Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown to become the world’s most successful franchise. MCU is known for its stories, the actors who play those stories, and the way that all stories are connected. Continuity errors are something that every film franchise is afraid of but not Marvel. MCU is so well-thought and well-written that such errors couldn’t sneak in. However, in a 13 year-run, mistakes become inevitable. And there are instances where the MCU made big mistakes throughout its tenure.
These may not necessarily be mistakes – these errors can be a sudden change in a characters’ powers, inconsistencies, or technical errors. In this list, we have ranked some of these errors which keep fans up at night. However, the developers have explained some of these errors but most of them remain unresolved. MCU made big mistakes and here they are:
9. THE EVER-CHANGING PROPERTIES OF VIBRANIUM METAL!
Vibranium is regarded as the most important metal in MCU. It is one of the strongest elements and is used extensively across MCU-from Cap’s shield to the entire nation of Wakanda. However, this metal’s properties have been inconsistent from the beginning. The first Avengers movie saw Cap absorbing a direct hit from the hammer of the Mighty Thor. Then he was seen flying from a single humane kick from Batroc in Captain America: Winter Soldier. A few years later, Civil War showed Cap absorbing Iron Man’s thrusters. The thrusters were too close to the shield to not send Cap flying across the room.
2018’s Black Panther displayed the metal as a kinetic-energy absorber but only when it seems like it. It has been pointed out every time T’Challa uses the Black Panther suit. These mistakes happen because of the absence of a detailed list of powers and abilities of the metal. Before the introduction of the metal in the MCU, the creators should’ve decided what the metal can or can not endure.
8. THE RULES OF TIME TRAVEL!
Time-travel movies have been a huge part of pop culture in the last few decades. Avengers: Endgame even name-dropped some of the movies but followed quantum physics for rules. Rather than using the common notion that changes in the past affect the events of the future, MCU used an approach where changes in the past don’t affect the events of the future. However, the Ancient One explained how if we pluck the stones from a point in time, the timeline breaks and splits at that very point.
The recent Disney+ animated show, What If…? conveys a whole different message. According to the Watcher, changes in the decision of the past create an alternate branched reality, rather than affecting the original one. In this logic, Captain America going in the past to return the stones to their respective times will simply create more and more alternate realities, increasing the problem six-fold. Marvel Studios still have to comment on this error.
7. DOES BRUCE BANNER REMEMBER THINGS HE DOES WHILE HULK IS IN CONTROL?
This inconsistency has been discussed consistently since the release of Infinity War. After 2015’s Age Of Ultron, Hulk was seen in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok. The latter revealed that Bruce had been the Hulk since the former and had no memories as to what he did in the last couple of years. To quote Dr. Bruce Banner, “It’s like he had the keys to the car and I was locked in the trunk.”
However, this was contradicted when the 2018’s Infinity War. The movie featured Hulk coming to Midgard (Earth) through the Bifrost and immediately turning back to Banner. And then Banner said, “Thanos is coming. He’s coming.” How did Banner remember fighting Thanos when he was Hulk? Does his memory work at his convenience? Why didn’t he remember anything about the Grandmaster and his tournament?
6. WHY DIDN’T THE ARC REACTOR CHARGE MARK 42 SUIT IN IRON MAN 3?
Iron Man 3 was a great movie but it had a major problem that was too obvious to ignore. The Iron Man suits have been the most technologically advanced tech pieces in the MCU. The suits range from Mark I to Mark 85, with each being more advanced than the previous one. But Iron Man 3‘s Mark 42 had an inconsistency. All Iron Man suits from Mark I have been powered by the arc reactor, which also keeps the shrapnel out of his heart. But not Mark 42 and when it runs out of power, Tony had to seek accommodation in Harley’s garage in Tennessee.
The arc reactor is depicted as a battery source that can power a person’s heart for more than 50 lifetimes. So why did the reactor not help in charging the suit? The more important question being, could the suit even be charged from the arc reactor? The battery of the suit was the main problem in the movie and how could Tony make such a huge mistake? The arc reactor is the primal source of all of his suits, so why leave Mark 42? Or was it just for the movie?
