movies that demonstrate what movies can do. Not Superhero Movies, but movies.
I enjoy the characters and actors of AoS, but I have activated the Apply Fanfiction Canon Override button. (Also, season three is the farthest my library holds it in regular DVD.)
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I totally agree. They are my two favorite movies in the series for good reasons. But this list was assembled (heh) with a very specific theme in mind, as opposed to an eye for understanding the whole series, and neither of them deal with Infinity Stones or other aspects of Cosmic Marvel at all.
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The problem I have with CA:TWS and AoS when compared contrasted is that thematically Phil Coulson and Steve Rogers are on a single path (metaphorically) and yet it Diverges in Radical Ways I'm, not so happy with. I did miss most of a Certain episode (DVD glitch). I've seen bits of Framework, so maybe they start working their way out of the paperbag.
They're both firm places to understand the Marvel Universe from. Which probably is weird given how CA:TWS overturns A Lot. And, without BP, we the audience don't have enough invested to witness Wakanda in Infinity War.
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We used that list when we were going through the movies, so it might be your fault that I’m in this fandom now. :)
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