Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One

2008–2012 group of superhero films

Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero movies produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The phase began in 2008, with the release of Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr., followed by The Incredible Hulk (2008), starring Edward Norton. In 2010, Iron Man 2 was released, with Downey Jr. returning as the character. In the movie, Scarlett Johansson makes her first appearance as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow. A year later, in 2011, both Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger were released, starring Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans, respectively. The former also marks the first appearance of Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye.

Phase One
Based onCharacters published
by Marvel Comics
Produced by
StarringSee below
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
2008–2012
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
BudgetTotal (6 movies):
$1 billion
Box officeTotal (6 movies):
$3.813 billion

Downey Jr., Johansson, Hemsworth, Evans, and Renner all returned to star in the 2012 movie The Avengers, while Mark Ruffalo replaced Norton as Bruce Banner / The Hulk. Phase One, along with Phase Two and Phase Three, make up "The Infinity Saga".

Movies

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Movies of Phase One
Movies U.S. release date Director Screenwriter(s) Producer(s)
Iron Man May 2, 2008 (2008-05-02) Jon Favreau[1] Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway[1][2] Avi Arad and Kevin Feige
The Incredible Hulk June 13, 2008 (2008-06-13) Louis Leterrier[3] Zak Penn[4] Avi Arad, Gale Anne Hurd, and Kevin Feige
Iron Man 2 May 7, 2010 (2010-05-07) Jon Favreau[5] Justin Theroux[6] Kevin Feige
Thor May 6, 2011 (2011-05-06) Kenneth Branagh[7] Ashley Edward Miller & Zack Stentz and Don Payne[8]
Captain America: The First Avenger July 22, 2011 (2011-07-22) Joe Johnston[9] Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely[10]
The Avengers May 4, 2012 (2012-05-04) Joss Whedon[11]

Short movies

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Movies U.S. release date Director Screenwriter Producer Home media release
The Consultant September 13, 2011 (2011-09-13) Leythum[12] Eric Pearson[13] Kevin Feige Thor
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer October 25, 2011 (2011-10-25) Captain America: The First Avenger
Item 47 September 25, 2012 (2012-09-25) Louis D'Esposito[13] Marvel's The Avengers

Recurring cast and characters

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Character 2008 2010 2011 2012
Iron Man The Incredible Hulk Iron Man 2 Thor Captain America:
The First Avenger
Marvel's
The Avengers
Bruce Banner
Hulk
Edward Norton[14]
Lou Ferrigno[15]
Mark Ruffalo[16]
Clint Barton
Hawkeye
Jeremy Renner[17] Jeremy Renner[18]
Phil Coulson Clark Gregg[19] Clark Gregg[20] Clark Gregg[18]
Nick Fury Samuel L. Jackson[21] Samuel L. Jackson[21][22] Samuel L. Jackson[22] Samuel L. Jackson[22]
Loki Tom Hiddleston[23] Tom Hiddleston[24]
Virginia "Pepper" Potts Gwyneth Paltrow[19] Gwyneth Paltrow[25] Gwyneth Paltrow[26]
James "Rhodey" Rhodes
War Machine
Terrence Howard[19] Don Cheadle[25]
Steve Rogers
Captain America
Chris Evans[27]
Natasha Romanoff
Black Widow
Scarlett Johansson[28] Scarlett Johansson[28]
Erik Selvig Stellan Skarsgård[29] Stellan Skarsgård[29]
Howard Stark Gerard Sanders[30] John Slattery[31] Dominic Cooper[32]
Tony Stark
Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr.[33] Robert Downey Jr.[34] Robert Downey Jr.[35] Robert Downey Jr.
Thor Chris Hemsworth[36] Chris Hemsworth[18]

Reception

change

Box office

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The Avengers was the first movie of the MCU to reach $1 billion.

Movie U.S. release date Box office gross All-time ranking Budget Ref.
U.S. and Canada Other territories Worldwide U.S. and Canada[37] Worldwide[38]
Iron Man May 2, 2008 $319,034,126 $266,762,121 $585,796,247 89 190 $140 million [39]
The Incredible Hulk June 13, 2008 $134,806,913 $129,964,083 $264,770,996 494 625 $137.5–150 million [40][41]
Iron Man 2 May 7, 2010 $312,433,331 $311,500,000 $623,933,331 95 172 $170–200 million [42][43]
Thor May 6, 2011 $181,030,624 $268,295,994 $449,326,618 280 290 $150 million [44]
Captain America: The First Avenger July 22, 2011 $176,654,505 $193,915,269 $370,569,774 298 394 $140 million [45]
Marvel's The Avengers May 4, 2012 $623,357,910 $897,180,626 $1,520,538,536 12 10 $220 million [46][47]
Total $1,747,317,409 $2,067,618,093 $3,814,935,502 $0.956 – 1 billion

Critical and public response

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Critical and public response of Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One
Movie Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
Overall Top Critics
Iron Man 94% (281 reviews)[48] 90% (70 reviews)[48] 79 (38 reviews)[49]
The Incredible Hulk 67% (238 reviews)[50] 53% (58 reviews)[50] 61 (38 reviews)[51]
Iron Man 2 72% (302 reviews)[52] 61% (71 reviews)[52] 57 (40 reviews)[53]
Thor 77% (291 reviews)[54] 67% (72 reviews)[54] 57 (40 reviews)[55]
Captain America: The First Avenger 79% (273 reviews)[56] 74% (69 reviews)[56] 66 (43 reviews)[57]
Marvel's The Avengers 91% (363 reviews)[58] 85% (78 reviews)[58] 69 (43 reviews)[59]

References

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