Whatever it takes.
That’s the defiant message from Earth’s Mightiest Heroes – or what’s left of them, anyways – as they get ready to mount the greatest counter-attack in history.
Their target? Thanos, a Mad Titan so big and bad that he can wield a fully-armed Infinity Gauntlet and live to tell the tale… but you already knew that. Which brings us to Infinity War – Part 2, or Avengers: Endgame as it’s officially called, after Marvel’s shocking trailer reveal earlier this week sent fans into an absolute frenzy.
Like everyone else, we’re still in the process of collecting our thoughts and coming to grips with Endgame and its colossal, far-reaching story, but given that the film is set to act as the culmination of over a decades’ worth of plot, it’d be wise to brush up on your MCU history before heading into the theater to see it.
But with so many movies in the franchise and not much time left now before Endgame arrives, what’s an eager fan to do? Well, luckily, you don’t have to sit through every effort in the series, as Collider has highlighted the 9 most important movies to watch ahead of next month’s sequel, and you can check them out below.
Iron Man: This is the grandaddy that birthed the MCU. It firmly established Tony Stark as the face of the franchise and set out the tone and rules that the following efforts would abide by. While we don’t imagine that any of the film’s story will be revisited in Endgame, it certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea to freshen up on how the whole saga began.
Captain America: The First Avenger: Not only does it include the Tesseract as a major plot point, but like Iron Man, it provides the origin story for one of the MCU’s leading heroes and introduces us to Steve Rogers for the first time. Given that Cap’s expected to have a very big role in Endgame, it’d be smart to brush up on his backstory.
The Avengers: Again, the Tesseract is pretty central to the story here but this is also the first film where the entire team comes together as one. And if you want to skip out on stuff like Thor and Iron Man 2, this would be a good movie to rewatch before Endgame.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Though its plot probably won’t have much impact on anything we see in next month’s sequel, this one’s still worth re-visiting simply for how much it fleshes out Steve and Natasha
Guardians Of The Galaxy: Aside from welcoming us into the cosmic side of the MCU, the movie also introduces the titular heroes, who are all hugely important players going into Endgame – even if some of them are currently dead.
Avengers: Age of Ultron: It’s divisive, sure, and probably a low point for the franchise, but Hawkeye and Hulk get some meaty roles here that help you understand their motivations and backstories a bit more and the film also introduces Vision and Scarlet Witch.
Captain America: Civil War: Aside from giving us some major new additions to the MCU like Spider-Man and Black Panther, Civil War shows us how the team initially broke apart and sets up the emotional stakes that were present in Infinity War and will no doubt still be there next month as well.
Avenges: Infinity War: Do we really need to explain this one? It’s Part 1 of the story that’s being wrapped up in the upcoming sequel. If you skip it you’ll be lost and even if you’ve already seen it, it can’t hurt to take it in once more before you watch the finale.
Captain Marvel: Given how important a role Carol will play in Avengers: Endgame, you simply can’t miss her origin story/introduction before seeing it.
So, there you have it. No need to do an entire marathon – unless you want to, of course – as the above 9 films should freshen up your memory enough, or give you what you need to know if you’re an MCU newbie, so that you can enjoy Avengers: Endgame to its fullest. And for the three of you out there who don’t have its release date memorized yet, it’ll be with us on April 26th.