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Your Complete Guide to the Ever-Ballooning Marvel Cinematic Universe

Gods and Inhumans. Galactic battles and street-level scuffles. It's really hard to keep track of everything in the Marvel universe. Here's a guide.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe just keeps expanding. The population of superheroes is now big enough that they choose sides against each other in Captain America: Civil War. With so many characters in so many shows (like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Daredevil) and so many movies (like Guardians of the Galaxy and the upcoming Doctor Strange), you need a field guide to keep everything straight.

So if you're wondering how Daredevil, Blade, and the Inhumans interrelate or desperately need to know the difference between the street-level universe and the cosmic one, we've got you covered. Just don't ask why Marvel's given the world two different Bruce Banners in the space of a decade. That’s complicated.

  • The Cosmic Forces

    In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, everything beyond Earth lies in the cosmic realm, home to Thor (and his Asgardian family), Ronan, Thanos, the Collector, and a galaxy of people trying to snatch the all-important Infinity Stones. Two forces protect this realm: the intergalactic police force Nova Corps and the Guardians of the Galaxy, a super-team led by a talking raccoon's snark and Chris Pratt's smirk. In comic book mythology, many more heroes exist, including Quasar, Moondragon, and Captain Marvel—all of whom might have started as human but gained their superpowers through alien intervention. The comics also feature organizations dedicated to providing a safety net against potential invasion, including S.W.O.R.D. and Alpha Flight, but so far they haven't crossed over to the film universe.

    Image may contain Human Person and Chris Pratt
    Marvel Studios

  • Earth's Superheroes

    Earth is home to a surprising number of super-powered beings ready to fight any threat. From Captain America to Iron Man, Thor, and the Scarlet Witch, no end of heroes stands ready to defend New York or any number of fictional European locations. The bench is significantly deeper in the comic books, with characters like Ms. Marvel, Hyperion, and Squirrel Girl and superhero teams like the X-Men and the Fantastic Four that Marvel Studios (probably) can't use because other studios already have. (But then, Spider-Man crossed over, so who knows?)

    Marvel

  • Earth's Street-Level Heroes

    Alien invasions and killer AI (coughUltroncough) aren't the only risks, and someone must protect people from more mundane but no less pernicious threats. That's the role of antiheroes like Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Luke Cage, the Punisher, and Iron Fist---characters so edgy they must remain confined to Netflix. In comic book lore, a handful of similar champions, including Cloak and Dagger, Moon Knight, and the Daughters of the Dragon, join them in thise epic fight against street-level crime.

    Netflix

  • The Secret Societies

    In the Marvel world, much like the real world, secretive organizations make moves and countermoves that few beyond the Avengers ever know about. In addition to S.H.I.E.L.D.---it means Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, if you were wondering—there's also Hydra, which stands terrorism and evil. Seriously. It's not an acronym. The comic book realm features a laundry list of additional organizations hidden in plain sight: H.A.M.M.E.R., S.T.R.I.K.E., A.I.M., A.R.M.O.R., and H.A.T.E., which means Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort. No, really.

    ABC

  • The Metaphysical, Magical Beings

    In November, Doctor Strange opens the door to a new area within the Marvel Comics Universe: the metaphysical side of superhero life. Audiences aren't entirely unfamiliar with such things (if they missed the Scarlet Witch's debut last year, they might remember Blade), but they don't have the expertise of those who've read the comic books and know all about Brother Voodoo, Man-Thing, Elsa Bloodstone, and N'Kantu the Living Mummy. Just wait until the movies reach that guy.

    Marvel

  • Various Other Mutants, Inhumans, and Superpowered Ones

    In the MCU, even those who aren't engaged in the eternal fight between good and evil may well possess super powers. The Inhumans come to mind (think Skye/Daisy/Quake on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), but the comic book universe also features mutants whose powers manifest at puberty (X-Men), as well as the Eternals and Deviants, two related sub-species an alien race genetically modified to be superior and inferior, respectively, to everyone else. And don't get us started on LMDs, the artificial life forms utterly indistinguishable from humans...

    Nicole Wilder/ABC

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TopicsCaptain America: Civil WarMarvelMoviesThe AvengersUnderwire