2019年度最受期待的漫威大片《復仇者聯盟4：終局之戰》將于明日零點在中國內地上映，比北美提前兩天。

這部電影是漫威電影宇宙開創以來的第22部電影，這個龐大的電影宇宙中蘊藏著無數超級英雄：鋼鐵俠、美國隊長、蜘蛛俠、雷神、黑豹……

如果你是漫威死忠粉，那你對漫威的歷史一定相當了解，但如果你是漫威小白，此時不補課更待何時？敲黑板，劃重點啦！

劇透警告！下面內容將提到部分漫威電影的情節

What is the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
漫威電影宇宙到底是個啥？

The Marvel Cinematic Universe - or MCU for short - is the shared place where all 22 films featuring the comic book characters are set.

漫威電影宇宙（簡稱MCU）是所有22部包含漫威漫畫人物的電影所共享的空間。

Each tells its own distinct story but also connects with other films in the MCU, to tell an overarching tale. It's a technique Marvel Comics pioneer Stan Lee also used in his comics.

每部電影都講述了一個獨特的故事，但是又和漫威宇宙的其他電影存在著關聯，合在一起就是一個宏大的故事。漫威漫畫的先驅人物斯坦·李也曾經將這一技巧用于他的漫畫中。

overarching[,??v?r'ɑ?t???]: adj. 首要的；支配一切的；包羅萬象的

The MCU is the most successful film franchise of all time, making more than $18.2bn to date.

漫威電影宇宙是有史以來最成功的電影系列，迄今為止已經創收超182億美元（1221億元人民幣）。

Why did Marvel start with these characters?
漫威電影宇宙是怎么誕生的？

In 2007, Marvel was recovering from bankruptcy and had sold off the film rights to some of the company's most popular characters like the X-Men and Spider-Man.

2007年，漫威擺脫了破產危機，賣掉了公司最受歡迎的一些角色（比如X戰警和蜘蛛俠）的電影版權。

Marvel still owned the superheroes who form the core Avengers team - Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor and Captain America - so used the early MCU films to introduce these heroes.

漫威仍然擁有復仇者聯盟核心團隊的超級英雄——鋼鐵俠、綠巨人、雷神和美國隊長，早期的漫威宇宙電影就是在介紹這些超級英雄。

Marvel then brought these characters together for the crossover film Avengers Assemble.

隨后，漫威又將這些人物聚集到一起，拍攝了“混搭聯動”的《復仇者聯盟》。

The crossover was planned from the very beginning.

這種“混搭聯動”從一開始就設計好了。

The first MCU film released, Iron Man, included a post-credits scene in which Samuel L Jackson's super spy Nick Fury gives the first mention of the Avengers.

第一部漫威宇宙電影《鋼鐵俠》的片尾彩蛋中可以看到塞繆爾·L·杰克遜飾演的超級特工尼克·弗瑞第一次提到了復仇者聯盟。

What order should I watch the films in?
怎樣才是漫威宇宙電影的正確打開方式？

We suggest you watch the films in chronological order, rather than the order in which the films were released.

建議你按年代順序而不是電影上映順序來看漫威宇宙的電影。

下面這張圖讓你一目了然：

I don't have time to watch all the films! What can I skip?
這么多電影看不過來！哪些電影可以跳過去不看？

Endgame is the finale of a series of 22 films.

《終局之戰》是22部系列電影的最后一部。

But, don't worry, you don't need to watch every single one to be fully prepared.

不過別擔心，你不需要每部電影都補看。

Here are the 10 films you could skip and still understand the basics of Endgame.

