Legacy: WWII & The 1940s

The WWII era of the MCU is anchored by Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), which establishes the franchise's moral foundation before it existed as a franchise. Set during World War II, it introduces Steve Rogers, the Tesseract (the Space Stone), the Red Skull, and HYDRA — elements that would remain structurally important to the MCU for the next decade. It also plants the Peggy Carter relationship that would inform Rogers' character across seven subsequent films.

The Agent Carter television series (2015–2016) expands this era significantly, following Peggy Carter's career in the post-war intelligence community and providing essential context for SHIELD's founding. While not required for following the main MCU narrative, it adds depth to the institutional history that Captain America: The Winter Soldier later dismantles. For marathon viewers, the WWII era is brief but foundational: it establishes the ethical stakes — and ethical failures — against which every subsequent Avenger is measured.