The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films are a series of American superhero films produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics.The MCU is the shared universe in which all of the films are set. The films have been in production since 2007, and in that time Marvel Studios has produced and released 22 films, with nine more in various stages of.
What makes the many films of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe impressive, box office notwithstanding, is the connective tissue. With this week’s Captain Marvel, 21 films now live in the same fictional universe, with the same shared set of world logic, without contradicting one another in major ways.
That shared endeavor also means many overlapping characters, settings, and plot devices all appearing and influencing the overarching meta-narrative at various points throughout its 10-plus-year run. And one of the earliest examples continues to have a profound impact on the MCU: the Tesseract.
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[Warning: The following contains spoilers for Captain Marvel as well as about a half-dozen other Marvel Studios movies.]
The Tesseract’s power seemed limitless during the first phase of Marvel Studios films. The cosmic cube that houses the Space Stone has, appropriately enough, jumped around Marvel’s universe quite a bit, and its outsized influence on the MCU continues with Captain Marvel and her origin story. With 10 years of lore now comprising the Marvel timeline, it’s worth looking back at exactly how the cube got to this moment.
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What is the Tesseract, and how is it connect to the Space Stone?
If you’re dizzy from Thanos flexing those Reality and Time Stone muscles in Infinity War, you may forget exactly where the hunt for the gems really began. In the MCU, the Tesseract is a container for the Space Stone, one of six Infinity Stones that serve as the all-powerful MacGuffins of the MCU. Each of the Stones embodies some aspect of the universe and their respective capabilities reflect that. In practice, the Space Stone/Tesseract has been used to create portals for traveling across the universe, but just as frequently, it’s a magical blue box that’s used to create weapons, spacecraft engines, and in the case of Captain Marvel, a superhero.
At some point in the history of the MCU, Asgard king Odin (also Thor’s father) gains possession of the Tesseract. Sometime after that, Odin hides the Tesseract on Earth — specifically in Norway.
The Tesseract debuts in Captain America: The First Avenger
Though not the first on-screen appearance — Thor’s post-credits scene preceded it by a few months — the Tesseract became a major plot device in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. The movie opens when a group of Nazis/Hydra soldiers led by Johann Schmidt (aka Red Skull) track the Tesseract to a church in Norway. Schmidt, whose knowledge of its existence seems to come from mythology, then takes the Tesseract and, along with co-conspirator Arnim Zola, develop weapons that harness Tesseract’s energy.
Ultimately, Steve Rogers (aka Captain America) foiled those plans when he infiltrated an aircraft packed with the Red Skull, the Tesseract, and several nuclear bombs. In the end, Red Skull tries to physically hold the Cosmic Cube, which — as we learn in Avengers: Infinity War — teleports him through space to the planet Vormir, where Thanos eventually sacrifices Gamora.
Post-wormhole, the Tesseract burns through the aircraft and falls into ocean, where it is later retrieved by Howard Stark (aka Iron Man’s dad, one of the many important dads in the MCU) while searching for Rogers. At some point, between then and 1989, the Tesseract finds itself at Project PEGASUS, a joint effort by NASA and the US Air Force to study the Tesseract. We’ll have to wait until the next Marvel prequel to know what happened to the Tesseract during the 45-year gap in MCU history
Captain Marvel and Project PEGASUS (part one)
The Tesseract’s importance in Captain Marvel’s story isn’t revealed until later in the movie, after Carol Danvers regains her memories. Prior to the events of the film, Mar-Vell (Annette Bening) joins Project PEGASUS under the guise of an aerospace engineer named Dr. Lawson. She ultimately gains possession of the Tesseract, storing it in a hidden lab orbiting Earth. Mar-Vell, a Kree scientist helping refugee Skrulls escape the horrors of war, works to create a faster-than-light (FTL) engine powered by an “energy core” that harnesses the Tesseract’s power.
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As revealed in flashbacks, Danvers was the pilot of an experimental plane (special energy engine in tow) that escorted Lawson/Mar-Vell. As we see in flashback, the Kree operative Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) shoots down the plane in order to steal the technology. Danvers, acting on Mar-Vell’s dying wish, blows up the engine so that the Kree would not be able to obtain it. The resulting explosion bathes Carol in energy from the Tesseract, granting her powers. Yon-Rogg brings Danvers into the Kree fold, her memories pre-explosion missing, while also implanting a power-dampening chip in her neck.
Back to the present, Danvers — along with Nick Fury and Mar-Vell’s alien cat/flerken Goose — travel to the orbital lab and find the source of this faster-than-light power: the all-too-familiar blue cube (to the audience, at least — the characters are understandably not as familiar). A battle with the Kree ensues, during which Goose swallows the Tesseract. We next see the Tesseract in Captain Marvel’s post-credits scene, when Goose barfs it up.
