Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki:Canon Policy

The Canon Policy is a standard guideline to determine the nature of the media released related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its place within the overall nature and history of the franchise, cataloguing all releases according to their official statuses of canon confirmation.

Purpose

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki is, first and foremost, an online encyclopedia that aims to collect any and all official information regarding the franchise that gives name to it, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, by covering every material released by Marvel Studios, Marvel Television and Marvel Comics officially confirmed to be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, also known as Earth-616 within the MCU Multiverse, or Earth-199999 within Marvel's multiverse system.

However, with the inclusion of the Multiverse in the second chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe overarching story, Marvel Studios has created content that is not set within the main universe of the MCU, such as What If...? and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, yet they are confirmed to be part of the MCU franchise and have been acknowledged by the studio to be part of the MCU slate.

Through this policy, the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki aims to take an unbiased and factual stance: every movie, TV series, TV special, one-shot and comics officially stated to be part of the MCU franchise is canon, whether they were made by Marvel Studios, its subdivisions, or the original Marvel Television. These projects are the ones that form and comprise MCU canon: the events officially confirmed to occur in, and connect to, the primary continuity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Given its nature as an ever-growing franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been expanded through a lot of tie-in material, such as, but not limited to, comic books, books and video games, which tend to be inspired by or based on the MCU continuity. However, this type of material often contradicts or has been contradicted by content produced by Marvel Studios, or they are stated by their creators to be merely inspired by the MCU continuity and not necessarily part of the official canon.

Therefore, to ensure the most comprehensive and impartial way of collecting all information, the canonicity of content that has not been officially stated to be canon is evaluated only regarding what is explained in the policy described in this article. Even so, the fact that media is non-canon does not mean per se that it is not of interest to this wiki.

Behind the Scenes

Marvel Television Series

In 2013, Marvel Television expanded the MCU on television with the release of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. In order to not contradict nor clash with upcoming MCU storylines, Marvel TV was made aware of Marvel Studios' plans by being able to read the screenplays for upcoming projects, with Kevin Feige stating that the show would "stand on its own, create its own mythology and occasionally check in and acknowledge "yes, we're in the shared Marvel Cinematic Universe"." The following year, Marvel TV started production on Agent Carter which was the first and only TV show to have direct involvement Marvel Studios. Later that year, after Netflix had already announced they would release a collection of interconnected series set in the MCU, Feige talked about the possibility of the Netflix characters appearing in Avengers: Infinity War saying that there was potential since "all of those things inhabit, however far on the outskirts, the same continuity".

However, in August 2015, Walt Disney Studios reorganized Marvel Entertainment by integrating Marvel Studios into their company, while Marvel Television remained under Marvel Entertainment's control. This strained the connection between the film division and the television division. At the time, Feige addressed that referencing the television series would be inevitable but it was difficult due to the different production schedules. Next to the shows that were already announced, Marvel Television produced and released Inhumans, Cloak & Dagger and Runaways for ABC Studios, Freeform and Hulu, respectively, all set in the MCU. In 2019, Head of Marvel TV Jeph Loeb said that the TV series would not reference the events of Avengers: Endgame. He added that they "don't want to ever do something in our show(s) which contradicts what's happening in the movies. The movies are the lead dog. They're setting the timeline for the MCU and what's going on" and that the TV series were just navigating within the MCU.

That same year, it was reported that Marvel TV would provide Hulu a group of interconnected series, collectively named Adventure into Fear, set in a "new chilling corner of the Marvel [Cinematic] Universe". Simultaneously, Marvel Studios started the development of several MCU series for Disney+. While the Adventure into Fear TV series were reported to be set in the same universe as the other Marvel TV series, it was said that, unlike Marvel Studios' series, they would not crossover with the rest of the MCU. In July 2019, Jeph Loeb confirmed when it came to Ghost Rider, the shows would be focused on the same MCU Robbie Reyes "character that you've seen before", in a "new adventure" but which would "acknowledge what happened in the past", with the shows sharing the world of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. In September 2019, following the cancellation of the Marvel Netflix series and Ghost Rider, it was reported that it was likely that live-action shows would no longer be produced by Marvel Television. Eventually, Marvel TV stopped production on all the remaining TV series as it was folded into Marvel Studios. However, since Helstrom had already begun filming, Marvel Studios began to oversee the show as it wrapped production.

