Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-in comics

Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-in comics
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Format	Limited series One-shots
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	September 2008
Editor(s)	Bill Roseman[1]

Within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Marvel Comics have published a number of tie-in comic books. A comic has been released to tie in with every film and television series set in the MCU so far, with some telling new stories featuring existing characters, and others simply adapting preexisting stories to the comic medium.

Development

In 2010 the MCU was officially expanded into comics with Iron Man 2: Public Identity and Iron Man 2: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Alejandro Arbona, the Marvel editor tasked with overseeing both of these comics, explained that "[Marvel Comics] worked with Brad Winderbaum, Jeremy Latcham and Will Pilgrim, mostly over email and phone, and they provided a ton of cool and helpful information to help us figure out what Marvel concepts exist in that movie world, where the stories are going to go, what elements to show, which ones not to show yet, what teases and surprises we want to keep in our back pocket for later, etc. They also brought to bear all the story sense and brainstorming prowess that helps make the movies so solid, and really weighed in with valuable notes and advice to make these stories as strong as possible."^[3]

For Marvel's The Avengers in 2012, Marvel’s senior vice-president of sales David Gabriel described a "more focused" approach to tie-ins than with the previous films, saying the publisher made sure to reach Avengers fans of all walks of life with a wide selection of releases. This was echoed by Rich Thomas, global editorial director at Disney Publishing, who wanted the Avengers program to be "all things to all people. Just like the film, from the youngest reader…to the Marvel enthusiast."^[4] Since then, canonical comics have been denoted by either a red 'Avengers' stamp on the cover, as seen at the top of this page, or by being explicitly stated as taking place in the MCU by Marvel.^[5] Will Corona Pilgrim explained, "we have “canon” comics that are considered official MCU canon stories. Then we have other comics that we consider more “inspired by.” The canon ones have that Marvel stamp and the trade dress has a cinematic wide screen feel. Whereas the inspired tie-ins are much more about having another fun adventure with the Avengers. They're not considered canonical though. Those are just fun adventures with the team because we want to tell more Avengers stories... where we get to show off all the characters from the film in costume and in comic form. They don't really have a concrete place in the MCU timeline though."^[6]

Comic writer Fred Van Lente stated in 2013 that he had proposed a regular comic series, set within the MCU, to Marvel, but they decided to keep all possibilities open for potential film and television development. He said that this was also the reason why Marvel doesn't want writers to introduce new elements to the MCU through tie-in comics.^[7] In July 2014 the MCU tie-in comics expanded to television tie-ins with the release of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Chase, an "inspired by" comic set during season 1 of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..^[8]

Titles

Title	Issue(s)	Publication date(s)	Writer(s)	Artist(s)
Iron Man: I Am Iron Man	2	January – February 2010	Peter David[9]	Sean Chen[9]
Iron Man 2: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.	1	April – May 2010	Joe Casey[10]	Tim Green, Felix Ruiz and Matt Camp[10]
Iron Man 2: Public Identity	3	April – May 2010	Joe Casey and Justin Theroux[10]	Barry Kitson and Ron Lim[10]
Captain America: First Vengeance	4	February – July 2011	Fred Van Lente[11]	Neil Edwards and Luke Ross[12]
The Avengers Prelude: Fury's Big Week	4	February – March 2012	Chris Yost and Eric Pearson[13]	Luke Ross[14]
The Avengers Prelude: Black Widow Strikes	3	May – June 2012	Fred Van Lente[15]	Neil Edwards[16]
Iron Man 2 Adaptation	2	November – December 2012	Christos Gage[17][18][19]	Ramon Rosanas[17]
Iron Man 3 Prelude	2	January – February 2013		Steve Kurth[19]
Thor Adaptation	2	January – February 2013		Don Ho, Lan Medina and Overdrive[18]
Thor: The Dark World Prelude	2	June – July 2013	Chris Yost and Craig Kyle[20]	Scott Eaton[20] and Ron Lim[21]
Captain America: The First Avenger Adaptation	2	November – December 2013	Peter David[22][23]	Wellinton Alves[22]
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Infinite Comic	1	January 2014		Rock He-Kim[23]
Guardians of the Galaxy Prequel - Dangerous Prey Infinite Comic	1	April 2014	Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning[24]	Andrea DiVito[24]
Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude	2	April – May 2014		Wellinton Alves[1]
Marvel's The Avengers Adaptation	2	02014-12-01-0000December 2014 – 02015-01-01-0000January 2015	Will Corona Pilgrim[25][26][27][28]	Joe Bennett[25]
Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude - This Sceptre'd Isle Infinite Comic	1	February 2015		Wellinton Alves[27]
Ant-Man Prelude	2	February – March 2015		Miguel Sepulveda[26]
Ant-Man - Scott Lang: Small Time Infinite Comic	1	March 2015		Wellinton Alves[28]

