Marvel Cinematic Universe - Timeline

[selfishmisery]

I mean, its possible, we won't know until it airs next year. But it'll probably be set in 2018, as most of the shows/films occur within their release year with a few exceptions.

Films, yeah, but most of the Netflix series take place a year prior to the time they're first available to stream. Agents of SHIELD and Jessica Jones are the only shows that are in the same year, I think.

But yeah, we'll see.

 

[TalonCard]

But in Agents of SHIELD, Talbot says the Chitauri invasion was in 2012, and Tony's birthday is canonically in May, so the events of Iron Man 2 (and The Incredible Hulk and Thor) have to take place around that time as well.

Those are both good points. I'd forgotten that part of Iron Man 2 revolved around Tony's birthday party. What episode is Talbot's reference to the year in? And does Tony's birthday come from props, or is there a more direct reference? (Not trying to be annoying, just curious.)

Like I said earlier, if future movies confirm the new timeline so as to accommodate Spider-Man's studies in high school, then we may have to either overhaul it completely or have to go with a Year 1, Year 2, etc. approach for the present-day events of the movies and TV shows.

Given the MCU's comic book origins, it might not be the worst thing, though it would be confusing as all get out. Maybe a combination of the two, just to preserve the original dates for internal consistency? i.e. Year 1 - 2009 Olde Style, etc.

But thats impossible given Fury specifically mentions in Avengers that the events of Thor occurs "last year". That means at least a year between IM2/Thor/IH and Avengers.

Well, it means that it occurred sometime in the year before the Avengers takes place--not necessarily that 365 days passed between the IM2 bloc and Avengers. If Tony's birthday is indeed in May of the year before, then theoretically Avengers could take place any time after January 1st in the next year.

I think its better to take the Occam's Razor approach and not throw baby out with the bathwater.

I'm not in favor of throwing the baby out with the bathwater either, but I do think the baby is making some weird noises and it's a good time to make sure all the small parts of the bath toys are where we think they are.

We'll see how it plays out. But don't think we should ignore numerous other specific time references (even just accounting for dialogue and other time stamps, Avengers must occur in 2012 since IM3 picks up a few months (or six months depending on interview) afterwards, and its flashbacks to New Year's Eve 1999 are dated as 13 years before.

The Iron Man 3 stuff is pretty solid, you're right. What part of the movie has the reference to it having been six months since the Avengers?

But in Agents of SHIELD, Talbot says the Chitauri invasion was in 2012, and Tony's birthday is canonically in May, so the events of Iron Man 2 (and The Incredible Hulk and Thor) have to take place around that time as well.

Like I said earlier, if future movies confirm the new timeline so as to accommodate Spider-Man's studies in high school, then we may have to either overhaul it completely or have to go with a Year 1, Year 2, etc. approach for the present-day events of the movies and TV shows.

If not, and the MCU's future movies continue with the already-established timeline (and leaving the dates in the Spider-Man movies as the only things contradictory) then we should keep the timeline as is and ignore the dates from the Spider-Man movies, IMO.

So I've thought about it a bit, and here's my rationalization for the new timeline, if it's taken as the new canon for future films (which hopefully it won't, seeing as how it contradicts a lot of what has been established).

That does seem like it accounts for a lot. Good points!

TC

 

[Lebnyx]

Those are both good points. I'd forgotten that part of Iron Man 2 revolved around Tony's birthday party. What episode is Talbot's reference to the year in? And does Tony's birthday come from props, or is there a more direct reference? (Not trying to be annoying, just curious.)

In Agents of SHIELD 2x06 "A Fractured House":

Talbot: Talbot: I was here in 2012 when the sky tore open and the Chitauri rained down on us.

I believe the date of Tony's birthday comes from this prop: http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/File:S.H.I.E.L.D._Tony_Stark_file.jpg

Also, Iron Man 2 features the Monaco Grand Prix, which takes place in May. Although to be fair, events in the MCU don't necessarily always take place in the same date as in real life.

The Iron Man 3 stuff is pretty solid, you're right. What part of the movie has the reference to it having been six months since the Avengers?

The movie itself doesn't say it's been 6 months, but I think either Feige or one of the trailers said so.

 

[A13G10]

64SuperNitnedo, that Timeline says Stark was kidnapped 9 months prior to "I am Iron Man", not that he was kidnapped for 9 months...

The 8 years thing is a stupid mistake, it contradicts everything set by the TV Series and even the films

 

[Lebnyx]

64SuperNitnedo, that Timeline says Stark was kidnapped 9 months prior to "I am Iron Man", not that he was kidnapped for 9 months...

Okay, that makes more sense.

 

[A13G10]

Kevin Feige said Iron Man 3 was 6 months after the Avengers.
Thor 2 was one year later.

And the official synopsis of Captain America 2 said it was two years after the Battle of New York.

