If there is one thing that fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe want, it's a more definitive connection between the films and TV shows. Each are enjoyable on their own, but one of the biggest, if not the biggest draws of the MCU movies is the crossovers. After all, the first Avengers film is regarded as one of the best superhero movies of all time. Infinity War, the biggest crossover event in film history, just recently became the highest grossing superhero movie of all time. Suffice it to say, people love seeing the characters of the MCU interact; or rather, they love to see that they all occupy the same universe -- a concept that Marvel popularized in film that in turn caused every production company to attempt their own shared universe.
And yet, despite the fact that the MCU thrives on crossover films and team ups, the TV branch of Marvel Studios seems to be left with the scraps. Don't get us wrong, Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage are all fantastic shows, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has its fair share of followers, but other than a few small interactions, the two factions have yet to fully meet. Of course, with what we know about the logistical nightmare that comes with crossing over the two worlds, it doesn't seem like we're going to be getting any concrete crossovers anytime soon. Or are we?
20 CONNECTED: NICK FURY ON S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe's very first foray into television was Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The show has its ups and downs but it still has a rather dedicated following, and it also deserves praise for having some of the most solid connections between film and TV. First of all, the series follows an organization that has played a part in the MCU since Iron Man, and even more impressive, the show starred a character that made his premier in Iron Man as well. Meaning, the show has strong roots in the MCU, and even if it broke off to focus on a small cast rather than the organization as a whole, it still earns points for connecting to the films rather strongly, especially with Coulson's death and revival.
What it also deserves credit for is featuring cameo appearances by Nick Fury, who himself was the person that told the world that Iron Man was only the beginning. Samuel L. Jackson showed up at the end of Iron Man to tell us that the Avengers was happening, creating a larger world, and he also helped to expand that larger world when he showed up on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. not once, but twice. Jackson portrayed Fury in two episodes, first in the second episode "0-8-4" and later after the events of The Winter Soldier, in the episode "Beginning of the End." Agent Maria Hill also made some appearances, further connecting films to TV.
19 WON'T HAPPEN: THE DEFENDERS JOIN THE AVENGERS
Okay, maybe not "join" the Avengers, but is a team up or a cameo too much to ask? While the Avengers have become the world's greatest heroes in Marvel movies, The Defenders, both on their own and together, have become heroes in their own right. While the Netflix series have been up and down, they are, for the most part, rather well-crafted in terms of crossing over. The characters have met with the same finesse that brought the Avengers together in the films.
And yet, because of the logistical nightmare of bringing the Marvel films and TV shows together, the Defenders will mostly likely never make it into an Avengers film. But, even though we know it might never happen, it's still cool to think of how it would play out. Perhaps it could be something as big as Luke Cage showing up to shield a shieldless Captain American from gunfire or Iron Fist meeting Doctor Strange, but more likely it will be small cameos, which would be cool on their own. Imagine if, during the chaos of a big battle in an Avengers movie, Cap is worried about protecting civilians, but Black Widow assures him that the Defenders have got it handled. Then, a quick cut to the streets of New York show the four of them keeping people safe and out of fire, dealing with the small threats that get through the Avengers' defenses. Of course, it won't happen, but we can dream.
18 CONNECTED: ORGANIZED CRIME IN DAREDEVIL
In the world of Marvel's television, the battle of New York, the fight in the finale scenes of The Avengers, is referred to as "The Incident." In Luke Cage, we see people selling videos of the whole thing, in Jessica Jones, it is briefly mentioned, but in Daredevil, it serves a much bigger purpose. In the Netflix series that started it all, there is trouble brewing in Hell's Kitchen: gang activity that stems from one event, "The Incident." Because of all the damage from the battle at the end of The Avengers, the city needs rebuilding, it needs money for construction and it'll take it whatever it can get.
Thus, the four biggest gangs within the underbelly of New York were there to get in on the ground floor of a new city, with Wilson Fisk leading them all. This was such a brilliant move for the TV branch of the MCU. It connects a major plot point of the movie universe and turns it into the main reason for the villains to exist in Daredevil. While it might not be a major team up, this connection was strong and smart. Though, sadly, it could only serve as a plot point for so long and the second season of Daredevil and the other Netflix series didn't connect as well.
