Agents Of SHIELD Timeline & MCU Watch Order: How It Fits With The Movies

Agents of SHIELD was designed to coincide with the MCU, so here’s how to fit the show’s timeline in with the many Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Agents of SHIELD lasted for seven seasons, concluding in 2020 and, at first, it featured explicit tie-in episodes to Marvel Studios’ early blockbusters, and even entire arcs that revolved around upcoming MCU releases. However, the connections only went one way, causing the canonicity of the show to be disputed.

The MCU’s official timeline order on Disney+ doesn’t quite match up with Agents of SHIELD‘s timeline. As a result, new viewers may be interested in figuring out how to watch the show in conjunction with other franchise projects. At first, this was easy to discern given the explicit connections between the show and MCU movies like The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. That said, the relationship between Marvel Television and Marvel Studios soured after Marvel split in 2015.

This impacted Agents of SHIELD, which became increasingly distinct as its own show in its own universe, rather than a wider part of the MCU. Avengers: Infinity War solidified this, with Agents of SHIELD blazing its own trail from then on, largely because nobody at Marvel Television knew how things were going to be resolved. Given that’s the case and the confusion over the show’s canon status, here’s the full Agents of SHIELD timeline in relation to the mainstream MCU.

Agents Of SHIELD Season 1 Begins After Iron Man 3

Agents of SHIELD season 1 begins after the events of both The Avengers and Iron Man 3. This is in spite of the fact that it stars Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, the SHIELD agent murdered by Loki during The Avengers; His mysterious resurrection would be explored over the first three seasons. The initial arc spun out of the Extremis experiments that were uncovered in Iron Man 3, meaning it’s possible to place these events quite precisely in the MCU timeline.

Thor: The Dark World & Agents Of SHIELD Season 1, Episodes 8-16

The MCU’s Disney+ timeline diverges from Agents of SHIELD because the show assumes Thor: The Dark World takes place after Iron Man 3, making that clear in episode 8, which is explicitly set in the aftermath of Thor’s battle against the Dark Elves in London. The story then continues with Coulson and his SHIELD team exploring a strange conspiracy, building to season 1’s most important crossover arc, with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Agents of SHIELD season 1, episode 16 serves as a direct setup to Captain America: The Winter Soldier‘s Hydra twist.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier & The Rest Of Agents Of SHIELD Season 1

It’s best to watch Captain America: The Winter Soldier before continuing on with the rest of Agents of SHIELD season 1, although episodes 17 and 18 are concurrent with Steve Rogers’ battle at the Triskelion. Appropriately enough, episode 17 is called “Turn, Turn, Turn,” and the MCU’s Hydra twist is essentially the moment when the show pivots away from its original concept, claiming a whole new identity. The end of Agents of SHIELD season 1 really defines its place in the MCU’s ongoing narrative, thanks to the ties to a universe-altering event like the HYDRA reveal.

Agents Of SHIELD Season 2 Builds To Avengers: Age Of Ultron

There are fewer tie-ins through Agents of SHIELD season 2, largely because the MCU shifted focus to Guardians of the Galaxy. Still, season 2 arguably has a thematic connection to that film in its increasing focus on the terrestrial legacy of the Kree. This season reveals Chloe Bennet’s Quake as an Inhuman, and as the show continued, she would become a co-star. There is, however, one nuanced subplot running through Agents of SHIELD season 2 that builds to a head in episode 19, directly setting up Avengers: Age of Ultron. It’s best to watch that film after season 2, episode 19, before concluding the season.

Agents Of SHIELD Season 2 Follows On From Ant-Man & Ties In With Captain America: Civil War

Ant-Man takes place between Agents of SHIELD seasons 2 and 3, clearly confirmed by a throwaway reference to Ant-Man‘s Pym Particles in season 3, episode 1. By this point, Agents of SHIELD became increasingly dedicated to telling its own story rather than tying to wider MCU plots. This was evident in season 3’s narrative, which built upon the Inhuman lore established in season 2.

Nonetheless, the show still addresses the passing of the Sokovia Accords from Captain America: Civil War. Naturally, this had a massive impact on the show because empowered superheroes are forced to register. With all of this in mind, it is best to watch Agents of SHIELD season 3, episodes 1-19, and then check out Captain America: Civil War before returning to finish season 3.

Agents Of SHIELD Season 4 Takes A Different Approach To MCU Tie-Ins

The relationship between Marvel Studios and Marvel Television had become more strained by Agents of SHIELD season 4, and as a result, this season didn’t feature explicit connections to the former studio. Instead, it focused on a thematic nod by embracing the introduction of the supernatural to the MCU in Doctor Strange. In Agents of SHIELD season 4, the show focused on Gabriel Luna’s Ghost Rider, who swiftly became a fan-favorite.

