With the release of Avengers Endgame on the horizon, fans of the MCU and the 22 films
and growing franchise are desperate to know - and speculate - what the outcome of the
film may be.
We're not just talking about whether or not Thanos the mad titan will meet his demise,
but about whether some of our beloved Avengers members might bite the dust, for reals this
time.
So, in preparation of this cinematic epic, it's good to do your research and have a bit
of a refresher about what has gone on over the past ten years that the MCU has been pumping
out movies.
So today, we're counting down the top 10 MCU films you need to see before Avengers End
Game.
And it's worth noting - these films are not in chronological order of what you should
watch first.
10 Captain Marvel It's without a doubt that the MCU's latest
superhero to join the fray is one that will have a major impact in Endgame.
Hell, Brie Larson, who plays Carol Danvers, has been making the rounds on the press tour
with all of the original Avengers characters (and the characters who haven't been dusted).
Before Captain Marvel's release, there was a whole lot of press concerning how important
the narrative in her feature film would be in understanding what she can do to help take
down Thanos.
She's the strongest superhero to have appeared in the MCU to date, so surely, she's going
to be one of the Avenger's largest assets in fighting the Mad titan.
Plus, arguably, she might be the future of the Avengers team.
But that's a whole other fan theory for another day, another time, another video.
9 Iron Man This is the film that started it all!
Iron Man was the first ship to sail into the MCU oceans, and introduced us to Tony Stark;
a constant in the cinematic universe who arguably will be one of the first in line to get revenge
and take down Thanos.
With the exception of perhaps Captain America, Iron Man's story is perhaps the most in depth
character development that has appeared in the MCU, a ten year long journey.
And it feels right that before watching Endgame, which, if fan theories are correct, might
be the end of his journey, one should definitely rewatch Iron Man in order to really get in
the right mood for feeling all of those Tony Stark feels.
8 Avengers Age of Ultron You might be wondering, why is Age of Ultron
on this list before the original Avengers film?
We'll touch on it later, that's for sure.
While chronologically you should definitely watch the Avengers before Age of Ultron, Age
of Ultron isn't as important to Endgame as it's predecessor is.
Anywho, as far as Age of Ultron is concerned, it is important to Endgame when it comes to
particular character's foundations.
Especially when it comes to understanding Bruce Banner and Clint Barton.
Ultron is a really in depth look at Hawkeye and his family situation, which, based on
trailers for Endgame, is seriously lacking.
It appears something tragic has happened to Clint and his wife and kids.
Are they dusted?
Who knows.
But now he has a bad ass Mohawk, so, somethings gotta give.
7 Captain America The First Avenger
6 Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1 of Guardians of the Galaxy introduced
us to a side of the MCU we hadn't seen before - outer space!
The cosmic realm!
All of the Guardians characters played a pretty essential role in the events of Infinity War,
and based on the trailers for Endgame and rumoured leaks, it seems that one of the Guardians,
Rocket Raccoon, will likely be crucial in getting Tony Stark home.
Remember that whole Audi Rocket's Rescue VR mission?
Yeah.
As the theory stands, Rocket is the one who figures out where the Guardians ship is, which
just so happens to have Tony and Nebula on it, stranded in space.
Getting reacquainted with all of these characters and their histories is essential watching,
friends.
5 Thor Ragnarok While Ragnarok isn't the most important film
when it comes to the narrative or emotional lead up into Endgame, chronologically, it
played a really big role in the lead up to Infinity War.
Spoiler alert here for Infinity War, although, if you haven't seen it already, go watch it.
At the end of Ragnarok, all of the survivors of Asgard are on a refugee ship, that in the
beginning of Infinity War, Thanos attacks, basically killing all of them, save Thor and
the Hulk.
Also, it's really darn fun.
When Ragnarok came out, many felt that it was a great example of the direction that
some of the more absurd and mythological properties in the MCU should be going, and surely, that's
something we'll see play out stylistically in the films to come after Endgame.
movie-marathon-order
4 The Avengers This was the crossover movie that started
them all!
Directed by Joss Whedon, this first Avengers film saw the formation of the group, teaming
up to go against Loki who later proves to be in cahoots with Thanos; a very critical
moment that based on leaked photographs from the set of Endgame will be playing a huge
role in the upcoming film.
These photos, which return to the Battle of New York, have been speculated to be part
of a time travel plot that will have the remaining Avengers traveling back in time with Ant-Man
to alter events and perhaps stop Thanos from getting his big purple mitts on the stones
altogether.
Regardless, The Avengers is an important film for understanding the foundation of how the
team came together, and what their initial dynamics were.
3 Captain America Winter Soldier While the sequel to Captain America Winter
Solider holds more weight when it comes to the lead up to Endgame, this film, the Russo
Brothers first foray into the MCU, really lays down a foundation in terms of Steve Rogers'
character development.
The Winter soldier, Bucky Barnes, has always been a soft spot for Cap - his best friend
brainwashed and turned evil, who just so happened to kill Tony Stark's parents, and then continues
to be an ongoing source of conflict for the two heroes.
Winter solider is crucial for understanding Cap, and there's no doubt that a lot of the
actions he makes in Endgame will have to do with his guilt over losing to Thanos and losing
Bucky.
movie-marathon-order
2 Captain America Civil War The Russo brothers, who have been on press
tour pandemonium recently with the cast of Endgame, admitted in an interview that there's
two very important MCU films you need to watch before Endgame.
The first?
Captain America Civil War.
Convenient that they directed that one two, eh?
Nah, jokes aside, the dynamics that occur in Civil War aren't just important for the
MCU as a whole, but for what will go down between Tony Stark and Steve rogers in Endgame;
a reunion that fans of the MCU have been anticipating for years now.
Or at least since civil War was released.
There's a big ol theory that either Tony or Cap will be dying in Endgame, and that the
conflict between them that arose in Civil War will finally be put to rest.
And that other film the Russo brothers think is essential viewing material before Endgame?
That's our next number, and perhaps the most obvious to appear on this list-
1 Avengers Infinity War Like, duh.
This should go without any explanation.
But, if you're new to the MCU and jumping on the bandwagon now that Endgame is about
to be released, here's the coles notes of what you missed.
Infinity War was the film that all of the other MCU movies were leading up to.
There were a bunch of hints and plot points dropped over the course of almost ten years
that led up to Thanos, the mad titan, collecting all of the infinity stones - known as infinity
gems initially in the comics - all so he could become omnipotent and solve what he deemed
to be an inevitable problem - that the universe was depleting its resources faster than it
could replenish them, therefore half of all life must be removed from existence.
In order to do that, he needed to collect all of the stones, which he popped into the
Infinity Gauntlet which held their power, and then, well, go watch the film and see
what happens.
Think of Endgame as a part two to that storyline; Infinity War ended on a cliffhanger that not
many people anticipated, and it was one hell of a ride.
It's essential viewing to know where everyone stands (or doesn't stand) moving into Endgame.
Alright there we have it friends!
Ready to marathon all of these MCU movies?
How are you all preparing for Endgame?
Give us a shout in those comments below and let us know!
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to top 10 nerd for more MCU content.
In the meantime thanks for watching friends!
I'll catch you all in the next video!