The Single Biggest Mistake Each MCU Film Has Made
And no, this does not include the Mandarin twist.
Ten years ago, it would've been impossible to guess just how huge the Marvel Cinematic Universe would become, especially since it started out with a very risky film that focused on an obscure superhero.
A decade on, with 20 films having been released and over $15 billion in revenue, the MCU is now not only the world's biggest franchise, but it's also one of its best.
The MCU has overall been excellent and nearly all of the films have made for excellent entertainment. That being said, it hasn't always been a completely perfect run for Marvel Studios.
All of the films, even the very best ones, have inevitably made various mistakes and slip-ups. That is unavoidable, but at the same time a lot of these mistakes keep occurring across multiple films in a highly frustrating manner.
The franchise does undeniably have its issues, but the recent MCU films have mostly been strong and, even after ten years, the MCU is only getting better and better. In order to ensure that the franchise continues the current high standard, there are many mistakes in each MCU film that need to be avoided.
Bu what's the biggest slip-up each movie has made? Time to find out.
20. Captain America: The Winter Soldier: The Nick Fury Twist
The Movie:
Even now, more than ten MCU films later, The Winter Soldier is still the best film in the MCU.
A masterful mixture of exhilarating action movie and thought-provoking political thriller that unfolds in a flawlessly-crafted world full of fleshed-out characters, meaningful relationships and genuinely frightening villains, The Winter Soldier is an incredible movie and The Dark Knight of the MCU.
The Winter Soldier isn't a film with any particularly obvious flaws, since it really is a great movie, but one element that really doesn't work is the Nick Fury plot twist. Nick Fury faking his death was a plot twist so obvious it was kind-of painful and it didn't add anything to the movie either.
Samuel L. Jackson is still great and this is probably his single best MCU performance, but it's a shame he was involved in this meaningless twist. Since it was so predictable and pointless, it's mysterious that this was even left in.
It doesn't detract from the film and also led to a wonderful Easter egg: Nick Fury's fake grave has '"The path of the righteous man..." Ezekiel 25: 17' on it, which is a delightful nod to Pulp Fiction, but other than that this plot twist is pretty jarring.
Fix:
Drop the twist. It would've meant more Samuel L. Jackson in the movie and given how fantastic an actor he is, more of him is never a bad thing.