By the time of its release, Disney removed every mention of Marvel from the title and the logo, reportedly wanting to distance the Marvel brand from horror-based content. Despite previous confirmation that Helstrom was part of the MCU, showrunner Paul Zbyszewski upon release said that the show was "not tied to the MCU". He also described it as "siloed off [from the Marvel Cinematic Universe]", saying, "Part of it is [because] it’s a darker-themed show than the other Marvel shows on other platforms." In a later interview, Zbyszewski elaborated that the show "was not part of the MCU. We are our own thing. There was a freeing sort of feeling about it because canon can be heavy. It is a weight on your shoulders […] it needed to be its own thing." However, in the same interview, he also referred to it as "just this little pocket of the universe", leaving its exact relation as a siloed off pocket of the MCU or siloed off entirely from the MCU unclear. The series also still contained MCU Easter eggs, which was known to be how Marvel TV tried to interconnect their shows without having explicit crossovers.

Comics

Initial Expansion

With the release of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk in 2008, Marvel Comics released two prequel comics, Iron Man: Fast Friends and The Incredible Hulk: The Fury Files, in collaboration with Marvel Studios in order to expand the "Marvel movie continuity"; with Marvel Studios providing a "broad outline of what needed to be on the page" so the comics could follow the "movie's continuity" and viceversa. On May 11, 2010, through Marvel.com, Marvel Studios announced that fans would be able to continue the story of the live action character beyond the screen. Editor Alejandro Arbona was tasked with overseeing those comics stating that while "Marvel.com and Marvel Studios had already collaborated on some Iron Man movie-centric stories for Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited", the film studio pitched them the idea to "build a bigger world around the continuity featured in the movies", which led to the development of Iron Man: I Am Iron Man! and Iron Man 2: Public Identity. Arbona also announced that they would release comics set between the events of Iron Man and Iron Man 2 and added that the comics were meant to show "[the] readers more of that [MCU] world, [...] and a little bit more of how the characters interact" likening to how The Fury Files had previously provided more backstory for Nick Fury and Bruce Banner. The following year, Stephen Broussard announced Captain America: First Vengeance, which would help to expand the story of Steve Rogers as they had "story beats that couldn't make it onto the screen". Separately, Joe Quesada clarified that the MCU comics stories would come directly from the people working at Marvel Studios and not from Marvel Comics writers who saw the movie and then pitched a story saying that "Kevin Feige is involved with these and in some cases maybe the writers of the movies would be involved in these [...] our west coast guys [will be] generating these ideas and then either just giving them to some of our [comics] writers or maybe some of these [movie] guys writing them themselves".

New Approach

After the release of The Avengers, in 2012, both Marvel Studios and Marvel Comics changed their approach to tie-in material, with Marvel's senior vice-president of sales David Gabriel adding that moving forward they would take a "more focused approach to tie-ins". Since then, many of the tie-ins comics began to have the "red Avengers stamp" on their cover. Will Corona Pilgrim described these comics as those that were considered by Marvel Studios to be "official MCU canon stories". In order to follow the new approach, most of the official canon comics were re-printed to include the "red Avengers stamp". However, some of them, like Iron Man: I Am Iron Man!, Iron Man 2: Public Identity, the Iron Man 2: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. comics and Captain America: First Vengeance, were not re-printed as red stamped comics, but on social media, Pilgrim confirmed that they were all considered official MCU. Between 2014 and 2016, Marvel released many comics that expanded the story of MCU movie characters through Marvel Infinite Comics series, despite not having the red stamp, Pilgrim said that MCU stories released under the Infinite Comics banner were official MCU canon.

