Some mistakes have left a lasting impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe that fans just can’t shake.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a resounding success for years now. It’s the franchise that many believe can do no wrong and has amassed a loyal fanbase over its 25+ installments. The MCU is not without its rough spots, however, and its creators made some missteps along the way to critical and commercial domination.

Poorly executed villains, films not living up to expectations, and silly narrative decisions are all issues that have plagued MCU films. As the universe continues to expand, with more films and miniseries on the way, the creators behind upcoming projects should strive to learn from the mistakes that have dragged promising Marvel installments down.

Updated on February 26th, 2024 by Mayra Garcia: After more than 30 films and a dozen TV series, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has established itself as one of the biggest cultural phenomena ever. However, it isn’t perfect. Despite its groundbreaking success, the MCU has made some serious mistakes. This list has been updated to adhere to CBR’s current publication standards.

15. The Shared Universe Has Spoiled the Fanbase Way Too Much

When the MCU first started, its shared universe aspects were novel for casual audiences. Superhero movies had been around since the ’70s but never before had anyone taken the comic book shared universe approach. It was revolutionary, but it conditioned the audience to expect that sort of thing from the shows and movies, creating a property built on fan service.

An example of this is She-Hulk and its many cameos. Comic fans loved all the C and D-list characters who appeared, but MCU fans didn’t and the reaction to the wedding episode that took place instead of Daredevil appearing sparked outrage. The shared universe has created a fandom that lives more for the dopamine rush of cameos and continuity nods than the stories, which is a huge problem.

14. Black Widow Came Too Late

Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow made multiple appearances in ensemble pieces, from Iron Man 2 to Avengers: Endgame, but was held back from her own solo movie for years. It was a mystifying decision, especially taking Black Widow’s many entertaining action scenes into account, and Kevin Feige himself admitted it.

Black Widow did eventually come out, but it was a fiasco, dropping during the pandemic and going straight to Disney+. The movie was remarkably uneven in quality and, worst of all, actually came out after Black Widow’s death. While the introduction of Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova and David Harbour’s Red Guardian was considered a win by many fans, this movie was largely a dud.

13. The MCU Has Too Many Shallow Villains

From the beginning, Marvel Studios has depended on shallow villains. This is often defended by saying the movies are about the heroes and not the villains. That isn’t a bad point, but it’s still distressing. Marvel’s comics are full of amazing villains who’ve been fleshed out in media that is ostensibly about the heroes, meaning that it’s definitely possible, but MCU writers just refuse to try.

Whenever a movie spends even the barest time fleshing out a good villain, like Thanos or Killmonger, people praise the film despite its many problems with its characters. Thanos’s reasoning is terrible and despite Killmonger being right about many things, he’s still a monster.

12. Falcon and the Winter Soldier Features Contradicting Discourses

Disney knows how to play to more than one audience at a time. However, some projects try to pretend to be something they’re not, and that’s Falcon And The Winter Soldier. While the show does a good job of talking about race in America, it features several contradicting ideas.

The Flag-Smashers are presented as villains despite only fighting to survive an oppressive regime that won’t even allow them to work for a living anymore, outlawing refugees. While he recognizes their plight, Sam tries to talk them into embracing the status quo instead of helping them in their struggle. Similarly, FATWS’s final speech goes out of its way to declare that trusting the government to make the right decisions is futile, even if they have accountability measures in place.

11. Wandavision’s Ending Tried to Redeem Scarlet Witch

The MCU’s Phase Four has already aged poorly in many ways, with WandaVision being a perfect example. The show revolves around Scarlet Witch’s trauma, but that’s no excuse for her enslaving an entire town and forcing them to take part in her fantasies. Scarlet Witch is unequivocally the villain of that show, a monster who gets let off the hook because the big MCU-style finale wouldn’t work otherwise.

Scarlet Witch’s appearance in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness leans more into her villainy, but even then the end of WandaVision still exists to rubber-stamp her actions. WandaVision’s exploration of trauma was a change of pace for the MCU, but the fact the show’s ending made excuses for her terrible actions remains a stain on the MCU’s record.

10. The Mandarin Was Turned into a Joke for Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 was following up an installment that many thought of as inferior to the original. Therefore, the final chapter of the Iron Man trilogy had a lot to live up to, which wasn’t helped by promising a sinister version of the classic foe the Mandarin.

Once Iron Man 3 was released, it was revealed that this Mandarin was just a feckless actor playing a role, and the supposed “real” Mandarin was some jealous guy from Tony Stark’s past. This error ended up being fixed thanks to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, but the fact that Iron Man 3 required another film to render it watchable speaks for itself.

9. Thor: The Dark World Was a Low Point for the God of Thunder

The MCU had a lot to follow up on in 2013. The previous year, the series reached its highest point yet with the success of The Avengers. The lead characters’ subsequent solo outings were expected to set up further adventures for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, yet the only surefire success of the Marvel Trinity turned out to be Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The aforementioned Mandarin issue plagued IM3, and the MCU suffered its worst installment yet with Thor: The Dark World. Lead Chris Hemsworth was clearly growing bored with the role at this point, and Thor himself wasn’t given any interesting characterization. A lackluster villain and uninspired direction further cemented Dark World as the low point of the series. Fortunately, this changed for Thor: Ragnarok, which fans loved.

