Marvel Cinematic Universe - Timeline

[DIrishB]

I still want to know when the GOTG Vol. 2 post-credits scene takes place in relation to Ragnarok's and the beginning of IW.

Presumably right before the Thor - Ragnarok post credits scene.

GotG Vol 2 occurs in 2014 (except for that one teen Groot scene). The teen Groot scene picks up several years after main portion of GotG Vol 2, likely right before events of Infinity War/Ragnarok. Ragnarok occurs in 2017 or 2018 (depending on when IW is set), with events of that film occurring, then the Ragnarok credit scene where they encounter Thanos' ship, then presumably the Guardians running into Thor in space from IW.

 

[Dallas Kinard]

Presumably right before the Thor - Ragnarok post credits scene.

GotG Vol 2 occurs in 2014 (except for that one teen Groot scene). The teen Groot scene picks up several years after main portion of GotG Vol 2, likely right before events of Infinity War/Ragnarok. Ragnarok occurs in 2017 or 2018 (depending on when IW is set), with events of that film occurring, then the Ragnarok credit scene where they encounter Thanos' ship, then presumably the Guardians running into Thor in space from IW.

Thanks for the help man!

 

[Lebnyx]

I've got another suggestion based on the time zones:



According to the map from Civil War, Wakanda is between Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

This means it is around 11 hours ahead of California.



As shown in Black Panther Prelude 1, the "I am Iron Man" press conference took place a few hours before the beginning of the comic. Said press conference took place in broad daylight (in California local time).

Due to the time difference between California and Wakanda, plus the few hours since the press conference, there's a gap of at least 13 hours (based on the local time of both), meaning Black Panther Prelude 1 likely starts the following morning.

When T'Challa in in Congo, the sky appears an orange tint (meaning it could be early morning), while when he arrives at Wakanda, the sky is blue (meaning daytime), which I believe backs me up.



So I'm thinking:

2008:

May 25:
-Daytime (California): "I am Iron Man"

May 26:
-Early morning (Congo): Events in Congo.
-Morning (Wakanda): T'Challa returns to Wakanda.

Does this make sense?

 

[DIrishB]

I've got another suggestion based on the time zones:



According to the map from Civil War, Wakanda is between Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

This means it is around 11 hours ahead of California.



As shown in Black Panther Prelude 1, the "I am Iron Man" press conference took place a few hours before the beginning of the comic. Said press conference took place in broad daylight (in California local time).

Due to the time difference between California and Wakanda, plus the few hours since the press conference, there's a gap of at least 13 hours (based on the local time of both), meaning Black Panther Prelude 1 likely starts the following morning.

When T'Challa in in Congo, the sky appears an orange tint (meaning it could be early morning), while when he arrives at Wakanda, the sky is blue (meaning daytime), which I believe backs me up.



So I'm thinking:

2008:

May 25:
-Daytime (California): "I am Iron Man"

May 26:
-Early morning (Congo): Events in Congo.
-Morning (Wakanda): T'Challa returns to Wakanda.

Does this make sense?

Perfectly. I'll re-read the comic and make necessary adjustments for correct page numbers to correlate with separate dates. Nice catch!

 

[DIrishB]

I've got another suggestion based on the time zones:



According to the map from Civil War, Wakanda is between Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

This means it is around 11 hours ahead of California.



As shown in Black Panther Prelude 1, the "I am Iron Man" press conference took place a few hours before the beginning of the comic. Said press conference took place in broad daylight (in California local time).

Due to the time difference between California and Wakanda, plus the few hours since the press conference, there's a gap of at least 13 hours (based on the local time of both), meaning Black Panther Prelude 1 likely starts the following morning.

When T'Challa in in Congo, the sky appears an orange tint (meaning it could be early morning), while when he arrives at Wakanda, the sky is blue (meaning daytime), which I believe backs me up.



So I'm thinking:

2008:

May 25:
-Daytime (California): "I am Iron Man"

May 26:
-Early morning (Congo): Events in Congo.
-Morning (Wakanda): T'Challa returns to Wakanda.

Does this make sense?

