Even They're Not Perfect - 8 Biggest Mistakes Made In The MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

Marvel Studios may have produced hit after hit, but that doesn't mean the Marvel Cinematic Universe is perfect! Far from it, in fact. Here are the shared world's 8 biggest blunders from Phase 1 - 3.

By JoshWilding - Apr 24, 2017 08:04 AM EST

Filed Under: Avengers

If today's reviews for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 prove anything, it's that Marvel Studios can pretty much do no wrong. However, looking back at the Marvel Cinematic Universe since it began in 2008, it's clear that they're not perfect. They've definitely done more right than wrong, but looking back over the past near-decade of movies, Kevin Feige and company have also made some pretty big blunders!

Now, this is in no way an attack on Marvel Studios or the MCU, but what you'll find here is a look at the eight biggest mistakes the MCU has made. From the way certain characters have been handled to creative decisions and crossovers (or lack therof), this is a look at the ways the studio has dropped the ball. Some can be remedied and others are too far gone, but they'll all get your blood boiling...

8. A Teenage Spider-Man

Tom Holland was great in Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming is shaping up to be spectacular. Despite that, the decision to introduce Peter Parker as a teenager is definitely something of a let down. It's perfectly feasible that the character could have become Spider-Man years before he was introduced thanks to the Marvel/Sony deal, especially as he's the sort of hero who never had a relationship with The Avengers in the comic books and could have flown under the radar.

Flashbacks could easily have shown him cleaning up after the Chitauri attack in New York, while an adult Peter being used in the Marvel Cinematic Universe would open the door to numerous new storytelling possibilities both the Spider-Man and Amazing franchises failed to explore. Instead, we're going back to high school and no doubt college as well.

Ant-Man was delayed for years, mostly because Marvel allowed Edgar Wright to make The World's End before he turned his attentions to this comic book adaptation. When he finally did, creative differences led to his departure, a shame considering the fact his take on the character would have no doubt been a lot of fun.

Regardless, we know that Joss Whedon at least wanted The Wasp in The Avengers, but because Marvel was insistent on waiting for Wright, both she and Ant-Man were left on the shelf and Earth's Mightiest Heroes were without two of their founding members. As great as Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne are, it's also hard to accept that we'll never get to see Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne as part of the superhero team (Hank not creating Ultron is obviously also a pretty big shame).

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6. Marvel Movies/TV Divide

When Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. launched, fans were excited. A Marvel TV series was awesome enough, but the fact it was set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and would focus on Agent Coulson really helped with that. Throw in the fact that Joss Whedon took the helm of the premiere, and things were looking good for the show, but it took a while to find its feet.

As time passed and it improved, we may have seen Nick Fury and Maria Hill show up during crossovers linked to Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Thor: The Dark World, but it became apparent that a very real divide between the movies and TV shows exists. Nothing that happens on the small screen has an impact on the movies and the biggest downside of this is the fact we probably won't ever see any members of The Defenders meet up with The Avengers.

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5. Jane Foster

At the end of Thor, Marvel left Jane Foster in a place which made it clear to the audience that she would be a big part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and bringing the God of Thunder back to Earth. However, she was nowhere to be seen in The Avengers and wouldn't return until Thor: The Dark World, a movie which delivered a pretty unsatisfying story arc for the character.

It's since become clear that Natalie Portman won't be coming back, likely because she's unhappy with the way Marvel handled Jane Foster. That's something fans can relate to, and while it's a shame to think we'll never get to see Portman's take on the love interest ever suit up as Thor in the same way as her comic book counterpart, it's pretty obvious that Marvel dropped the ball with someone who could and should have been a pivotal part of this world.

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4. Steve Rogers: Man Out Of Time

The end of Captain America: The First Avenger wrapped up on a really strong note as Steve Rogers found himself wandering around present day Times Square and mourning the loss of his budding relationship with Peggy Carter. However, by the time The Avengers rolled around, the hero had seemingly got over being a man out of time.

Despite being trapped in the ice for 70 years, Cap dealt with his new surroundings surprisingly easily and this can probably be blamed on the fact that he was originally supposed to be found in that superhero ensemble when it was written by Zak Penn (before Joss Whedon took over). Rushing through the hero's return is a real shame - especially as The Avengers should have found him - though Marvel proved that they didn't learn from their mistakes by never really delivering a satisfying look at how Bucky was found and transformed into The Winter Soldier!