Adaptations

Iron Man: I Am Iron Man, Iron Man 2 Adaptation, Thor Adaptation, Captain America: The First Avenger Adaptation and Marvel's The Avengers Adaptation are comic book adaptations of the films Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers respectively.^{[9][17][18][22][25]} While these comics are generally direct adaptations of the films, they also sometimes include new scenes, such as an interaction between Jasper Sitwell and Nick Fury in Iron Man: I Am Iron Man. Will Corona Pilgrim also explained that in the Iron Man 2 Adaptation there was "an Iron Man 2 scene, which was storyboarded but never filmed that we felt necessary to include in the adaptation since we believed it to be in canon, this was the “Boys Flight Out” sequence where Tony invites Rhodey to wear the Mark II and it’s a first flight test for Rhodey. It’s one of those things where we felt strongly enough to include it in the official adaptation though the sequence was never shot."^[29]

Iron Man 2: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2010)

Like Public Identity, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was written by Joe Casey. It was originally released digitally in three parts in April and May 2010, and features art by Tim Green, Felix Ruiz, and Matt Camp.^[30] Casey said of the short comics, "It was interesting. The movie studio is very aware of what they're doing, so they paid close attention ... It's not exactly the Marvel Universe I grew up with, [but] it's not like the Ultimate universe either. It's a brand new thing, with its own rules and its own continuity."^[10]

Each of the three eight-page stories of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spotlights a different member of the secretive organisation:^[31]

• Who Made Who – Nick Fury plants a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent within a S.E.A.L. unit aboard a Ten Rings controlled vessel in the Gulf of Aden in an effort to get a live account of Iron Man in action. Unbeknownst to Fury, Tony Stark himself is keeping an eye on them.^[32]
• Just Off the Farm – Phil Coulson monitors the first field operation of a S.H.I.E.L.D. recruit who is tasked with taking down a Ten Rings terrorist cell on American soil. Coulson later reveals that it was all set up, a common S.H.I.E.L.D. test for new recruits.^[33]
• Proximity – Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, gets a job at Stark Industries under the alias of Natalie Rushman. She uses her spy skills to quickly work her way up the pecking order, until she ends up face to face with Tony Stark himself.^[34]

Iron Man 2: Public Identity (2010)

The 3 issues of Public Identity were released in April and May 2010, and were written by Joe Casey and Justin Theroux, with art by Barry Kitson and Ron Lim.^[10][35] Theroux, who wrote the screenplay for Iron Man 2, was able to show Casey "a fairly finalized script" before the two began work on the tie-in.^[10] In May 2010, Alejandro Arbona, who oversaw the creation of the Iron Man 2 tie-in comics, explained that "right from the beginning the idea was to start building a bigger world around the continuity featured in the movies ... The important thing was that it had to come organically from the stuff that happened in Iron Man —what would happen to a man who'd just revealed his super hero identity to the world?—and it had to move us toward the stuff we knew was going to be important in Iron Man 2."^[3] In September 2010, Casey talked about the differences between writing a normal Marvel Comic, and writing an MCU tie-in comic: Not only did he have to work within the boundaries of the movie continuity and Marvel Studios' plan, but he also had to write the characters as portrayed in the films - he stated that the "movie version of [Tony] Stark has a specific attitude that [he] tried to put in the comic."^[10]

The comic, set after Iron Man but before Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk, realizes the first meeting between Tony Stark and General Ross. Arbona said that "The fans have seen by now that these movies all exist in a single world together," and that Marvel "want to show readers more of that world, that connective tissue between all the movies, and a little bit more of how the characters interact. For example, when Tony Stark spoke to General Ross at the end of The Incredible Hulk, you could tell they already knew each other; they spoke about some shared history they'd had together. Well in Iron Man 2: Public Identity you see when they first meet, and what that shared history is."^[3]

