Let me start by telling you that you don’t need to have read the comics to become a part of the wonderful world that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I know this because I, myself, have not touched a single comic book, and yet here I am highly invested in the world of Marvel superheroes.

To showcase my love for the MCU, I’ll give a quick story about how I became involved in this enormous fandom.

The fact of the matter is that I’m an extremely avid movie-watcher. My standards are pretty high, which means I make a point of watching only critically acclaimed films with good themes. So, at first, this die-hard fan of the MCU actually looked down upon it. I thought superhero movies were shallow, meaningless, and only motivated by unrealistic action sequences. In fact, when I watched The Avengers, my personal review was a whopping 6 out of 10. All in all, my relationship with the MCU had a shaky start.

That said, the turning point came when I realized, through curious research on the Internet, that the characters of the MCU were not shallow at all. In fact, they were extremely realistic and perfectly attuned to the modern trends of the day, with subtleties and gestures carried out flawlessly by their Marvel-ous actors. The interactions between the characters were familiar in that they carried all the right combinations of humor, wit, and emotion that one would expect from people today. These weren’t just paper cut-outs slapped onto the screen to act out an artsy, deep role. These characters were human.

And so my expansive venture into the Marvel Cinematic Universe began. I was completely enthralled by the MCU, and I’m here to tell you how you can start your own fascinating journey, too.

The first essential thing to understand about these superhero companies is that the original comics and the subsequent films are very, very different. I’m told by my friends (and the Internet) that the comics have a concept called multiverses, which means there are multiple universes and sometimes even a million different occurrences of the same event. The multiverse isn’t really utilized in the films—which makes sense since they’re on a limited budget, and directors can’t exactly produce different versions of the same movie.

A bit too much information in one go? I agree that these superhero universes can be extremely confusing, but fortunately, the comics are actually more confusing, and today I’m here to tell you about the films.

There are currently 20 Marvel films available to watch (there are a few in the works as of 2018, but that is another matter). There are also approximately 30-40 superheroes; however, it’s important to note that this number is flexible because I squeezed in some major side characters as well. However, I’m going to start by discussing the main characters (the 6 original Avengers) in order of importance (least to greatest), with importance being defined as both their powers and role in developing the MCU as we know it today. (Contains minor spoilers for the first Avengers film!)

The Original Avengers: The Main Players of the Game

This is a high-profile team of 6 people with extraordinary powers who work together to protect the security of the world from threats such as terrorists, aliens, and, eventually, Thanos.

6). Hawkeye a.k.a. Clint Barton

Main Power: Bow & arrows.

Hawkeye is, unfortunately, not as useful as the other characters in combat due to his human self and sole ability to shoot arrows from a bow. Of course, the arrows are technically advanced and have different specialties, such as explosion upon contact, but in the grand scheme of things, a set of bow and arrows barely makes a dent in mass alien invasions. Nonetheless, he’s the unofficial “scout” of the team, taking the high ground in order to examine the layout of the battle and report on it, hence his name of “Hawkeye.”

Hawkeye is perceived as a kind of laid-back character, not afraid to banter with his best friend Natasha Romanov in the midst of battle. He is also the only Avenger to have a family of his own—he has a wife and two kids who live on a farm.

Clint’s role in the MCU is not very significant; although he is one of the 6 original Avengers, he’s known to be a relatively minor character. He does his part for the team by taking out enemies during battle, but the number is too small to really make a difference. Thus, it’s best to think of Clint as the supportive background character who sometimes serves as a source of comedic relief. I, myself, appreciate his sense of humor since it makes me smile and relieves tension in certain scenes.

5). Black Widow a.k.a. Natasha Romanov

Main Power: Incredible espionage and combat skills due to her history as a spy.

Natasha is one of the more cool-headed Avengers on the team. Her dark and complex history as a Russian spy has given her an aura of mystery, which is soon to be solved through the upcoming Black Widow origin movie, set for release in a few years, give or take. She is also the only female Avenger associated with the original group.

Natasha is an influential part of the MCU in that she is usually the voice of reason and cool-headedness amongst the Avengers. Her initial appearance onscreen is that of an enthusiastic, attractive office worker at Stark Industries—and, of course, this isn’t who she really is since that was a façade. Natasha brings a refreshingly independent female hero onto the screen, which contributes greatly to her importance as it shows the world that women can fight their own fights just as well as men.

4). The Hulk a.k.a. Dr. Bruce Banner

Main Power: Brute strength.

Dr. Banner is kind of a paradox. Basically, he has two forms: His real self as Dr. Bruce Banner, and his “monster” self as the Incredible Hulk. His real self is known to be soft-spoken, gentle, kind, and intelligent. Bruce holds a deep hatred for his other self, however, which comes out in the form of a green, 8-10 foot humanoid creature. The Hulk is fueled by anger and provocation, so any kind of strong distress, either physical or emotional, can trigger the Hulk to take over Bruce. Notably, they do not share memories.

