Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel Cinematic Universe
Created by	Marvel Studios
Original work	Iron Man (2008)
Owner	The Walt Disney Company
Years	2008–present
Print publications
Book(s)	Marvel Cinematic Universe books
Comics	Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-in comics
Movies and television
Short movie(s)	Marvel One-Shots
Television series	Marvel Cinematic Universe television series
Web series	Marvel Cinematic Universe digital series
Television special(s)	Marvel Studios Special Presentations
Theatrical presentations
Musical(s)	Rogers: The Musical
Games
Video game(s)	Marvel Cinematic Universe video game tie-ins
Audio
Original music	Music of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Miscellaneous
Theme park attraction(s)	Marvel-themed attractions

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise. It is set in a fictional universe with the setting of several superhero movies and television shows made by Marvel Studios, based on characters by Marvel Comics. This shared universe was shown in the movies by using the same characters or mentioning the same events. For example, Tony Stark appears at the end of The Incredible Hulk (2008), even though he has nothing to do with the rest of the story. This is the same way that the comic books were linked into the same universe. The franchise also includes television series, short movies, digital series, and literature. The shared universe, much like the original Marvel Universe in comic books, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.

The franchise has been commercially successful, becoming the highest-grossing franchise of all time, and has generally received a positive critical response. It has inspired other movie and television studios with comic book character adaptation rights to attempt to create similar shared universes. The MCU has been the focus of other media, outside of the shared universe, including attractions at various Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, an attraction at Discovery Times Square, a Queensland Gallery of Modern Art exhibit, television specials, guidebooks for each movie, multiple tie-in video games, and commercials.