The questions the road gets asked most
Real questions from real users of the tracker — the ones that keep arriving in comments, DMs, and the tip jar. If yours isn't here, ask on the Ko-fi page and it probably will be soon.
Yes — on your device, automatically, every time you tap. There are no accounts and nothing is sent to any server; your checkmarks live in your browser's local storage. Two consequences worth knowing: progress doesn't transfer between browsers (the home-screen app, Safari, and the TikTok/Instagram in-app browsers each keep their own copy — pick one home and stick with it; the home-screen app is the safest), and clearing your browser data erases it. That's the trade for the site being instant, free, and private.
First watch: release order (the main tracker), no contest. The movies were written assuming you've seen what came out before them; the reveals only land in that order. The timeline order is a rewatch lens — the same road re-sorted to when the story happens, from 1943 to the doorstep of Doomsday. Your checkmarks are shared between both views automatically.
No. None of the Sony universe, the 2000s-era films, or the animated Spider-Verse counts toward Doomsday. The full honest breakdown of everything deliberately left off — and where it fits if you watch it anyway — lives on the Beyond the Road page.
"Have to" is strong — the road marks what's required versus optional, and the Defenders-era shows earn their place mainly because Daredevil, the Kingpin, and the Punisher walked out of them and into the current MCU. If you're short on time, the tracker's required-only path already trims aggressively, and the guide covers a minimum-viable speedrun.
Probably on purpose! The list is release order with a few deliberate fixes — Black Widow right after Civil War, Guardians Vol. 2 with Vol. 1, the Hawkeye split around No Way Home, and a few more. Every deviation has a reason, and each card explains its own. (A dedicated page walking through every fix is coming.)
On the road — as optional side quests (the lettered cards). Agent Carter and the Marvel One-Shots sit after The First Avenger; the animated extras have their own cards near the end. Optional means optional: zero Doomsday homework value, pure canon depth for completists.
Yes. The plan has always been to keep the road updated through premiere night — and then turn toward what comes next. Avengers: Secret Wars is scheduled for December 2027, and the road will bend that way when the time comes.
One Marvel fan and his wife Michelle, no company, no staff — the full story is on the about page. The site is free, has no accounts, and stays that way. The tip jar keeps it running; tips fund the domain, hosting through the December traffic, and the hours of keeping every date and note accurate as Marvel shuffles the map.
Tell us — seriously. The timeline order exists because people asked for it, card notes have been corrected because sharp-eyed viewers caught things, and the comments on Ko-fi are effectively the site's workshop. The road is built by the people using it.