Summary

• The Avengers franchise has been incredibly successful, earning billions in ticket sales and living up to the hype.
• Watching the crossovers between MCU movies is only part of the story, as some of the best Marvel movies directly build into the Avengers movies.
• Avengers: Endgame brought the Infinity Saga to a breathtaking conclusion, setting a high bar for all comic book movies and paving the way for the future of the MCU. But there's more to come...

No matter how many future Marvel movies are released, the Avengers will always be the main event in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Born out of Marvel Studios' brave but Earth-shatteringly successful decision to release movies for supposed B-tier heroes, the Avengers franchise ranks with the true Hollywood box office superpowers. On the back of Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, and countless others, the Avengers movies have made more than $7.5bn in ticket sales, and more billions will come. And most importantly, the movies live up to the hype.

Now that more than a decade has passed since the first iteration of the Avengers assembled, a whole new generation of fans is able to go back and enjoy the first eras of the MCU. Some of the best Marvel Cinematic Universe movies build directly into the Avengers movies, so watching the crossovers is only part of the story, but it is possible to only watch the team-ups (as long as you throw in the unofficial Avengers movie Captain America: Civil War, at least). Here's how to watch the Avengers movies in order, both in release date and chronologically.

Release and in-universe chronological order are the same for Marvel's Avengers movies.

You can watch every Avengers movie on Disney+.

The Avengers (2012)

The First MCU Avengers Movie

Otherwise known as Avengers Assemble in the UK, The Avengers is the first major crossover event in the MCU, uniting the fledgling Marvel superhero under Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury. Faced with an alien invasion led by Tom Hiddleston's Loki, the Asgardian God of Mischief, Fury revives the Avengers Initiative, mobilizing Earth's mightiest heroes. A landmark comic book movie event, Marvel Studios brought together a then-huge cast, a huge budget, and an action set-piece that leveled New York City. And then, of course, came the stinger, The Avengers' post-credits scene setting up Thanos' arrival.

The original Avengers team consists of Iron Man (Tony Stark), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Black Widow (Natasha Romanov), Thor, and Hawkeye (Clint Barton).

Movies That Directly Set Up The Avengers

Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)

The Second MCU Avengers Movie

After Joss Whedon kicked off the Avengers in 2012, he returned to dial things up for Avengers: Age Of Ultron, as Marvel's premiere superhero team came back together once more. Having vanquished the remnants of HYDRA, the Avengers face the huge new threat of Ultron, the accidental AI villain created by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Faced with a global extinction event as the robot seeks to rebuild a world better than humans, as well as new metahumans, the Maximoff twins, the Avengers have Earth's fate in their hands once more in a bigger, bolder, but not quite as successful sequel.

Ultimately, Age Of Ultron is close to being a sequel to Iron Man 3, as Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark continues to wrestle with his PTSD and attempts to deal with his legacy. Marrying humor, heart, and a greater commitment to action set pieces, Age Of Ultron is an underappreciated pleasure.

Movies That Directly Set Up Avengers: Age Of Ultron

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

The Third MCU Avengers Movie