Marvel phases, explained

Numbered phases are Marvel's release slates: Phases 1-3 tell the Infinity Saga, Phases 4-6 the Multiverse Saga. The descriptive phase subtitles used here are editorial summaries. Titles outside those slates - Marvel Television, the Sony and Fox universes - live in the separate legacy catalog. Chronology is a different axis from phase membership, because a title can play in a different year than it shipped: Guardians Vol. 2 released in 2017 but plays in 2014, and Captain Marvel is set in 1995 yet is a Phase 3 film.

tracked official phase titles

67

total viewing time

27d 12h 24m

essentials you cannot skip

53

MCU proper, 74 legacy

93

1. 01Phase 1 - The Avengers Initiative

   2008 to 2012

   Earth's mightiest heroes assemble, one solo debut at a time.

   6 titles6 movies, 0 series and specials6 essential12h 24m total
   2% of all viewing

2. 02Phase 2 - HYDRA & The Infinity Stones

   2013 to 2015

   S.H.I.E.L.D. falls, the Stones multiply, and the universe gets bigger.

   6 titles6 movies, 0 series and specials6 essential12h 37m total
   2% of all viewing

3. 03Phase 3 - Civil War to Endgame

   2016 to 2019

   Heroes fracture, Thanos arrives, and the Infinity Saga ends with the two biggest films in MCU history.

   11 titles11 movies, 0 series and specials11 essential1d 57m total
   4% of all viewing

4. 04Phase 4 - The Blip & The Multiverse

   2021 to 2022

   Grief, legacy, and a multiverse cracking open.

   18 titles7 movies, 11 series and specials11 essential2d 10h 49m total
   9% of all viewing

5. 05Phase 5 - The Multiverse War

   2023 to 2025

   Incursions loom, teams reform, and Doctor Doom waits in the wings.

   16 titles6 movies, 10 series and specials7 essential2d 12h 22m total
   9% of all viewing

6. 06Phase 6 - Doomsday

   2025 to 2027

   Everything builds to Avengers: Doomsday on December 18, 2026, before Secret Wars closes the Multiverse Saga on December 17, 2027.

   10 titles4 movies, 6 series and specials5 essential1d 6h 11m total
   5% of all viewing

7. CatalogLegacy Marvel (pre-MCU)

   1998 to 2026

   Everything outside Marvel Studios' numbered phases: the pre-2008 catalog, Marvel Television, the Netflix Defenders saga, Sony's Spider-Man Universe, and the Fox X-Men universe, gathered for one continuous timeline.

   88 titles40 movies, 48 series and specials0 essential19d 1h 9m total
   69% of all viewing

   Catalog groupings inside

   • 2013-2016Legacy: WWII & The 1940s3 titles13h 45mtop rated: Agent Carter (Season 1) (7.5/10)
   • 2000-2020Legacy: The Fox X-Men Saga12 titles23h 36mtop rated: Deadpool (7.6/10)
   • 1998-1998Legacy: 1990s1 titles2htop rated: Blade (6.8/10)
   • 2002-2014Legacy: 2000s18 titles1d 18htop rated: Spider-Man (7.3/10)
   • 2015-2026Legacy: Alternate Universes6 titles21h 16mtop rated: X-Men '97 (Season 1) (8.7/10)
   • 2013-2020Legacy: Marvel Television (2013 - 2020)18 titles7d 14h 6mtop rated: The Gifted (Season 1) (7.6/10)
   • 2015-2019Legacy: The Netflix Defenders Saga13 titles5d 18h 20mtop rated: Daredevil (Season 1) (8.2/10)
   • 2015-2021Legacy: Companion Shorts & Digital Series8 titles1h 14mtop rated: Team Thor (7.2/10)
   • 2018-2024Legacy: Sony Spider-Man Universe (2018 - 2024)6 titles11h 5mtop rated: Venom (6.8/10)
   • 2017-2017Legacy: Future (2029)1 titles2h 17mtop rated: Logan (7.8/10)
   • 2019-2020Phase 4 - The Blip & The Multiverse (2021 - 2022)2 titles19h 30mtop rated: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season 6) (7.5/10)

Every phase page carries the full title list with runtimes. Watching across all of them at once: the complete watch order and the tracker.