17 WON'T HAPPEN: SPIDER-MAN IN NYC
Speaking of "The Incident," the battle of New York also served as a major plot point for Spider-Man: Homecoming. The technology raided from the the battle helped create the villain much in the same way that the incident created a breeding ground for mob activity in Hell's Kitchen. Because of this shared plot piece, we wish that we could see Spider-Man crossover a bit into the TV branch of the MCU, especially since the Defenders and Spider-Man are both based in New York.
This is another one that could be a full team up or just some cameos, but how awesome would it be if it worked just like a "guest star" team-up issue of a comic. Meaning, there have been issues of Daredevil in which Spider-Man shows up and they fight someone together, so how cool would it be if, in an episode of Daredevil, Spidey shows up and, well, acts like Spidey. Daredevil would be all brooding and serious while he tries to solve a crime wile Spider-Man just annoys the heck out of him as he tries his best to help. Plus, we could see Matt's super sense and Peter's spider sense work in tandem. But, alas, something like this would never happen.
16 CONNECTED: BEN URICH'S ARTICLES
Going back to the Battle of New York, there were some other cool connections to the films in Daredevil aside from the first season's major plot point. Specifically, we're talking about the guy who actually gave it that name, Ben Urich, a writer for the New York Bulletin and a supporting character in Daredevil. In the first season of Daredevil, Ben was looking for a new story, one with as much integrity as his piece on the Battle of New York, something that will show people what they don't already know about the crazy world they live in.
At certain points, we see Ben's office and find framed articles of his, one of which is the "Battle of NY" article, his most recent award-winning piece. But, it's not the only framed article, since there is also a piece about an often forgotten entry in the MCU. The article, titled "Harlem Terror" is a piece connecting to The Incredible Hulk, which supposedly reports about the final battle of the film in which The Hulk fought the Abomination. While they're not incredibly big connections to the MCU, they are fun ones all the same, especially since The Incredible Hulk gets a little mention when it is otherwise overlooked.
15 WON'T HAPPEN: THE AVENGERS REUNITE WITH COULSON
"The Avengers" is sort of a weird name. Sure, it has that cool "doesn't quite make sense but has a nice ring to it" comic book-title quality to it, but when you really think about it, their team name is kind of questionable. Specifically, who or what are they avenging? The first Avengers movie sort of tried to answer this question, and no we're not talking about the scene where Tony Stark says they'll be sure to avenge the world if they can't save it, though that does end up sort of being their purpose later on. We're talking more specifically about who the team is avenging; someone who they all grew to like and respect at some point in the MCU -- Agent Phil Coulson.
Coulson was there since the very beginning, showing up in Iron Man and Iron Man 2, both times showing us that S.H.I.E.L.D. was part of this world. He made friends with Tony, he told Captain America that his heroics inspired him, he informed Thor where Jane was after he left. He meant something to a lot of people, including the fans, which is why his death hit so hard and served perfectly as the thing that the Avengers were going to, well, Avenge. However, after all that was done for him after he died, Coulson was eventually found to be alive, but the Avengers don't seem to know, and it's been said that they probably won't ever know.
14 CONNECTED: VAGUE MENTIONS
As the years go on with the TV branch of the MCU, we find the connections getting smaller and smaller. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had some big connections going in, but as time went on, the procedure to have stronger crossover elements became too much, and by the time of the Netflix series, there was even less to work with. However, some series did manage to throw in some mentions of the films, particularly Daredevil and Jessica Jones. In the former, Foggy Nelson made a joke saying, "I could say I'm Captain America, but it doesn't put wings on my head." It's a nice little nod to the Avengers, if a bit small.
In Jessica Jones, Jessica herself makes mention of the Avengers, calling Hulk "the big green guy" and Captain America "the flag waver." Again, a small mention, but everyone at home got it. However, while the TV shows do a lot to get these small and often vague mentions into the series, the opposite never happens for some reason. We never even hear the Avengers or Captain America or even just Nick Fury make note that they are keeping an eye on the Defenders. Heck they could have done it in that scene where Stephen Strange was mentioned in The Winter Soldier.
13 WON'T HAPPEN: EXPLICIT MENTIONS
As we just said, it's always cool when there are small references in Marvel TV shows that connect to the larger universe. However, they are vague at best. It's always a name drop or a distant nickname. Heck, "The Incident" seems like a bit of a tame way to put the massively chaotic and destructive Battle of New York. And on that note, why don't we see bigger effects of this? Why does "The Incident" seem so distant? Of course, the answer is most likely the same as it is for all the other questions wondering where the connection between the TV shows and films of the MCU.