In 2015, Pilgrim explained that for the past few years Marvel separated "official MCU" tie-ins from "inspired by" tie-ins. He elaborated that the canon tie-ins are those that have "the [red Avengers] Marvel stamp". He also described the "inspired by" comics as "having another fun adventure with the Avengers [...] where we get to show off all the characters from the film in costume and in comic form" and not having a "concrete place in the MCU timeline" since they do not really affect the official MCU continuity. However, when talking about the "inspired by" comic Avengers: Operation HYDRA, Pilgrim went on to say that the comic delved more into Hawkeye's relationship with the Avengers and this medium was their way to tell "more about that in the MCU."

Novels and Books

Starting in 2008, multiple movie novelizations, storybooks, books and novels have been released in order to expand or adapt the stories from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in other formats. However, in most instances, this kind of tie-in material tend to contradict or are contradicted by content made by Marvel Studios, therefore, they do not fit, or no longer fit, the continuity of the MCU.

While the movie novelizations, such as Iron Man, are based on the original screenplay, there are other types of novels and storybooks (which tend to be aimed at different age groups) that have different purposes. Some of the novels are meant to inform non-traditional fans of all the available backstory of the characters depicted in a MCU film, working as an adaptation of the movies rather than providing extra narrative material. Likewise, some of the storybooks, which are considered official movie tie-ins, are simply meant to be the "gateway into the franchise for kids who might be too young to see the movie." The novels and storybooks that adapt or retell stories from the MCU are labelled as "inspired by" or "based on" material on their cover.

On the other hand, there are novels and books whose main goal is to tell exclusive original stories set in the MCU continuity. For example, in 2018, the novel Thanos: Titan Consumed was originally commissioned by Marvel Studios to tell a "potential back story for Thanos in the MCU". Despite originally being reported as a canon novel, Marvel Studios later clarified that the novel was not canon. Furthermore, there is a fair amount of books that have been described by their respective author to be set in the MCU continuity, but Marvel Studios has never given a definite statement on the canonical status of them.

Video Games

With the release of Iron Man, Marvel Entertainment and SEGA announced they would release an a videogame tie-in to coincide with the film. Similarly, in the following years, Marvel announced more video games that were based on Phase One and Phase Two content. However, these games only used the MCU as an inspiration and starting point for their world, usually adding characters and events that were not depicted in Marvel Studios' films, thus not fitting the established MCU continuity. For example, Producer Andy Alamano commented on Iron Man's video game: "The beginning of the movie is the beginning of the game and the end of the movie is the end of the game, but everything that happens in between is where we got to create parts to our own story. By using material found within the comics, we were able to create our own side story that still ties in tightly with the events of the film."

After departing from Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Studios took over the commissioning of video games for their MCU films. In 2019, when Avengers: Damage Control was announced, Kevin Feige said that the game was developed after looking for new stories and corners of the MCU to explore, adding that, for the first time, the game would "give fans the same opportunity: to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe". When discussing the canon of Avengers: Damage Control in the wider MCU, the team behind the game explained that they wanted it to feel "authentically Marvel Studios" and therefore at least used the events depicted in specific MCU films as a starting point. Ultimately, the game contradicted the MCU chronological timeline. During The Multiverse Saga, now using the Multiverse as a tapestry, Marvel Studios also released What If...? – An Immersive Story which would tell an original story set in the MCU Multiverse that was "connected to the critically acclaimed Disney+ Original animated series What If...?".

Disney+ Timeline

The Disney+ timeline is Marvel Studios' official medium to present the Marvel Cinematic Universe in chronological order. It is constantly updated with new MCU releases and also modified when previous entries set in the MCU become integral to Marvel Studios' intervowen narrative.

The timeline was first added to Disney+ in October 2020, when the streaming service was updated to categorize Marvel Studios' projects by phase and in timeline order. In 2022, Marvel.com revealed that the "ever-expanding, constantly evolving timeline" on Disney+ was made in collaboration with Marvel Studios creative team. The following year, Marvel released Marvel Studios' The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline, which Brad Winderbaum described as the first time the studio was laying out the timeline. As a result, the Disney+ timeline was updated to reflect the book's content.

