Marvel Admits Screwing Up The Timeline Of Its Most Important Superhero
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a vast tapestry where timelines and continuity are crucial for a seamless storytelling experience. However, sometimes errors occur, such as the well-known continuity mistake in Spider-Man: Homecoming. This Marvel timeline error has been resolved with the release of the book The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline, clarifying that Homecoming, Tom Holland’s first solo venture as Peter Parker/Spider-Man after Captain America: Civil War, occurs weeks after Civil War in 2016, and not eight years after the 2012 Battle of New York from The Avengers, as a title card in Homecoming mistakenly suggested.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline clarifies the placement of Spider-Man: Homecoming by changing it to 2016 from the original date of 2020.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline serves to rectify any confusion regarding the Marvel timeline. The book specifically addresses the eight-year discrepancy in Spider-Man: Homecoming, positioning the film’s opening moments in Spring 2012 and the majority of the action in Fall 2016, four years after the events of The Avengers. This clarification in the Marvel timeline is a welcome resolution for many viewers who have sought confirmation since Spider-Man: Homecoming was released in 2017.
The adjustment Marvel made to the timeline helps clear things up in regard to The Blip, which happened in 2018, two years before the original 2020 date in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Prior to the release of The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline, the Marvel timeline has been a topic of discussion and clarification among the creators and executives at Marvel Studios. In 2017, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige addressed the confusing timecard issue in Spider-Man: Homecoming, stating that it was never meant to puzzle anyone and that a timeline would eventually be published to clarify things. Additionally, Joe Russo, co-director of Avengers: Infinity War, acknowledged the error during the film’s press junket, labeling it as “very incorrect.”
In addition to rectifying the timeline issue in Spider-Man: Homecoming, the official Marvel timeline book enlists Miss Minutes and the Time Variance Authority, both introduced in the Disney+ series Loki, to elucidate other timeline discrepancies.
Notably, Michael Keaton’s character Adrian Toomes in Homecoming states, “eight years, not a word from the Fed,” contributing to the timeline confusion, as it implies the Battle of New York was eight years ago instead of four. In The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline, Miss Minutes addresses this inconsistency by attributing it to the ineptitude of a TVA worker.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline underscores the importance of Loki in the MCU’s overarching narrative. It cements the role of the Disney+ series in shaping the Marvel timeline and ensuring a consistent storytelling experience throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The TVA plays an instrumental role in preventing any potential deviations or anomalies that could potentially trigger a catastrophic multiversal collapse.
Marvel Studios is blaming timeline discrepancies, in-universe, on the TVA from Loki.
While an error on behalf of a TVA worker might not be the resolution fans were hoping for, it’s notable and commendable that Marvel Studios has taken the step to officially acknowledge and correct the mistakes in Spider-Man: Homecoming in relation to the overarching Marvel timeline. In addition to these acknowledgments, Marvel Studios has gone a step further in utilizing the character of Miss Minutes and the Time Variance Authority to address and rectify other discrepancies within The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline.
This conscientious effort by Marvel Studios not only demonstrates their commitment to maintaining a clear and coherent narrative throughout the MCU but also underscores the importance they place on delivering a consistent and interconnected universe for their audience to immerse themselves in.
