Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

The Avengers reassemble to take down Baron von Strucker, whose experiments on superpowered people give Tony Stark the very bad idea to create Ultron, a robot to do superheroic things, so the team members aren’t on the clock 24-7. Turns out Ultron is a homicidal maniac (oops) and the team will need help from characters across other franchises (paging War Machine and the Falcon) and new friends (enter Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and the Vision, who takes after Tony Stark’s A.I. butler J.A.R.V.I.S.).

HOW IT AFFECTS...

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: S.H.I.E.L.D.’s remnants are not completely out of commission, as Nick Fury and Maria Hill have enough manpower to staff a helicarrier. At the film’s end, a new Avengers facility seems to succeed the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters as the group’s main base of operations and organizational strength.

Thor: Ragnarok (releasing Nov. 3, 2017): During his Scarlet Witch-induced nightmare, Thor sees a glimpse of Ragnarok, the Norse prophecy about the death of the gods. The Infinity Stones feature prominently in his vision. Jane Foster is mentioned as having become a prominent scientist in the wake of the events of Thor: The Dark World, and Dr. Erik Selvig once again makes an appearance to help Thor interpret the vision he saw while under the influence of Scarlet Witch’s reality-bending powers.

Captain America: Civil War (releasing May 6, 2016): Sam Wilson, a.k.a. the Falcon, has a supporting role and becomes an Avenger at the film’s end. He also mentions the ongoing manhunt for Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, and how his current leads have gone cold. James Rhodes, a.k.a. War Machine, is another supporting character who joins the Avengers. He will return in the upcoming Captain America film, as will Iron Man. The Iron Legion, a set of automated Iron Man suits, expands on the remote and drone technology from Iron Man 3. The A.I. conflict sets the stage for Captain America and Iron Man going head-to-head in Civil War.

Agent Carter: The Black Widow’s Scarlet Witch-induced nightmare consists of the ballerina-themed Red Room training program shown in Agent Carter. Additionally, Peggy Carter makes an appearance in Captain America’s Scarlet Witch-induced nightmare.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (releasing May 5, 2017): Thanos reappears in a post-credits scene to claim the Infinity Gauntlet, a glove that can harness the power of the Infinity Stones and grant its wearer omnipotence.