Iron Man was the first superhero introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and served as the lead character during the whole Infinity Saga, but that doesn’t mean he was the first superhero in-universe – and here’s every MCU hero who existed before him. Back in 2008, the MCU began its run with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, introducing Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and teasing the formation of the Avengers in its post-credits scene. Since then, the MCU has produced 22 more films divided into three phases, which came to an end with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

In over 10 years, the MCU has brought various characters from Marvel Comics to the big screen, some more well-known than others. After building up the arrival of Thanos and his acquisition of the Infinity Stones for years, all heroes from the MCU finally teamed up in Avengers: Endgame to defeat the Mad Titan once and for all while also bringing Iron Man’s arc to an end. Tony Stark will continue to be an important figure in the MCU even after his death as he was the one who started it all, but he wasn’t the first hero to exist within this universe.

Related: Avengers: Endgame Killed Iron Man - But Not The MCU's Reliance On His Armor

The MCU films weren’t released chronologically, and they have gone back and forth in time when introducing new characters, so when Tony Stark became Iron Man in 2008-2009, there had already been other superheroes doing their part, of which some were still active by the time he put on the armor. Here’s every MCU hero that already existed before Iron Man.

Captain America

Captain America was a hero way before Tony Stark was born. Steve Rogers was born on July 4, 1918, and after various attempts to join the army to fight the Nazis, he finally did it as candidate of Project Rebirth, the procedure that fully transformed him thanks to the Super Soldier Serum. Although he was now much taller, stronger, and all his previous medical conditions had been cured, he still wasn’t allowed to serve in World War II and was instead used to promote war bonds for the Treasury Department as Captain America. Steve eventually got to serve in the war and became a hero, and spent decades frozen after crashing HYDRA’s bomber plane, Valkyrie. Steve was defrosted nearly seventy years later, and it took him a while to fight as Captain America again.

Thor

Thor Dark World Hammer Cropped

Thor is the oldest of the Avengers simply because he’s a God. Thor’s date of birth is 964 A.D-965 A.D., and he was born with supernatural powers and superhuman attributes beyond those of other Asgardians. Contrary to what some believe, Mjolnir isn’t the source of his powers, but a tool to help him focus them. Although Thor was banished to Earth in 2011 and has since fought here (and in other planets) a couple of times, Thor has been an active player way before any other (current) hero in the MCU.

Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel in the MCU

Captain Marvel sent viewers back to the 1990s to meet Carol Danvers, a United States Air Force pilot who was exposed to the energy of the Tesseract, which granted her cosmic powers. She was then taken by Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) and was given a blood transfusion, turning her into a human-Kree hybrid. The accident that exposed her to the Tesseract happened in 1989, but she got proper training and became Captain Marvel in the 1990s. Carol spent two decades helping other planets and returned to Earth following Thanos’ snap in Avengers: Infinity War.

Related: Every MCU Hero Who Got Their Powers From Infinity Stones

Ant-Man & the Wasp (Hank Pym & Janet Van Dyne)

Ant-Man and the Wasp prologue with Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne on a mission

Before Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne became Ant-Man and the Wasp, there were Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, who made everything possible. Hank Pym was born between 1941 and 1950, and was recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D. to work as a consultant when he was young. In the 1960s, Pym discovered and isolated a rare group of subatomic, extra-dimensional particles that could increase or decrease the size and mass of objects and living beings. These were named “Pym Particles”, and he later used them to create the Ant-Man Suit, which allows the wearer to control the effects of the particles. He then went on different missions with his wife, Janet van Dyne, who wore the Wasp Suit. Unfortunately, Janet got trapped in the Quantum Realm for decades after shrinking to subatomic size to fulfill a mission. That, along with S.H.I.E.L.D. trying to recreate the particles, prompted Pym stop using the Ant-Man suit and keep it in a safe.

Black Panther (T’Chaka)

T'Chaka in civil war at the UN

Black Panther is a title given to the chief of the Panther Tribe of Wakanda, so even though the current Black Panther (T’Challa) began his superhero life around 2018, the role has been active for a long time. By the time Tony Stark became Iron Man, T’Challa’s father, T’Chaka, was Black Panther. Ryan Coogler’s film offered a brief look at T’Chaka as Black Panther in a flashback to 1992, where he confronted his brother. T’Chaka was killed in Captain America: Civil War after a bombing at a conference in Vienna, with T’Challa immediately taking on the mantle of Black Panther.

The Ancient One

Avengers ancient one

Doctor Strange’s timeline is a bit confusing, but what’s for sure is that the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) was already defending this dimension way before Tony Stark was even born. No one knew her exact age nor anything about her past, other than she had been defending Earth from mystical threats for centuries. During a battle in the Mirror Dimension against Kaecilius and the Zealots – where it was also revealed that she had been summoning Dormammu’s power to enhance her own – she was stabbed by Kaecilius and died at the Metro-General Hospital, but not before having one last conversation with Stephen Strange through their astral forms.

Next: Marvel Phase 4: Every Infinity Stone That Could Appear (& Where)

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