What You Need to See Before AVENGERS: ENDGAME

Well, I did this last year for Infinity War, so here we go. Working backwards through the previous movies, with as few spoilers as I can:

CAPTAIN MARVEL
If you don’t know who Captain Marvel is, or what her deal is, you might want to check this one out. But in terms of plot, nothing in it is really followed up in Endgame. All you really need to know is Captain Marvel exists. If you saw and liked Captain Marvel, though, you’ll have a good time at Endgame.
STATUS: Skippable

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP
Seeing that I hadn’t even bothered with seeing this one until watching it a week before Endgame on Netflix, it turned out to be surprisingly critical. A major element of the movie’s plot is set up here, and no it’s not Ant-Man going up Thanos’ butt.
Corollary: For Ant-Man and the Wasp to make the most sense, you’ll need to have seen Avengers: Infinity War, Captain America: Civil War, and Ant-Man.
STATUS: Essential
 
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
Endgame is the second half of Infinity War. You can see it that way, or as the finale of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe to this point. Either way, yeah, seeing this without having seen Infinity War is a waste of a very expensive movie ticket.
Corollary: I broke down what movies were needed to really get Infinity War last year.
STATUS: Essential 

BLACK PANTHER I mean, it’s a good movie that you should see anyway, but if you haven’t seen it yet you aren’t going to be lost watching Endgame other than the Captain Marvel element of “these characters exist.”
STATUS: Skippable 

THOR: RAGNAROK
Thor’s character arc gets a lot of attention in Endgame, and ultimately the events of Ragnarok are crucial to making the most of this film and Infinity War.
Corollary: Ragnarok depends on Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor: The Dark World, The Avengers, and Thor.
STATUS: Essential
 
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING
Do you know who Spider-Man is? Did you see Infinity War or Civil War? If yes, then if you haven’t seen this one yet don’t worry about it. But it’s pretty good.
Corollary: You’ll probably want to have seen Captain America: Civil War before watching this one.
STATUS: Skippable

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2
Like Infinity War, Endgame leans heavily on elements first established in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, though really the only characters you need to pay attention to are Nebula and Gamora, which is rough because this movie is mostly all about Star-Lord. It would help to have seen this one to understand the sisters’ bond more, but if you haven’t gotten around to it yet, don’t sweat it.
Corollary: If you check this one out, you’ll really want to have seen the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
STATUS: Optional 

DOCTOR STRANGE
Any movie that introduces an Infinity Stone is probably a good call to see before Endgame, and if you haven’t seen this movie yet you might be really confused when a certain character shows up. It’s not altogether the most necessary, but if you have the time you should squeeze it in.
STATUS: Optional
 
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
This movie was a major turning point in the arcs of several of the Avengers. It’s not directly tied to Endgame, but so much of this film is completing the arcs of the main Avengers characters and I think if you haven’t seen one a lot of moments in Endgame will fall flat.
Corollary: To get the most out of Civil War, you need to have seen Ant-Man, Age of Ultron, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man.
STATUS: Essential 

ANT-MAN
You don’t need to have seen this movie to see Endgame, but it’s a necessary background to movies that are essential to Endgame, such as it’s sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp, so if you haven’t seen it you should probably give it a go.
STATUS: Optional  

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
I think having seen Age of Ultron makes some of the character beats in Endgame land a bit better, I think a lot of the character work being done here pays off a lot more now that we know where they were going. And Age of Ultron was also pretty crucial to Infinity War. But if you haven’t seen this one yet, you probably won’t be too too lost, other than a few moments here and there.
Corollary: Essential to understanding Age of Ultron are The Winter Soldier and The Avengers.
STATUS: Optional

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Several key concepts and characters to Infinity War and Endgame were introduced here, so it’s pretty critical to following who’s who and what’s what in the new movie. Also, if you’ve already seen this one it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to give it a rewatch to refresh your memory.
STATUS: Essential 
 
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
Not much from this movie is directly related to Endgame, however it’s pretty crucial to later movies that are themselves more crucial to Endgame, and there are a few moments in the movie that may not really land if you haven’t seen it.
Corollary: If you’re seeing Winter Soldier for the first time, then The Avengers and The First Avenger are essential to understanding it.
STATUS: Optional

