8 Most Controversial And Disappointing Moments In 2016's Superhero Movies (So Far)

We're past the halfway point of 2016, and while the year's superhero movies have been pretty good, there have been some disappointing and controversial moments. These are the eight biggest.

By JoshWilding - Jul 07, 2016 09:07 AM EST

Filed Under: Batman vs. Superman

2016 has so far been a very interesting year for superhero movies, with Captain America: Civil War and Deadpool proving to be critical and commercial hits, while Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and X-Men: Apocalypse ended up disappointing (though both luckily managed to avoid being flops on the same level as the likes of Independence Day: Resurgence and Warcraft). There are still plenty of big superhero movies on the way this year of course, but these four have really shaken the genre up.

How? Civil War kicked off Marvel's Phase 3 with some game changing moments, Deadpool proved that an R-Rated comic book adaptation can succeed, Batman v Superman launched the DC Films Universe, and X-Men: Apocalypse brought in a brand new era of young mutants alongside an iconic bad guy.

However, regardless of the good the movies listed above may have done, they each had plenty of disappointing - and sometimes extremely controversial - moments which stand out for all the wrong reasons. What you'll find here then is a look at what are essentially the eight worst things to have happened in this year's superhero movies over the first six months of 2016, and with any luck, the likes of Suicide Squad and Doctor Strange will be able to avoid making similar mistakes over the next six...

8. Those Justice League Cameos

Going into Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, there was a lot of hype about the various members of the Justice League making an appearance (the subtitle does after all refer to them directly). Rumours pointed to everything from Aquaman breaking out of LexCorp to a montage during the end credits showing the heroes all racing into action, but what we actually got was incredibly disappointing. It turned out that Lex Luthor had been keeping tabs on the heroes and had assigned each of them character appropriate logos to boot.

What we were then treated to was footage which looked like it had been made for a low budget web series (Jason Momoa clearly holding his breath underwater, Ezra Miller stopping a robbery, Cyborg being transformed with some seriously dubious CGI). To call this a let down would be an understatement, and while Wonder Woman was great, Batman v Superman failed in delivering a satisfying introduction to these characters, and chances are that non-fans didn't have any real clue about what they were seeing.

The leaked screenplay for Deadpool never mentioned a Wolverine cameo, but that didn't stop the vast majority of us going into the movie expecting to see Hugh Jackman's clawed mutant appear in some capacity. After all, seeing as the Aussie actor looks set to make his final appearance as Logan in Wolverine: Weapon X next year, Deadpool was really his final chance to be seen on screen alongside Ryan Reynolds' Merc with the Mouth.

Sadly, it just didn't happen, and while we did get a couple of references to Jackman (including Deadpool stapling the actor's face to his own), Wolverine was nowhere to be seen. Why exactly the actor didn't shoot just a brief cameo is hard to say; it could be down to budgetary and scheduling issues or the fact that those responsible for telling Wade Wilson's story didn't want that far more famous character to come in and steal the show. Either way, this feels like a real missed opportunity, and with Jackman now about to hang up his claws for good, that Deadpool/Wolverine team-up is never gonna happen.

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6. Captain America Lives

As glad I was in many ways to see Steve Rogers rescuing his fellow Avengers at the end of Captain America: Civil War, a big part of me couldn't help but feel disappointed that he made it out of the movie alive. We all know that superheroes don't stay dead and that the star spangled Avenger would have returned somehow in Infinity War, but ending this movie with his death would have shaken up Phase 3 in a truly significant way moving forward.

It also felt like a moment which was inevitable during that final battle with Iron Man, and Tony inadvertently taking out Steve as he attempted to kill Bucky would have left him in a very interesting place too (alternatively, Cap could have been imprisoned or left comatose). Perhaps the fact I was hoping rumours Bucky would take over the mantle were true is what led to this being so disappointing, but even the way his story was resolved ended up falling flat. Putting Bucky on ice - until he presumably returns in Black Panther - felt like a bit of a cop out on Marvel's part, as did failing to follow the Civil War comic book.

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5. Jubilee Is Once Again A Glorified Extra

Jubilee is a character who has been spotted in a fair few of the X-Men movies now, usually as a glorified background extra. However, going into X-Men: Apocalypse, it really did seem like that was about to change (especially as she featured prominently in various stills and a fairly big deal was made about Lana Condor being cast as the fan-favourite hero). Alas, the vast majority of her scenes ended up on the cutting room floor and she had all of two lines in the movie.

Don't go expecting a "Jubilee Cut" of X-Men: Apocalypse somewhere down the line either, as the character was left out of the scenes in the Weapon X facility and the final battle against En Sabah Nur anyway, so Bryan Singer clearly never planned on her being a big part of this movie. That's a shame, especially as pretty much every other character involved in those scenes were ones we've seen before, and Jubilee - along with her unique abilities - stepping up in those key action scenes would have been a refreshing change of pace and much different to what we've seen before.