Agents of SHIELD season 4 took on a different narrative approach as well, with the story divided into three “pods,” each with its own central theme. It was a tremendous success, obscuring the fact that the whole season only takes place over the course of a few weeks in-universe. As alluded to, though, season 4 is when it becomes difficult to align Agents of SHIELD with other MCU projects, given the ever-increasing divide between its production company and that of the film fanchise.

Agents Of SHIELD Season 5 Ties In With Thor: Ragnarok & Avengers: Infinity War

At this stage, the MCU was building towards Avengers: Infinity War, and Agents of SHIELD’s writers chose to make sure their show was part of that event, regardless of the relationship between Marvel Studios and Marvel Television. The first 10 episodes of Agents of SHIELD season 5 were largely set in a dystopian future, divorced from the MCU, and episode 11 is concurrent with Thor: Ragnarok. Episodes 12-18 took place before Infinity War, but 19-22 were actually concurrent with it, although they omitted Thanos’ snap.

The reason for this was the expectations of the writing team. Agents of SHIELD‘s writers expected season 5 to be the end of the road and, therefore, did not want to close off their story on the pessimistic note of showing half their stars blipped out of existence. As a result, though, Agents of SHIELD season 5 is the last in the show’s run to truly tie to the wider MCU, even if it left out a massive moment from the franchise in 2018.

Agents Of SHIELD Seasons 6 & 7 Don’t Fit With The Main MCU Timeline

Agents of SHIELD seasons 6 and 7 are best viewed apart from the mainstream MCU, because they really don’t fit with the timeline at all. There’s no reference to the Blip, and the galaxy they portray is a far cry from the dystopian post-snap world portrayed in MCU Disney+ TV shows. There was a simple reason for this: As former Marvel Television chief Jeph Loeb noted at the time, Agents of SHIELD’s writers didn’t know what would happen following Avengers: Infinity War:

“The movies are the lead dog. They’re setting the timeline for the MCU and what’s going on. Our job is to navigate within that world.“

In Loeb’s view, the only way to continue Agents of SHIELD’s story was to assume they were pre-snap, although that argument rather breaks the timeline of season 5. Season 6 is the most problematic before Agents of SHIELD season 7 takes its heroes on a time-travel/multiversal adventure. Ironically, this predicted the MCU’s entire Phase 4 trajectory and the events of the Multiverse Saga, even containing a final MCU Easter egg to the Quantum Realm.

Why It Doesn’t Matter Whether Agents Of SHIELD Is Canon Or Not

Agents of SHIELD’s canon status to the MCU has often been the subject of intense debate, but, ultimately, it doesn’t really matter. As much as the series attempted to tie into the movies in its early seasons, due to them sharing source material and a few key characters, Agents of SHIELD almost always marched to the beat of its own drum, and the MCU movies made no effort to connect to their TV counterpart.

Great standalone heroes like Agents of SHIELD’s Quake have been exclusive to the show so far, and debating its canonicity takes away from the appreciation of just how much stamina the show built up through strong characters and good storytelling.

How The MCU Multiverse Saga Can Reconnect With Agents Of SHIELD

Now that the Multiverse is in play in the MCU, Agents of SHIELD’s canonicity is especially moot. Marvel’s favorite new tactic for explaining conflicting storylines, recastings, and write-offs could be used for the TV show: Agents of SHIELD could easily exist in a different universe to the MCU, one that has shared events and characters very closely before eventually branching off. This would neatly explain some inconsistencies and plot holes between Agents of SHIELD and the MCU, and could even hint at the return of various Agents of SHIELD characters in future MCU projects.

The MCU’s Re-Added Netflix Canon Shows How Agents Of SHIELD Can Become Fully Canon Again

Netflix’s Marvel shows, much like Agents of SHIELD, enjoyed a period of clear canonicity, before being rendered seemingly an entirely separate entity from the MCU. However, things took a surprise change when Charlie Cox’s Daredevil appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home, establishing that the Netflix universe was perhaps more intertwined with the MCU than it may have previously appeared. This connection was steadily furthered, with Echo showing that the Daredevil show lore was at least partially still canon via its depiction of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk and his backstory, which uses elements from the prior series.

The Netflix shows are now so connected to the MCU that Daredevil: Born Again season 3 is on the horizon and expected to fully canonize the Netflix Defenders timeline. Based on this and X-Men: The Animated Series enjoying a Marvel reboot, X-Men ’97, some decades after its initial conclusion, it’s clear there’s a well-established precedent for bringing back older shows and reincorporating them into the modern MCU. What this could mean is Agents of SHIELD being canon once more, and having more of an opportunity to return now than ever.

Release Date

2013 – 2020-00-00

Showrunner

Jed Whedon