10 Mistakes The MCU Made (In Hindsight!)
Dropped plot-lines? Wasted characters? Even the MCU isn't innocent of a few missteps over the years.
Love it or hate it, everyone has to admit that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most significant film franchises of the twenty first century. Since its inception in 2008 with Iron Man, the mega-franchise has gone on to redefine the cinematic landscape and has spawned several other cinematic universes that seek to replicate the same success of the MCU.
One of the areas the MCU is praised for is its masterful planning and use of interconnected stories that allow for all the main characters to grow and develop in their own films before having their views and ideals being challenged in crossover events. While it may seem quite commonplace now, this was unheard of back in 2008.
However, the MCU is not perfect and it wouldn’t be fair to expect it to be. After all it’s a miracle the MCU even succeeded in its goals, proving to critics and audiences alike that the superhero genre still has a few tricks up its sleeve.
But with hindsight it is very easy to spot some of the mistakes Marvel Studios made along the road to Endgame.
10. Killing Off All Their Villains
Starting the list off with an obvious choice, but Marvel has a real issue with killing off it’s antagonists. Iron Monger, Yellow Jacket, Killmonger, Ultron and now Mysterio. Not every villain has to survive but it seems a missed opportunity to kill off so many. Returning villains are always a treat and can allow them to develop further. Look at two of the most popular MCU characters, Loki and The Winter Soldier. They started as villains and became anti-hero types. This is great, but it would be fun to explore the other side too.
What if Iron Man 3 saw Ironmonger, Whiplash and Justin Hammer team up against Iron Man? What if Ultron could return in a weakened form and the only person who could stop him was Hank Pym? What if Thunderbolt Ross utilised The Abomination as a weapon during Civil War to either fight Captain America’s team or to make super powered individuals look bad?
So many opportunities are lost when you take the easy option and just kill off your villain. We can still hold out hope that one day we’ll get Dark Avengers or Masters of Evil, but the MCU just doesn’t have the villain roster to support either of those teams at the moment.