10 Times The MCU FRUSTRATINGLY Held Back

5. Nicky Fury's "Death" In The Winter Soldier

Until Infinity War came around, the second Captain America film was the only MCU flick to constantly pull the rug out from its audience. It subverts expectations from the get-go, immediately showing the always-lovable Nick Fury being attacked by the Winter Soldier in a ridiculously intense shootout. Fury escapes and makes it to Cap's apartment, seemingly safe, only to be sniped and apparently killed when Bucky gets the drop on them.

To hammer home the fact that Fury really is dead they even show his lifeless corpse in the morgue, with both Black Widow and Steve Rogers mourning their mentor. Of course, late on there's another twist that reveals Fury actually had one of the doctors inject him with a serum that would make him appear medically deceased so he could slip off the grid.

It's kind of a cool reveal in the film, but bringing him back doesn't really add anything to the story. Even worse, Marvel have barely used the character since, and seemingly wouldn't have lost much by actually killing him.

Along with HYDRA infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D., Samuel L. Jackson's departure would have done a great deal to sell the sequel as a true game-changer, but his reappearance just reaffirmed how Marvel like to keep their plots neat and tidy.