Features of the Marvel Cinematic Universe


The Marvel Cinematic Universe media franchise features many elements, including locations, weapons, and artifacts. Many are based on elements that originally appeared in the American comic books published by Marvel Comics, while others were created for the MCU.

Locations

Earth

New York State

File:Captain america set.JPG|thumb|170px|right|Set of Captain America: The First Avenger in Manchester, England
  • The ' is a skyscraper located in Manhattan, New York City of Earth-828 and is the residence of the Fantastic Four.
  • ' is an antique shop in Brooklyn, New York, that served as a front for the Strategic Scientific Reserve, where Dr. Abraham Erskine and Howard Stark worked on Project Rebirth. In 1943, Steve Rogers is selected to be injected with Dr. Erskine's Super Soldier Serum, but Hydra mole Heinz Kruger kills Erskine escaping from the shop. In 2010, the car chase scene in Captain America: The First Avenger was filmed on Dale Street in the Northern Quarter, Manchester. Producers chose Manchester because of its resemblance to 1940s New York City with its high buildings dating from pre-World War II; the site is a shortlisted UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • ' is a defunct gym located in Hell's Kitchen, New York City.
  • The ' is the main headquarters of Hammer Industries, located in Queens, New York. In 2010, Justin Hammer invites Ivan Vanko to the headquarters, hoping to work with him to take down his rival Tony Stark. Natasha Romanoff and Happy Hogan later infiltrate the headquarters and take down several guards. The SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California served as the set for the facility in Iron Man 2.
  • ' is a nightclub located in the neighborhood of the same name in New York City. It was founded by Buggy Stokes and Quincy McIver and served both as a base for the criminal activities of the Stokes family and as a front for laundering their dirty money. After Buggy's death, his wife, Mama Mabel, inherited the club. She later passed it on to her grandson, Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes. After Cottonmouth's murder by his cousin Mariah Dillard, she took control of the club and later left it to Luke Cage in her will.
  • ' is a bar in Hell's Kitchen, New York owned by Josie. The bar was permanently closed after the attack by Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter which killed eleven people.
  • The ' is a fictional STEM-focused high school in Queens, New York City. Its students include Peter Parker, Ned Leeds, Michelle Jones-Watson, Flash Thompson, Betty Brant, Jason Ionello, Liz, Cindy Moon, Seymour O'Reilly, Tiny McKeever, Charles Murphy, Abe Brown, Sally Avril, Brad Davis, Zach Cooper, and Josh Scarino. Faculty includes Roger Harrington, Coach Wilson, Mr. Cobbwell, Monica Warren, Barry Hapgood, and Julius Dell. The school's principal is Principal Morita, who is shown to be a descendant of Howling Commandos member Jim Morita. Henry W. Grady High School in Atlanta, Van Nuys High School and Reseda High School in Los Angeles, as well as Franklin K. Lane High School in Brooklyn doubled as the school in Spider-Man: Homecoming. To change the setting from the set to Queens, Trixter created a CGI model of the school and added 360-degree matte paintings.
  • The ' in Greenwich Village, New York City, is one of the three Sanctum Sanctorums on Earth. Located on 177A Bleecker Street, it is used by the Masters of the Mystic Arts to store various relics and serves as one of their bases. It is guarded by Daniel Drumm until his death, whereupon he is replaced by Stephen Strange. In 2017, Strange detains Loki and invites Thor to the Sanctum, then sends them both to their father Odin. In 2018, following his escape from the Statesman, Bruce Banner crash-lands in the New York Sanctum and meets Strange and Wong. Strange and Wong then discuss the threat with Banner and Tony Stark. In 2024, the Sanctum is also visited by Peter Parker who requests Strange's help, in which he performs a memory-removing spell. After the spell goes wrong, Strange tasks Parker and his friends to retrieve multiversal displaced people and bring them to the Sanctum. Also, in 2024, Strange and América Chávez visit Earth-838 New York Sanctum, which has a statue of a deceased Strange and is protected by the Sorcerer Supreme from that universe, Karl Mordo. A set for the building was constructed at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England, for Doctor Strange, which was also used in Thor: Ragnarok.
  • ' is a fictional high school in New York City that is attended by Peter Parker in an alternate universe. In addition to Parker, other students include Nico Minoru, Lonnie Lincoln, and Pearl Pangan.
  • The ' is the residence of Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, and their daughter, Morgan Stark. Located in the countryside of Upstate New York, it is built by Tony Stark shortly after his marriage with Potts, and he lives there until his death in 2023. His funeral is held in front of the residence.
  • The ', also known as the World Exposition of Tomorrow, is an exposition at the Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City. Started by Tony Stark's father, Howard, it gathers great minds and showcases new technology. Past attendees include Phineas Horton and Peter Parker.
  • ' is an underground realm below New York City of Earth-828, whose inhabitants refer to themselves as Moloids. Their ruler is Harvey Elder / Mole Man.
  • ', formerly known as Stark Tower and Avengers Tower, is a skyscraper in Manhattan, New York City. The building, initially owned by Stark Industries, serves as the headquarters of the Avengers until the Battle of Sokovia. Tony Stark later sells the building to Valentena Allegra de Fontaine who rebrands the building as the Watchtower. Alternate versions of the building are seen in the [|Void] and a universe where Ultron defeats the Avengers. Avengers: Age of Ultron production designer Charles Wood built an enormous set for the film, one of the largest ever built for an MCU film, with multiple connected environments and levels.
  • is a public thoroughfare located in New York City on Earth-828.

