Catch Up Before Infinity War: 8 Must-See Marvel Films

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which began with 2008's Iron Man and will, presumably, end sometime around the heat death of the universe, is a massive beast. To fully catch up with the 10-year-old franchise, you'd need to watch 17 movies and 17 seasons of TV. If you sat down and went through all of it start to finish, without breaks, it'd take you about a full workweek, and no one's got time for that.

If you want to get caught up before Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, here's what you should watch — and what you can skip. Just be sure to stick around after the credits for each film.

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This slide show is about one thing and one thing only: following the most important parts of the MCU storyline while watching the fewest films possible. It doesn't take into account the quality of a film, the number of fan-favorite characters who show up in it or the footprint the movie's left on pop culture. Furthermore, while this may dismay some TV aficionados, you can skip every MCU show: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders, The Punisher, Inhumans and Runaways. Some of them are really good; most are at least watchable, but none of them has much bearing on the overall story.

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Iron Man kicked off the grand MCU experiment — but even if it hadn't done that, it'd still be worth watching due to its excellent cast, gripping action sequences and satisfying narrative. Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark, a wealthy industrialist who realizes firsthand the cost of selling high-tech weaponry. To make amends, he becomes the armored superhero Iron Man. Pay attention to Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Clark Gregg), and stay tuned after the credits for a cameo from Sam Jackson as spymaster Nick Fury. Otherwise, the film is pretty stand-alone, but if you're going to get invested in a story, you may as well start at the beginning.

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Opinions vary on whether this World War II action flick is a dramatic period piece or yet another tedious origin story. Either way, Captain America: The First Avenger introduced audiences to Captain America (Chris Evans), a scrawny civilian turned supersoldier, who faces off against the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), a Nazi demagogue. Love it or hate it, The First Avenger sets up Hydra — a group of recurring villains from the Marvel Universe — as well as one of the superheroes who does the most to move the MCU's story forward. Plus, Tommy Lee Jones plays a supporting character, and who doesn't love Tommy Lee Jones?

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Marvel's first big team-up movie, The Avengers has probably done more to shape the direction of summer blockbuster films than any movie since Terminator 2. Iron Man and Captain America join forces with a motley crew of superheroes: Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). The six of them take on Thor's evil brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who leads a hostile alien race to attack New York. The story isn't very complicated, but it sets the tone for future team-ups — and it introduces a major Marvel villain just after the credits start rolling.

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While they're pretty decent movies, you don't need to watch The Incredible Hulk or Thor. All you need to know about the former is that he's a brilliant scientist who turns into a big green monster when angered; all you need to know about the latter is that he's a Norse god with a magic hammer and a vengeful brother. Iron Man 2 doesn't move the overall story forward that much, and it's a downright tedious film, on top of everything else. Tony's best friend, Jim Rhodes (Don Cheadle), gets a suit of armor and becomes War Machine. Now, you're caught up.

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The first big shake-up in the MCU occurs in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. By itself, The Winter Soldier is a tight, fast-paced spy thriller with a big cast of interesting characters. As part of the larger Marvel story arc, it pulls the rug out from under the audience's feet and sets up a cataclysm that affected a whole host of related movies and TV shows. Captain America, Black Widow and Nick Fury square off against a mysterious assassin known as the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) — and his identity isn't even the film's biggest revelation.

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To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure whether Guardians of the Galaxy is required viewing. At present, the MCU's cosmic and Earthbound story lines have crossed over infrequently, and in relatively minor ways. However, with everything coming to a head in Avengers: Infinity War, it's probably good to know what's been happening in outer space. Supervillain Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) wants a reality-altering Infinity Stone. Standing in his way are the Guardians of the Galaxy: Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel) and Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista). Come for the cosmic warfare; stay for the laughs.

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