At the end of Iron Man Tony Stark revealed that he is Iron Man, and now he uses his armor to 'save the day' around the world, growing his celebrity, and causing trouble for the military, whose missions he often interferes with. Decades earlier, Howard Stark works with Anton Vanko to build the first arc reactor, the technology that will one day power Tony's suit. When Howard realizes Anton's greedy goals, he has him arrested and deported before he, at the urging of Obadiah Stane, returns to the business of arms dealing that made him so successful in the past. Years later, Howard is working in his office when he is disturbed by a young Tony, who he angrily berates for time wasting. A crying Tony is later comforted by Jarvis, the family's butler. In the present, U.S. General Thaddeus Ross commissions Stark's business rival Justin Hammer to build a single-pilot vehicle to replace Iron Man. When testing it out, the pilot crash lands in unfriendly territory, under attack from the Congolese army. Tony saves the airman, but, to the chagrin of Ross, refuses to return the Congolese soldiers' fire. Meanwhile, at S.H.I.E.L.D., Phil Coulson and Nick Fury review Stark's actions.^[36][37][38]

Captain America: First Vengeance (2011)

The 4 issues of First Vengeance were written by Fred Van Lente, with art by Neil Edwards and Luke Ross, and were originally released digitally in 8 issues from February to July 2011.^[12] For Van Lente, First Vengeance offered a unique chance to explore the settings of 1940's Marvel and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In August 2011, he spoke of the differences between this version of the characters, and the original material, stating that he believed this "was the result of 20/20 hindsight looking back at the original stories. When Captain America was originally created, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby didn’t have 20/20 hindsight to see how things would fit together with the Marvel characters to follow. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we’re able to make those connections and heighten all of the characters’ weight."^[11]

Captain America makes a drop on a Hydra base in the Nazi-occupied Danish Straits in April, 1944. As he battles Hydra, he recalls parts of his life that got him to this point: his mother's blessing to become a soldier; his first meeting with Bucky Barnes, who helps him fend off some bullies; the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, when Bucky and Steve decide to enlist; Bucky training Steve to pass the physical; and the point when Bucky passes the physical but Steve fails.^[39] Meanwhile, Johann Schmidt looks on as Captain America battles a member of Hydra in a large mech-suit, recalling how he got to this point: meeting Adolf Hitler; capturing Arnim Zola to continue research on creating super soldiers; and finding Abraham Erskine and blackmailing him into continuing his super soldier research under the employ of the Nazis.^[40] Howard Stark, via radio, assists Captain America in taking down an advanced Hydra tank. Stark remembers when he was recruited by Colonel Phillips to join the Strategic Scientific Reserve, and when he helped Peggy Carter rescue Dr. Erskine from Schmidt, now known as the Red Skull.^[41]Dum-Dum Dugan and the Howling Commandos arrive to assist Cap, and they remember their formation – thrust together in a Hydra work camp, forming close friendships after a failed escape attempt. Cap destroys Schmidt's main weapon, an Asgardian artifact, saving himself and the Howling Commandos.^[42]

The Avengers Prelude: Fury's Big Week (2012)

Originally released in 8 digital issues from February to March 2012, Fury's Big Week retells the events of The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger from the point-of-view of S.H.I.E.L.D., with extra scenes added to weave them all together. Writers Chris Yost and Eric Pearson "saw the [MCU] timeline, [and] just tried to approach it from a very logical standpoint — who’s going to be where and what makes the most sense and what’s the most fun for the fans." On the title and premise, Yost explains that "There are seven days where S.H.I.E.L.D. had the worst week of their lives, so Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. are trying to contain all this, and that is what the prelude comic is about. You’re seeing S.H.I.E.L.D.’s history and how it all leads right into Marvel’s The Avengers, so we start in 1943 with Captain America and go all the way through all of the Marvel movies that you've seen to date, literally going right up to the doorstep of Avengers. You’re seeing how everything that is going to unfold in Avengers came to be."^[13]