5. WAS THE BIFROST BRIDGE THAT IMPORTANT?
In 2011’s Thor established the Bifrost bridge to be an essential part of the realms. Loki even used the Bifrost bridge to destroy nine realms at the same time. Thor tries to destroy the bridge for good but Loki begs him not to do it. He even warned him of the consequences, “If you destroy the bridge, you’ll never see [Jane Foster] again!” but Thor does it anyway and Loki falls off the bridge. The movie ends with Thor mourning his brother and the loss of the chance of seeing Jane again.
Now, you would expect that it would take him a long time to rebuild the Bifrost if it was THAT powerful. However, Thor still showed up at Earth to get Loki (2012’s Avengers) and Loki commented, “With the Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the All-Father have to muster to conjure you here?” Additionally, the Bifrost bridge was complete in 2013’s sequel. So if inter-realm travel and the rebuilding of the Bifrost bridge was THAT difficult, why did breaking the bridge in the first place was such a big deal?
4. THE ALL-SEEING HEIMDALL DIDN’T SEE THANOS COMING?
Heimdall is one of the most underused characters in the MCU. A person who can literally see anything going on in the lives of 10 trillion beings across the nine realms. But even his orange, all-seeing eyes could not see Thanos coming. Now, this is a plot-convenience error or just a mistake overlooked by the creators? Some fans argue that Thanos, being the smartest person in the universe, found a way to hide his ship from Heimdall’s vision. Or even that Heimdall was just distracted and was not looking in the direction. Since there is no official word from MCU, this inconsistency made it into the Top 5.
3. FLUCTUATING POWER LEVELS OF THE GOD OF LIGHTNING!
What do you think, is Thor the strongest Avenger? At least he is at most times. Thor’s power levels have varied on various occasions across the MCU. On one occasion, he defeats the entirety of Hela’s army and in the next, he is bested by Thanos. These inconsistencies have been going on since his introduction in 2011 and were recently explained by Christopher Markus (Infinity War co-writer). He explained that how in the attempt to connect the characters to the comics, these errors sneak in. He commented that Thor, being an Asgardian God, had really thick skin which helped him absorb the full energy from the star but more limited energy reserves. This is a classic example of the mistakes made by the MCU.
2. DRAX IS LITERAL EXCEPT WHEN HE’S NOT!
Drax has made fans love him with his quirky one-liners and invisibility powers. He has one additional quality that adds much-required fun in serious situations-his literalism. He tends to take everything so seriously, even the metaphors, that it just tickles the funny bone. One long-running gag includes, “Finger to the throat means death. Metaphor!” But this quality of his was not a rule. During the pep-talk scene, Peter Quill talks about how life has given them the chance to “give a sh*t.” If we follow the logic that Drax is literal about metaphors, he would have taken a p*tty break then and there. But he doesn’t, moreover, he is not even confused by the metaphor. So does he have a special case of selective literalism? Even though it was a huge error, fans don’t seem much bothered by it.
1. DID STEVE ROGERS POSSESS THE POWER OF THE GOD OF LIGHTNING?
One of the many jaw-dropping moments in Avengers: Endgame was when Captain America wields Mjölnir. As it turns out, Thor always knew that Steve could pick the hammer, seeing as he did, back in 2015. However, what doesn’t make sense is the scene when Steve summons the lightning bolts upon the Chitauri. Even Christopher Markus accepted this as an inconsistency, but also added that how cool he found it. However, if we go in-depth, the hammer does say, “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” So by this logic, if Rogers can hold the hammer, he does possess the power of Thor. But, who knows, maybe this is the reason why Hela survived the biggest lightning bolt in the history of lightning without a single scratch.
So now you would agree that MCU made big mistakes throughout its run. What do you think of these inconsistencies? Did they bother you when you noticed them? Do let us know in the comments.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter for more content.
