2018: Thanos snaps with all six stones and erases half of all life in the universe. The world stayed halved for five years — the most formative event in MCU history.

2023: Hulk's counter-snap brings everyone who vanished back — exactly where and as old as when they disappeared. The chaos afterwards (lost apartments, doubled lives, refugee crises) occupies series and films to this day.

2012: Loki opens the Chitauri portal over Manhattan, six heroes become the Avengers. For the MCU the big bang of the superhero era — and via the Endgame time heist also the birth of the Loki variant.

In 2015 Ultron lifts a city into the sky; in 2016 the world answers with the Sokovia Accords for hero oversight — the rift that splits the Avengers in Civil War. Later quietly buried; the distrust remained.

Wanda wraps a small town in a sitcom reality and holds thousands of residents captive as involuntary extras. 'The Hex' introduced the world to chaos magic — and made Wanda the most feared person on the planet.

The primordial war in which Kang variants fought each other with entire timelines — ended by He Who Remains with the brutal solution: a single permitted timeline. At its core, Doomsday is the looming round two.

2024: to save the multiverse, Doctor Strange makes the whole world forget that Peter Parker exists. The highest price any MCU hero has ever paid — Brand New Day shows the life after.

2026: Sentry's dark self swallows parts of New York into shadow until Yelena's team reaches him inside his trauma. Afterwards Valentina markets the crew as the 'New Avengers' — the current state of the hero world.

Spider-Verse concept: key moments (the bite, the captain's death) that must happen in every Spider story or the universe collapses — says Miguel O'Hara. Miles Morales is the living objection.

The collision of two universes that erases one or both — triggered by too many border violations between worlds. The technical term driving Doomsday and Secret Wars; we have already seen one.

Asgard's prophesied twilight of the gods — deliberately triggered by Thor (Surtur freed, crown into the Eternal Flame) to bury Hela with the realm. Proof that you can fulfill a prophecy in order to win.

Meteorite metal that absorbs and stores energy — the basis of Wakanda's technology, Cap's shield and Talokan's reefs. The most coveted material on Earth, and with Doomsday more than ever.

The practically indestructible metal on Wolverine's bones — officially in the MCU since Brave New World: mined from the dead Celestial in the Indian Ocean. A raw material with a built-in X-Men announcement.

Dr. Erskine's formula that created Steve Rogers — and whose imitations produced almost only monsters: Red Skull, Abomination, the Flag Smashers, John Walker. The serum amplifies what is inside a person. That is exactly the problem.

Killian's bio-upgrade from Iron Man 3: regenerates limbs, makes skin glow hot — and occasionally makes test subjects explosive. Never mentioned again, although it would have revolutionized half of Marvel science.

Particles that change the distance between atoms: shrink, grow, Quantum Realm. Strictly guarded by Hank Pym — and the only fuel that makes Endgame's time travel work.

The Kree process that activates dormant Inhuman genes — classically via Terrigen Mist. Kamala's bangle triggered something similar in her; the series then called her gene a 'mutation'. Marvel keeps every door open.

The oldest, rawest form of magic: not bending reality but rewriting it. The Darkhold prophesies the Scarlet Witch as its bearer — mightier than any Sorcerer Supreme.

The primal force of the Celestials and Galactus — granted to his heralds like the Silver Surfer: reshape matter, channel energy, travel between worlds. The top league of cosmic powers.

Cosmic primal force that seeks out hosts like Jean Grey — filmed twice by Fox, twice it consumed its bearer. One of the few powers even Apocalypse respected.

Cell regeneration at absurd levels: Wolverine grows back, Deadpool is practically immortal (and cancer-ridden at the same time — his curse). Also explains Logan's age of almost 200 years.

A person on whose existence the stability of their entire universe hangs — if they die, the world slowly dies with them. Logan was the anchor of the Fox universe; who the MCU's is has never been revealed. Unsettling.

Any alternative version of a person from another timeline — from alligator Loki to Kang's thousand conquerors. The central question before Doomsday: is Doom a variant of someone we know?

The one permitted timeline that He Who Remains left after the Multiversal War, guarded by the TVA. History since Sylvie's sword thrust — today Loki holds the free branches together with his own hands.

Individuals who can massively influence timelines — Wanda and Loki are among them. The WandaVision commercial 'Nexus' was the hidden hint, long before Loki explained it.

Chthon's Book of the Damned: promises power, corrupts every reader. Wanda's fall in Multiverse of Madness bears its signature — in the end she destroyed every copy in every universe.

Tony's AI dynasty: J.A.R.V.I.S. (later Vision's foundation), FRIDAY, E.D.I.T.H. — and Ultron as the black sheep. The question of whether Stark's AIs are persons was answered by Vision with his existence.

The creator of the Marvel universe appeared in almost every film — as driver, general, Watcher informant. Guardians Vol. 2 made it canon: all his appearances are ONE character. The complete list is in the records.

Marvel's invention as a storytelling tool: since Nick Fury's 'Avenger Initiative' (2008), staying seated pays off. Rules of thumb: mid-credit = plot, post-credit = joke or tease. The complete chain is in the paths.

MCU films and Disney+ series are canon; the Netflix era is a gray zone (Cox, D'Onofrio and Bernthal were carried over, the rest floats); Fox and Sony are their own universes — but since the multiverse officially part of the same reality-of-realities. In short: more counts than Marvel used to admit.