The Hulk plays a crucial role in the MCU mainly because he’s seen as the “potential threat” of the team by outside organizations. Due to the unpredictability of Dr. Banner’s transformations into the Hulk, security measures are set up by S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistic Division) in case the green monster is unleashed without control. S.H.I.E.L.D. is like Marvel’s version of the FBI and CIA combined, and in the movies, the organization interacts closely with the Avengers—especially since the Avengers (usually) answer to Nick Fury, who is the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. While I don’t want to give too much of the first Avengers movie away, I will say that these countermeasures against the Hulk can be . . . manipulated, in certain ways, to create even more chaos in S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

3). Captain America a.k.a. Steve Rogers, The Nomad

Main Powers: Super strength and remarkable combat skills (formerly a soldier).

Steve has more of a tragic backstory. He is from the era of World War II, where he was originally an unusually frail soldier. He agreed to partake in an experiment that would grant him super strength due to a serum constructed by Howard Stark (Tony’s father). The experiment succeeded, and it resulted in Steve gaining super soldier strength.

In a mission gone wrong, Captain America crashed his plane into the ocean to prevent a city from being destroyed. He was frozen in the ice for 70 years until he was found again in the time of the Avengers and thawed. By then, of course, the world as he knew it had completely changed.

Captain America is significant to the MCU in that he is considered “The First Avenger,” and he is also the unofficial leader of the Avengers. His calm, steadfast behavior is becoming of both a soldier and a captain, and so the Avengers genuinely respect him.

2). Thor a.k.a. Thor Odinson, Prince of Asgard, God of Thunder

Main Powers: The ability to call forth lightning and wield Mjolnir, a magical hammer forged by Dwarven blacksmiths that is known to be one of the most powerful weapons in the entire universe.

Thor is objectively the most powerful Avenger. He is the God of Thunder and has the power to conjure lightning from the sky at his will. He was also deemed “worthy” enough to wield the magical hammer Mjolnir, which can be thrown at great speeds and distance through the enemy’s ranks. Mjolnir returns to Thor’s hand when called. Thor is from the planet of Asgard, where the kingdom is made up of godly people who have a lifespan of thousands of years, and they also possess great strength; some even practice magic.

Thor is immensely important to the development of the Marvel Universe because a complicated Asgardian fight with his brother Loki (my favorite character!) is brought to Earth at the end of Thor 1, which was released in 2011. Loki’s subsequent actions on Earth prompt S.H.I.E.L.D. into action, and together with Tony Stark, the Avengers are assembled for the first time.

1). Iron Man a.k.a. Tony Stark

Main Powers: The Iron Man suit, genius intellect, and billionaire status.

Tony Stark is undeniably the figurehead of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His Iron Man movie, released in 2008, officially kickstarted the MCU as we know it today. While Tony may not be as powerful as others, he is still responsible for bringing together the Avengers and launching everything in the MCU.

He is indirectly tied with Captain America in that his father, Howard Stark, gave Steve the serum that would make him into a super soldier. Tony is the CEO of Stark Industries, the largest tech-related company in the world, that gives him his billionaire status. He is also the owner of Stark Tower, a large, skyscraper-like building in New York City that serves as both his home, the Avengers’ residence, and the Avengers headquarters. For the latter two reasons, Stark Tower is sometimes referred to as Avengers Tower.

Tony’s parents died in a mysterious car crash when he was young, leaving him an orphan in charge of his family’s fortune. Due to this trauma, and childhood difficulties concerning Tony’s shaky relationship with his father, he’s known to have anxiety and an unhealthy amount of self-blame. He covers up his weaknesses with a bold exterior in which he appears to be nonchalant, in control, and unconcerned.

MCU Movies: Preparing for Infinity Wars

Personally, Tony and Thor are my two favorite Avengers. Of course these are just my preferences, however, and I hope you go on to create your own by watching the movies. I will give a recommended sequence in which to watch them, and the list won’t contain all the movies because some aren’t really necessary in order to have a basic understanding of the storyline. Considering that Infinity War (2018) is seen to be first of a two-part conclusion to the Avengers, my list will have movies that best prepare you for Infinity War:

1). Iron Man (2008)

2). Thor 1 (2011)

3). The Avengers (2012)

4). Thor 2: The Dark World (2013)

*This movie is actually considered to be one of the worst MCU movies, so it’s fine if you just read the Wikipedia summary for it and watch the official clips that are on YouTube.

5). Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

6). The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

7). Captain America: Civil War (2016)

8). Spiderman: Homecoming (2017)

9). Dr. Strange (2016)

*A solo movie for Dr. Strange, and doesn’t include the Avengers; however, since his character is featured greatly in IW, I included this movie on the list.

10). Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

*This movie leads directly into Infinity War, so it is very important that no matter what other movies you may watch (if you’re going to go through them just once) this is last.

11). Infinity War (2018)

And that, my friends, is all you need to become a part of the wonderful world that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I hope you will take my information to heart and watch the movies, and that you find as much enjoyment and delight as I did from the films. Happy watching!