Marvel Studios’ Blade movie is reportedly on hold as it searches for a new director following Bassam Tariq’s departure from the project. Since vampires are ageless, the narrative of Blade could take audiences all over the MCU’s timeline. That timeline doesn’t just include story events from the MCU’s movies and streaming shows; some MCU projects have incorporated real-life history.
From the Partition of India in Ms. Marvel to the destruction of Pompeii in Loki to the Second World War in Captain America: The First Avenger, the MCU has depicted several real-life historical events.
The War In Afghanistan (Iron Man)
In the comics, Tony Stark’s origin story is more or less the same as the one depicted in the MCU. He’s captured in a warzone, trapped with fellow scientist Ho Yinsen, and builds a superpowered suit of armor to break himself out. The only difference is that, in the comics, Tony is captured by Wong-Chu during the Vietnam War, and in the first Iron Man movie, he’s captured by the Ten Rings during the War in Afghanistan.
In modernizing the title character’s origins, Iron Man updated the Vietnam setting to an Afghanistan setting and switched out the fear of communism in the 1960s for the fear of terrorism in the 2000s.
The Atomic Bombing Of Hiroshima (Eternals)
The MCU’s controversial Eternals movie takes place across the span of 7,000 years. The titular ancient aliens are sent to Earth to protect the planet from attacks by Deviants. Although they’re not allowed to help out in any human conflicts, they are present for some of the most significant events in human history. Phastos, the Eternal with the power of invention, is seen standing in the remains of Hiroshima after an atomic bomb has wiped it out.
Phastos weeps for the people of Hiroshima. He believes that he is responsible, because in the alternate history of the movie, he introduced humanity to the technological innovations that made the atomic bomb possible. After Hiroshima is bombed, Phastos deems the human race to be unworthy of saving.
The Cold War (Black Widow)
The opening flashback in the long-awaited Black Widow movie revealed that, as a child, Natasha Romanoff was a part of a group of Soviet spies sent into the American suburbs to gather intel on the United States. Nat lived in a quaint little home in Ohio, where Alexei Shostakov posed as her father, Melina Vostokoff posed as her mother, and Yelena Belova posed as her sister.
After stealing information from S.H.I.E.L.D., the family had to flee the country in the middle of the night. They made it to Cuba, where Nat and Yelena were separated from their surrogate parents and sent to the Red Room program to be trained as assassins.
The Beginnings Of Babylon (Eternals)
The capital of the Babylonian Empire, Babylon, is seen toward the beginning of Eternals when the eponymous aliens protect the ancient city from an attack by their sworn enemy, the Deviants. Eternals became notable as the first major movie to feature lines of dialogue in the ancient Iraqi language of Babylonian, which was spoken from around 2000 BC to 500 BC.
Located in Mesopotamia, where Iraq can be found today, Babylon is the site of Eternals’ first of very few action sequences. The name “Babylonian Empire” refers to two separate empires in the Mesopotamian area.
The Destruction Of Pompeii (Loki)
When the main narrative of Loki’s first season gets going, the trickster god and his TVA bureaucrat sidekick Mobius are searching the space-time continuum for a rogue Loki variant who’s been causing all kinds of trouble for the timeline. Loki develops a theory that this variant is hiding out in apocalypses, assuming that the ensuing chaos will wipe out any trace that they were ever there.
To test this theory, Mobius takes Loki to Pompeii on the eve of its destruction by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Despite all the death and devastation around him, Loki is thrilled to learn that his theory was correct.
The Partition Of India (Ms. Marvel)
In 1947, British India was split into two independent dominions – India and Pakistan – in what is now known as “the partition of India.” The Dominion of India is now known as the Republic of India and the Dominion of Pakistan is now known as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Two provinces, Bengal and Punjab, were divided in the partition.
The backstory-centric fifth episode of Ms. Marvel, “Time and Again,” depicts the partition from the perspective of a Muslim family fleeing to Pakistan. After being flung back in time at the end of the last episode, Kamala Khan finds herself reliving the partition, able to communicate with her great-grandmother, Aisha.
The Fall Of Tenochtitlan (Eternals)
On top of the birth of Babylon and the bombing of Hiroshima, Eternals depicts the fall of Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Aztec Empire, a triple alliance of city states situated in what is now known as Mexico. The empire was formed in 1428 and collapsed in 1521 when it was invaded by the Spanish. The Eternals are in Tenochtitlan to seek out the last of the Deviants when the Spanish invaders arrive to slaughter villagers.
Druig is disgusted by the callousness and cold-heartedness displayed by the Spanish invaders and attempts to take control of their minds to prevent further bloodshed. But Ajak stops him, because they’re forbidden from interfering in human conflicts.
World War II (Captain America: The First Avenger)
The bulk of Steve Rogers’ MCU arc takes place in the present day. But his origin story, depicted in Captain America: The First Avenger, takes place way back in World War II. Before being frozen and thawed out in the 21st century, Steve took the Super Soldier Serum so that he could fight for the Allies.
Since it wouldn’t be appropriate for a pulpy superhero adventure to portray the atrocities committed by the Nazis during World War II, the Nazis are replaced by the fictional Marvel organization Hydra, led by the Red Skull.