10 Biggest Missed Opportunities In MCU History

Marvel fans were hugely excited when it was announced that the second Avengers movie would revolve around iconic comic book villain Ultron, and all the more when the great James Spader was cast to portray the rogue AI.

The first trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron convinced most everyone that this would be a darker and more ambitious sequel, and that above all else its titular villain would be a terrifying force to be reckoned with.

Yet this turned out to be something of a misdirect, as in actuality Ultron was far more of a comedic character than just about anybody expected.

While it's somewhat fitting that Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) AI shares more than a few of his character traits, Joss Whedon ultimately tipped the balance too far in the way of silliness, enough that it undermined Ultron's standing as a genuinely fearsome foe.

Age of Ultron as a whole was criticised by fans for going overboard with the quips, and the excess humour is never felt more detrimentally than with Whedon's characterisation of a wise-cracking Ultron.

One suspects things might've turned out differently had Kevin Feige waited a little longer to introduce Ultron, as the MCU became increasingly comfortable with more unrelentingly menacing villains like Thanos (Josh Brolin).