The ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Study Guide

Catch up on all the need-to-know info about the first 21 Marvel Cinematic Universe movies before the finale.
Endgame Poster Art

Phase 2

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Tony Stark is suffering from PTSD following his experiences during the events of The Avengers. His fear and trauma will continue to haunt him throughout the films. During this sequel, Stark befriends a young boy, Harley (Ty Simkins), who becomes his son-figure sidekick, and later decides to destroy all his Iron Man suits. Rhodes changes his superhero alias to the star-spangled Iron Patriot. Pepper Potts gets to play the hero in this movie, too, after being infected with the Extremis serum.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

The first Thor sequel introduces the Reality Stone — in a liquid form called the Aether — which gives its user the power to bend the laws of reality and physics. During the movie, Jane is infected with the Aether and is brought to Asgard for rescue. At the end of the movie, to separate the Reality Stone from the Tesseract/Mind Stone, Thor gives it to a mysterious being known as the Collector (Benicio del Toro) for safekeeping.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Captain America, now working with S.H.I.E.L.D., teams up with Black Widow and a new superhero called Falcon (Anthony Mackie), who uses a mechanical suit to fly. A former member of the US Air Force, he is also an expert in martial arts and a pilot. The three work on uncovering the mystery of an assassin known as the Winter Soldier. The foe is revealed to be Bucky, who had survived his fall and was captured during World War II and brainwashed as an assassin for HYDRA.

The big reveal in the film is that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been infiltrated by HYDRA and it becomes difficult for Cap to differentiate friend from foe. Other important characters brought to the MCU here include the government official known as Mr. Secretary, aka Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford). Introduced during the post-credits sequence are the characters Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), and Groot (Vin Diesel) all make their first appearances here as they join together to become the Guardians of the Galaxy. Also introduced in the movie is Nebula (Karen Gillan), the bionically-enhanced daughter of Thanos who in this installment is a ruthless adversary.

Star-Lord is an orphan from Earth, a scavenger looking for rare artifacts throughout the galaxy. He uses a blaster and a mask that gives him different vision modes, and, the ability to breathe in space. Gamora, who was raised by Thanos, is trained in various martial arts and is a master of hand-to-hand combat. Rocket is a genetically enhanced raccoon who can pilot most vehicles. Drax the Destroyer has a personal vendetta against Thanos since the villain killed his family. He has superhuman strength but lacks intelligence. Groot is a member of a tree-like alien race. He has great strength and the ability to regenerate his body.

The plot has them united to defeat Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), a villain from the alien race known as the Kree who wishes to use the Power Stone to destroy both the planet Xandar and Thanos. Ronan is stopped by the Guardians of the Galaxy, and they give the Power Stone to the Xandarians for safe keeping.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawkeye work together again to stop the evil twins Pietro and Wanda Maximoff as well as Ultron, a villain accidentally created as a byproduct of Tony Stark’s PTSD. Stark wants to create artificial intelligence that will power his global defense program, but that plan backfires unleashing a new evil on the world.

The Avengers save the day once again and there are some new additions to the superhero team at the end: Wanda, aka Scarlet Witch, who is now good following the death of her brother; and Vision, an android embodiment of “pieces” of Stark, Banner, Ultron, and the J.A.R.V.I.S. system (now played in whole by Bettany). Vision has the Mind Stone fused with his new body, and that gives him amazing power, but he also believes it is the reason he exists.

Ant-Man (2015)

This film introduces the superhero Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and the supporting characters Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and her father, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and it also features the first mention of a dimension known as the Quantum Realm, which is accessed by Ant-Man when he shrinks to subatomic size.

Phase 2 Recap


Previous 2 of 3 Next

Max Covill: News Writer/Columnist for Film School Rejects. It’s the Pictures Co-host. Bylines Playboy, ZAM, Paste Magazine and more.