It is the same reason that we don't get more explicit mentions in either the films or the TV shows. In the MCU movies, we don't see Doctor Strange mentioning that he knows about the Iron Fist, or other mystical elements in the Netflix series. In the TV shows, we don't hear about events that occur in the MCU aside from "the incident." Sure, S.H.I.E.L.D. fell to Hydra after The Winter Soldier, but did we hear about it in Jessica Jones? Or what about the end of Age of Ultron, does Matt Murdock keep up with what happened in Sokovia and add it to his courtroom repertoire? Did he help a mother who lost a child push for the accords? Nope, but we wish he did.
12 CONNECTED: ROXXON
Background details can play a big part in making a universe feel real, something that is especially important in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Background details or mentions that serve as small nods to things that have been featured or served as plot points in other movies or TV shows can pick up a lot of slack left by the lack of strong connections between the TV shows and Movies of the MCU. One particular background detail is the Roxxon corporation, a rather shady company that has been featured in a few movies and TV shows and helps to connect the MCU, if only a little bit.
Roxxon has been featured in all three Iron Man films and even serves to connect all the TV shows to each other. This is to say that while the TV series have a stronger connection to each other, the connection is still rather vague. All of the Netflix series obviously have connections with The Defenders, and Agent Carter has its connections to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but these two worlds rarely, if ever, meet. So, it's cool that the Roxxon corporation serves as a small bridge between the two worlds of MCU television as well as the films of the franchise.
11 WON'T HAPPEN: INHUMANS TEAM UP
Alright, take it easy with the angry comments, and give us a chance to explain this one. The Inhumans was a failure, there's no doubt about it. Everything down to the terrible costume designs to the poor writing choices and problematic production, it seemed this series was bound to flop from very early on. And flop it did, no matter how much Marvel tried to punch up the premier with an IMAX release, the series was still horribly received. Perhaps the TV branch of the MCU was trying to pull a Guardians of the Galaxy by using somewhat obscure characters (at least to the average TV watcher) to tell a suprisingly fun and exciting story.
If this was the idea, it ultimately failed, but the characters are still worth saving. Perhaps something can be done to salvage the Inhumans, since some of them were used rather well in Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. (Quake is one after all), but maybe TV wasn't the right move for the characters. A movie was originally planned for the Inhumans, so maybe they should go back there. Maybe not as the stars, but maybe as allies that need to be convinced by the Avengers to join the fight. Maybe there's a better idea than that. It would be cool to give these characters the proper place in the MCU that they deserve.
10 CONNECTED: SEAGATE
Marvel has a bit of a villain problem, we all know it. In nearly all the early films, the villain is underwhelming, does very little and/or, worst of all, they die at the end leaving us without the thing that makes serialized superhero comics great: the fact that the bad guys always come back and the fight starts all over again. Regardless of wether or not you agree with this notion, we can all admit that some of Marvel movies' villains would have been more interesting if they didn't die. Think about how much people loved Killmonger, wouldn't you want to see more of him?
While most villains get killed in the MCU, there have been a few that were given due process, but where do they go? Well, Two Iron Man villains, Justin Hammer and Trevor Slattery were both went to Seagate Penitentiary, which serves as another small connection between MCU movies and TV. Well, maybe not that small, since it is a central location that plays a major part in both the Iron Man 3 one-shot short "All Hail the King" and in Luke Cage. Luke Cage, though not a villain, also served his time in this prison, which is where he learned to fight and received his superhuman strength and unbreakable skin.
9 WON'T HAPPEN: DOCTOR STRANGE VS. GHOST RIDER
For those who don't watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., there was a part of season four in which Ghost Rider showed up and served as a major character. No, not Johnny Blaze, Robbie Reyes was the Ghost Rider in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Johnny only had a brief cameo in a flashback, Robbie got a full-on character arc on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., during which we got to see all of his cool powers, including his ability to open portals by spinning his chain in a circle. This power looks almost identical to how Doctor Strange opens portals with his sling ring.