Because Fury's Big Week weaves several MCU films together, it contains several scenes from the films, told from different points-of-view, as well as new scenes involving cameos from film characters. The comic reveals how the official MCU timeline works, in terms of the Phase One films, as it shows how they are positioned relative to each other, and how they are interwoven.^[43]

As S.H.I.E.L.D. are closing in on Captain America's crashed plane in the arctic, the World Security Council shuts down the search, as well as the surveillance of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, in favor of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. – S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attempts at reigniting and exploiting the Tesseract – though Director Fury decides to continue these operations 'off the books'. As the titular week begins, Fury learns that Stark is about to die, Banner has entered America, and there are unusual atmospheric disturbances above New Mexico. With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s help, Stark is saved, and goes on to defeat Ivan Vanko, while Agents Coulson and Barton travel to New Mexico where they discover Thor and recover the remains of the Asgardian Destroyer armor. Black Widow follows Bruce Banner to New York City, where, while The Hulk fights The Abomination, she discovers the mutating Dr. Samuel Sterns. Almost a year later, S.H.I.E.L.D. is actively studying Dr. Sterns, Jane Foster's Nine Realms Theory, and The Destroyer – the latter of which they now have control over – and have been successful in their search for Captain America. Agent Barton is assigned to watch Dr. Erik Selvig at Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., who, using a new element created by Tony Stark, is on the brink of harnessing The Tesseract's power, and who is also under the control of the Asgardian Loki.^{[44][45][46][47]}

The Avengers Prelude: Black Widow Strikes (2012)

Writer Fred Van Lente explained the relationship between Black Widow Strikes and the films – "This is on the same scale as the Marvel movies. We’re working closely with Marvel Studios to have it integrate seamlessly with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Once this is over, they’re welcome to use any of my ideas here for a movie. I took my inspiration for this series from Joss Whedon's script for Marvel's the Avengers, which I was lucky enough to read. He does a good job making her inclusion on the team perfectly believable." The comic, set in Romanoff's native Russia, first appeared in copies of the Maxim Russia magazine, before being released as a traditional comic series.^[15]

Natasha Romanoff is taken by surprise while hunting a thief in Russia when her target is killed by a 'fan' of hers, going by the name of Sofia. Breaking contact with her S.H.I.E.L.D. superiors, Natasha begins a competition with Sofia for the mantle of the "Black Widow". Natasha discovers what has been stolen – a Hammer Industries hard drive containing software for a new Jericho missile, the parts for which Sofia's employer is selling to The Ten Rings. Sofia takes the hard drive, but Natasha uses GPS to track it and comes across a missile launch site, targeting North Korea. Natasha stalls long enough for S.H.I.E.L.D. to intervene, and in the ensuing chaos, Sofia is killed.^[48][49][50]

Iron Man 3 Prelude (2013)

Tony Stark becomes quite occupied as he begins construction of Stark Tower in New York, so James Rhodes picks up where Iron Man left off in the fight against the Ten Rings terrorist organisation. After 10 months of skirmishes across the world, Rhodey is ambushed in Hong Kong by Ten Rings agents with Hammer Technology, including a nuclear powered tank. Rhodey manages to get the tank out of the city before the insurgents detonate its power source, and returns to America in time to find the aftermath of the Battle of New York. Later, Tony reveals to Rhodey his plans for an Iron Legion, and a Ten Rings operative reports to his master, The Mandarin, informing him that they have full scans of the Stark Technology in Rhodey's suit.^[51][52]

Thor: The Dark World Prelude (2013)

In the year following the destruction of the Bifrost, the Asgardian means of transportation throughout the cosmos, both the nine realms and nearby planets have fallen into chaos, while astrophysicist Jane Foster has failed in her attempts to re-open a wormhole in New Mexico, an action requiring the Bifrost to be functional. When the presumed dead Loki attacks Earth and steals the Tesseract, Odin uses the secret, dangerous power of Dark Energy to send Thor to intervene. Following the Battle of New York, Thor returns to Asgard with Loki and the Tesseract. Loki is imprisoned in the dungeons to serve a life sentence, while Thor uses the Tesseract's power to repair the Bifrost and allow Asgard to bring order back to the nine realms and beyond.^[53][54]

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Infinite Comic (2014)