The book's foreword from Kevin Feige detailed that the book was limited to "the MCU's Sacred Timeline through Phase 4" - a term first coined by Loki in order to designate the main universe of the MCU. The timeline book did not cover the canon comics made by Marvel Comics nor the TV series developed by Marvel Television, raising questions about the significance of their omission - though also noted that its contents was not "everything that happens in 616, much less the Multiverse". Ahead of the release of Echo, Brad Winderbaum noted that Marvel Studios had been "a little bit cagey" about what was part of their Sacred Timeline, mentioning that was born from a period of the studio where there was a corporate divide between the film and television division, despite both divisions being in communication and aware of what each other were doing at the time. Winderbaum continued that as time had passed, and Marvel Studios had begun to see how "well integrated the [Marvel Television] stories are", he felt confident in saying the events of The Defenders Saga were part of their Sacred Timeline. Subsequently, the Defenders Saga series (formerly of Netflix) were added to the Disney+ timeline, after Winderbaum realized that the Netflix series' canonicity in the MCU was "not just assumed" and that the fans wanted confirmation. He then commented that the notice fans took of Disney+ meant it was now becoming their "medium to define the canon now" moving forward, able to use any additions to make "the statement" of confirming/reconfirming.

Despite not being set in the main reality, the Disney+ timeline also includes projects set in the MCU Multiverse, such as Loki and What If...?, as they are part of the intervowen and canonical narrative of the franchise.

Policy

Canon and Non-Canon

In works of fiction, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the concept of "Canon" refers to the body of work considered as having officially happened within that particular fictional world, and therefore, it refers to the overall set of storylines, premises, settings, and characters offered by its source media. Canon is, with that definition, an absolute, as one particular thing is either canon or not.

If MCU tie-in material (comics, books, video games, etc.) has not been said to be part of the official canon and does not or no longer fits within the MCU continuity, then it will be labelled as "non-canon" content. The introduction of the Multiverse allows the Marvel Cinematic Universe wiki to designate non-canon tie-in material as a divergent or alternate universe – sometimes a universe exclusive to that particular product or, in other cases, one for a group of related products. These products and the universes they present will be found at the List of Alternate Universes, with the article further noting that they are ones coming from non-canon media. Characters and events pertaining to these non-canon universes should and will still receive their own articles.

On a similar note, as a part of The Multiverse Saga, Marvel Studios has produced movies and TV series that are set in other universes that diverge from or connect to the main reality of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These products are arranged in the Disney+ timeline and, therefore, they are official alternate universes. In addition to the movies and TV series, given the involvement from Marvel Studios creative team in their development, video games commissioned by Marvel Studios that are irreconciliable with the main continuity will also be considered official alternate universes. In the specific case that there is a project that has been announced to be part of the MCU and it is set in an alternate universe but, for some reason, it is not added on the Disney+ timeline, the wiki will cover it and also treat it as a part of the collection of official alternate universes. All of these universes will also be found at the List of Alternate Universes, with characters, events and organizations pertaining to these universes receiving their own articles.

However, in the case of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are many tie-in material like books or comic books that cannot be clearly factually labelled definitively as either canon or non-canon. In order to deal with this ambiguity, the MCU Wiki implements categories for statuses of confirmation for projects that, cannot be considered explictly "non-canon" beyond reasonable doubt, such as those that do not belong to the franchise's continuity.

This categorization is not an attempt to label projects based on a "level of canon" but to clarify how and whether its canonicity has been confirmed or not. This approach is taken since the Marvel Cinematic Universe, unlike other franchises, has never used such measure of establishing a hierarchy of the canonicity of the media attached to it.