8. The Eternals Wasn’t as Popular as the MCU Expected It

Some of its earliest projects failed, but the MCU recovered and achieved the status that it maintains today. However, it has struggled to maintain it. 2021 turned out to be another pivotal year for the MCU as it received its first largely negative critical reaction to Eternals.

It’s even more surprising given that the director, Chloe Zhao, landed the gig fresh off of her Oscar win for Nomadland. Eternals demonstrated the MCU isn’t an infallible giant. The creators can make something that just doesn’t land with audiences and this newfound insight will likely color audience perception of any perceived risks in upcoming production decisions.

7. Evan Peters’ Cameo Was Reduced to a Cruel Joke

2021 boasted more good than bad for MCU fans, thanks to the series’ successful debut in episodic television format. The first show, WandaVision, was a daring experiment drawing from many decades’ worth of classic sitcoms for inspiration. It made further waves when Evan Peters, the actor responsible for bringing Quicksilver to life in the X-Men films, appeared as an alleged version of the speedster in the series’ 5th episode.

While fans assumed Evan Peters was reprising his role from the Fox X-Men films, WandaVision revealed that he was just another resident of Westview playing the “part” of Quicksilver. The blatant manipulation of Marvel’s fans was callous and lowered expectations for subsequent Disney+ series reveals.

6. Edgar Wright’s Departure Speaks Volumes about the MCU’s Lack of Creative Freedom

While building up to their 2nd Avengers movie, Marvel Studios struggled to agree on the direction of the Ant-Man films. Edgar Wright was writing and directing, but the two parties couldn’t work together and Wright departed. The first film ultimately turned out to be a charming low-stakes diversion under Peyton Reed’s direction — who also directed the next two installments.

Wright’s departure demonstrated producer Kevin Feige’s willingness to part ways with those who couldn’t work under the Marvel Studios system. Losing Wright’s satiric perspective robbed the movie of a certain identity, but also moved the film closer to common MCU fare.

5. Joss Whedon’s Abusive Behaviour Has Tainted His Work

Joss Whedon successfully adapted the Avengers to the big screen, crafting two entertaining ensemble films that modernized the seemingly dated concept of heroes saving the world. He attempted to do the same thing with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ DC counterpart, the Justice League, in the eponymous 2017 film and earned fans’ ire by undoing most of original director Zack Snyder’s vision.

Several abusive and inappropriate behavior allegations later and Whedon has vacated his position as the fandom’s favorite storyteller. The impact of his MCU contributions is big, but the higher-ups at Marvel Studios certainly aren’t promoting his name anymore.

4. The Netflix Marvel Series Need a More Obvious Connection to the MCU

The Marvel Netflix shows are apparently set within the MCU, but, so far, the scant connections between it and its larger parent universe have repeatedly called that idea into question. This confusion has clouded the grimy atmosphere of those shows for their entire existence.

Netflix users are treated to iconic renditions of classic comic characters on the streaming service, yet the films never validate their love for these shows. Since these series are already part of the MCU’s official chronology, this issue will be rectified soon, but it has served as a point of frustration for avid devotees of the MCU for many years now.

3. The MCU Keeps Wasting Some of Its Best Villains

The MCU rogues are killed off too quickly. The creatives behind the movies seemingly only deal in extremes. Characters like Kaecilius, Darren Cross, and Erik Killmonger have talented actors to bring them to life, only to be rendered dead by the end.

Loki and the Winter Soldier prove the MCU is capable of handling villainous characters well, but they stand as the exceptions to the rule. However, Netflix villains like Killgrave and the Kingpin have long provided a counterpoint to the MCU’s one-note villains. While not every Netflix villain can make a return via Disney+, there’s definitely still room for great villains in the larger MCU.

2. Captain Marvel Deserved Better

Captain Marvel is a strange character in the MCU, due in large part to her sudden appearance and lack of build-up. First hinted at in the post-credits of Avengers: Infinity War, Carol Danvers immediately received a mediocre origin story before hardly showing up in Avengers: Endgame.

Captain Marvel’s small role in the latter film brings up the question of why she was given such a substantial installment but didn’t really have much of an impact in her next appearance. This is also reflected in The Marvels, Captain Marvel’s sequel, which did poorly at the box office. More than likely, this is a rare instance of the MCU attempting to play catch-up with the DCEU, as the latter debuted a successful female-led superhero film in 2017’s Wonder Woman two years before Captain Marvel.

1. The CGI Has Been Overused at This Point

A fully CGI character is one thing and can represent a technical challenge and advance motion capture performance technology. However, when Spider-Man’s costume is computer-generated while the character is standing still, on the ground, or doing absolutely nothing, it may be time to reexamine the CGI budget.

Bloated third acts that devolve into weightless cartoon fights are standard for the MCU. The overuse of sound stages and green screens permeates the films, giving them the same unreal look across different installments. This similarity may be part and parcel of franchise building, but it can add up to monotonous viewing experiences.