Peter David sets up key themes for Captain America: The Winter Soldier in this infinite comic prelude; "Black Widow and Rumlow ... They're okay with doing what they're told. Cap, however, is way more suspicious and wants a clearer idea of what's going on, and is annoyed that S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't big on being forthcoming." On Cap's relationships with new partners Black Widow and Brock Rumlow, "I think he sees her as a valued ally, but [he] tends to be suspicious of the outfit that she works for. He trusts her as someone to have his back in a fight, but I think also believes that if S.H.I.E.L.D. told her to put a knife in his back, she would do so without hesitation, and that can be problematic. Rumlow, meantime, is an eager partner, but Cap doesn't trust him at all. First, there's the suspicion aspect. And second, I think Cap is still gun-shy because the last time he had a partner. Bucky wound up dying—or at least so he believes—and he's not anxious for history to repeat itself."^[23]

Following the Battle of New York, Steve Rogers is working with Natasha Romanoff and Brock Rumlow for S.H.I.E.L.D. When a terrorist group steals the ZODIAC virus from S.H.I.E.L.D., the team track them to the Willis Tower in Chicago, where they take them out, and recover the virus.^[55]

Guardians of the Galaxy Prequel - Dangerous Prey Infinite Comic (2014)

Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, who revived the Guardians of the Galaxy series in 2008, agreed to write the tie-in comic preludes to the film Guardians of the Galaxy, as a favor to director James Gunn. Speaking on working with familiar characters, but now the film versions of them, Abnett said, "[It's] Fun, but a little odd. The characters of the Prelude comics had to fit very cleanly to the movie versions so there wasn't quite the same opportunity for madcap invention ... I had to make sure the tone fitted precisely." Lanning said, "There’s a definite distinction between the Marvel comic universe and the Marvel Cinematic universe ... [but] these characters are not so distant to their comic counterparts as to be unrecognizable, they are more like an alternate version, similar to what the Ultimate Universe did."^[1]

With one Infinity Stone, the Aether, in his possession, The Collector actively searches for the other five, and when he discovers the Orb to be on a desolate planet, he hires the assassin Gamora to retrieve it.^[56]

Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude (2014)

This film prelude was also written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.^[1]

Issue 1 sees Nebula, while searching for the Orb, remembering growing up with Gamora and their father, Thanos, as well as her recent experiences with Ronan the Accuser. Issue 2 follows Rocket and Groot as bounty hunters in the lead-up to Guardians of the Galaxy.^[57][58]

Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude - This Sceptre'd Isle Infinite Comic (2015)

Released in February 2015, this comic explains how Baron Wolfgang von Strucker came in possession of Loki's scepter in the aftermath of the Battle of New York, and how Hydra's scientists used it to activate the superhuman powers of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. The comic is written by Will Corona Pilgrim and illustrated by Wellinton Alves.^[27]

Ant-Man Prelude (2015)

In November 2014, Marvel revealed in their February 2015 solicits that the first of a two-part tie-in comic set before the events of Ant-Man would be released, written by Will Corona Pilgrim, with art by Miguel Sepulveda. It follows Hank Pym / Ant-Man before he passes on the mantle to Scott Lang.^[26] Pilgrim revealed the comic will follow Pym on a mission during the Cold War involving the Berlin Wall.^[59]

Ant-Man - Scott Lang: Small Time Infinite Comic (2015)

Released digitally on March 3, 2015, this comic explains Lang's circumstances at the beginning of Ant-Man as he breaks into both VistaCorp and the house of his boss, Geoff Zorick. The comic is written by Will Corona Pilgrim and illustrated by Wellinton Alves.^[28]

Reception

Jesse Schedeen of IGN gave Public Identity a score of 7.2 out of 10, calling it "far more successful than [previous comic tie-ins]", but criticizing the inconsistent artwork and connections to the wider universe that he found to be irrelevant to the comic's plot.^[60] Chad Nevett of Comic Book Resources gave a less positive review, assigning 2 out of 5 stars to the comic, and stating that "The plot has potential and the characters’ voices are spot-on with the movie versions", however, "the lack of likenesses to the actors is a little off-putting, the art also suffers from inconsistency ... It’s a solid comic that’s overwhelmed by small problems."^[61]

Nevett, again for Comic Book Resources, gave Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. a much more positive review, giving it 4 out of 5 stars, and particularly praising the artwork, while also appreciating the consistent voice throughout the three stories from writer Casey.^[31]

