The 10 MCU Scenes That Made Fans Furious

While the MCU has given fans plenty to cheer about over the years, some scenes had viewers up in arms.

By Richard Nebens Posted:
MCU

Looking back at the MCU's long history, 10 particular scenes made fans furious when they left the theater.

Particularly after the end of Marvel Studios' Infinity Saga, the Multiverse Saga leaves much to be desired for some viewers. Many believe the MCU hasn't achieved the same kind of success.

But while the Multiverse Saga has had its low points (which Marvel is already looking to correct), Marvel Studios' entire run has been far from perfect, with a few scenes that still rub fans the wrong way.

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10 MCU Scenes That Infuriated Fans

Ahead are 10 scenes from MCU history that irritated fans the most since the franchise's inception in 2008 for various reasons, including character decisions, bad writing, disappointing VFX work, and more. These scenes are listed in release order.

Iron Man 3 - The Mandarin Reveal

Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin in Iron Man 3
Marvel Studios

The MCU's first Phase 2 movie, Iron Man 3, promised to include arguably Iron Man's most notable antagonist from Marvel Comics, Sir Ben Kingsley's Mandarin.

However, after the trailers and marketing campaign set him up to be Tony Stark's scariest foe to date, he was revealed to be nothing more than an actor named Trevor Slattery.

Kingsley's character admitted to Tony that he was hired to be the face of Aldrich Killian's public reign of terror, with Guy Pearce's Killian proclaiming himself as the real Mandarin during the final battle.

Although this was amended eight years later with Tony Leung's Wenwu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, including Kingsley's character, this was a sore spot for MCU fans for years.

Captain America: Civil War - Cap Kisses Sharon Carter

Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter in Captain America: Civil War
Marvel Studios

2016's Captain America: Civil War reunited Steve Rogers with Agent 13/Sharon Carter, even featuring a shocking kiss scene for them before the world-famous airport battle in Germany.

While this scene may not look like a huge problem on the outside, some diehard MCU fans saw this as a major betrayal considering Steve's previous relationship with Peggy Carter, who happens to be Sharon's aunt.

It became more complicated later as Steve time-traveled back to 1945 in the final moments of Avengers: Endgame, allowing him to live out his days with Peggy after his years of service as a soldier and an Avenger.

This moment still leaves MCU fans cringing and angry even after Steve's later reunion with Peggy, particularly since it was Steve's last scene with Sharon during their MCU tenures.

Black Panther - The Final Battle

Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger in Black Panther
Marvel Studios

Yes, Black Panther became a cultural phenomenon in 2018 as the highest-grossing MCU solo movie at the time and the first to win an Academy Award. However, that does not mean it was a perfect movie.

Specifically, fans' biggest issues with the Phase 3 film centered on T'Challa's final battle with Killmonger, which left the MCU with yet another final fight between two characters with near-identical power sets.

Additionally, the final battle between multiple Wakanda tribes was heavily criticized after going through last-minute script changes, mainly due to the CGI being less than optimal on the Wakandan rhinos.

This was one of the MCU's biggest CGI letdowns in the entire Infinity Saga, compounded by the fact that Black Panther is still one of the franchise's most well-reviewed projects.

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Captain Marvel - Fury and the Flerken

Goose the Flerken and Nick Fury in Captain Marvel
Marvel Studios

When fans found out Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury would join the cast of Captain Marvel, which was confirmed to be a '90s period piece, one question came to fans' minds: "Will the movie reveal what happened to Fury's eye?"

This came to fruition as most of the movie featured Jackson's Fury with both eyes intact, but the final result left fans underwhelmed: Goose the Flerken slashed it out.

This came after five years of build-up from a line in Captain America: The Winter Soldier in which Fury tells Steve Rogers, "Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye." Viewers did not expect this someone to be an alien masquerading as an adorable feline with a name inspired by Top Gun.

Reducing the backstory behind his eyepatch to a joke after so many years of buildup seemed to retroactively take away from that line in The Winter Soldier, especially after that movie became one of the MCU's best solo outings.

Avengers: Endgame - Female Avengers Team Up

Valkyrie, Spider-Man, Scarlet Witch and Captain Marvel in Avengers: Endgame
Marvel Studios

During the final battle of Avengers: Endgame, Brie Larson's Captain Marvel started a moment featuring the biggest female heroes in the MCU teaming up to get the Stark Gauntlet to the Quantum tunnel.

For a few different reasons, the scene was not received well by fans, which the filmmakers even worried would happen. Those concerns centered around the film pandering to women rather than coming off as empowering.

It felt even more worrisome after Avengers: Infinity War had a similar female-hero-centric scene (albeit with only three heroines instead of 10), leading to criticism from all angles of Hollywood. 