THOR: THE DARK WORLD
Again, this one introduces an Infinity Stone - and more specific elements end up being surprisingly crucial to Endgame’s plot. It’s not very highly regarded among fans - it’s not a bad movie so much as it’s a bit forgettable - but you’ll want to have seen it before going into Endgame.
Corollary: The Dark World’s plot depends on The Avengers and Thor.
STATUS: Essential

IRON MAN 3
It’s a relatively key part of Tony Stark’s character arc, serving as a bridge between the first two Avengers movies, and it also explains one minor cameo in Endgame, but if you missed it, you haven’t missed much.
STATUS: Optional

THE AVENGERS
If you haven’t seen the first Avengers movie, what are you even doing going to Endgame? This one’s pretty critical.
Corollary: If you haven’t seen The Avengers, somehow, you might want to see The First Avenger, Thor, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man before doing so.
STATUS: Essential
 
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER
Endgame is a lot about paying off the character arcs of the major Avengers characters, and a lot of Steve’s storyline stems more from this movie than his later two “solo” films. Don’t sleep on this one.
STATUS: Essential  

THOR
This one is an essential introduction to concepts elaborated on in later movies that are more Endgame crucial, but this film itself isn’t really all that important to Endgame.
STATUS: Skippable

IRON MAN 2
The story of this one? Not so much. The themes? Absolutely. Again, character arcs are really important to Endgame, and Iron Man 2 really does the heavy lifting on a major element of Tony’s character.
Corollary: You’ll probably want to see Iron Man before seeing Iron Man 2.
STATUS: Optional 

THE INCREDIBLE HULK
This movie may as well have never happened in terms of any of its major narrative threads being picked up.
Corollary: The Incredible Hulk is a pseudo-sequel to the non-MCU movie Hulk.
STATUS: Skippable

IRON MAN
It’s debatable if anything from this movie is really crucial to Endgame, but the new movie really is focused on providing a satisfying finale for the entire canon of Marvel films up til now, and that gives it a very retrospective tone. What better way to prepare for that tone than going back to where it all began?
STATUS: Optional

What You Need to See Before AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

Since everyone’s been asking me, here’s a guide to what you should see before watching Avengers: Infinity War. The simple answer is “everything”, since this is the movie Marvel Studios’ has been building towards for 10 years and it all pays off here, but that’s a LOT of movies, so here’s a guide to what’s Essential, what’s Optional, and what’s Skippable. I’ll be working backwards through the movies, from newest to oldest.  

 

BLACK PANTHER 

This is a fantastic movie that you should really just see anyways, but it’s not really necessary for understanding Infinity War. The main things established in this movie that play into Infinity War are equally established in Captain America: Civil War, a movie that’s also much more vital in the overall saga. If you have seen Black Panther, you’ll see a lot of those characters and settings return and get a big role in Infinity War, but if you haven’t, you can get by so long as you’ve seen Civil War. 

STATUS: Optional  

 

THOR: RAGNAROK  

Infinity War literally starts right where Ragnarok ends, and the third Thor film changes Thor’s status quo so significantly, that if you haven’t seen it you’ll be pretty lost when it comes to what’s going on with the God of Thunder in this one. It helps that Ragnarok is also a pretty rad movie on its own, so it should be a pleasure to catch up with it. 

Corollary: To understand what’s going on in Thor: Ragnarok, you’ll need to have seen Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor: The Dark World, The Avengers, and Thor, so those all become essential to Infinity War by extension. 

STATUS: Essential

 

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 

Spider-Man’s in Infinity War, but there’s nothing you really need to know about him in that flick that you don’t know either from cultural osmosis or by seeing how he was introduced in Civil War. If you have seen Homecoming, there’s some stuff from there that shows up in Infinity War and there’s one character from Homecoming who shows up in a minor supporting role, but if you haven’t seen it you’ll be all right, again so long as you’ve seen Civil War. 

STATUS: Optional

 

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 

The Guardians play a huge part in Infinity War. By the end of this sequel their status quo has been a bit shaken up, particularly with the introduction of a new member who’s quite prominent in Infinity War. The main plotline of the sequel, which centres on Star-Lord, isn’t relevant at all to Infinity War, but the subplot about sisters Gamora and Nebula is essential for understanding where those characters are at in the new movie. 