At IGN, Schedeen scored First Vengeance 7 out of 10, calling the issues "enjoyable methods of passing the time until [Captain America: The First Avenger releases]".^[62] David Hawkins, writing for What Culture, gave the series 3 stars out of 5, calling it "a marketing ploy that has moments of tremendous merit", and singled out Luke Ross' artwork for the third issue as particularly praise-worthy.^[63]

Fury's Big Week received praise from CJ Wheeler of Den of Geek, who thought the tone of the series was "a perfect fit for the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far and will get you stoked for what's to come."^[64]

Matthew Peterson of Major Spoilers gave Black Widow Strikes a score of 2.5 stars out of 5, and the verdict "AN AVERAGE TALE WITH NO MAJOR MISSTEPS…" – he thought that "Writer Van Lente did all that he could to make this feel cinematic, driven and squarely in the Marvel movie universe", but was somewhat disappointed in the final result, and criticized the shifting art styles, before surmising that "In many ways, it’s the ultimate example of a movie tie-in, designed to please fans of both the graphic and live-action Widow without irritation or unwanted questions."^[65]

James Hunt of Comic Book Resources found the Iron Man 3 Prelude to be "dull and disappointing", calling the building of stakes around untouchable characters, like War Machine, a mistake, and criticizing the "rushed or phoned in" artwork.^[66] Noel Thorne, writing for What Culture, also found the prelude disappointing, calling it a "cheaply put-together cash-grab" and "not even remotely entertaining", and lamented the lack of actual connections with Iron Man 3.^[67]

For IGN, Schedeen gave Issue #1 of the Thor: The Dark World Prelude a score of 6 out of 10, stating that it "fails to offer a cohesive story or enough compelling material to justify a purchase", and Issue #2 a score of 5 out of 10, calling it "a dull, pointless lead-in to the next Thor movie." He criticized the focus of the series for serving as an explanation for "nitpicky questions" rather than being an actual lead in to the story of the film, and he found the artwork to be "awkward", "flat and dull".^[68][69] "Jay" at Comic Frontline had similar feelings, scoring the comic 3 stars out of 5, stating that, though he liked the issues, and "thought they were solid", he felt they were more like "deleted scenes from the Avengers than a Thor prequel", and they "could have been trimmed down into one issue", rather than being "stretched out to fit two issues just to drain fan’s pockets". He was more positive about the artwork, however, calling the work of Scot Eaton and Ron Lim "beautiful", and praising the work of inkers Andrew Hennessy and Rick Magyar for making the different artwork appear consistent across issues.^[21]

Ian Gowan of ComicSpectrum gave the Captain America: The Winter Soldier Infinite Comic a rating of 3.5 out of 5, calling it "fun but also [a] little light on story" and stating that it increased his excitement for the movie. He found the artwork "serviceable", but stated that the "colored pencil artwork doesn't work ... as well in digital comic as it does in a print comic."^[70]

Doug Zawisza of Comic Book Resources scored the Guardians of the Galaxy Infinite Comic 3.5 stars out of 5, stating that "While it doesn't openly spoil anything from the upcoming movie, it does flaunt the cards being held in the movie's hand quite a bit." He found the artwork to be "better than pedestrian", but felt the Infinite Comic format was not used to its full potential.^[71] A columnist for Cosmic Book News gave an almost entirely positive review of the comic, criticizing only its short length, and highlighting the return of writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning to the Guardians of the Galaxy characters as a particularly praise-worthy aspect of the issues.^[72]

Zawisza, again for Comic Book Resources, had similar feelings about the Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude, giving it 3.5 stars out of 5 as well, believing it was in "the same spirit as the volume of "Guardians of the Galaxy" that inspired the film's cast of characters", and leading him to surmise that he wanted more, as long as Abnett and Lanning would return as writers. He had high praise for the artwork as well, calling it "very well drawn, showcasing Wellinton Alves' ability to craft worlds and create distinguishable characters."^[73]