下面這10部電影就算不看，你也能領會終局之戰的要義：

The Incredible Hulk - you'll learn all you need to know about the key characters here in Avengers Assemble
《無敵浩克》：看《復仇者聯盟》第一部就能了解主要角色。

Thor - ditto
《雷神》：同上。

Thor: The Dark World - you don't need to see this to get the gist of Avengers: Age of Ultron
《雷神2：黑暗世界》：不看這個你也能看懂《復仇者聯盟2：奧創紀元》。

Iron Man 2 - Scarlett Johansson fans may not want to skip this one, as it marks her entry into the MCU
《鋼鐵俠2》：斯嘉麗·約翰遜的粉絲可能不想錯過這一部，因為該片是她在漫威宇宙的首次亮相。

Iron Man 3 - Robert Downey Jr is always watchable, but skipping this won't leave you confused
《鋼鐵俠3》：小羅伯特·唐尼是很有看點，但不看這部電影也不會讓你找不著北。

Ant-Man - Scott Lang and his superpowers get introduced all over again in Captain America: Civil War
《蟻人》：斯科特·朗和他的超能力在《美國隊長3：內戰》中會重新介紹一遍。

Doctor Strange - all you really need to know is this film introduces the Time Stone.
《奇異博士》：這部電影中你所需要知道的只有時間寶石。

Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2 - there's some nice character development here, but it won't give you new information on the final battle
《銀河護衛隊2》：人物發展刻畫得不錯，但不會提供新信息幫你了解終局之戰。

Black Panther - we hesitate to suggest you skip this Oscar-winning film, as it's one of the MCU's best, but other than introducing Wakanda as a location, you'll get most of the relevant information about the characters introduced here in Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War
《黑豹》：在建議你跳過這部電影時我們猶豫了一下，因為它畢竟獲得了奧斯卡獎，也是漫威電影宇宙最優秀的影片之一，但是除了介紹瓦坎達王國外，大部分相關信息都可以從《美國隊長3：內戰》和《復仇者聯盟3：無限戰爭》中得到。

Captain Marvel - again, watch this if you can but if you're pushed for time, all you really need to know is that Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) got her powers from the Space Stone and she's going to be important to the final battle in Endgame. Also, the man who put together the Avengers - Nick Fury - lost his eye to an alien disguised as a cat.
《驚奇隊長》：如果有時間你可以看，如果沒時間你只需要知道卡羅爾·丹弗斯（布麗·拉爾森飾演）從空間寶石中獲得超能力，她將在終局之戰中發揮重要作用。還有，復仇者聯盟的組織者尼克·弗瑞的眼睛是被一個偽裝成貓的外星人弄瞎的。

What's so important about Avengers: Endgame?
《終局之戰》為什么這么重要？

Marvel's plans for its films are structured in phases, with each one ending with an Avengers crossover movie.

漫威的電影計劃分成多個階段，每個階段都以一部復仇者聯盟電影終結。

Avengers Assemble spelt the end of Phase One, and Age of Ultron brought Phase Two to a close.

《復仇者聯盟》第一部標志著第一階段的結束，《復仇者聯盟2：奧創紀元》給第二階段畫上了句號。

Endgame not only ends Phase 3 but also wraps up the series of 22 films that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is now calling The Infinity Saga.

《終局之戰》不但標志著第三階段的結束，還是漫威影業總裁凱文·費奇現在所說的22部系列電影所在的無限傳奇時代的終結篇。

The new title for the first three phases of the MCU references their overarching story, which sees the gathering of the Infinity Stones (six powerful gems that grant their owner great power) and the war against the mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin).

漫威電影宇宙前三個階段的新稱號“無限傳奇時代”所指的宏大故事背景包括無限寶石（6顆能賦予擁有者強大力量的寶石）的收集和對抗瘋狂滅霸（喬什·布洛林飾演）的戰爭。

Endgame will see the remaining Avengers try and rescue everyone, after villain Thanos got hold of all the Infinity Stones and wiped out half of all living things with a snap of his fingers in last year's Avengers: Infinity War.

在終局之戰中，余下的復仇者將試圖去拯救所有人。去年上映的《復仇者聯盟3：無限戰爭》中，滅霸拿到了所有的無限寶石并用一個響指毀滅了宇宙中的一半生命。

All bets are off as to who makes it to the finish line in Endgame, as it also coincides with the end of the contracts of some of the biggest Marvel stars.