    Wakanda

Wakanda appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Inhabitants from this version of the country speak in the Xhosa language, as T'Challa's actor Chadwick Boseman developed using a "regional accent based on where Wakanda would be. He did great research on the very cultural aspects of the character. Even though it's a fictional culture, ways to tether it into real African culture." Additionally, it is located at the northern end of Lake Turkana, at a fictional point bordering Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya. In real life, this area is actually a disputed border region known as the Ilemi Triangle, claimed by each of these countries. This follows the location of the country in the comics according to Marvel Atlas #2.
The film Black Panther further established that, in keeping with this map location, it is a landlocked country in the central mountains far from the coasts. Impassable mountains and jungles around its borders have helped Wakanda isolate itself from outsiders. Internally, Wakanda consists of lush river valleys, mountain ranges rich in natural resources, and a fabulous capital city that integrates space-age technology with traditional designs.
Wakanda consists of five tribes, four of which are united under the rule of the first Black Panther 10,000 years ago. As in the comics, the four tribes worship Bast, the panther god, amongst others, and also have a strong spiritual tradition of ancestor worship.
  • The River Tribe wear green clothes made from crocodile skin, with some males wearing a lip plate.
  • The Mining Tribe are in charge of the Vibranium that is mined, stored, and utilized.
  • The Merchant Tribe are responsible for trades and crafts of art, clothing and pieces of art. They also wear veils during a trade to maintain anonymity.
  • The Border Tribe reside on the mountainous borders of Wakanda posing as farmers in order to deceive foreigners of Wakanda's wealth as well as their talent for breeding white rhinoceros for many purposes.
  • The fifth tribe are the who follow the White Gorilla cult of the god Hanuman and are staunch traditionalists who isolate themselves in the mountains. While considered part of Wakanda, the Black Panther's hold over the Jabari is tenuous. During the film, their leader M'Baku rejects T'Challa as a worthy heir to the throne during his coronation and challenges him to ceremonial combat to claim it for himself. T'Challa wins the duel but lets M'Baku leave in peace.
The lords of each tribe sit on the king's council, and after the Mountain tribe assists T'Challa in his overthrow of the usurper, Erik "Killmonger" Stevens, M'Baku is also granted a seat on the council in recognition of his loyalty. The four main tribes speak a version of the Xhosa language while the Jabari speak an Igbo dialect. The opening animated sequence to Black Panther explains Wakanda was aware that the outside world was becoming increasingly chaotic throughout various historical events that affected Africa, such as the Atlantic slave trade, the colonization of Africa by European powers, World War I, and World War II. The Black Panthers of the past, however, were devoted to defending their own country and did not interfere, instead choosing to hide Wakanda from the worldfearing that if they became involved and revealed themselves, it would eventually lead to outsiders trying to invade Wakanda. Instead, Wakanda passes itself off as a small, poor Third World nation of humble herdsmen, using an advanced holographic projection shroud around its borders to hide the advanced technological civilization within. A core tension of the film's narrative is that the new Black Panther, T'Challa, is torn between his loyalty to hide and defend Wakanda as its king, and his own conscience to help the faltering world beyond its borders. Later in the film, Killmonger arrives to try to seize the thronesharing T'Challa's desire to end