Therefore, 2012 + 6 months = late 2012; + 1 year= 2013; + 2 years = 2014

Also as my friend that helps me with the Timeline said, Erick Carroll that silly guy that made the new timeline for the MCU Chronollogy must have thought in this way:

*Iron Man in May 2008 as there is a prop saying that in that way. Proving props are stupid.
*6 months later it is Iron Man 2/Thor/Hulk= November 2008
*The following year, 2009, The Avengers.
*Thor 2: 2010 as it is one year after the Avengers
*Iron Man 3: in 2012, 13 years after 1999
*Captain America 2: 2013, prop saying it in that way.
*Guardians of the Galaxy and Vol.2 in 2014
*Avenger 2 in 2015, as Ant-Man in 2015
*Doctor Strange, possibly fall 2015 to fall 2016
*Civil War is in 2017 as Ross said they have operated for 4 years without oversight, it obviously referred to Avenger (2012) but Carroll must have said: Okay then, I can make it look that it has happened 4 years since The Winter Sodier
*Two motnhs after, Homecoming in 2017

 

[DE23111]

Whew! **** be falling apart over here. Honestly though, it is probably a mistake, everyone is flipping out,, spinning things around already, just give it a minute,, breathe. BoNY was, and probably always will be in 2012, I don't think they would change that. So I would just give it time to fix itself. I personally see it as

2008- Iron Man

2011-Ironman 2, Hulk, Thor

2012-Modern day First Avenger, Avengers

2013- Thor

2013- Iron Man 3

2014- Winter Soldier

2014-Guardians 1 and 2

2015- Ultron

2015-Ant-Man

2016- Civil War

2016-2017- Doctor Strange

2016-2017- Spiderman

This is how I see it. Subjective, don't argue. The point being that this stuff is so carefully laid out that it was probably just a mistake. Given what James Gunn JUST did in Guardians 2, we need to acknowledge that sometimes slip ups happen. They might fix it, they might not. But until I see something confirming that this was intended (ie: interview, or other piece of Canon confirming it) I'm not going to start freaking out and moving things around. Patience.

 

[wyokid]

Spider-Man car commercial isn't canon

 

[Captain Canuck]

The eight years thing comes up in the dialogue too.

 

[Captain Canuck]

I want to say that the eight years thing is an attempt to allow Peter to be in high school for as long as possible. If Peter is a sophomore in this movie, which takes place in 2020 (though it came out in 2017) and he's a junior in the sequel, which takes place in 2021 (though it comes out in 2019), then he'll start his sr year in 2022 and graduate in 2023. If they make a third movie, that would be when it comes out.

Unfortunately, that creates all kinds of other continuity errors. Civil War is set firmly eight years after "I am Iron Man" based on Vision saying so. And Civil War must take place in the early fall of the same year that Spider-Man: Homecoming takes place (unless maybe it takes place at the end of his freshman year?) so there really doesn't seem to be any good way to fix this.

 

[Lebnyx]

Unfortunately, that creates all kinds of other continuity errors. Civil War is set firmly eight years after "I am Iron Man" based on Vision saying so. And Civil War must take place in the early fall of the same year that Spider-Man: Homecoming takes place (unless maybe it takes place at the end of his freshman year?) so there really doesn't seem to be any good way to fix this.

After the Civil War vlog scene and Tony taking Peter back home from Germany, it cuts to the present time of the movie with a title card saying "Two months later".

The poster for the Decathlon in Washington says it's on September 14, and the ticket props for the homecoming dance say it's on September 23. So the movie does take place in September.

If we take the "Two months later" as canon over the newspaper and parcel props from Civil War saying it takes place from March to April, then it means the events of Civil War take place either in July (unlikely, unless Peter's school has a different yearly schedule) or June, if we take it as 2 and a half months. Maybe the algebra test Peter mentioned was a year's end exam.

According to this Reddit thread and the timeline discussion forum at the MCU Wiki (I've been keeping tabs on it as well to see if there's any new information on the timeline),

Spoiler

Aaron Davis' birthdate is shown to be on April 1984, with his current age being 33.

Due to this film's September setting, it means Homecoming and Civil War take place in 2017. Might contradict the Stark Expo 2018 posters, but either they're for next year, or they're not for Infinity Way (I don't know if they're in Homecoming or not).



In other news, Jimmy Woo, one of the SHIELD agents, will show up in Ant-Man and the Wasp, so, assuming his scenes are in the present time and not a flashback, maybe AoS will have a tie-in episode or reference to it?

 

[TalonCard]

I would be shocked if there wasn't an Agents of SHIELD tie-in appearance, as Fresh Off the Boat is also an ABC show. (I love Randall Park, so it's great to see him in the MCU.)

Having seen the movie, it seems more like the eight years kerfluffle is based more on a mistaken date for the Avengers rather than an attempt to move Peter's schooling up to 2020. The Aaron Davis bit in particular stands out. It's an understandable mistake, since an assessment based solely on dialogue from the MCU films allows for it. (Though as has been pointed out, there are other excellent reasons to place Avengers in 2012.) So the situation to watch seems to be if they'll lock the Avengers down to 2009 or keep it in 2012.

