After so many years of movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has followed dozens of characters and created a universe that reaches every corner of the galaxy. It is inevitable (no pun intended!) that Marvel has made a few mistakes in their films that leave huge question marks for fans, but there are, of course, many that may have slipped past.
In the action, excitement and heroism displayed in the movies, it’s easy to overlook the less obvious mistakes, and at the risk of detracting from the flow of the franchise, here are some missteps the MCU has made.
Jane and Thor’s Relationship
Marvel has dropped the ball on this couple in so many respects that Jane’s absence from Thor: Ragnarok, the third installment in his trilogy, isn’t exactly a glaring omission. The two seem to be very in love, however forced the love may feel, but during his return after his initial visit to Earth, he does little more than listen to Agent Coulson tell him about her consulting at a safe S.H.I.E.L.D. observatory.
Understandably, she is upset with him when he returns to her in Thor: The Dark World, but he leaves her again, and despite the love they shared, in all his following adventures on Earth, neither of the two attempts to connect with the other, and no one questions the neglected pairing again.
First Alien Encounter
When Tony and Bruce discover that S.H.I.E.L.D. is planning to use the Tesseract to make weapons in The Avengers, Fury defends the scheme by reminding them that when Thor came to Earth, they discovered that otherworldly beings exist and pose a threat. However, according to the events of Captain Marvel, Fury himself had already known about the Kree.
His experience with Carol Danvers is, after all, what prompts the notion of the Avengers Initiative in the first place. Fury does, though, have a history of keeping secrets from the Avengers, which is probably the reason none of them knew about Carol when she showed up in Avengers: Endgame.
The Containment of the Infinity Stones
The Avengers’ first encounter with an Infinity Stone happens in Captain America: The First Avenger when Steve commandeers the HYDRA aircraft that is boarded by Red Skull and the Tesseract. When Red Skull tries to handle the cube, it sends him into space and proceeds to burn through the bottom of the ship and fall into the ocean.
The Stones contain a level power foreign to mankind, so it’s a mystery as to how Howard Stark with earthly technology was able to not only take it out of the water but store it for years. In fact, the ability of other people to handle the Stones, like Hawkeye and Strucker, is a mystery, too.
Horses In Asgard
Despite its age-old monarchy, Asgard is a scientific and technological giant in the eyes of the galaxy. Thor says in The Avengers that his people consider themselves far more advanced than anyone or anything on Earth. In spite of all this, Thor shows the warriors storming the Bifrost to Jotunheim on horses.
Although the animals add to the medieval aesthetic of the society, they are an inefficient method of travel, and considering all of the more advanced alternatives Asgard is surely capable of creating, horseback riding seems to contribute to the theatricality of the film more than anything else.
Aunt May’s Change of Heart
When she hears about the bank robbery gone wrong in Spider-Man: Homecoming, May tells Peter that if he ever sees something like that happening, he should run in the other direction. In fact, the main reason why Peter keeps his identity a secret is that he knows his aunt would not let him continue his work if she found out.
The end credits scene of the movie reveals that she discovers him in his suit, but we don’t hear from her again until after his involvement in the Infinity War. When both of them are Blipped back into existence in Far From Home, she is completely on board with the idea of Peter being a hero and an Avenger, a complete U-turn from her original stance with no reason given.
An Uncanny Resemblance
Spin-off show Agent Carter followed Peggy’s adventures in the SSR after the war and after Steve was believed to be dead. The show only ran for two seasons before its cancellation in 2016, but Daniel Sousa, played by Enver Gjokaj, is a fellow agent of hers and a prominent character in both. He and Peggy work together, among others, to take down the evils of the world.
Cut to Avengers, and… wait a second. That policeman who Steve is instructing to clear a perimeter looks familiar. Could it be Agent Sousa, looking the same as he did 60 years ago? Probably not, but his casting in Agent Carter is an oversight as many fans believe him to have been Peggy’s husband, which leads us to…
Peggy’s Husband
A video shown in Captain America: The Winter Soldier reveals that Peggy had been married to a man Steve had saved before he went under the ice, a man with whom she had two children. The idea of this husband seems to be dropped immediately as he is never mentioned in any of the following films, even at her funeral.
Not even Agent Carter addresses the subject, and because Peggy and Daniel did not seem to know each other before the war, it seems unlikely that he had encountered Captain America.
Wanda in the Civil War
Admittedly, many of the characters who participated in the conflict of Captain America: Civil War had less than ample reasons for fighting, but Wanda’s is especially puzzling. When the Sokovia Accords are first introduced, Wanda seems the most likely to agree and sign the document.
When Clint convinces her to fight for Captain America’s side of the war, which opposed the Accords, he tells her in order to assuage her guilt for the people she hurt in the past, she would need to take action. However, it would have made more sense, in the wake of the Lagos mission, for her to submit to the peaceful route of the Accords.
“That Really Old Movie, Empire Strikes Back”
When Peter calls out this line to his team in Civil War, it would be neither the first nor the last time the MCU referenced a film that starred actors who also played characters who are part of the MCU.
After over 10 years of films, it’s natural for the characters to have referenced many other well-known movies, and with such an extensive cast list, the likelihood that the movies referenced will also feature some of the Marvel cast is high.
The list of Marvel-Star Wars actor crossovers alone is enough to fill a page. Still, these references are not always noticed by fans, so these mistakes sometimes go unnoticed as well.
Steve Wields Mjolnir
Of all the iconic moments Avengers: Endgame brought us, Steve summoning Mjolnir is high on the list. There are, however, a few things out of place about it. The criterion of being able to lift Thor’s hammer is being “worthy.” As of Age of Ultron earlier in the Infinity Saga, Steve was unable to lift the hammer, though he was the only other Avenger to move it, albeit almost imperceptibly.
The Captain has had an extensive arc over the years, but most of his character’s growth takes place before Ultron. His ability to lift the hammer in Endgame, though epic, raises the question of exactly what it was that made him worthy or, perhaps more importantly, why he was ever unable to lift the hammer.