Statuses of Confirmation

Inspired

As a collective effort to tie-in and promote the Marvel Cinematic Universe, through the years, Marvel Entertainment released a number of comics, books, novels and video games that are inspired by the events of the MCU (retellings, plots based on direct events or all unofficial canon comics), without official acknowledgement from Marvel Studios as a part of their interconnected narrative. This type of tie-in material is officially considered to be "inspired by" media, those that are not considered part of the official canon yet set themselves in the MCU. As long as this type of content does not contradict substantially what is presented in official canon material, it holds the status of inspired canon media, which can be described as: "an MCU franchise story inspired by the canon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it is not considered official canon." If it does substantially contradict what is presented in official canon material, its designation becomes "non-canon" instead.

Unconfirmed

In a similar manner, there are novels and books that expand the events depicted in the MCU by telling original stories set within the universe. Most of these stories do not contradict, or have yet to be contradicted by, Marvel Studios content. Any comics or video games that fit this description, however, do not fall under this status, because comics and video games do have an internal categorization they already fit: "inspired". The original story books and novels differ, as Marvel has never made a statement on the matter, so they are unfit to be called "inspired". Due to the uncertainty surrounding their canon status, they hold the status of unconfirmed canon media, which can be described as: "an MCU franchise story whose canon status has been neither confirmed nor denied." This is unless they substantially contradict what is presented in official canon material, whereby their designation becomes "non-canon" instead.

Dubious

In another, and very particular case, there are projects where contradicting statements by the staff involved in its creation have been released regarding how said projects fit within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The prime, and currently only, example of this would be Helstrom. This type of content holds the status of dubious canon media, which can be described as: "an installment of the MCU franchise that has conflicting statements regarding its canon status."

Implementation

In-Universe Articles

In order to keep an unbiased, impartial, and comprehensive take on the products that are part of the MCU franchise, every in-universe article (characters, items, weapons, vehicles, locations, races, creatures, etc.) will cover all information that comes from media belonging to any of the aforementioned categories of confirmation (inspired, unconfirmed, dubious) or even those labelled as non-canon. So as to indicate within the article what category of media the information provided is coming from, the article's relevant section will display a notice informing the reader of the nature of the information they are reading.

Every in-universe article that comes from non-canon material will display the Non-Canon template, so as to inform the reader the nature of this non-canonical reality.

Dubious Canon Information

Any information coming from dubious canon media with its own paragraphs must be "sandwiched" in between Template:DubiousSection and Template:DubiousSectionEnd.

Alternate Counterparts Articles

The introduction of the Multiverse allowed Marvel Studios to tell stories firmly set in the franchise that happen outside of its main reality. The AltUniverse template will be displayed in every in-universe article (characters, organizations and events) that originates from the many alternate universes depicted in the MCU franchise. In addition, any Marvel Legacy franchises get a separate template and articles taking place in the "real world" get a Reality template. If said character, organization and event pertains to non-canon content, the NonCanon template will also be displayed.

Locations, items and other types of in-universe articles that do not get alternate articles, will display the stories depicted in these alternate universes under an ==Alternate Universes== subheader. Non-Canon history is included, but must always be after the canon alternate universes in release order (e.g. Super Soldier Peggy Carter history before Ultimo Transformation history).

As for the Hubs, there will be a clear distinction between the alternate versions featured in canon material and the non-canon alternate versions that appear in non-canonical material. To do this, characters will have "Variants" (Alternate Universes) and "Other Variants" (Non-Canon Universes) while other hubs will have "Alternate Versions" and "Other Versions".

Out of Universe Articles

Media articles will be the only articles to display different templates to show the state of confirmation of their respective canon status (inspired, unconfirmed and dubious). While projects that are labelled as non-canon to the franchise will display the aforementioned Non-Canon template.

Reference books such as the Guidebooks and the Artbooks are a different type of content, while they can be outdated, they do not hold a canon or non-canon status within the franchise and the policy does not apply to them.

Continuity

The "Continuity" section will be the place where the MCU wiki will be able to properly detail, discuss and/or source all information available regarding a specific content's canon status in the franchise. It will also be implemented to discuss the many inconsistencies across official canon projects.

