12 Biggest Retcons In The Marvel Cinematic Universe

"I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative" is one of the most iconic, badass and important lines in the whole MCU, a mission statement from an emerging studio that it was going to change cinema. It's such a shame, then, that in the dozen movies since its meaning has been total misconstrued from what it originally was.

One part is Nick Fury's position as "Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.", which in the first few appearances - all the way up to The Avengers really - presented him as the overseer of the entire franchise, slowly bringing together the disparate heroes and their supporting cast ahead of a major threat. In the team-up itself, however, that role was reduced, and he now had to report to the World Security Council, then in The Winter Soldier he was under Alexander Pearce.

An all-powerful character is much harder to write a compelling arc for, so you can see why Nick was made more fallible, but it also makes some of the swagger he showed off in the earlier movies feel a little misplaced, and muddies what his exact purpose in the wider fold really is; they kept flip-flopping on whether he was always in control or not (although I guess that's kinda the point).