So to recap: The Tesseract moves from Project PEGASUS to a hidden space station to an alien cat’s interdimensional stomach and then to SHIELD HQ, and along the way it “created” Captain Marvel by proxy. The ’90s were a weird time.
The Avengers and Project PEGASUS part two
In MCU chronology, the next time we see the Tesseract is the post-credits scene for 2011’s Thor, in which Nick Fury shows the cube to Dr. Selvig (and, unbeknownst to Fury, an invisible Loki) in the hopes that Selvig could help SHIELD harness the Tesseract for, among other things, weapons that would help Earth defend itself from otherworldly forces. The program that Selvig would be working for? Project PEGASUS.
In brief — insomuch as anyone can be, given the Tesseract is the entire driving force of The Avengers’ plot — Loki steals the Tesseract from SHIELD and uses it to create a portal over New York for an army of Chitauri to invade Earth. Loki’s appearance prompts Fury to enact the Avengers initiative — named after Carol Danvers’ call sign — bringing together all of the MCU heroes thus far to save the world, which of course they did.
In the end, Thor takes both Loki and the Tesseract to his homeworld Asgard, where he locks it away in Odin’s vault for the next 10 or so films.
Post-Avengers: Ragnarok and Infinity War
The next time we see the Tesseract (outside of any weird character visions or animated expositions) is in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok. Loki — who is at this point on the side of the heroes helping Thor and team evacuate Asgardians — quietly grabs the Tesseract while in Odin’s vault, summoning the fire god Surtur.
Possession doesn’t last long, as seen in Ragnarok’s post-credits scene when the Asgard refugee spaceship is very soon overtaken by Thanos’ much larger craft. The aftermath opens 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War: After killing half of the Asgardians on board, Thanos tortures Thor until Loki reveals the Tesseract. After a very quick scuffle with the Hulk, Thanos obtains the Tesseract, crushes it in one hand, and places the now-exposed Space Stone into his Infinity Gauntlet.
One more recap: In short, the Tesseract went from Thor’s dad to Norway to Nazis/Hydra to the ocean to Iron Man’s dad to Project PEGASUS to a space station to an alien cat’s stomach back to SHIELD to Loki to Asgard to Loki to Thanos.
There are still several questions surrounding the Tesseract’s timeline. When did Howard Stark give it to Project PEGASUS? How did Odin get possession of it in the first place, and when did he hide it on Earth? When did the Space Stone get its own little container? And looking ahead, what happens to the Space Stone in this post-snap universe?
We’ll know the answer to at least one of those questions in April when Avengers: Endgame closes this chapter of the MCU.
- The big picture 6
- After the credits 5
- How it happened in the comics 5
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Captain Marvel
Does Captain Marvelbreak the MCU's timeline? Set in 1995, the film is essentially a prequel to the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. It features a never-before-told adventure of the young Nick Fury, and sees him encounter aliens for the first time. By the end of the movie, Carol Danvers' example has inspired Nick Fury to propose the Avengers Initiative.
But that makes Captain Marvel a massive retcon, with a new character written into the history of the MCU. The problem with retcons is that they can cause problems with continuity; the more complex the continuity, the more likely there'll be a problem. The MCU timeline is a complex one, involving 21 movies, a range of popular tie-in comics, and a large slate of TV shows. As a result, Captain Marvel always had the potential to seriously disrupt the timeline.
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Related: How Captain Marvel Connects To Avengers: Endgame
In reality, Captain Marvel is a masterpiece of continuity, with the script carefully avoiding any major contradictions - including with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. But one specific issue has drawn a lot of criticism from fans; the use of the Tesseract. There's a serious amount of confusion online about just how the film's use of the Tesseract fits into the MCU's continuity, with some claiming it's an outright continuity error. Fortunately, that isn't the case.
- This Page: Everything We Learn About The Tesseract In Captain Marvel
- Page 2: Why Captain Marvel Doesn't Break The MCU Timeline
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Everything We Learn About The Tesseract In Captain Marvel
According to Captain Marvel, by the late 1980s the Tesseract was in the hands of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., a joint USAF/NASA operation attempting to create advanced propulsion systems and high-tech aircraft. Their experiments somehow drew the attention of the rogue Kree scientist Mar-Vell, who had grown disillusioned with her race and their warmongering ways. Mar-Vell aimed to find a way to save the Skrulls from extinction at the hands of the Kree, and decided the easiest way was to give them the technology to go so far away that they would be beyond the Kree's reach. She believed Tesseract energy could be siphoned off to create a faster-than-light drive that would prove to be the salvation of the Skrull race.