人們不知道誰能撐到最后，因為與此同時一些漫威大牌明星的合同正好到期。

all bets are off: 世事難料

It's been widely reported that Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Robert Downey Jr (Tony Stark/Iron Man) have come to the end of their contracts.

據多家媒體報道，克里斯·埃文斯（美國隊長）、克里斯·海姆斯沃斯（雷神）和小羅伯特·唐尼（鋼鐵俠）的合同都已經到期。

There's also been speculation that their Marvel co-stars Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romonova/Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye) and Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk) have also reached the end of their tenure at the studio.

還有人猜測斯嘉麗·約翰遜（黑寡婦）、杰瑞米·雷納（鷹眼）和馬克·魯法洛（綠巨人）的合同也到期了。

Though a solo Black Widow film is reported to be in the works, it could be a prequel, so there is no guarantee Johansson's character survives.

盡管有報道稱《黑寡婦》電影正在籌備當中，但這可能是個前傳，所以不能保證斯嘉麗·約翰遜的角色能活到最后。

One thing is for sure though - whatever happens, it will take time for Endgame's story to unfold.

不過有一件事是肯定的——不管會發生什么，終局之戰的故事將會徐徐展開。

It's the longest entry in the MCU so far, clocking in at three hours and two minutes. That's the same length as the first instalment in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, An Unexpected Journey (2012).

這是漫威電影宇宙迄今為止最長的電影，片長達3小時2分鐘，與彼得·杰克遜導演的《霍比特人》三部曲第一部《意外之旅》（2012年）的片長相當。

What's the future of the MCU?
漫威電影宇宙未來將如何發展？

We can expect a major shake-up of the MCU, in the wake of Endgame.

我們預期終局之戰后，漫威電影宇宙將迎來大洗牌。

Phase Four begins with the release of Spider-Man: Far from Home on July 5 2019.

第四階段將以2019年7月5日上映的《蜘蛛俠：英雄遠征》開始。

According to producer Amy Pascal, the film "will start a few minutes after Avengers 4 wraps as a story".

據制片人艾米·帕斯卡爾說，該片的故事“將從終局之戰結束后幾分鐘開始講起”。

Tom Holland's Spidey was one of many heroes wiped out in Thanos's Snap in Infinity War, but given his starring role in this film, we can expect he'll be alive and well before the Endgame credits roll.

湯姆·赫蘭德飾演的蜘蛛俠是《無限戰爭》中滅霸響指毀滅的眾多英雄之一，但考慮到蜘蛛俠的新片，我們預計他在終結之戰結束時會活得好好的。

New films involving other supposedly dead characters have also been confirmed for Phase Four.

第四階段的新片中還涉及了一些原本已經死掉的角色。

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has confirmed Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange will return for a sequel at "some point in the future".

漫威影業總裁凱文·費奇已證實，本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇飾演的奇異博士將在“未來的某個時候”回歸續集。

Chadwick Boseman is also likely to recover from his disintegration in time for Black Panther 2.

查德維克·博斯曼也很可能死而復生，繼續拍攝《黑豹2》。

We also know a third Guardians of the Galaxy film has been confirmed, but we don't know which Guardians will return for it. At the end of Infinity War, Bradley Cooper's Rocket and Karen Gillan's Nebula were the only survivors from that franchise.

另外，已經確認將拍攝第三部《銀河護衛隊》，但我們不知道哪位銀河守衛者能回歸續集。在《無限戰爭》的結尾，只有布萊德利·庫珀飾演的火箭浣熊和凱倫·吉蘭飾演的星云還活著。

Feige has also hinted that Phase Four could include a solo sequel for Brie Larson's Captain Marvel.

費奇還暗示，第四階段將包括以驚奇隊長（布麗·拉爾森飾演）為主角的一部續集。

Also in development are new films involving super-powered beings called the Eternals, and martial artist superhero Shang-Chi.

同樣在籌備階段的新片還有關于擁有超能力的永恒族和會功夫的超級英雄“上氣”的電影。

最后讓我們一起來回顧《復聯4》之前的所有21部電影：

英文來源：BBC

翻譯&編輯：丹妮