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4. Ajax

For the most part, Ed Skrein's Ajax was an effective enough villain in Deadpool. However, there was also a lot of room for improvement, and as well choreographed as the final battle between these two may have been, it was a still a little on the bland side. The Merc with the Mouth is after all a larger than life character, and he deserved a villain just as interesting. Instead, Ajax was just a pretty normal dude who was admittedly evil, but far from memorable in terms of appearance or powers.

It's here that Deadpool would have undoubtedly benefited from embracing the comic books a little more, though the budget probably didn't allow for that to be fair. Either way, it's essential that the sequel gives Wade Wilson a bigger threat to square off with, something which seems likely now that Cable is about to enter the mix. It also wouldn't hurt for Vanessa (better known as Copycat in the source material) to get some powers, especially as the decision not to explore that in the first movie was also something of a let down.

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3. Batman Goes On A Killing Spree

By far one of the most controversial things in this year's superhero movies was the fact that Ben Affleck's Batman is a killer. While the actor was praised for his take on the Caped Crusader (and hailed as the best Batman ever by some fans), the fact that he indiscriminately murdered criminals did not sit well with most, and made for uncomfortable viewing for even the people who liked Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Whether it was driving his Batmobile through them or doling out some lethal justice in both that Knightmare sequence and the warehouse scene in the real world, this Dark Knight often had more in common with The Punisher than the Bruce Wayne we all know and love from the comic books. Hell, his plan actually revolves around murdering Superman with a Kryptonite spear, and had it not been for the mention of a certain name - another controversial moment in the eyes of some - Batman would have driven that right through the Man of Steel without giving it so much as a second though. That's too far!

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2. Magneto's Uncertain Fate

X-Men: First Class ended with Magneto forming the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. 10 years later, he was in prison. X-Men: Days of Future Past ended with Magneto sending out a message to his fellow mutants to join him. 10 years later, he was living in Poland with his wife and child. Are you seeing the pattern here? So far, this trilogy has completely changed where Erik should be in order to fit the story that Bryan Singer wants to tell, and the same thing happened again at the end of X-Men: Apocalypse, and even more blatantly this time.

Rather than establishing this timeline as something totally different by having Magneto lead the X-Men alongside Professor X, he just leaves the X-Mansion to do who knows what. As a result, we could find the Master of Magnetism as either a hero or villain in the next instalment of the franchise or just shoehorned into whichever role Singer and/or Simon Kinberg decide they like best. For a villain who has been so over exposed in these movies, it was frustrating to once again see his story left without a decent resolution.

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1. Doomsday's Final Form

Warner Bros.' decision to reveal Doomsday in the trailers for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was a huge mistake, especially as the design was met with ridicule from the very start. However, the vast majority of us held onto the hope that we were just seeing Doomsday's first look, with subsequent transformations possibly bringing him closer to his comic book counterpart. Well, while the monstrous villain did undergo a few small changes, he still looked like a cave troll from Lord of the Rings when all was said and done, and that arguably went some way in lessening the impact Superman's death had.

Seeing as Zack Snyder is such a huge fan of the comic books, it's genuinely shocking that he dropped the ball in such a major way here, as Doomsday's appearance really does have little to no redeeming qualities. As a result, it's fair to say that regardless of what other issues this movie may have had, Doomsday's disappointing look stands out as being one of the divisive release's biggest failings when all is ultimately said and done.

What have been the most controversial and disappointing moments in 2016's superhero movies for you so far? As always, sound off with your thoughts in the comments section below.

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300 Comments

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

JoeMomma29 - 7/7/2016, 9:32 AM

LOL! Cue the NEXT remarks!!!!!

DEVWoulf - 7/7/2016, 9:33 AM

Just 8? Why not add 2 moments from 2015 and hope nobody notices? That wouldn't be past you, Josh.

MattBellissimo - 7/7/2016, 9:33 AM

Jubilee has always sucked, I don't understand why anyone wants her in any movie.

JoeMomma29 - 7/7/2016, 9:34 AM

@MattBellissimo - LMAO!!!! So true she is useless!!!!

DEVWoulf - 7/7/2016, 9:41 AM

@MattBellissimo - I love her because of the cartoon and her relationship with Wolverine. Because of 90s nostalgia I was excited for her in Apocalypse and bummed out like most people. She should have went to Alkali Lake with the other 3 as it didn't make it any better or worse with her not there. She's a cool Asian teenager.

Battabing - 7/7/2016, 9:45 AM

@MattBellissimo - Jubilee is only good for high school 4th of July parties.

MattBellissimo - 7/7/2016, 9:34 AM

And while Doomsday did was he was there to do, yes, he looked like irredeemable trash.

TheArkhamKnight - 7/7/2016, 9:40 AM

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8 Most Controversial And Disappointing Moments In 2016's Superhero Movies (So Far)

We're past the halfway point of 2016, and while the year's superhero movies have been pretty good, there have been some disappointing and controversial moments. These are the eight biggest.

8. Those Justice League Cameos

7. No Wolverine Cameo

6. Captain America Lives

5. Jubilee Is Once Again A Glorified Extra

4. Ajax

3. Batman Goes On A Killing Spree

2. Magneto's Uncertain Fate

1. Doomsday's Final Form

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