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Taking the identity of Dr. Wendy Lawson, Mar-Vell infiltrated Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. and soon took charge of the Tesseract project. By 1989 she had developed a prototype engine, and incorporated it into a revolutionary vessel called the Asis. A blend of human and Kree science, the Asis was designed to fly faster than anything in the entire galaxy; where traditional aircraft produce contrails, the Asis generated a comet's tail of energy waves. Unfortunately Mar-Vell's treachery had been discovered by Starforce Commander Yon-Rogg, who had been carefully monitoring events on Earth. Yon-Rogg and Minn-Erva shot down the Asis and killed Mar-Vell, intending to take the experimental engine for the Kree. USAF pilot Carol Danvers, Mar-Vell's pilot, intervened; she shot the engine, triggering an explosion of Tesseract energy that she absorbed. Mar-Vell's plans were stalled, and Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. discovered that the dead Lawson had stolen the Tesseract. Unable to work out what had happened, they did their best to bury the Tesseract experiments and pretend they'd never taken place at all.
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Lawson had taken the Tesseract to her cloaked Kree ship, which was hidden in orbit around the Earth. She'd already been quietly secreting Skrull refugees there, preparing to take them somewhere they would be safe once her experiments were complete. And so the Tesseract waited, hidden, for six years - until the events of Captain Marvel, when Carol Danvers was returned to Earth and discovered the truth about the Kree and the source of her powers. Although she retrieved the Tesseract, it was swallowed by the Flerken known as Goose the cat; she coughed it up sometime later on Nick Fury's desk.
Related: The Tesseract Has Appeared In More Marvel Movies Than Captain America
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The Tesseract's MCU Timeline
Captain Marvel adds a lot to the story of the Tesseract; but it doesn't actually contradict the timeline at all. Putting the pieces together, the timeline looks something like this:
- The Tesseract was originally the jewel of Odin's treasure room, and a sketch in Thorsuggests that he used its power liberally.
- In 1409, the All-Father decided to hide the Tesseract away in Tønsberg, Norway. It was secreted away by a Norse sect, and became the stuff of legends on Earth.
- The Tesseract remained hidden until March 1942, when it was finally discovered by the Red Skull alongside a copy of the Book of Yggdrasil. Hydra learned how to tap into the Tesseract's power, and used it to create a wave of advanced Hydra weapons and vehicles. Fortunately they were opposed by Captain America and the SSR.
- At the end of Captain America: The First Avenger, the Tesseract was lost in the Atlantic Ocean. shortly after, it was retrieved by Howard Stark.
- The timeline is a little unclear at this point, but according to Iron Man 2Howard Stark worked with Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.. Presumably he was part of the Tesseract research group, and the notes Tony Stark flicked through in Iron Man 2 - which featured a sketch of the Tesseract - were from that period.
- The Kree scientist Mar-Vell infiltrated P.E.G.A.S.U.S., and by 1989 had taken charge of the Tesseract project. It's possible that Howard Stark was aware of Mar-Vell's true identity and purpose, given Mar-Vell managed to steal the Tesseract and take it to her ship.
- The Tesseract was rediscovered in 1995, but was swallowed by a Flerken. Goose eventually coughed it up on Nick Fury's desk.
- Nick Fury sent the Tesseract back to P.E.G.A.S.U.S., but once he became Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. he pushed for S.H.I.E.L.D. to establish a presence at what had previously been a USAF/NASA facility.
- In 2011, Thor arrived on Earth, a being from Asgard - the place S.H.I.E.L.D. believed the Tesseract came from. In the post-credits scene of Thor, Fury recruited Erik Selvig into Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. to lead the Tesseract experiments.
- In The Avengers, Loki successfully stole the Tesseract from Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., and used it to help the Chitauri invade Earth. The invasion was stopped, and Thor used the Tesseract to return to Asgard. According to the Thor: The Dark World Prelude, Odin used it to restore the Bifrost.
- The Tesseract remained in Odin's Vault until Thor: Ragnarok, when Loki secretly retrieved it. Loki was forced to hand the Tesseract over to Thanos at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War; the Mad Titan broke it open to retrieve the Space Stone, which he placed within the Infinity Gauntlet. Its power - along with the power of the other five Infinity Stones - was ultimately used by Thanos to erase half the life in the universe.
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Related: Marvel Movie Timeline: A Complete History Of The MCU
Page 2: Why Captain Marvel Doesn't Break The MCU Timeline
- Captain Marvel (2019) release date: Mar 08, 2019
- The Avengers 4 / Avengers: Endgame (2019) release date: Apr 26, 2019
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) release date: Jul 02, 2019
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