It is because of this shared element that we would love to see a team up between Robbie and Dr. Strange. Of course, this one is WAY out there, but how cool would it be if Dr. Strange was looking into the darker aspects of his mystical duty, only to stumble onto Robbie and his work as the spirit of vengeance. Heck you could get the whole mystical gang together and throw Iron Fist in the bunch. It will almost assuredly never happen, of course, but finding a way to connect all the magical characters of the MCU would be a fantastic way to cross things over.
8 CONNECTED: LADY SIF
The times that Nick Fury showed up on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. constituted a cool connection between TV and movies. But, it also made enough sense that it didn't feel too big. Nick Fury is the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., of course, so he might check in on Agent Coulson. It's still cool, don't get us wrong, but one of the bigger connections between film and movies was when Lady Sif showed up on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Think about how big this was for a moment, an Asgardian we saw in Thor showed up in a TV that had been struggling to display that it truly took place in the MCU.
Lady Sif showed up to chase after Lorelei, an Asgardian seductress who escaped her grasp and began attacking people on Earth. Sif also appeared in an episode of the second season, in which she lost her memory from a fight with a Kree warrior. These weren't the only connections between Thor and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., since the agents were shown cleaning up the aftermath of Thor: The Dark World. During this episode, they were sorting through the wreckage and found an object of great power that lead them on a Thor-like adventure of their own.
7 WON'T HAPPEN: TRIAL OF THE INCREDIBLE HULK
Okay, this is more of a fun one, so don't take it too seriously. To start, did you know that Netflix's Daredevil series was not the first time that the character appeared in live action television? No, his first appearance was in a TV movie that served as a sequel to The Incredible Hulk TV series. Rex Smith starred as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, and the plot centered around him defending Bruce Banner who was being put on trial for his actions as The Hulk. Even more interesting, the costume that Daredevil wore in this film looked identical to the one in the Netflix series.
Both as a means of a tribute and as a way to give Hulk some well-deserved time in the spotlight, we think it would be awesome if one of the first major crossovers between the MCU TV shows and the films was a remake of this TV movie. It could be a Netflix special where the people of Harlem (bring Luke Cage in too!) sue Bruce Banner for causing so much damage at the end of The Incredible Hulk and Matt Murdock is there to defend him as they all argue that he is not a hero. It would be a cool way to give The Hulk (or even just Banner) some individual screen time, since we won't be seeing a movie any time soon, and it would remind everyone of the events in the film we did get.
6 CONNECTED: AFTER WINTER SOLDER, BEFORE ULTRON
Of all the connections between the films and TV of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. seems to get the brunt of them. While the Netflix series get the small mentions, shared locations and a few Avengers-related plot points, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. experiencesfull consequences of the films. We're not just talking about the Thor: The Dark World aftermath either, we're talking about the effect that Captain America: The Winter Soldier had on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When it was revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been infiltrated by Hydra since the very beginning, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could have very easily just ended, but it didn't.
Instead, the series played with this twist ending, which, funnily enough, the cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't know about or see coming and in fact thought it meant they were out of job. When the truth came out, the Agents had to deal with the aftermath, the fallout of the their organization crumbling and the hard work of having to help rebuild it. Oh, and they found out that Ward was a Hydra operative all along, turning his character from somewhat interesting to flat out fascinating as we learned what drove him to simultaneously join and betray S.H.I.E.L.D.
5 WON'T HAPPEN: SPIDEY JOINS THE NEW WARRIORS
A while back, it was announced that Marvel was going to produce a New Warriors TV series. The warriors have had an interesting history in comics and because of how their dynamic works, the interactions between the members of the team could play out a lot like the rag-tag back and forth of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Plus, the series has Squirrel Girl, who is set to be played by Milana Vayntrub, so what more could you want from what is sure to be a whacky, fun superhero series? Well, there is one thing that could make it even better -- if Spider-Man showed up.
For the same reason that we want Spider-Man to show up in Daredevil or some of the other Defenders' domains, we also want him to team up with the New Warriors. While it is said that the show does not have plans to cross over with the films or other TV shows, we think it would be cool if Spider-Man ended up being the great connector for the MCU, especially with a group of similarly aged superheroes. Spider-Man is such an accessible character who could works great as his own hero, but also has room to team up with others, which is why we wish he could crossover into MCU TV shows, perhaps starting with the upcoming New Warriors.
