Since its creation in 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has continued to grow in ways that no one could have predicted when it first started out. With that growth came a lot of confusion, specifically regarding the films' timeline.
Marvel even released an official timeline which created even more confusion since there are a bunch of contradictions concerning the dates of several major events and with the recent inclusion of time travel as of Avengers: Endgame, we only expect it to get more convoluted so here are the ten most confusing aspects of the MCU timeline, ranked.
10 When Was Bucky Born?
While some timeline mistakes are more major and sometimes defy logic, others are much smaller but still raise questions. One example of this is in The Winter Soldier involving an exhibit at the Smithsonian museum dedicated to Sergeant Barnes. The voice-over of the exhibit states that Barnes was born in 1916 but the bottom of the exhibit itself states that his lifespan was from 1917-1944. While it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, it does create a small bit of confusion as to when the character was actually born.
9 How Old Is Peter?
One of the things fans have had trouble keeping track of is Peter Parker's age in the MCU. Since Peter was a 15-year-old sophomore in high school in Spider-Man: Homecoming and considering that Infinity War which was his next appearance takes place 2-3 years after Civil War that means Peter should be a 17 or 18-year-old senior, even if you exclude the 5-year time gap in which the character doesn't age and the fact that he was forced to start the school year over.
8 When Did Fury Lose His Eye?
One of the biggest questions people had about the MCU before Captain Marvel came out was how Nick Fury lost his eye. However, after it came out, it became a matter of when Nick Fury lost his eye.
In Captain Marvel, we got an explanation for how Fury lost his eye when the Flerken, Goose, scratched and permanently damaged it. However, this contradicts information we got in Winter Solider, Alexander Pierce shows a photo of him and Fury together in which Fury has both eyes still intact.
7 How Did Cap Return?
After Endgame, a major question people had was how Captain America returned to the main timeline after returning the stones. Endgame's writers, Markus and McFeely, claim that he lived in the background of the main MCU timeline at the same time as the past version of himself. However, the Russo Brothers claim that in order to return to that bench, he would have had to put back on the quantum suit and use the time travel GPS in order to navigate back. While the Russo Brothers' version of events seems to be more in line with the rest of the film's logic, this doesn't seem like a debate that's going anywhere soon.
6 What Happened To The Snap?
Thanos' snap which removed half of all life from the universe is easily the biggest event in the MCU. Considering the widespread impact the snap had and continues to have on the MCU, it's surprising that only the films have acknowledged it. When the MCU first expanded into television, they made sure to hold true to their motto of "It's all connected" with events from the films heavily impacting the shows. However, as the years passed, the shows, while still being considered canon, reference the movies less and less with the snap being the biggest example of that. In fact, the only show that came close was Agents of SHIELD which name-dropped Thanos, hinted at his oncoming attack. It makes us wonder when these shows supposedly take place.
5 When Did The Informant Work For Fed-Ex?
Stan Lee's cameos are always one of the best parts of every MCU movie so it was a nice little Easter egg when, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, it is revealed that Stan is actually an informant for a group known as the Watchers. In the scene, Lee references his time as a fed ex delivery man which creates an unusual issue with the timeline since he wouldn't go on to pose as a Fed Ex delivery man until the events of Civil War in 2016. So, unless this is a mistake, this means that the Guardians films take place after it in 2016 and not before.
4 When Did Tony Stark Become Iron Man?
Tony first getting captured by the Ten Rings and, in turn, building a suit of armor to help him escape is what led to the creation of the MCU and all the films that follow. When that film takes place dictates when the others occurred.
In Civil War, Vision mentions that it's been 8 years since he revealed himself to the world as Iron Man but if that is to be believed, that means the events of the first Iron Man movie happen in 2008 which contradicts the film taking place in 2010.
3 8 Years Later?
The most famous timeline inconsistency comes from Spider-Man: Homecoming which opens with Toomes and his men cleaning up after the Battle of New York which is then followed by a title card that reads "8 Years Later" leading to the events of the film. If the Battle of New York did occur in 2012, that would place the events of Homecoming in 2020 which we know can't be true since, during that time, the Avengers were disbanded and half the universe had been snapped away. While many, including the Russo Brothers, quickly wrote it off as a mistake, that may not actually be the case. If we go by the theory of the Battle of New York occurring in 2010, 2 years after Iron Man, then the 8-year time jump places Homecoming in 2016 where it belongs.
2 When Did The Guardians Form?
Although the films did come out 3 years apart, James Gunn has said on numerous occasions that the events of Guardians Vol. 1 and 2 actually take place within the span of around 3 months. Marvel's strange timeline makes us wonder when they actually occurred. Did the Guardians form in 2014 and are there 5 years of adventures these characters have gone on that we haven't seen or did the Guardians not officially form until 2017 a year before Infinity War?
1 When Was The Battle Of New York?
The Battle of New York saw the Avengers face off against Loki and his army of Chitauri and was the start of a new chapter in the MCU. However, many are still confused as to when that chapter actually began due to the conflicting information regarding the year when the event took place. Many have come to accept the battle as taking place in 2012, something that was confirmed in Avengers: Endgame, however, this is a direct contradiction of the dates given by Iron Man 2 and Thor place the team-up in the year 2010.
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June 21, 2020 at 05:30AM