Not only was it directly parodied in comedic fashion in The Boys (whose creator lambasted the Endgame scene), but The Marvels director Nia DaCosta admitted that she was "very annoyed" by the moment, even though it gave her chills.

Female heroes are unquestionably here to stay in the MCU, but hopefully, the franchise can execute moments such as this one more effectively in the future.

WandaVision - Ralph Bohner

Evan Peters as Ralph Bohner in WandaVision
Marvel Studios

WandaVision marked a milestone moment for the MCU as it moved to Disney+, particularly after Evan Peters shocked the world with his return as Quicksilver in the closing moments of Episode 5.

This marked the first inclusion of any character from the 20th Century Fox movies after the merger with Disney, but it quickly became a disappointment as the story pushed further.

This version of Pietro Maximoff was revealed to be an imposter named Ralph Bohner, bringing nothing more than a "boner" joke for an actor whose inclusion was highly celebrated by MCU fans.

Viewers were particularly furious with this as no mutants had officially appeared in the MCU to that point, leaving many worried Marvel made the wrong decision with its use of this character.

[ WandaVision Director Compares Iron Man 3's Mandarin Twist To Evan Peters' Pietro Role ]

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - Wanda Turns Evil

Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Marvel Studios

Immediately upon Wanda Maximoff's introduction in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, fans were shocked to learn that the Scarlet Witch was the film's big villain as she reunited with Doctor Strange.

This moment saw heavy criticism from fans, who viewed her villainous turn as a contradiction to her character arc in WandaVision as she went down a redemptive path (something WandaVision director Matt Shakman was well aware of in development).

After appearing to accept a life without Vision and her twin sons in her Disney+ show, fans believed Wanda had changed her ways when she decided to tear the Multiverse apart to get her kids back. 

Elizabeth Olsen even expressed her shock to see that change, and while she seemed to redeem herself by the end of Doctor Strange 2, this decision still does not sit well with many MCU fans.

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Thor: Love and Thunder - Axl's Floating Head

Kieron L. Dyer as Axl in Thor: Love and Thunder
Marvel Studios

Thor: Love and Thunder did not earn much praise from MCU fans, particularly due to the lackluster use of CGI throughout the sequel (something the movie's directors and actors made fun of).

The biggest offender in this sense came in the scene where Axl, Heimdall's son, appears as a floating head as he talks to Thor, which was later adjusted for its Disney+ release and made to look worse.

Axl star Kieron L. Dyer detailed how he shot his material on his own away from everybody else, and while he had a fun time filming his scenes, it left Marvel fans highly disappointed at how the sequel's VFX budget was used.

Star Chris Hemsworth even admitted that the movie "became too silly" and did his best to process the negativity, with the VFX being one of many reasons this film does not rank highly for many MCU fans.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law - The Twerking Scene

She-Hulk and Megan Thee Stallion in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
Marvel Studios

2022's She-Hulk: Attorney at Law handled plenty of criticism throughout its nine-episode run, much of it centering on the CGI for its leading heroine (explained here by the showrunner).

But the biggest point of contention amongst many fans came in Episode 3's post-credits scene, which featured rap superstar Megan Thee Stallion twerking alongside She-Hulk in Jennifer Walters' office.

This scene incited furious anger in much of the MCU fandom, with some exclaiming that it epitomized everything that was wrong with the franchise. The comments got particularly ugly as fans bombarded the series with negative comments for seeing She-Hulk engage in this activity.

She-Hulk comic writer Dan Slott called out that sect of the fandom over this outrage, but even with that commentary, this scene is still near the bottom of many "worst scenes in the MCU" lists.

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Secret Invasion - Rhodey's Reveal

Don Cheadle as Rhodey in Secret Invasion
Marvel Studios

Secret Invasion is arguably the lowest-rated project in Marvel Studios history, although one moment featuring Don Cheadle's War Machine stands out in particular amidst the disaster.

From the beginning, Colonel James Rhodes was pegged by many fans as the most likely character in Secret Invasion to be a Skrull in disguise. Not only was that confirmed in Episode 4, but the show's director, Ali Selim, later indicated that Rhodey had been a Skrull since just after his injury in Captain America: Civil War.

This reveal caused mass outrage among fans, who were furious that so many important moments from past movies, such as Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, were now retconned because Rhodey is a Skrull.

It also has some worried about what Marvel will do with Rhodey in Armor Wars, his first project as the headlining character, after spending possibly a decade in the MCU timeline being held captive by aliens.

[ Marvel Confirms Rhodey Is Likely a Skrull In These 6 Movies & Shows ]


All the listed Marvel movies and series are streaming on Disney+.

- In This Article: WandaVision
Release Date
January 15, 2021
Platform
- About The Author: Richard Nebens
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.