Ok, updated for second issue and to adjust for these suggestions, as so:

May 26
Black Panther - Prelude #1, "The Panther and the People, Part 1" (pg. 1-13)
Iron Man 2 - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1: "Who Made Who"
Iron Man Chapter 15: "Underpowered" (2:05:03 - 2:05:38 )
Iron Man - I Am Iron Man! #2 (pg. 30-32)

May 27
Black Panther - Prelude #1, "The Panther and the People, Part 1" (pg. 14-20)
Black Panther - Prelude #2, "The Panther and the People, Part 2"

On page 13 of issue #1, Black Panther and Okoye leave Wakanda to head to Paraguay, and its noticeably darkening with sun setting, indicating evening in Wakanda, so it'd be early morning in California of May 26 for first 13 pages. They arrive in Paraguay "a few hours later" (obviously Wakandan tech is capable of much faster air speed than commercial jets), with it already dark. Accounting for time change, that'd put it likely just before the sun rises, say 5-6am local time. The second issue continues on immediately after the first, and shows the sun has risen in that short period of time (while Panther and Okoye free the hostages and pursue the culprits outside).

That said, now I'm unsure if it should all remain on May 26 to account for time change, since there has to be a sort of anchor point for the timeline in terms of time zone changes or else it may not make sense.

 

[Lebnyx]

Ok, updated for second issue and to adjust for these suggestions, as so:

May 26
Black Panther - Prelude #1, "The Panther and the People, Part 1" (pg. 1-13)
Iron Man 2 - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1: "Who Made Who"
Iron Man Chapter 15: "Underpowered" (2:05:03 - 2:05:38 )
Iron Man - I Am Iron Man! #2 (pg. 30-32)

May 27
Black Panther - Prelude #1, "The Panther and the People, Part 1" (pg. 14-20)
Black Panther - Prelude #2, "The Panther and the People, Part 2"

On page 13 of issue #1, Black Panther and Okoye leave Wakanda to head to Paraguay, and its noticeably darkening with sun setting, indicating evening in Wakanda, so it'd be early morning in California of May 26 for first 13 pages. They arrive in Paraguay "a few hours later" (obviously Wakandan tech is capable of much faster air speed than commercial jets), with it already dark. Accounting for time change, that'd put it likely just before the sun rises, say 5-6am local time. The second issue continues on immediately after the first, and shows the sun has risen in that short period of time (while Panther and Okoye free the hostages and pursue the culprits outside).

That said, now I'm unsure if it should all remain on May 26 to account for time change, since there has to be a sort of anchor point for the timeline in terms of time zone changes or else it may not make sense.

Your placements make sense to me.

If you make any anchor points for time zone changes in the timeline as a whole, I would recommend doing so based on where the majority of any given movie/TV episode/tie-in comic takes place.

So for example, if a movie mainly takes place in the United States but has a few scenes set in Asia, where it would be the next day based on the time zones, I would recommend sticking with the time zones for the US so it makes sense chronologically.

 

[Dallas Kinard]

If I had to guess where Punisher fits, I'd say right after Defenders in 2016. Tonight I'll be watching the first ep and will let you guys know of anything I notice.

 

[Craig]

In the middle of episode 1. I think it's before Defenders. Maybe like summer 2016.

Punisher goes on a little adventure after DD season 2, coulda taken anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Once he's done with that it's "six months later".

 

[DIrishB]

In the middle of episode 1. I think it's before Defenders. Maybe like summer 2016.

Punisher goes on a little adventure after DD season 2, coulda taken anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Once he's done with that it's "six months later".

Yeah, I'm guessing summer or early Fall, as it seems still warm outside and trees are all green and full in first episode. That'd mean Frank spent anywhere from one to three months (thereabouts) hunting down the criminals connected to the murder of his family. Presumably, anyway.

 

[DIrishB]

In Punisher 1x03 "Kandahar", in the flashback to Micro faking his death a year before, his son mentions a haunted house and Micro walks through a Halloween/fall festival that they're going to, implying it occurs in October sometime before Halloween. That would align with Daredevil Season 2 ending in December, 2015, with Frank spending around 3-4 months (January to March/April) hunting down those connected to death of his family (shown in opening of the first episode), with the majority of show picking up six months later, in October, 2016 (presumably a month before events of Defenders, though if there is a mention in the show later on relating to events of that show already having occurred, its possible to move Punisher up a bit to occur just after Defenders, in mid or late November, if necessary).

