It’s hard to believe that the Marvel Cinematic Universe not only launched out the gate in 2008 in Iron Man with a ten-year plan, but actually managed to connect all its threads together into Infinity War. The Avengers seemed crazy enough in 2010, but Infinity War took it to another level entirely. The MCU has changed the landscape of film entirely. Franchises are possible, and they don’t all need to share a name. This is a series with dozens of heroes and properties, but tied together nonetheless. It’s also totally ridiculous and over the top, making as little sense as possible depending on who’s in charge.
With an entire decade of movies all written and directed by different creators, there have been some… inconsistencies in the MCU to say the least. Certain writers interpret characters differently; some directors don’t seem to have their own vision, and Phase 2 was heavily bogged down by executive meddling. As a result, while Phase 3 is fairly consistent in quality, there are a lot of ridiculous moments in the series. For some, that’s part of the charm. Who would want an MCU without Rocket? For others, it’s too much, creating plot holes in a story that should be airtight.
30 Erik Beat T’Challa Fair And Square
Erik defeating T’Challa near the midpoint of Black Panther is a massive moment which signifies Wakanda being turned on its head. The culture is about to change. The world is about to change. Erik is not a kind leader, nor does he intend to be. He is a man who wants to shake the very foundation of the world. Naturally, Wakanda’s not having that.
T'Challa's just a sore loser.
Here’s the problem, though: while we’re meant to root for T’Challa to come back and save the day, Erik did actually win fair and square. T’Challa could not defeat him. By Wakandan law, Erik is the legitimate king. Granted, kings shouldn’t be decided by mountain fights, but T’Challa is not in the right to stop Erik.
29 Thor Does Not Have A Consistent Personality
Thor has appeared in six movies in the MCU so far, and not a single one has managed to give him anything resembling a consistent personality. He’s an oafish jerk in Thor; he’s a dumb jock in The Avengers; he’s a slightly more emotional oaf in The Dark World; he’s monstrously insecure in Age of Ultron, and he’s a nice jokester in Ragnarok and Infinity War.
We are just now getting something resembling a consistent Thor, but even Ragnarok and Infinity War bring discrepancies. For one, Thor accepts his fate in the former only to renege on all the visual and emotional change he went through in the latter. His arc is not consistent enough, and his character suffers as a result.
28 Pepper’s Got Extremis
I want you to think back to Iron Man 3 and analyze what happened. If your first thought brought you to Tony destroying all his suits in a fiery inferno, well, that did indeed happen and was arguably the best part of the finale, but think harder: Pepper, at the climax of the film, revealed that she had Extremis.
Not the most ridiculous moment in Iron Man 3 surprisingly.
Pepper Potts, Tony’s series-long girlfriend and present-day fiance (per her not getting snapped, of course) can technically shoot fire out of her limbs like some kind of demon. She’s even responsible for taking out the main villain herself. This is never reflected on again and life has gone on with Pepper in the background.
27 The Incredible Hulk Is Canon
No matter how much the MCU tries to distance itself away from it, there simply is no escaping the fact that The Incredible Hulk is 100% canon. Its events did in fact happen, and Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner is carrying Edward Norton’s baggage. Case in point? Bruce’s first scene in The Avengers.
It is strongly implied that this Bruce is struggling with life which is very much in line with where Bruce would have been at the end of the TIH. Not only that, the reveal that Bruce is “always angry” is a natural extension of his arc in the Norton film, as the movie ends with Bruce mastering the ability to transform at will, thus meaning it’s still canon.
26 So Is The Ang Lee Hulk
On that note, you know what else is canon? The 2003 Hulk directed by Ang Lee and starring Eric Bana. A rather hit or miss film in the eyes of fans, Hulk is either a fantastic movie that brings the comic book to life with a slow burn story or a boring trudge through Bruce’s backstory that makes poor use of its action.
We know you didn't watch this movie, it's fine.
Whichever side you stand on, it’s important to recognize that The Incredible Hulk references Hulk, making it canon. The entire opening montage in the former is comprised of reshot scenes from the latter, implying that Hulk’s plot actually happened. Not only that, Norton Bruce begins in the same spot Lee Bruce ended in Hulk.
25 Spider-Man: Homecoming Has A Timeline Error
Spider-Man: Homecoming takes place eight years after the events of The Avengers. Make sense, right? Iron Man did come out eight years prior so it’s only natural the latest installment in the MCU also take place eight years later. Here’s the problem: Iron Man came out eight years ago, but The Avengers didn’t.
