It's all here: a no-spoiler first watch; designated essentials and tangents; & more than a chronological or release order, a rewatch crafted for a universe. Welcome to the MCU - this list (and description) is the guide you've waited for!

Vital Disclaimers:

1. First-timers, check each entry's notes before playing: they detail which credits scenes to skip/watch. These small adjustments prevent severe spoilers. (Otherwise, always stay for the credits!)

2. This visual aid provides an understanding of the order's organizing principle that can't be represented here. Still, the graphic can't replace the list thanks to #1.

This list is my endeavor to best realize the "U" in MCU. Where release and chronological orders both delegate their arrangement to some calendar or another, my conceit here is to involve chronology, settings, and themes in distilling coherent arcs—or "Phrases", if you're a cheeky MCU nerd. The result: the dissonant leaps of subject and tone that pepper a march down the timetable instead give way to organic development of an interconnected story. In being guided by the larger narrative over a detached datebook, I hope to bring forth the most cohesive and expressive telling of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

If you're new to the MCU and spoilerphobic, set that concern aside: I've carefully curated each detail so that the only spoiler here is the inevitable "Who's on the next poster". You can read every word without worry! (But do tread carefully in unlinked comments.) Look out for bolded phrases in notes: those are especially relevant to first watches. As well as preventing spoilers, notes add other (optional) dimensions to the watch. Where needed, TV episodes are coded as ###, read [season #][episode ##].

Although they have deviated over time, this list wouldn't exist without Robby Earle, co-host and resident rewatch order craftsman of the (superb) Friends from Work Podcast.

That's everything you ought to know before you begin! The following links contain extra insight into this list and ways to broaden, tailor, or trim your watch. If none of them interest you, then continue on to the story and enjoy a new MCU experience!

A First-Time Order and a Rewatch Order

(If you're on the app, visit the comments to find this information. If you'd like to avoid that hassle, please the MCU by avg LB rating.

If you've made it this far, I have compensation for your persistence: buttons to transform this list into the chronological (by the span of in-universe time most heavily occupied by the story) orders. I sincerely believe the sequence I've laid out is an improvement upon both, but if I've failed to convince you, something called The Ultimate MCU Watch Order should still be the only MCU aid you'd ever need.