 

[SexySnorlax]

(presumably a month before events of Defenders, though if there is a mention in the show later on relating to events of that show already having occurred, its possible to move Punisher up a bit to occur just after Defenders, in mid or late November, if necessary).

There are no references to the Defenders.

 

[selfishmisery]

2 minutes and 55 seconds into the first episode, this is VERY easy to miss, but from what I can make out on the passport ticket it says "April 16 2017".

I think there's also a way to unblur screenshot'd text.

 

[dsethlewis]

I've got another suggestion based on the time zones:



According to the map from Civil War, Wakanda is between Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

This means it is around 11 hours ahead of California.



As shown in Black Panther Prelude 1, the "I am Iron Man" press conference took place a few hours before the beginning of the comic. Said press conference took place in broad daylight (in California local time).

Due to the time difference between California and Wakanda, plus the few hours since the press conference, there's a gap of at least 13 hours (based on the local time of both), meaning Black Panther Prelude 1 likely starts the following morning.

When T'Challa in in Congo, the sky appears an orange tint (meaning it could be early morning), while when he arrives at Wakanda, the sky is blue (meaning daytime), which I believe backs me up.



So I'm thinking:

2008:

May 25:
-Daytime (California): "I am Iron Man"

May 26:
-Early morning (Congo): Events in Congo.
-Morning (Wakanda): T'Challa returns to Wakanda.

Does this make sense?

I don't get how a shootout in North-Kivu, DR Congo can approach the Wakandan border, when according to this, Wakanda does not border DR Congo.

I think Wakanda more likely borders Uganda to the south. Doesn't mean that map is wrong, just that it might have South as up and North as down. I have no clue how African borders are drawn in the MCU, but it's reasonable to conclude that Wakanda controls territory that, in our universe/Earth-1218, is controlled by DR Congo, and maybe Uganda. Maybe Rwanda, too. Who knows.

The upshot for timeline purposes is that that puts it most likely in the CAT (UTC+2) time zone. That's 10 hours ahead of PST (UTC-8 ) in winter and 9 hours ahead of PDT (UTC-7) in summer. I'm not sure that actually affects the timeline since all the times are pretty fuzzy anyways, but I can't quite wrap my head around this without mapping it out in a spreadsheet. Maybe one of you can tell.

Anyways, it might be helpful later on once the movie comes out to know it takes place in CAT (UTC+2).

 

[Craig]

In Punisher 1x03 "Kandahar", in the flashback to Micro faking his death a year before, his son mentions a haunted house and Micro walks through a Halloween/fall festival that they're going to, implying it occurs in October sometime before Halloween. That would align with Daredevil Season 2 ending in December, 2015, with Frank spending around 3-4 months (January to March/April) hunting down those connected to death of his family (shown in opening of the first episode), with the majority of show picking up six months later, in October, 2016 (presumably a month before events of Defenders, though if there is a mention in the show later on relating to events of that show already having occurred, its possible to move Punisher up a bit to occur just after Defenders, in mid or late November, if necessary).

Also, a character mentioned that it was 40 degrees outside, and another is later bow hunting. Definitely Fall.

Also, when Micro wishes Frank a happy birthday, he tells him it's the 15th. I see the MCU wiki lists his birthday as November 15, but I don't know their source. That would be too close to Defenders anyways, so I'm leaning towards October right now.

 

[DIrishB]

2 minutes and 55 seconds into the first episode, this is VERY easy to miss, but from what I can make out on the passport ticket it says "April 16 2017".

I think there's also a way to unblur screenshot'd text.

If you're able to sharpen it so we can confirm please let me know, as I was looking for date on the ticket but couldn't see any on it date-wise. Mid-April would line up with events of show picking up a little over 6 months later in early to mid November.

Also, a character mentioned that it was 40 degrees outside, and another is later bow hunting. Definitely Fall.

Also, when Micro wishes Frank a happy birthday, he tells him it's the 15th. I see the MCU wiki lists his birthday as November 15, but I don't know their source. That would be too close to Defenders anyways, so I'm leaning towards October right now.