The start of Homecoming coincides with the aftermath of the first Avengers. At most, taking into account Civil War, Homecoming has to be four years later at the absolute latest. It being eight years after The Avengers places it after Infinity War which, frankly, makes absolutely no sense. It’s best to ignore the timeline mention altogether.
24 The Captain's Strength Makes No Sense
The Captain's strength is honestly all over the place. The MCU isn’t really known for consistent power scaling, but The Cap seriously takes this idea to an extreme. He’s able to subdue Bucky, can fight evenly with Tony in full armor, and is strong enough to beat on Peter, but weak enough not to utterly destroy him.
As strong as the plot demands him to be.
Steve is also the only character in Infinity War to physically challenge Thanos, albeit briefly. Just how strong is this man? How is he not ripping everything in his path apart? The mere fact he can go even with Iron Man is already absolutely ludicrous, but we’ll touch upon that a bit later...
23 There Were Two Infinity Gauntlets At One Point
Everyone remembers the first time the Infinity Gauntlet appears. In The Avengers’ mid-credits scene, Thanos dons the gauntlet and prepares to find the Infinity Stones himself. Except that’s not the first time the movies show off the Gauntlet. In fact, its existence in said scene creates a plot hole.
The first time we see the Gauntlet is in Thor and said Gauntlet is in Asgard. Thanos, realistically, would have never been able to get it himself nor would Loki have had time to give it to him. Ragnarok retcons this by making the Thor Gauntlet a fake, but it still doesn’t change the fact that The Avengers originally had a plot hole in it.
22 Neither Ant-Man Movie Can Stand Alone
The Ant-Man films are often praised for being two of the most standalone movies in the franchise with main plots that really only reference each other, but this isn’t exactly the case. While their main stories are mostly stand alone, the mid/post-credits scenes in the Ant-Man films are critically important for the series.
Fun movies, but they're contextually too ingrained into the series to stand alone.
The first Ant-Man directly ties into the events of Civil War, showing Steve and Sam with Bucky, and Sam telling Steve that they should call in Scott. Ant-Man and the Wasp’s ending directly coincides with the Snap, leaving Scott trapped in the Quantum Realm and thus tying him into The Avengers 4. These scenes are still part of their movies, even if after the credits.
21 Nothing That Happens In Iron Man 2 Actually Matters
Demon in a Bottle is the most single most important arc in Iron Man. At least as far as the comics go. Revolving around Tony’s alcoholism, Demon in a Bottle really gets into who Tony is as a character what, to him, defines Iron Man. When it came time for the movies to adapt the arc, however, things got messy.
Iron Man 2 is clearly trying to do Demon in a Bottle, but they go easy on Tony. You have to keep him likable after all. As a result, nothing that happens in Iron Man 2 matters. Tony doesn’t actually grow; Tony doesn’t actually change, and we as an audience don’t understand him any better.
20 Peter Shouldn’t Be Using The Iron Spider Suit In Infinity War
The end of Spider-Man: Homecoming is important in that it reminds us that some heroes really do need to settle on the ground level. Not everyone can, or should, be an Avenger which ends up being the crux of Peter’s arc. With Peter as an Avenger, no one would be able to protect Queens from men like the Vulture.
Visual character regression at its core.
Part of Peter’s arc also sees him outright rejecting the Iron Spider suit. It is symbolic of who he could be, but he ultimately chooses his own, original suit. Then we get to Infinity War and he’s using the Iron Spider without any real self-awareness. It’s so he can actually go into space, of course, but it ultimately does cheapen his arc.
19 Age Of Ultron Was Tony’s Fault, And ONLY Tony’s Fault
Everything that goes wrong in Age of Ultron is 100% Tony Stark’s fault and yet the plot does not seem to care. Tony invented Ultron; Tony inferred who Ultron should become, and Tony sowed seeds of distrust between him and Steve which would go on to cause problems much later down the line. Without Tony, Age of Ultron wouldn’t have happened.
To be fair to the MCU, it seems that the powers that be realized how bad it was that Tony got off scot-free and chose to punish him accordingly by systematically ruining his entire life. No, really, this is a good thing and the only way Age of Ultron can be even remotely redeemed as a movie in hindsight.
18 Wanda Doesn’t Care About Pietro Enough
Age of Ultron has a lot of problems, but very few of them stem from Pietro and Wanda. Easily the most interesting aspects of the film, the twins serve as unique antagonists who ultimately reform and join the Avengers in a way that makes perfect sense. There is just one caveat with their inclusion: Pietro’s demise.
To be fair, neither does the audience.
