There’s simply no telling what’s in store for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and the Guardians of the Galaxy, or who will be left standing after the mad Titan unleashes the power of the Infinity Gauntlet.
In order to truly appreciate where the MCU is going, it’s important to take a look at where it’s been. Marvel has taken audiences on crazy a ride over the last decade. A ride that has included lots of laughs, tears, and all sorts of twists and turns.
In a time when surprises tend to be spoiled long before movies finally hit theaters, Marvel has done a superb job of saving its plot twists for the big screen. (For proof, just look at Infinity War, which is shrouded in secrecy.)
Unfortunately, not all of these twists have been for the best. While some have been amazing, others have been downright awful.
With that said, here are some of Plot Twists That Hurt Surprised the MCU fans.
1. Loki Wanted To Bring The Avengers Together (The Avengers)
Let’s be honest here: most of the setup for The Avengers was completed long before the movie itself hit theaters. Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America were established in their own movies, and Loki and the tesseract were both introduced in Thor.
All The Avengers really had to do was establish a threat too big for any of the titular heroes or defeat on their own, thereby forcing them to unite.
Instead, writer Joss Whedon decided to shoehorn in a twist that saw Loki purposefully bring together Earth’s Mightiest Heroes so that he could then unleash the Hulk and scatter the team. Huh?
2. Alexander Pierce Is A Villain (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
One of the reasons why Captain America: The Winter Soldier works as well as it does is due to its suspense. Cap never quite knows who to trust and, thus, neither does the audience.
The suspense increases tenfold when Nick Fury is taken down, causing Cap to call fellow Avenger Black Widow’s motives into question.
All the while, Cap tries to learn where Secretary Alexander Pierce’s loyalties lie. We seemingly get our answer when Pierce is in his home at night and comes across the Winter Soldier sitting at his kitchen table.
Pierce initially appears distressed at the sight of Bucky, but then sits down to talk business, thereby revealing himself as the movie’s true villain. (Then he takes the life of his maid in cold blood.)
Following the disappointing entries that were Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World, Winter Soldier put the MCU back on course thanks to twists like this one.
3. T’Challa Survived The Fall (Black Panther)
When Black Panther hit theaters earlier this year, it was in the unique position of being a solo movie released at a time when team-ups were all the rage.
Iron Man appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Hulk appeared in Thor: Ragnarok, and next up is Avengers: Infinity War (which features everyone).
Despite its lack of other Avengers, the movie was a solid entry in the MCU canon. It wasn’t without its flaws, though, and the plot twist that saw T’Challa survive his fall is one of the biggest.
After losing his fight with Erik Killmonger, T’Challa is thrown over a waterfall seemingly to his end. Then he makes his triumphant return later in the movie, having somehow survived the deadly drop.
Watch our video from FilmArtsy to find the rest. Enjoy! 🙂