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3. Demon In A Bottle

Iron Man 2 is watchable, but it remains one of the weakest efforts from Marvel Studios. The movie spent a lot of time setting up The Avengers and came around the time Disney had bought the studio, so it not tackling Tony Stark's alcoholism wasn't massively surprising. The watered down version of Demon in a Bottle was a massive disappointment, though, especially as it turned Tony's drinking problem into a punchline.

A strong coffee and donut with Nick Fury helped the Armoured Avenger get over his issues pretty quickly and meant that we never heard about Iron Man's alcoholism ever again. Tony's battle with booze has been such a huge part of his comic book adventures that it being glossed over here is unforgivable and don't even get me started on the way this sequel completely wasted Justin Hammer.

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2. The Dread Dormammu

I wasn't a fan of Dormammu's appearance in Doctor Strange, but the scene between him and the Sorcerer Supreme was definitely well handled (as was the fact he showed up at all). However, given what a huge part of Strange's adventures he's been in the comic books, the villain being shoehorned into this movie's final act feels like something of a waste when he should have really had an entire movie devoted to him.

In fact, Dormammu is such a huge threat that he could have easily taken centre stage in a future Avengers movie, something which would have given Strange the chance to become a pivotal part of that team as he led them into battle against the iconic villain as he looked to take over Earth. Chances are that won't happen now and it looks like the Doctor Strange sequel will shift the focus to Nightmare instead.

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1. Hail Hydra

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is one of the best Marvel Studios movies to date, and while the whole "Hail Hydra!" thing was handled well, there was one key ingredient missing. That was the Red Skull, and the fact the villain didn't even get a notable mention here seems like a real missed opportunity. While the movie would have needed to be changed fairly dramatically, Marvel could have easily used it to bring back the Red Skull in some form.

Whether it would have been unmasking Alexander Pierce as the villain or an after-credits scene revealing he's alive thanks to Loki using the Tesseract in The Avengers, this was probably the best place to bring him back, and if it doesn't happen in Avengers: Infinity War when Thanos tracks down that Infinity Stone, we can probably forget it happening at all.

Do you agree that these are among the biggest mistakes made by Marvel Studios? Have we missed any others? As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.

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299 Comments

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

MrDandy - 4/24/2017, 8:11 AM

Uh....stopped at #1. What is wrong with a teenage Spider-Man? Especially considering none of the actors portraying him have been a teenager and he has only been in High school for 1 1/2 films out of 5.

MrPositive - 4/24/2017, 8:14 AM

Teenage Spiderman..........

Nightwing1015 - 4/24/2017, 8:14 AM

I think the Defenders will eventually meet the Avengers in some respect. Even if they're just in the background of an Avengers movie.

MNLawyer - 4/24/2017, 8:17 AM

Disagree with most of these but there are some fair criticisms of the MCU. Ignoring flaws and forcing relationships leads to mediocrity, which is likely evidenced by the divide between the TV (AOS struggled for a while and could have brought down the movies)

Vaportrail - 4/24/2017, 8:17 AM

Stop it, Wilding.

ShellHead - 4/24/2017, 8:17 AM

Lol let's all dogpile on GotG2 getting anything less than perfect reviews....

CaptainElrond - 4/24/2017, 8:17 AM

Dotanuki - 4/24/2017, 8:18 AM

And after these 8 blunders the MCU floundered and failed, both critically and financially, right?

RIGHT??

Boyle360 - 4/24/2017, 8:19 AM

Teenage Spider-Man is a problem?

Sure, why don't we have him be 40 or older like two thirds of the Avengers already are.

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Even They're Not Perfect - 8 Biggest Mistakes Made In The MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

Marvel Studios may have produced hit after hit, but that doesn't mean the Marvel Cinematic Universe is perfect! Far from it, in fact. Here are the shared world's 8 biggest blunders from Phase 1 - 3.

8. A Teenage Spider-Man

7. No Ant-Man And The Wasp In The Avengers

6. Marvel Movies/TV Divide

5. Jane Foster

4. Steve Rogers: Man Out Of Time

3. Demon In A Bottle

2. The Dread Dormammu

1. Hail Hydra

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