What is the 'MCU'

 

The MCU is the collective term to describe content associated or relating to a series of American Superhero films released by Marvel Studios based on the characters that appear in Marvel Comics. The term itself is short for Marvel Cinematic Universe generally referring to the nature of the movies, in which they primarily are interconnected to set-up team-up movies or develop an over arcing narrative.

Due to its nature and longevity along with primarily positive reactions to its releases, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the highest grossing franchise in the world, surpassing the second highest franchise (Star Wars) by roughly $12 billion at the time or writing.

Although the birth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe can be traced back to the appearance of Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man along with the references to the 'Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division' known better perhaps as S.H.I.E.L.D - the nature of the MCU is ever expanding and covers a wide range of different media methods including comics, books, movies, music and more.