I’m a product of an era that watched Batman “kapow” and “thwarp” his way across the TV screen. He was my first childhood hero and I even wore a cape and mask as everyday clothing for longer than I care to admit. 

So, when the Marvel Cinematic Universe {MCU} started to take hold in theaters, I really had no interest in watching the movies at all. And, as the Marvel characters began to take the shape of the toys, games and books that our son enjoyed, I reluctantly bought them but didn’t even pretend much interest beyond Spidey {because there is something endearing about his youthful innocence.}  And as our son grew old enough for my husband to take him to see Marvel movies, I dug my heels in and opted out of joining them.

Until…Endgame. Yeah, leave it to me to join the super hero crew at the very end of their journey, but for whatever reason, I agreed to go with my family to see Avengers: Endgame  at the start of last summer. And, I am so glad I did!

I’ll admit, I spent a good portion of the movie whispering to my husband, “who’s that?” and “where’d she come from?” And, “what on earth happened to Thor??!?!” {even this Batman-lovin’ girl knew that Thor was supposed to be the most handsome of the lot.} But even with all of my confusion, it didn’t take much of the three hours for the Marvel characters and the 70+ year story-line to hook me!

I had made the unfair assumption that the MCU was filled with nothing but fast-paced action and the huge egos that accompany super heroes. But watching Endgame   showed me that there is much more to the MCU! In addition to the action, there is drama, mystery and humor. The relationships among the characters are intriguing and real. They argue like normal people. They have insecurities. They struggle to show their true feelings. They hate to apologize. They envy one another’s skills. They abuse their own powers. They are human. Well, some are human. Some are aliens and some are gods. And some are mixes…but none are perfect and that makes for great cinema! 

On the way home from that movie, we vowed as a family {my 76 year old mother included} to spend the summer watching ALL of the Marvel movies and then re-watch Endgame.

But, where to begin? After just a wee bit of research, I learned that the movies had been released in some crazy, chaotic order {though I assume there was some logic behind the madness}…an order that I knew my brain could not handle {after all, I am the same girl who makes her family watch the entire slew of  Star Wars   movies before we go to see the latest…and we ALWAYS start with Episode One. Always.} So, I needed a chronological order to make sense of the twenty-three movie lineup!

I formulated the list below by piecing together input and opinions from various sites and then we watched them all.  It took longer than we anticipated but the timing was perfect because just as we were ready to watch Endgame, Disney+ launched!  Granted, if we had known Disney+ was coming, we would’ve waited to watch them all  {instead of paying Amazon $3.99 per movie for those NOT on Netflix, which was the vast majority.}

But, now’s the perfect time for YOU to watch them all! Disney+ has every movie available, except for the four that Netflix still has under contract until next year. So, if you have Disney+ and Netflix, you have quick and easy access to every single movie listed below {except Spider Man: Far From Home   that is not streaming anywhere yet but is available on DVD.}

But before you start your journey into the MCU, let me explain briefly why my order is the way it is. It’s basically in chronological order of how things occurred in the MCU. {It’s not based on release date at all.} Some of the timeline is super obvious in the films but that’s not the case for most. But, I don’t want to spoil a single moment for you so I won’t go into detail about how the timeline plays out. I’ll just suggest that while watching each movie, you listen for references to other characters and story-lines from other films. They appear in abundance in some movies and sparingly in others, but they are numerous in total. Pay attention to the inside jokes and instances of bickering, affection and teasing. I’ll admit, there is a lot to take in but when everything is all put together, it makes perfect sense even for novices and newbs!

How to Watch the MCU for Novices and Newbs

1. Captain America: The First Avenger {2011}
2. Captain Marvel {2019}
3. Iron Man {2008}
4. Iron Man 2 {2010}
5. The Incredible Hulk {2008}
6. Thor {2011}
7. The Avengers {2012}
8. Thor: The Dark World {2013}
9. Guardians of the Galaxy {2014}
10. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 {2017}
11. Iron Man 3 {2013}
12. Captain America: The Winter Soldier {2014}
13. Avengers: Age of Ultron {2015}
14. Ant-Man {2015}
15. Captain America: Civil War {2016}
16. Black Panther {2018}
17. Spider-Man: Homecoming {2017}
18. Doctor Strange {2016}
19. Thor: Ragnarok {2017}
20. Ant-Man & the Wasp {2018}
21. Avengers: Infinity War {2018}
22. Avengers: Endgame {2019}
23. Spider-Man: Far From Home {2019}

I hope you decide to venture into the wonderful world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and enjoy it as much as I have!