Implementation

The Continuity section will appear on media articles that belong to the "Inspired", "Unconfirmed" and "Dubious" statuses of confirmation. It will also be applied to "Non-canon" media articles. This section will clarify how each particular media belongs to the franchise but, due to its content, or statements given by author, director, writer, among others, they do not or are not intended to fit or no longer fit the franchise's official continuity. If details that will serve to categorize said title into one of our different statuses of confirmation come from external sources, they will be sourced according to the sourcing policy.

It is necessary to point out a very particular case: there are comics that have been confirmed to be part of the official MCU canon, yet they do not have the official "red [Avengers] stamp" nor were released under the Infinite Comics banner. Therefore, and only for this exception, the Continuity section will also serve to explain said comic's status as official canon in the franchise.

Examples

• Example 1 - Inspired Canon: Guardians of the Galaxy: The Junior Novel is an adaptation of the film expanding upon dialogue, setting and characters' traits that are not elaborated in the film. As the novel does not contain elements that substantially alter or contradict the canon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it holds an inspired canon status per our canon policy.
• Example 2 - Unconfirmed Canon: Released on April 2, 2019, the book Avengers: Endgame: The Pirate Angel, The Talking Tree, and Captain Rabbit is set during Thor, Groot and Rocket Raccoon's trip to Nidavellir as it was depicted in Avengers: Infinity War. The story has Groot reading Rocket's journal, delving into Groot's feelings and thoughts during their journey to Nidavellir. Rocket's journal includes details of the events seen in Guardians of the Galaxy (it was previously established in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Rocket's Rules that Rocket had written a set of rules after the Quest for the Orb). Rocket's journal also describes what happened when the Milano was being repaired after the Battle of Xandar. The book also features Rhomann Dey, who mentions Sy'gyl, a planet first introduced in Captain Marvel: Starforce on the Rise. While the book was said to be set in the continuity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by the author, the book's canonicity has never been confirmed nor denied by Marvel Studios. Therefore, per our canon policy, it is considered to hold an unconfirmed canon status within the MCU franchise.
• Example 3 - Non-Canon: Iron Man 2 (book) establishes that the element created by Tony Stark is Vibranium. However, the subsequent release of Captain America: The First Avenger retconned that information. Therefore the novel does not fit the current continuity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it is labelled as non-canon.
• Example 4 - Main Canon: On October 31, 2008, Frank Tieri confirmed that the comic The Incredible Hulk: The Fury Files is considered to be part of the main Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity by stating: Our story acts as a prequel of sorts to The Incredible Hulk. [...] This absolutely takes place in the larger, interlocking Marvel movie continuity—and that’s what probably makes this all the more exciting. We’re following the movie’s continuity and they’re following ours. In 2010, this was further corroborated by Editor Alejandro Arbona who said that the comic provided official backstory that detailed how Fury and Banner met in the MCU.
• Example 5 - Main Canon: While the comic Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude has the MCU Red Stamp, which labels it as a part of the official canon, James Gunn has stated that he considers the comic book to be non-canon. However, Will Corona Pilgrim had previously said the comic was considered to be canon to the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Marvel Studios executives, and that James Gunn himself liked the comic's exploration of Nebula's backstory. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 contradicts how Nebula lost her arm, while the comic shows that she cuts her own arm off, Nebula says in the movie that Thanos pulled it out of her body. While this was retconned by the release of the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel, due to its confirmed status as an official and canonical tie-in product, the comic is still considered canon to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Retcons

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe exponentially grows, many projects set in the official canon not only introduce new elements, they also reveal details for previous installments and sometimes change what was established in older productions, creating retcons in continuity. These retcons are sometimes continuity errors that occur due to several factors, such as: lack of oversight or lack of communication between the different parties involved. Noticeable retcons affecting two or more different official canon media (movies, TV series and comics) will be explained in the Continuity section, which, for in-universe articles, will be a subheader within the Behind the Scenes section.

Example

In order to properly explain how this section will work, please check the following example.