Corollary: You should probably see the original Guardians of the Galaxy before seeing the second one, if you haven’t already. 

STATUS: Essential

 

DOCTOR STRANGE 

The Sorcerer Supreme and Master of the Mystic Arts is a major player in Infinity War, as is his arcane talisman, the Eye of Agamotto. The Eye plays a big role in the plotline of the new movie, and this introductory Doctor Strange film is a good primer on what it is and what it can do. 

STATUS: Essential

 

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR 

This movie was a major turning point in the arcs of several of the Avengers characters. While its plot doesn’t directly tie into Infinity War, it’s a crucial film for understanding where most of the characters in the film are at and what their emotional stakes are. 

Corollary: To understand Civil War, you need to have seen Ant-Man, Age of Ultron, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man. 

STATUS: Essential

 

ANT-MAN 

You don’t need to have seen this movie to see Infinity War, but you do need to have seen it to see Civil War, and you need to see Civil War before seeing Infinity War. So it’s either totally skippable, or it’s essential, depending on your point of view. 

STATUS: Skippable (but essential to other Essential viewing)

 

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 

Yes, you need to have seen the second Avengers movie to understand what’s up in the third one. Several prominent characters and concepts are introduced in it that are key to Infinity War’s plot. 

Corollary: Essential to understanding Age of Ultron are The Winter Soldier and The Avengers. 

STATUS: Essential  

 

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 

Several key concepts and characters to Infinity War are introduced and explained in this movie. Additionally, it contains the most prior screen time for Infinity War’s villain. 

STATUS: Essential

 

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER 

Not much from this movie’s plot is directly related to Infinity War, however the plotlines, character arcs, and consequences from it do directly inform later movies that are essential to Infinity War. 

Corollary: If you’re seeing Winter Soldier for the first time, then The Avengers and The First Avenger are essential to understanding it. 

STATUS: Skippable (but essential to other Essential viewing) 

 

THOR: THE DARK WORLD 

This entry introduced a key concept to Infinity War, but everything you need to know about it is re-introduced in the new movie, so if you haven’t seen The Dark World it’s not a big deal, though it does form the connective tissue between other essential entries. 

Corollary: The Dark World’s plot depends on The Avengers and Thor. 

STATUS: Optional (but essential to other Essential viewing) 

 

IRON MAN 3 

While nothing from this movie directly connects to Infinity War, or even many other Marvel movies for that matter, it does delve into Tony Stark’s PTSD following the attack in The Avengers, and its this trauma that drives much of Stark’s interaction with Infinity War’s villain. 

STATUS: Optional

 

THE AVENGERS 

The main villain of Infinity War, Thanos, is introduced for the first time here, and the events of this movie are referenced multiple times. The movie introduces many other key concepts to Infinity War. 

Corollary: If you haven’t seen The Avengers, somehow, you might want to see The First Avenger, Thor, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man before doing so. 

STATUS: Essential

 

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER 

This movie was the first to really lay the seeds for the events we see in Infinity War. Many key characters and concepts from this movie are paid off in the latest one. 

STATUS: Essential  

 

THOR 

While a fairly major Infinity War character is introduced in this movie, it’s not directly related to the new movie in terms of plot. That said, it’s pretty essential to other essential movies in Infinity War’s backstory. 

STATUS: Skippable (but essential to other Essential viewing) 

 

IRON MAN 2
Very little from this movie is relevant to Infinity War, but much of it is relevant to movies that are relevant to Infinity War. 

Corollary: You’ll probably want to see Iron Man before seeing Iron Man 2. 

STATUS: Skippable (but essential to other Essential viewing) 

 

THE INCREDIBLE HULK
Do you know who the Hulk is? Great.
Corollary: The Incredible Hulk is kind of a sequel to the non-MCU movie Hulk.

STATUS: Skippable (but essential to other Essential viewing) 

 

IRON MAN
The foundation for all that follows. Not directly related to Infinity War at all, but everything else is ultimately is built atop this movie. 

STATUS: Skippable (but essential to other Essential viewing)