Wakanda's isolationism, but by conquering the outside world using Wakanda's advanced technologies and weapons instead. Ultimately, T'Challa defeats Killmonger and decides to reveal Wakanda's true nature to the world during an address at the United Nations. The film's popularity led to a trend among athletes and celebrities around the world to throw up "Wakanda Forever" salutes after their victories. Director Ryan Coogler stated that his depiction of Wakanda was inspired by the southern African kingdom of Lesotho. Basotho blankets also became more known as a result of the film and its basis on Lesotho.
Below are Wakanda's featured appearances:
  • Wakanda is briefly shown on a holographic map in Iron Man 2 and is mentioned in Avengers: Age of Ultron as the source nation of vibranium.
  • In the mid-credit scene of Captain America: Civil War, Steve Rogers oversees Bucky Barnes, having been granted refuge there, going into cryogenic sleep until Hydra's brainwashing can be removed. This is Wakanda's first appearance.
  • Black Panther expands on Wakanda's background and culture, establishing that, as in the comics, the Black Panther's superhuman abilities come from consuming the "heart-shaped herb", local vegetation that mutated over millions of years due to exposure to Vibranium.
  • In Avengers: Infinity War, members of the Avengers; Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanoff, James Rhodes, Wanda Maximoff, Vision, and Bruce Banner travel in a Quinjet to Wakanda, landing in the capital city so Shuri's advanced science can remove the Mind Stone from Vision safely. Wakanda is shortly attacked by the Outriders led by Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian, members of the Black Order. The Avengers and Barnes join forces with the Wakandan army to fight them on the open grassland outside of the city. They are aided by the arrival of Thor, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot who arrive via Bifrost and assist in defeating the army. In the forest below the Wakandan medical center, the Avengers witness Thanos arrive through a Wormhole and defeat them one by one, ultimately claiming the Mind Stone and completing the Infinity Gauntlet. He then snaps his fingers, eliminating half the population of the universe, including Shuri, T'Challa and many other Wakandans.
  • In Avengers: Endgame, the restored Wakandans rally behind T'Challa in Wakanda before passing through portals created via sorcery to upstate New York. Wakanda's Golden City holds a celebration for the Blip's victims' restoration.
  • In a flashback in the fourth episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Barnes is seen in a Wakandan cave verifying that his brainwashing has been undone.
  • In What If...?, Wakanda is depicted in different timelines; at the second episode, T'Challa reunites with his family in Wakanda after having been mistakenly abducted by Yondu Udonta and the Ravagers 20 years earlier. During the final moments of the fifth episode, Wakanda is shown, besieged by zombies and led by a zombified Thanos wielding a nearly-complete Infinity Gauntlet. In the sixth episode, Killmonger instigates conflict between Wakanda and the United States and becomes the new Black Panther. In the ninth episode, Shuri leads Pepper Potts and the Dora Milaje to arrest Killmonger, but he disappears due to him having been recruited by the Watcher to help fight an alternate Ultron.
  • In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Wakanda's capital city is attacked by Namor and his army, ending with Ramonda's death.
  • In Eyes of Wakanda, Wakanda is depicted in different timelines. On February 1, 2021, an animated Disney+ series set in Wakanda was announced to be in development, with Coogler being involved through his company, Proximity Media. In 2023, Disney announced the name of the project, Eyes of Wakanda, which will tell the stories of T'Challa and Shuri's ancestors.