Infinity Saga · 2008–2012

MCU Phase One in Order

MCU Phase One had 9 movies and shows, about 12h 44m of viewing. The films run from Iron Man to Marvel's The Avengers. The MCU begins: Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the Hulk are introduced before uniting in The Avengers.

Infinity Saga 9 titlesabout 12h 44m

Phase One was an experiment nobody was sure would work. Marvel Studios financed its own films for the first time, with only second-tier characters available because the X-Men, Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four were licensed to other studios. Iron Man’s success in 2008 gave them room to try the rest.

Each film introduces one hero and drops a hint about a bigger plan, mostly through Nick Fury and Agent Coulson. The Tesseract shows up in Captain America and Thor, and everything converges on New York in The Avengers.

Spoiler Spoilers for The Avengers: tap to reveal

The Avengers’ mid-credit scene gives audiences their first look at Thanos, the villain the whole Infinity Saga builds toward.

If you only watch a few: Iron Man, Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor, Marvel's The Avengers.

Ends with The Avengers (2012), whose mid-credit scene teases what the next six years build toward.

Phase One in release order

1

Iron Man 2008

Runtime
2h 6m
IMDb
7.9
Box office
$586M
Stream
Disney+
2

The Incredible Hulk 2008

Runtime
1h 52m
IMDb
6.6
Box office
$265M
Stream
Disney+, Hulu
3

Iron Man 2 2010

Runtime
2h 4m
IMDb
6.9
Box office
$624M
Stream
Hulu
4

Thor 2011

Runtime
1h 55m
IMDb
7.0
Box office
$449M
Stream
Hulu
8

Marvel's The Avengers 2012

Runtime
2h 23m
IMDb
8.0
Box office
$1.52B
Stream
Hulu

Phase One FAQ

What movies and shows are in MCU Phase One?

Phase One has 9 released titles: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant, Marvel One-Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer, Marvel's The Avengers, Marvel One-Shot: Item 47.

When did Phase One run?

Phase One ran from 2008 to 2012.

Which saga is Phase One part of?

Phase One belongs to the Infinity Saga.

All MCU phases · Chronological order · Release order · Phase Two