The Avengers: Overview of MCU Phase 1 (2008-12)

With Avengers: Doomsday dropping in December there’s a lot of hype over what will happen not only in this movie but for the Marvel Cinematic Universe overall. Since Endgame there’s been a shift towards the Multiverse Saga, which may or may not have been a hot mess. Given that we’re twenty something years into the MCU, a lot has occurred since “Iron Man” dropped in 2008. So, to prepare for “Avengers: Doomsday” we’re diving into the first three phases of the MCU, going back to the beginning in 2008 all the way up to 2012’s “Avengers”. With Brendon and Bradley from the StoryProof podcast, we dive into the history of the movies of phase 1, see how they hold up in 2026, and if they hit the mark in setting up the Marvel Cinematic Universe or if there’s some constructive criticism needed. First off, we go back to the 1990’s and briefly look at Bruce Timm’s DC Animated Universe and speculate if Kevin Feige didn’t borrow some elements from Timm’s playbook in crafting the shared universe that we will come to know and love. After that, we dive into “Iron Man” from 2008 starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. We go over why Iron Man was the character Marvel Studios decided to lead with, our issue with Marvel killing off its villains, how the movie tapped into the zeitgeist of the 2000;s following the 9/11 attacks, Bradley gushes over Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane, and how RDJ’s portrayal of the billionaire playboy actually makes him a relatable guy. Next, we go into “The Incredible Hulk” from 2008 starring Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, and we have some issues with this movie. Was this the movie that ensured the Hulk would never get another solo outing in the MCU going forward? We speculate on how Norton’s interference may have torpedoed the movie’s development, ask if Mark Ruffalo’s casting would have ameliorated the movie or if it would have been the same, and how General Ross and the other villains will appear sporadically in future ventures. “Iron Man 2” is up next, and we wonder if Iron Man is suffering from the sophomore slump. While RDJ does a commendable job we wonder if Mickey Rourke was necessary in playing Vanko and if the casting was a bit confusing – a tough guy physicist? We also praise Sam Rockwell’s performance, how RDJ and Don Cheadle play off each other like a comedy duo, tip our hat to Scarlett Johansen as Black Widow, and how preserving Stane from the first movie could have played a much better role in this second outing. “Thor” is after this, with Chris Hemsworth as the God of Thunder, and we discuss the otherworldliness of this movie. Thor begins to expand the Marvel Universe from just a local matter into something cosmic, exploring the world Kenneth Branagh creates, how his Shakespearean background helped or hurt the direction of this movie, whether Chris Hemsworth nailed it as Thor, lament the minimal appearance of Clint Barton (aka Hawkeye), and wonder if Anthony Hopkins’ extreme fees were the reason why we only saw him in sleep mode for most of the movie. Next is “Captain America: The First Avenger” and we answer the question as to why this movie was the penultimate one and not the film to kick off the MCU. Chris Evans already had a go as the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four films but see how he does as the Star Spangled Avenger, wonder why the Tesseract has so many properties and abilities when compared to the other Infinity Stones, why this movie truly kicks off the Infinity Saga, and Bradley crushes hard for Natalie Dormer. To cap it off, we look at “The Avengers” from 2012 by Joss Whedon and we see how this movie caps off the first five movies and how they tie together all the loose ends. We see how faithful this was to the comics, see why Tony Stark was pivotal to the success of the Avengers, Nick Fury’s role in bringing together the team and if his continual presence would have held the team up to Civil War and beyond, Loki’s ambitions do seem a bit far fetched, and how Whedon’s take on the Avengers films differ from the Russo Brothers’ films. Finally, we ask, now that the X Men and Fantastic Four are back in the Marvel fold, had they been available in 2008 would phase 1 have played out differently or would phase 1 have played out the same? We will be doing videos for phases 2 and 3, looking at each Avengers film in not only understanding the history of the MCU overall but look at each individual film and examine their merits and foibles as well as he narrative arc that we now know as the "Infinity Saga". If you’re enjoying these videos be sure to leave us a like and subscribe, and let us know which movie from phase one was your favorite! We’d love to hear from you. Music: Fresh Morning : "Planet Rock" Intro created using Seedance Pro Timestamps: Intro: 00:00 Iron Man: 20:11 Incredible Hulk: 1:01 Iron Man 2: 1:32 Thor: 2:01 Captain America: 2:43 Avengers: 3:05