The release of Avengers: Endgame is upon us and after watching it, there are some films more integral than others. We all don’t have time to watch 21 flicks, here’s the eight you’ll need to get the most out Endgame.
Endgame is seemingly sold out till the end of time, so you’ll have a bit of extra time to watch or rerun these movies. If you haven’t watched any these films, I get that life in prison is hard. Well, touchscreen phones are a thing now, so check out our Endgame review and let’s start this list:
Iron Man (2008)
Avengers: Endgame revolves around our main six that made this franchise in the first place. One of the most important pieces is Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr. The arrogant futurist has a life-changing experience that sparks the creation of Iron Man.
Endgame has many callbacks to the film that started the MCU and watching this will make that movie infinitely more meaningful. Iron Man depicts how he went from being the snarky ***hole to a full-fledged hero.
The Avengers (2012)
The first time all of these heroes get together on screen with director Joss Whedon crafting an unforgettable experience. It is one of the most important battles of their team’s history and establishing the dynamics. The characters have grown considerably since then, but this an important start to their arc as a team.
Avengers: Endgame hasn’t forgotten about the battle featuring Loki’s to dominate Earth with the Space Infinity Stone and neither should have you. These characters have been through a lot together. This an excellent movie that solidified that the MCU is here to stay.
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Ugh, this is possibly the worst Thor film that becomes better thanks to some context in Endgame. It’s not bad. Just meh. Get through this as quickly as possible to get to the others.
Thor has fought an army trying to get an Infinity Stone out of his girlfriend, Jane Foster. The Reality Stone is introduced here, giving audiences a glimpse of its destructive power. Things happen and I’m gonna forget this exists again after this sentence.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
This goes beyond being the first MCU outing for Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo. This amazing film is integral to understanding Captain America’s character and morals. Black Widow also gets fleshed out for the first time, beyond being the “spy lady.”
Hydra has infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D and it’s up to Captain America to save the nation from being wiped out by their own weapons. Nobody can be trusted in this tense spy-thriller fused with top-notch superhero action.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
The original Guardians of the Galaxy is about a ragtag group of criminals coming together to save the galaxy. Nebula plays her biggest role yet in Avengers: Endgame with a story that all started here.
Guardians gives a massive space adventure with a universe that hasn’t been this adored since the O.G Star Wars. Besides being Thanos’ first full debut (not in after-credits), the Power Stone shakes things up with possibly the weirdest final “fight” in history.
Just know that James Gunn created a classic from a project that no-one cared about with a group nobody believed in.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
This is a good film that was dragged down by setting up like 100 future films. There are some important relationships that come back around to mean much more in Endgame.
Although the Mind Stone technically first appeared in The Avengers, this is where it had the spotlight. Creating one of the team’s strongest members in Vision. The Avengers crew had no idea how important he really would be until Infinity War.
Whedon returns after the first Avengers movie to make a sequel about Tony Stark creating a world-ending threat out of the fear of preventing one. The team must battle Ultron while investigating a rising threat that turns out to be the events of Infinity War.
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
This break-up split our heroes apart and plays a major part in Endgame. Cap and Tony still haven’t gotten over this major battle in Marvel history. Civil War casts a big shadow over whether this all or nothing mission in Endgame will succeed due to these rocky relationships.
The second effort from The Russo Brothers sees Bucky on the run after being charged with a U.N. bombing. Cap joins in trying to clear his friend’s name while fighting Tony and new laws that label unregistered heroes as criminals. This is also our first MCU appearance for both Black Panther and Spider-Man.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
The Empire Strikes Back of this generation hit viewers in the feels with a Fastball Special of WTF. This is the first half to the ending of The Infinity Saga. Fans have been preparing like Rocky for the emotional finale this weekend: kicking puppies, giving mad emojis all to Facebook baby pics, and whatever will harden their hearts.
Infinity War sees Thanos finally putting his plans in motion to obtain all the Infinity Stones and wipe out half of the universe. It’s up to the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and anyone in spandex to stop him before it’s too late.
It goes without saying you need watch this before Endgame as it leads directly into it. For those who haven’t had a treat of seeing two amazing films back-to-back this week.
Movies For Peeps With Extra Time
These are a mix of films that add heavy context to characters’ relationships or have a small part in Endgame that will be nice to understand. (Half of these are currently on Netflix)
Mid-Tier Importance: Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Thor Ragnarok, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Doctor Strange, Black Panther
Low-Tier Importance: Captain Marvel, Iron-Man 3, Ant-Man and the Wasp
Anyway, the original eight films listed above are what will be needed to fully understand the 11-year-long journey that is Avengers: Endgame. Go off the descriptions and pick whichever films interest you the most.
Are you looking forward to the Avengers: Endgame? What’s your favorite MCU film? Let us know in the comments below!