I'm not sure where they got that date from either (really hope they're not just assuming its November based on the fact the show comes out in November, as they've done with other timeline placements). That said, the November 15 date does work, as it lines up with Halloween occurring a little over a year prior, when Micro faked his death and went into hiding. If the November 15 date is accurate, that means the first 3 episodes of Punisher occur at same time as the entirety of The Defenders (which complicates my job, means I have to rewatch Defenders to find best time code ordering approach to account for time of day in each episode and how they relate to each other...crap).

Also, I'm wondering when exactly Frank and Russo were in Kandahar (Frank mentions in a flashback in 1x03 that they'd been there for a year, meaning around a year passes between first Kandahar flashback and that scene). Frank does mention how his wife bought him Springsteen tickets at Meadowlands for his birthday (this occurs 29 days before he returns home, the next day after which his family is killed). In real world Springsteen played there in August, 2016, though that doesn't really jive with timeline of the shows since we know his return occurred before events of Daredevil Season 2 which occurred in latter portion of 2015. This is another occurrence where we'll have to assume difference between real world dates and the MCU's dates.

EDIT: Ugh, looking at the MCU wikia timeline again and not sure where they're getting all their specific dates from, especially since many directly clash with dates given onscreen. I honestly think they just use the release date approach for almost everything. Nothing lines up with the dates actually shown in the films or TV shows themselves.

 

[Lebnyx]

Also, I'm wondering when exactly Frank and Russo were in Kandahar (Frank mentions in a flashback in 1x03 that they'd been there for a year, meaning around a year passes between first Kandahar flashback and that scene). Frank does mention how his wife bought him Springsteen tickets at Meadowlands for his birthday (this occurs 29 days before he returns home, the next day after which his family is killed). In real world Springsteen played there in August, 2016, though that doesn't really jive with timeline of the shows since we know his return occurred before events of Daredevil Season 2 which occurred in latter portion of 2015. This is another occurrence where we'll have to assume difference between real world dates and the MCU's dates.

Apparently, in Daredevil 2x05, Ellison says the article on Castle's family being killed was published on April 14, and it had taken him a week to get it published. So, maybe that helps narrow it down.

 

[DIrishB]

Apparently, in Daredevil 2x05, Ellison says the article on Castle's family being killed was published on April 14, and it had taken him a week to get it published. So, maybe that helps narrow it down.

Hmmmm... that does help, though it conflicts with the November 15 date as Frank's birthday (which again the wikia doesn't seem to cite a source for, we know it's the 15th based on Micro's dialogue, but not the specific month). Further, if he got a birthday card and Springsteen tickets 29 days before he returned home (as 1x03 specifies in one of the Kandahar flashbacks), and Frank's family was killed the day after he returned home as specified on wikia, that'd place his birthday on March 15 (which is exactly 29 days before April 14, so that works, except it took a week to get published so that doesn't work).

Not sure on this one...

 

[TalonCard]

If you're able to sharpen it so we can confirm please let me know, as I was looking for date on the ticket but couldn't see any on it date-wise. Mid-April would line up with events of show picking up a little over 6 months later in early to mid November.

It looks like April 2017 to me as well (the date is to the right of the 2:45 boarding time on the ticket), but it's definitely out of focus for a reason; either to pull the viewer's attention to the name and departure time (which is completely clear and legible) and/or to deliberately obscure the date on the prop. *shrugs*

I noticed that the newspaper editor was carrying around the "Chaos Under the Streets" newspaper, and I thought it was a Defenders reference cause I recognized the cover, but it seems it's actually from Daredevil season 2. They've really got to get another set of newspaper props printed.

TC

 

[TalonCard]

November is confirmed in Episode 4; Frank's friend who runs the veteran's support group goes to help out one of the members who has moved into a foxhole in the backyard "in November".

TC

 

[DIrishB]

November is confirmed in Episode 4; Frank's friend who runs the veteran's support group goes to help out one of the members who has moved into a foxhole in the backyard "in November".

TC

Awesome, thanks for confirmation (I stopped after a Episode 3 before bed, lol). The Wikia was on point there then.