The hype is nearly over. Avengers: Infinity War, the culmination of 10 years and 18 major motion pictures, is arriving on the big screen April 27. Most fans of Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) knew this day was coming since we saw Thanos’ grinning face at the end of The Avengers and seeing Josh Brolin raise the Infinity Gauntlet at San Diego Comic-Con. If you don’t have the time to watch 18 Marvel movies in one sitting, then here are five “must see” Marvel movies that will help explain the basics of the MCU and lead you into the Infinity War.

IRON MAN (2008) — This is the movie that started it all. Sure, their were plenty of previous films that carried the Marvel name, but for the MCU, this is it. There really is nothing better than watching Tony Stark create his armor from scratch and, after all non-stop action, see Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury talk about the “Avengers Initiative” with him. I still love watching this movie, especially the first fight he has in Gulmira; and, to be honest, this movie shows why Robert Downey Jr. is the heart of all of the MCU characters. He really embodies Tony Stark like no other. Like I said, it’s always best to start at the beginning.

THE AVENGERS (2012) — Sure, there are four other MCU movies in-between Iron Man and The Avengers, including some very good ones (Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger) but they don’t tie together until The Avengers. Not only does it bring the team together for the first time, but it also showcases Thanos’ villainy and introduces two of the six Infinity Stones… The Space Stone (the Tesseract) and the Mind Stone (Loki’s staff). At the end, we got our first glimpse of Thanos and that wicked smile of his. the best part is seeing all six of the Avengers together with Iron Man saving the day. At the end, the Tesseract heads back to Asgard for safe keeping while Loki’s staff ends up in the hands of Hydra.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014) — Although there were other movies (Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: Winter Soldier) that were excellent movies and do play an important role in the MCU but Guardians introduces another Infinity Stone… The Power Stone. Yes, Thor: The Dark World also introduces one of the stones… The Reality Stone, but its not a great movie and it actually confuses the issue. Guardians is fun, entertaining, and brings us Thanos, his daughters (Nebula and Gamora) and how bad ass the Guardians are. To me, the music makes the movie so much better. It’s a soundtrack of my youth and I love it.

DOCTOR STRANGE (2016) — This is the movie that introduces magic to the MCU. Yes, we’ve actually seen magic before, as used by Loki in the Thor and Avengers movies, but it was never really explained. Remember, Thor told us that “in his world, science and magic are one in the same.” The Ancient One explains it even further as she brings Doctor Strange into the world of arcane arts, i.e. “channeling energy from other dimensions” and spells are like programs” according to the MCU. With all of this, we also get glimpse of the power behind the Time Stone, which lies inside the Eye of Agamotto. Even though Doctor Strange becomes quite proficient in using it, there is a reluctance to keep an Infinity Stone around his neck all the time.

BLACK PANTHER (2018) — To be honest, this movie doesn’t tie into the whole scheme of things all that much. We know from the Avengers: Infinity War trailer that a major battle takes place in Wakanda, so it’s good to get to know all the players. I just had to put this here because, in all honesty, this was one of the best Marvel movies I’ve seen in a while. The story of T’Challa and his journey to the mantle of King, Protector, and Warrior for his people was a simple one, and yet, this movie put it together perfectly. It had just the right amount of action, comedy, and drama. I was glued to my seat from beginning to end. This was a true Marvel movie and it’s a great lead-in to Infinity War.

There are a lot of other great additions to this list. I mean, all three Captain America movies were, to me, the best series out of all 18 MCU movies. There were good and bad (yes, I’m looking right at you Iron Man 3 and Thor: Ragnarok) but they all played some small part in leading up to these next two major motion pictures. With Ant Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel coming next, the final phase of the MCU is coming to a close.

And then, guess what… It starts again! Excelsior!

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.