10 Times The MCU Ignored Its Own Movies

As the superhero franchise continues to connect its movies and TV shows, the MCU has ignored its own films on several occasions. 

It's no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is jam-packed with films and TV series, which makes it hard for fans to keep up. The reception of Phase Four has been mixed among viewers, but the most common complaint is how everything fits together.

The MCU has mostly done a good job at piecing together smaller stories to create an overarching narrative, but there are plot points or characters that haven't been mentioned even years after their introduction. Viewers have started to notice the holes in the seams of the most recent MCU films, but it's been evident for some time. While the next phase of MCU projects can solve some problems, the superhero franchise may keep ignoring its own movies.

Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and Spider-Man: Far From Home acknowledged "Avengers level threats" in their own ways. A glaring problem within the MCU is that this term's definition changes whenever writers need it to. Also, if a film needs the hype of a superhero team-up or cameo, an Avenger will be just behind.

Typically, the Avengers will get involved in a post-credits scene, but one of the MCU's biggest flaws is how touch-and-go the heroes seem to be. For example, Captain Marvel wasn't seen for decades, even though she could've saved planets like Xandar from the hands of Thanos.

Ant-Man's role in the MCU is much smaller than it is in the comics, but the Ant-Man films still deliver amazing comedy and dynamic action sequences. However, when fans last saw Ava Starr (aka Ghost), Scott Lang and company vowed to help her with her quantum-based ailment.

Shortly after this promise, Scott was stuck in the Quantum Realm as his crew was dusted away. This leaves viewers wondering if Ghost lived or died during the time of the Snap. Perhaps she will make a return and this storyline will be fulfilled in Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, but so far, the MCU has ignored this plot thread.

The plot of Captain America: Civil War was set in motion when the governments of the world tried to gain some control over superheroes. Tony Stark agreed that heroes like the Avengers needed to be kept in check to instill trust among civilians, but Captain America had a problem with letting politicians control him.

Ultimately, the accords went into effect and Captain America and crew became fugitives. After Civil War, however, the Sokovia Accords weren't mentioned ever again. Heroes like Spider-Man, Hawkeye, and Ant-Man still did whatever they wanted, and it showed that the entire plot point meant nothing in the MCU's larger picture.

2018's Black Panther ended with King T'Challa announcing that he would build bridges with the rest of the world as a way to share Wakanda's knowledge, and perhaps resources, with those who need it. While humanity's last fight against Thanos took place in Wakanda, many ideas that came from Wakanda offering its technology and resources did not ever come to fruition.

Concepts like the Wakandan outreach center or the nation's vibranium technology have not been brought up since Black Panther. Perhaps they will be built upon with the upcoming Wakanda Forever, or perhaps the scene served only to give Infinity War a familiar setting.

In recent years, the "villain problem" within the MCU has seemingly been fixed. As of late, Marvel has embraced complex villains who have deeper histories with the characters. Justin Hammer was a secondary villain from Iron Man 2 and he is long overdue for a return.

Justin served as the B-list villain for Tony Stark, acting as a near mirror image of the hero and a look at who Tony could have become before his change of heart. Justin declared he'd make a return, but he has not been mentioned within the MCU in the 12 years since Iron Man 2.

Thanos acquiring the Infinity Stones would take a lot of time, so it's logical that some of this happened offscreen. What doesn't make sense to viewers is the massacre of Xandar. Xandar is the home of the Nova Empire, the Nova corps, and over 12 billion Xandarians. When Thanos collected the Power Stone, he destroyed the entirety of the Nova Empire and corps, and then did away with half of all Xandarians.

If Thanos gave Xandar the same treatment as Asgard, it's highly unlikely every member of the Nova Corps was killed, especially those off-world. Xandar plays a minor role in the Guardians of The Galaxy franchise, but with the upcoming NOVA film, many fans hope the planet will rise again.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 brought multiple problems to the MCU. Ego the Living Planet revealed that Peter Quill was part Celestial, the universe's oldest and most powerful race. Ego's goal was to multiply across as many planets as possible by planting seeds on each planet.

The way the MCU introduced Celestials was underwhelming compared to their comic-book counterparts. Celestials are an imposing race within the Marvel Universe. Guardians Of The Galaxy briefly mentioned the beings, but Eternals showcased their full power. Celestials consume planets just to exist and create much of the known universe, but fans couldn't gather that from Ego's depiction of them. Marvel Studios never addressed this major flaw when moving forward with the rest of the MCU.

Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings was highly anticipated by MCU fans and had high expectations. Luckily, the film delivered, especially as a post-credits scene set up a promising future for Shang-Chi in the MCU.

In the film, Wong takes Shang-Chi and his friend Katy to a meeting with Bruce Banner and Captain Marvel. The introduction of these characters implied a huge team-up in the future, but Wong, Marvel, and Banner have been seen numerous times since with no mention of Shang-Chi. Fans hope that the superhero gets more screen-time soon, but it seems the MCU has other plans.

Thanos' Snap had lasting effects on the MCU characters, but the aftermath only mattered in a few key projects. The only time the MCU acknowledged the aftermath of the Snap was in instances where characters were close with important characters or heroes.

Spider-Man: Far From Home and Falcon And The Winter Soldier showed how some people are dealing with the Snap and the socioeconomic problems that would come with it, but it doesn't pose as much of a problem in any other project. Fans are seemingly just supposed to accept that none of the new heroes were blipped and their lives weren't affected by it either.

Eternals has been the most divisive MCU film of recent years. Regardless of the popularity of the film, the MCU has not addressed any of the characters or the events in the film since Eternals' release.

Many fans were quick to point out the Eternals' absence during the fight against Thanos. Now, the inhabitants of Earth-199999 have ignored an even more glaring issue. There is a super-sized celestial still in the middle of the ocean. In the years following the release of Eternals, only She-Hulk: Attorney At Law has featured a mere Easter egg that nods to Tiamut still being in the ocean. Fans hope that this is addressed in the Eternals sequel.