Other

Title	Issues	Publication date	Writer(s)	Artist(s)
Iron Man: Fast Friends	2	02008-09-01-0000September 2008	Paul Tobin[74]	Ronan Cliquet[74]
Iron Man: Security Measures	1	02008-09-01-0000September 2008	Christos N. Gage	Hugo Petrus
The Incredible Hulk: The Fury Files	2	02008-10-01-0000October 2008	Frank Tieri[75]	Salvadore Espin[76]
The Incredible Hulk: The Big Picture	1	02008-10-01-0000October 2008	Peter David[77]	Dave Ross[77]
Nick Fury: Spies Like Us	1	02008-12-01-0000December 2008	Joe Caramagna[76]	Hugo Petrus[76]
Iron Man 2: Fist of Iron	1	02010-03-01-0000March 2010	Paul Tobin[78]	Patrick Olliffe, Scott Koblish and Khoi Pham[78]
Captain America & Thor: Avengers	1	02011-11-01-0000November 2011	Fred Van Lente[79][7]	Ron Lim[79]
The Avengers Initiative	1	02012-05-01-0000May 2012
Captain America: Homecoming	1	02014-03-01-0000March 2014		Tom Grummett[7]
Guardians of the Galaxy: Galaxy's Most Wanted	1	02014-07-01-0000July 2014	Will Corona Pilgrim[6]	Andrea Di Vito
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Chase	1	July 2014	George Kitson[80]	Mirko Colak, Neil Edwards, and Mirco Pierfederici[80]
Avengers: Operation Hydra	1	02015-03-01-0000March 2015	Will Corona Pilgrim[6]	Andrea Di Vito[6]

Many of these comics were released before Marvel changed its approach to tie-in comics, when the tie-ins became an official part of the MCU.^[4]

• Iron Man: Fast Friends explores the friendship between Tony Stark/Iron Man and James "Rhodey" Rhodes. Writer Paul Tobin, who found friendship to be a common theme throughout his own work, was brought on to the project after the release of Iron Man, so the story is very much inspired by that. However, Marvel did give Tobin freedom to write the comic, other than a broad outline and some temporal staging.^[74]
• Iron Man: Security Measures is a comic included with the Walmart Iron Man DVD.
• The Incredible Hulk: The Fury Files is a two-part comic which serves as prequel to The Incredible Hulk. At the time, writer Frank Tieri believed that the comic was tied into the MCU, but it has since been ignored by Marvel as the MCU continuity has expanded.^[75]
• The Incredible Hulk: The Big Picture is a motion comic included with the Walmart 2-disc set of The Incredible Hulk. A prequel of the 2008 movie, the comic covers the origin of Hulk and how he found himself in South America.^[77]
• Nick Fury: Spies Like Us is a spy story featuring Nick Fury, and set in Budapest, a location that would later be used in The Avengers as part of the backstory for Black Widow and Hawkeye.^[81] It was released in the compilation book Iron Man/Hulk/Fury, which also included Iron Man: Fast Friends and The Incredible Hulk: The Fury Files.^[76]
• Iron Man 2: Fist of Iron is an Audi promotional comic that was released for free on the Marvel Comics app, which features Tony Stark stopping thieves on the way to a business meeting.^[78]
• Captain America & Thor: Avengers is a collection of two stories that take some inspiration from the films Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor, respectively, but do not entirely follow MCU continuity: "U-Base", which follows Captain America and his Howling Commandos as they strike a Hydra U-base during World War II; and "Citadel of Spires", featuring Thor, Sif, and Loki on a mission to save Fandral, one of the Warriors Three.^[82]
• The Avengers Initiative serves as an all-ages introduction to the main characters of The Avengers in the lead up to that film's premiere. In the story, an unknown individual breaks into the S.H.I.E.L.D. archives and accesses Nick Fury's assessments of the Avengers.^[79]
• Captain America: Homecoming is inspired by the MCU films, and takes place between The Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It follows Steve Rogers/Captain America and Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow as they fight terrorists in Brooklyn, New York.^[7]
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Chase is set between the Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes "Seeds" and "T.R.A.C.K.S.", and "depicts a previously unseen mission of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", as they investigate a new weapon, and search for the billionaire Ian Quinn.^[83] For San Diego Comic-Con 2014, Marvel Custom Solutions and Lexus released a limited single-issue comic tie-in to Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,^[8] written by George Kitson, and with art by Mirko Colak, Neil Edwards, and Mirco Pierfederici.^[80] Jonathan Rheingold, Vice President of Custom Solutions, said, "With Lexus being a celebrated sponsor of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC, it was a natural rite of passage to extend their relationship with the property in the form of a custom comic. Together Lexus, Marvel and the team behind Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. collaborated to create a backstory to the TV series that has utter continuity with the show, and offer[s] existing fans exclusive content and newcomers the opportunity to jump on the wave of excitement surrounding the first season of this breakthrough television show."^[8]
• Avengers: Operation Hydra explores the Avengers cleaning up remaining Chitauri items as well as Hawkeye's relationship with the team.^[6]