I think there's some slight wiggle room within the movie in terms of timeframe; the "eight years later" flash forward is entirely before the tile sequence, so the Civil War flashbacks could be taken as a slight jump backwards from that before the main part of the movie.

The Audi short makes sense as a post-Homecoming event. (There's a lot of Audi product placement in the movie that gives some context for the short.)

I also did not see any of the Stark Expo 2018 signs.

TC

 

[Craig]

The eight years thing comes up in the dialogue too.

Well if you ignore the timestamps (both of them were erroneous, if you ask me), and have to live with the dialogue, then you can assume that when Vulture says "8 years and no problems from those costumed freaks at Avengers tower", he just means they haven't had any problems with superheroes in general until now.

So they never interfered with his legitimate business in the 4 years between "I Am Iron Man" and "Avengers Assemble", he hit a speed bump with Damage Control in 2012, then smooth sailing for his criminal endeavors for another 4 years until Spidey shows up.

That's how I'm gonna look at it until something else makes more sense.

There's also the line by Happy when he says he's been carrying around the

Spoiler

since 2008. Not sure how to take that. Could have been ever since Tony escaped the 10 Rings, or some time after Iron Man 2.

 

[TalonCard]

Another note on Homecoming's timeline weirdness, during the detention video Cap said that he'd been frozen for 65 years, putting his defrosting in 2010--one year too late for Avengers in 2009, which seems to be the assumption with the Davis birthdate.

Also, the NBA videos take place while Tony and Happy are still in Avengers tower, so they probably take place before or during the early scenes of Homecoming.

TC

 

[Lebnyx]

Another note on Homecoming's timeline weirdness, during the detention video Cap said that he'd been frozen for 65 years, putting his defrosting in 2010--one year too late for Avengers in 2009, which seems to be the assumption with the Davis birthdate.

It can still be in 2010 if we say the 8 years timestamp was an estimation from 7-and-a-half years, which counted backwards from September 2017 fits with the spring setting for The Avengers.

 

[TalonCard]

Hmm, you're right, that would work. So as far as the 2012-vs-2010 thing goes it's basically Homecoming vs. a very specific line of dialogue in Agents of Shield and cut material from Iron Man 3. Again, maybe not enough to change the timeline, but it's good to know where the references are.

TC

 

[Lebnyx]

Anyways, I just thought of something: Civil War and Homecoming taking place in early April and in 2017 respectively, might actually be supported by a newspaper in Agents of SHIELD, in a roundabout way.

In AoS 3x20, the newspaper Coulson reads at the beginning says Peggy died at age 95, having been born on April 9, 1921. If Civil War is in early April 2016, then we can assume that, since Peggy would have died around April 6-7, that they just rounded up her age for the sake of the headline and news article since she would have died at age 94, a few days before her 95th birthday.

However, if Homecoming is in 2017 as indicated by Aaron Davis' file, and Civil War takes place in 2017 as well, then Peggy would have died on April 6-7 2017, at age 95 shortly before her 96th birthday, meaning the newspaper in AoS is actually correct.

This almost certainly wasn't intended originally, but I just thought it was a funny coincidence.

 

[DIrishB]

Spider-Man car commercial isn't canon

Proof?

Another note on Homecoming's timeline weirdness, during the detention video Cap said that he'd been frozen for 65 years, putting his defrosting in 2010--one year too late for Avengers in 2009, which seems to be the assumption with the Davis birthdate.

Also, the NBA videos take place while Tony and Happy are still in Avengers tower, so they probably take place before or during the early scenes of Homecoming.

TC

Thanks for reminding me of that (placed them before I saw the film so didn't know about the Avengers Tower plot point in Homecoming). I'll fix for that.

 

[DIrishB]

Anyways, I just thought of something: Civil War and Homecoming taking place in early April and in 2017 respectively, might actually be supported by a newspaper in Agents of SHIELD, in a roundabout way.

In AoS 3x20, the newspaper Coulson reads at the beginning says Peggy died at age 95, having been born on April 9, 1921. If Civil War is in early April 2016, then we can assume that, since Peggy would have died around April 6-7, that they just rounded up her age for the sake of the headline and news article since she would have died at age 94, a few days before her 95th birthday.

However, if Homecoming is in 2017 as indicated by Aaron Davis' file, and Civil War takes place in 2017 as well, then Peggy would have died on April 6-7 2017, at age 95 shortly before her 96th birthday, meaning the newspaper in AoS is actually correct.

This almost certainly wasn't intended originally, but I just thought it was a funny coincidence.

Good catch!

 

[fuzzyfoot]

I would be shocked if there wasn't an Agents of SHIELD tie-in appearance,

I'll be honest...not to burst your bubble or anything, but given the films pathological fear of acknowledging anything other than the films Marvel and Disney make, I would not put it past them to only refer to Woo as 'Ex-Agent of Shield', because saying he is a current agent would actually imply that AoS is canon 'to the films'. GASP...