In typical Joss Whedon fashion, Age of Ultron caught fans off guard by offing Pietro immediately. After an entire film of build up, he meets an unceremonious end and it’s left for Wanda to carry on the fight. While she does react accordingly, the movie never gives her the change to process her emotions, making it seems like she didn’t care about Pietro enough.
17 When Bucky Starts To Remember Steve Is Left Unclear
Bucky does begin to remember Steve, that much is clear. What is not clear is when exactly this shift happens. It’s obvious through their interactions during The Winter Soldier that Bucky is beginning to piece information together, but the thread never truly connects. He remembers enough to visit the museum at the end, but that’s it.
Come Civil War and Bucky is implied to have remembered Steve completely. By Infinity War, it’s business as usual between the two. The movies leave it ambiguous as to when Bucky began to really remember Steve, but it’s unambiguous enough where the main trigger isn’t really hidden in the movies. It’s just not there.
16 Tony Struggled Way Too Much Fighting Steve And Bucky
What Tony lacks in skill, he makes up for in the raw power fueling his Iron Man suits. He may not be a traditional fighter, but he can output energy and force with more ferocity than most Avengers. He’s overpowered in his own right, but it works given his role as the series’ most prominent protagonist.
When his shield is stronger than your literal robot body armor.
With that in mind, it’s a bit hard to reconcile a moment like at the end of Civil War where Tony gets throttled by Steve and Bucky. Both are enhanced in their own rights, but Tony is wearing a literal suit of iron, can fire energy beams, and is carrying literal tons of weight in his fist. Yet he still loses. At least it makes for good drama.
15 Rhodey Survives Civil War
The airport battle in Civil War is easily one of the biggest fights in the entire series yet every single character who participates ends up coming out relatively unscathed. The only character who takes any sort of lasting damage is Rhodey who loses the use of his legs. At the same time, though, it’s not treated all that seriously after the fact.
Infinity War shows him walking just fine and, while Tony does attack Sam for crippling Rhodey, nothing really ever comes out of this. The mere fact that Rhodey survives at all, in a movie adaptation of an arc that centers around crucial characters losing their lives, feels almost ridiculous.
14 The Movies Never Mention Coulson Again
Agent Coulson’s demise at Loki’s hands near the end of The Avengers is a critical moment for the series. It’s not only the first loss of a main character, it also finally bands the Avengers together. Then they never mention him again. He’s been active, too, in Agents of SHIELD, but the movies don’t want to acknowledge him.
Put some respect on Coulson's name.
Not even Cap, who Coulson admired like no one else, ever reflects on what happened to him. Of course, Coulson will be reappearing in Captain Marvel, but that’s a prequel. While this does mean the movies will once again acknowledge his existence, the characters who knew him still won’t.
13 It Took Three Movies For Hawkeye To Become A Character
Hawkeye’s a fan favorite, but you really have to wonder why. Before Age of Ultron, both of Hawkeye’s appearances were… scarce to say the least. He appears in a single cameo scene in Thor where he does absolutely nothing of value, and then shows up in The Avengers to be brainwashed by Loki.
After Age of Ultron, which actually gave him a pretty good arc, Hawkeye only appeared in Civil War and then vanished, failing to even make an appearance in Infinity War. We know he’ll be in Avengers 4, but it’s weird to think that half of Hawkeye’s screen time in the series will have amounted to nothing of note.
12 It Actually Makes Sense Why Steve Isn’t Enormously Predjudice
One of the most common criticisms lobbed at Steve Rogers is that he somehow isn’t an enormous monster. Frozen in the 1940s, it only makes sense that Steve would defrost with some rather unsavory thoughts on certain groups of people. Here’s the thing, though: the MCU is not our world.
Steve's also just a decent human being.
If you’ll remember, The First Avenger even features a diverse cast of characters via the Howling Commandos. It’s not seen as a big deal and it’s not commented on, because the MCU’s history is not our own. It’s clear he came from a more progressive alternate history than our own.
11 Bruce’s Character Is Inconsistent
Although Bruce Banner has been the same character since Ang Lee’s Hulk, there are some inconsistencies in Mark Ruffalo’s portrayal, especially as we get further away from Phase 1. Infinity War Bruce is basically a new character entirely. Even without the “scared Hulk” angle, Bruce is inconsistent with who he was.
The Incredible Hulk Bruce was calm and composed, as was Bruce in The Avengers. We even see a smoother side of him in Age of Ultron. Come Ragnarok, however, and he’s completely neurotic. He’s zany to the point of near insanity. He is no longer the same man he once was and it doesn’t feel like part of his arc. It just feels like a mistake.