4 CONNECTED: CAPTAIN AMERICA'S BLOOD
Agent Carter was a great series. It was exciting, it knew how to handle it's budget, it was too melodramatic, and had a strong female lead. The show also had one of the biggest connections between Marvel movies and TV shows. First of all, Agent Peggy Carter herself was a major character in Captain America: The First Avenger, so to have her get her own spinoff series was a fantastic win for connecting TV shows and movies in the Marvel Cinematic universe. Not to mention, she may actually be the only character to go from being a major player in a film, to having their own TV show, to showing back up in the films, since she made an appearance in The Winter Soldier.
Among the many connections that both Peggy and the Agent Carter series made between the TV shows and movies of the MCU, one stands above the rest, the Blitzkrieg Button. The Blitzkrieg Button was one of Howard Stark's "Inventions" in Agent Carter (Stark's role in the series also serving as a neat connection to the films) that tied in to The First Avenger. What was said to be a button that could wipe out a city was actually a container housing the last vile of Steve Rogers' blood, which could allow anyone to recreate the super soldier serum. But, Peggy prevented this during an emotional scene in which she poured it into the East River.
3 WON'T HAPPEN: YOUNG COULSON IN CAPTAIN MARVEL
We don't really know all that much about Captain Marvel yet, except for the fact that Nick Fury is going to be in it and the film will be taking place in the '90s. The first detail is rather important because we think it could create an opportunity for a cool crossover with the TV world of the MCU, at least sort of. See, we're already going to see Carol Danvers work with Nick Fury, so why not bring more of S.H.I.E.L.D. in? What do we mean by this? Well, where Peggy Carter was the first MCU character to go from movie to TV and back to movie, we think it would great for Phil Coulson to be the second.
Since it takes place before his "death" in The Avengers and before the events of The Winter Soldier, S.H.I.E.L.D. is still up and running in its prime, and since Agent Coulson is an experienced agent, one can only assume he's been with the organization for quite some time. What we're trying to say is that we want to see an young Agent Coulson make an appearance in Captain Marvel. It wouldn't have to be big, and it wouldn't even have to be Clark Gregg in the role, since the character would be much younger, but it would still be a nice nod to the character. Of all the "won't happen" entries on this list" this one might actually occur if we're lucky.
2 CONNECTED: S.H.I.E.L.D. IN SPACE
The cosmic branch of the MCU, at first, had its own issues connecting to the larger universe. There was, of course, the connection with Thanos and the infinity stones, but otherwise there was not a lot connecting the Guardians to the Avengers until Infinity War. Then again, this might have been a good thing since it was a way to breath new life into the MCU, which is exactly what Guardians of the Galaxy did. However, before Infinity War brought the cosmic branch of the MCU to the superhero branch, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. did it first with the fifth season taking place in space.
With this new setting came a lot of major connections between the films and the TV shows of the MCU, particularly through the members of the Kree race. The Kree play a major role in the fifth season of the series, much in the same way they did for Guardians of the Galaxy, since the villain, Ronan, was the leader of their people. Furthermore, the series also dropped a serious connection when it mentioned Thanos and his plans. Seems this cosmic season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is its most ambitious yet, both in its setting and in how much it can connect to the film branch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
1 WON'T HAPPEN: TV AFTERMATH OF INFINITY WAR
Get ready for Infinity War spoilers, because we have to talk about this. First of all, we have to question Thanos' methods when it comes to his goal of "bringing balance to the universe." See, the Mad Titan has seen what happens when people ignore their limited resources and die off due to overpopulation. He sees that the universe as a whole has finite resources and too large of a population. So, his plan for the Infinity Stones is to use them to erase half the population of the universe so that its resources can be balanced. But, here's the thing, why doesn't he just make more resources? Or rather, why doesn't he just rewrite reality so that all resources are infinite across the entire universe?
Regardless of what his logic is when it comes to the Infinity Stones, it is too late, Thanos already snapped his fingers and erased half the population of the universe. We saw how this affected the film world of the MCU in Infinity War, but what about the TV world? We know it will never happen, but we want to see who made it and who didn't after that climactic snap of the Mad Titan's fingers. Did all the Defenders make it out alive? Were the Runaways affected? What about the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? We want these questions answered but we doubt we will ever actually get those answers.