Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or, the Marvel Movies Universe, is an unofficial nomenclature referring to a select group of films produced by Marvel Studios, which all take place within a shared continuity. It is important to note that not all films relating to licensed properties of Marvel Comics take place within this shared universe. A common denominator linking all of the films together is the appearance of the character Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, who is the only character to appear in all of the films up until 2012.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe began in 2008 with the launch of Iron Man starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow. This film yielded a sequel in 2010, Iron Man 2, which is also notable for introducing the character of Natasha Romanoff, aka, the Black Widow. Also in 2008 was Louis Leterrier's Increduble Hulk, which is the second major theatrically released feature film focusing on the character of the Hulk, but bore no connection to the 2003 Hulk movie.

2011 saw the launch of two more movies based on popular Marvel Comics character, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. Thor starred Star Trek actor Chris Hemsworth as the Asgardian Thunder God Thor, while Captain America starred Chris Evans as the star-spangled main character. Evans is also known for playing another Marvel super-hero, Johnny Storm in the 2005 adaptation of the comic series Fantastic Four, as well as it's sequel film, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in 2007. Both films faired moderately well in terms of both box office receipts as well as critical reviews, though many of them have also sighted them as being springboards for 2012's The Avengers. The Avengers brought back Downey, Jr., Hemsworth and Evans in their respective roles as Iron Man, Thor and Captain America. Ed Norton, who played Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk, bowed out early in production of The Avengers and was replaced with Mark Ruffalo. Other return characters featured in The Avengers include super-spy agents Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, as well as Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton (Hawkeye), Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff, Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Stellan Skarsgard as Doctor Erik Selvig and Paul Bettany as the voice of the computer A.I., Jarvis.

Following the widespread success of The Avengers, the franchise continued with sequel solo films including Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World in 2013 and ''Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014.