Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline

Just a rundown on the events that have shaped the "universe" so to speak...

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965 A.D.:
- Jotunhiem and Asgard forces do battle in Tonsburg, Norway. The Asgardians take the Frost Giants' "Casket of Ancient Winters." Odin saves Laufey's son, Loki, and adopts him as his own.

1940s
- Howard Stark invents "repulsor" technology but does not have a proper power source.
- Nazi Germany invades Norway. Hydra agents recover the Tesseract in Tonsberg.
- Arnim Zola and the Red Skull use the Tesseract to power their hi-tech weapons.
- Super-soldier serum works but Dr.Erskine is killed making Steve Rogers the only successful subject. Operation Rebirth is abandoned and all samples of the serum are put in stasis.
- Captain America lost somewhere in the arctic and Red Skull "disappears." The damaged Tesseract is recovered by Howard Stark from the ocean floor.

1970s
- Howard Stark holds the Stark Expo '74. Films a message to his son.
- Howard Stark and Anton Vanko invent the arc-reactor.
- Some time later the Strategic Scientific Reserve becomes Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, Logistics Division.

About "5 years ago"
- Bruce Banner works on "biotech force enhancement" unaware his work is intended for the military.
- Banner becomes Hulk. Eventually winds up in Brazil while being pursued by General Ross. Both parties are observed by SHIELD.

Present Day ("6 months ago"):
- Tony Stark becomes Iron Man. He goes public after the Iron Monger incident.
- Anton Vanko dies, passing on his prototype arc-reactor blueprints to his son, Ivan Vanko.
- Nick Fury, director of SHIELD personally meets Tony Stark.
- Emil Blonsky undergoes "Weapon Plus" unaware that the process is incomplete without the "vita-ray" treatment.

Present Day (summer of 2010 and on).
- SHIELD recovers Captain America.
- Nick Fury reveals Stark's secretary was Agent Romanov a.k.a. The Black Widow.
- Iron Man Mk.2 is stolen and weaponized. James Rhodes becomes War Machine.
- Loki manipulates events in Asgard to have Thor banished to Earth. He discovers his true parentage.
- Agent Coulson and Agent Barton (a.k.a. Hawkeye) dispatched to New Mexico (Coulson discovers Mjolnir).
- Coulson has a "funny thing" happen to him on the way to New Mexico.
- Ivan Vanko becomes Whiplash during Stark Expo 2010.
- Hulk appears at Culver university campus. Stark Industries weapons are ineffective against Hulk.
- Fury hires Stark as a consultant.
- Blonsky becomes Abomination (Hulk escapes but is blamed for "The Brooklyn Incident"). Banner goes into hiding again and begins learning to control Hulk.
- A few weeks later, Nick Fury presents World Security Council with Avengers Initiative but they request Blonsky to join.
- Coulson sends SHIELD's new consultant to embarrass General Ross into keeping Blonsky out of the Avengers team.
- Coulson makes contact with Thor. Thor returns to Asgard and saves Jotenheim by destroying the Rainbow Bridge between realms. Loki disappears.
- Fury recruits Dr Selvig to work on the Tesseract. Loki revealed to be on Earth.
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Now we are ready for the The Avengers...