Collected editions

Title	Collected material	Publication date	ISBN
Iron Man: I Am Iron Man	Iron Man: I Am Iron Man #1–2, Iron Man: Security Measures #1, Iron Man #200[84]	02010-04-14-0000April 14, 2010	0785145583
Iron Man 2: Public Identity	Iron Man 2: Public Identity #1–3, Iron Man 2: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, Iron Man 2: Fist of Iron #1, Iron Man 2: Spotlight #1[85]	02010-10-13-0000October 13, 2010	0785148582
Captain America: First Vengeance	Captain America: First Vengeance #1–4	02011-07-20-0000July 20, 2011	0785157255
Road to Marvel's The Avengers	Iron Man: I Am Iron Man #1–2, Iron Man 2: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, Iron Man 2: Public Identity #1–3, Captain America: First Vengeance #1–4[86]	02012-03-28-0000March 28, 2012	0785162372
The Avengers Prelude: Fury's Big Week	The Avengers Prelude: Fury's Big Week #1–4	02012-05-16-0000May 16, 2012	0785163417
The Avengers Prelude: Black Widow Strikes	The Avengers Prelude: Black Widow Strikes #1–3, Tales of Suspense #52	02012-09-19-0000September 19, 2012	0785165681
The Avengers Initiative	Captain America & Thor: Avengers #1, The Avengers Initiative #1	02012-10-10-0000October 10, 2012	0785166149
Iron Man 3 Prelude	Iron Man 2 #1–2, Iron Man 3 Prelude #1–2, Iron Man (2005) #1	02013-04-09-0000April 9, 2013	0785165517
Thor: The Dark World Prelude	Thor #1–2, Thor: The Dark World Prelude #1–2, Thor: God of Thunder #13	02013-10-29-0000October 29, 2013	0785153780
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Prelude	Captain America: The First Avenger #1–2, Captain America: The Winter Soldier Infinite Comic #1, Captain America (1968) #117, Captain America (2005) #6, The Ultimates #2, Material from Tales of Suspense #57	02014-04-01-0000April 1, 2014	0785188770
Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude	Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude #1–2, Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude Infinite Comic #1, Iron Man (1968) #55, Strange Tales (1951) #181, Incredible Hulk (1968) #271, Material from Tales to Astonish (1959) #13, Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #0.1	02014-07-08-0000July 8, 2014	0785154108
Marvel's The Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude	Marvel's The Avengers #1-2, Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude - The Scepter'd Isle Infinite Comic #1, Avengers (1963) #57-58, Avengers (1998) #22, Avengers #12.1	02015-03-24-0000March 24, 2015	0785193553
Marvel's Ant-Man Prelude	Marvel's Ant-Man Prelude #1-2, Ant-Man: Cinematic Infinite Comic #1, Marvel Premiere #47-48, Ant-Man (2015) #1, Age of Ultron 10AI	02015-06-23-0000June 23, 2015	0785197982

References

Marvel Cinematic Universe Feature films Phase One Iron Man soundtrack video game The Incredible Hulk video game Iron Man 2 score soundtrack video game Thor soundtrack video game Captain America: The First Avenger soundtrack video game The Avengers accolades soundtrack Phase Two Iron Man 3 soundtrack video game Thor: The Dark World soundtrack Captain America: The Winter Soldier soundtrack Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack Avengers: Age of Ultron soundtrack Ant-Man Phase Three Captain America: Civil War Television series ABC Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes season 1 2 characters Agent Carter Netflix Daredevil season 1 A.K.A. Jessica Jones Other media Marvel One-Shots Agent Carter Tie-in comics Cast and characters Film cast Television series cast Phil Coulson Erik Selvig Book Category Portal