Marvel Cinematic Universe Chart Outlines Foreshadowing of Every End Credits Scene

Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home have both come and gone. The Marve Cinematic Universe is headed into uncharted waters in Phase 4. One very diligent fan on Reddit has mapped out how each of Marvel’s post-credits scenes has moved the story forward. The effects are sprawling, and it looks like the type of corkboard that you would use to catch a serial killer.

In case the chart below is too hard to keep track of, here’s a quick rundown of how all these films flow into each other. Everything, of course, begins with Iron Man, where that ending with Nick Fury still plays really well in a world where cinematic universes aren’t commonplace yet. Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger all lead into the Avengers. Curiously, Iron Man 2 points towards Thor.

After that initial team-up, Thor’s second outing leads to Guardians of the Galaxy. Captain America’s second turn gives way to Avengers: Age of Ultron. Then things start to branch out in all sorts of wild ways. Guardians of the Galaxy hints at a sequel, which the franchise gleefully carries forward in Volume Two.

Ant-Man ushers in the move towards fracturing the team in Captain America: Civil War and it’s own sequel. Captain America’s third film plays like a main-line Avengers follow up. It hints at Spider-Man’s first adventures in the MCU and Black Panther’s mammoth debut. Marvel has created a pipeline for these movies where missing even one could possibly leave you a little confused about who certain characters are and how they fit into the story.

Then the Endgame comes into focus, Doctor Strange leads to Thor Ragnarok, which places the Asgardian in Thanos’ crosshairs. Infinity War gets dropped on the world and points to Captain Marvel coming to save the day. She punches up a storm and introduces herself to the rest of the team. Scott Lang also moves into position to help save the world in Ant-Man & The Wasp.

Hilariously, Iron Man 3 is off on it’s own island for the moment, and plays a little bit like a message in a bottle for the character. The Howard the Duck shout-out is a pretty good gag as well, because fans can dream. (Howard does show up to help scrap with Thanos’ army in Endgame for what its worth.) Spider-Man: Far From Home didn’t have any post-credits scene to set up what viewers will see next in the MCU. It did contain some shocking developments for the character that may now be in jeopardy.

Needless to say, the poster will have some more work to do in a year’s time when Black Widow hits theaters.

Upcoming Marvel Studios projects include Black Widow on May 1, 2020, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in Fall of 2020, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, WandaVision in Spring 2021, Loki in Spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, What If…? in Summer 2021, Hawkeye in Fall 2021, Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021, and Black Panther 2 on May 6, 202