10 MORE War Movie Plot Twists Nobody Saw Coming

Wolfgang Peterson's 2004 epic historical war offering Troy is loosely based upon Homer's Illiad, although the movie's latter stages also draw inspiration from Quintus Smyranaues' Posthomerica. Whatever the source may be, Greek mythology as a whole unanimously agrees upon the pivotal importance of King Menelaus in the Trojan War's overarching narrative.

Husband to the infamous Helen, Menelaus beseeches the Greek Kings to wage war against the Trojans after his wife is stolen away by the young prince Paris. However, the cuckolded King of Sparta ultimately gets the last laugh. He is one of the Greeks who eventually stows away in the Trojan Horse, victoriously sailing home with his duplicitous wife in tow after the city is sacked.

As such, Menelaus' story arc in Peterson's take on events constitutes an almighty plot twist. In Homer's canon, Menelaus challenges Paris to a duel for Helen's return and defeats the prince with ease. Troy mirrors this version of events but implements a deviation from its source material.

The Illiad recounts that Paris was spirited away from the battlefield by the goddess Aphrodite, saving him from death at Menelaus' hands. Unfortunately, there's no such godly intervention to be found in Peterson's film. Paris' brother Hector shockingly slays Menelaus before he can deal the killing blow, doing away with one of Homer's more prominent characters before the film even reaches its halfway point.