The most popular movies in the world right now are the three annual entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and while audiences will inevitably lose interest in them eventually, the franchise is currently riding high as the highest grossing franchise of all time. But it hasn’t been without its controversies. Like Greedo shooting first or Bran Stark taking the Iron Throne, the MCU has divided its fans with plenty of polarizing moments. Sometimes it’s because the filmmakers deviated wildly from the source material; sometimes it’s because they pushed a creepy semi-incestuous romance on us. So, here are 10 MCU Moments That Divided Fans.
10 Steve Rogers kisses Sharon Carter (Captain America: Civil War)
Easily the most controversial romance in the MCU, God only knows why the writers of Captain America: Civil War decided to make Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter an item. Back in World War II, Steve fell in love with Sharon’s aunt, Peggy, and in the present day, she died of old age. Then, Steve moved on by flirting with her niece right after the funeral and kissing her shortly thereafter. The only possible attraction that Steve could’ve had to Sharon is that she shared his ex’s DNA. And now that he’s gone back in time and legally become Sharon’s uncle, it’s even creepier.
9 Star-Lord punches Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War)
Although Avengers: Infinity War was praised by fans and critics alike, one scene did prove to be controversial. The heroes on Titan are fighting Thanos for the Infinity Gauntlet, with Mantis putting him to sleep and the others yanking it off, when Peter Quill finds out the Mad Titan killed Gamora to get the Soul Stone.
So, he starts punching him, letting his anger get in the way of reason, allowing Thanos to escape Mantis’ trance and take back the Gauntlet. Marvel fans blamed Quill for paving the way for Thanos’ victory. But he lost the love of his life – he’s allowed to get emotional. And it’s not like if they did get the Gauntlet off, it would’ve stayed off for long.
8 Casting Tilda Swinton to play the Ancient One (Doctor Strange)
Marvel was criticized for whitewashing when they cast Tilda Swinton to play the Ancient One in Doctor Strange. In the comics, the Ancient One is an Asian man, born in the Himalayas. The studio has justified its decision by saying that the character from the comics is a racial stereotype and they wanted to avoid that, but they could’ve cast an Asian actor and not made their character a stereotype – that was an option. Swinton’s version was said to be of Celtic descent, and by all accounts, she gave a strong performance in the role, but it’s also hard to deny that it is a case of whitewashing.
7 Replacing Terrence Howard (Iron Man 2)
The narrative from Marvel surrounding the replacement of Terrence Howard in the role of James Rhodes – bringing in Don Cheadle for Iron Man 2 onwards – is that Howard demanded more money and walked when they refused to give it to him. That’s not the full story, though. From Howard’s perspective, he helped to get Robert Downey, Jr. cast in the first one, and when that movie made a then-risky Downey one of the world’s biggest stars again, Marvel decided to take some of the money they’d promised to Howard and add it to Downey’s paycheck instead. That’s why Howard left, and it’s sort of understandable.
6 The MCU’s first gay character is just some guy who appears for two seconds (Avengers: Endgame)
Oh, boy. It took Marvel 10 years to give us a movie with a non-white lead and 11 years to give us a movie with a female lead. And when it all culminated in Avengers: Endgame, they finally gave us the franchise’s first gay character.
But he wasn’t Iceman or Hulkling or Hercules or any of the other awesome gay superheroes from the comics. He was a grieving man at a support group who didn’t get a name and was played by one of the movie’s straight directors. It couldn’t have been a more blatant act of tokenism if they tried.
5 Bringing back Coulson (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
When Agent Coulson is killed by Loki in The Avengers, it’s a heartbreaking moment that inspires Earth’s mightiest heroes to work together and save the day. So, it was odd that Coulson was immediately resurrected for the TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and was never mentioned in the movies again, apart from appearing as his younger self in Captain Marvel. As far as we know, the Avengers all still think he’s dead. Even Joss Whedon has said he finds Coulson’s death in The Avengers disappointing with his immediate revival right around the corner, and he wrote and directed The Avengers and co-created Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
4 Tony Stark gives Peter Parker a high-tech Spider-Man suit (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
Tony Stark technically gave Peter Parker a Stark-powered Spider-Man suit in Captain America: Civil War, but he didn’t take off the training wheels and discover all the nifty gadgets in it until Spider-Man: Homecoming. The great thing about Spidey in the comics is that he’s just a normal kid. He doesn’t have Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne’s multimillion-dollar technology; he has a red-and-blue costume hanging up in his closet in his dingy bedroom in Queens. The MCU’s Peter is set for life. His suits can practically do his job for him, and thanks to Stark, he’ll never need to become a pizza delivery boy or a freelance photographer to scrape a living.
3 Cutting a woman leaving Valkyrie’s room (Thor: Ragnarok)
During production on Thor: Ragnarok, Tessa Thompson suggested to director Taika Waititi that they should include a scene where a woman is seen leaving Valkyrie’s bedroom, confirming her bisexuality as MCU canon. Waititi was up for it, and even shot the scene. However, the corporate overlords at Marvel had it cut from the film. The reason they gave was that it threw the pacing of the film off-kilter, but come on, is that even possible? It’s a two-hour movie with long scenes of inconsequential banter – could two seconds of a woman leaving a room really have made that much of a difference? Valkyrie will finally be confirmed as bi in Thor: Love and Thunder.
2 Black Widow’s death (Avengers: Endgame)
As the literal “endgame” for the six original members of the titular superhero team, Avengers: Endgame was bound to include a couple of their deaths. Tony Stark’s death in the final battle had a huge impact, leaving fans in tears and leading into a long, beautiful, heartfelt funeral scene. However, Natasha Romanoff’s death was clunky.
The choppy editing made what was actually happening seem incoherent (thanks to a ton of reshoots – originally, Thanos was there!), it ignored the rules of the Soul Stone established in Infinity War (it has to be a sacrifice, not a suicide), she didn’t get a funeral or any kind of memorial, and the death itself made her upcoming solo movie feel like an afterthought.
1 The Mandarin turns out to be an actor (Iron Man 3)
There’s no doubt that the MCU has never divided its fans more than when the Mandarin – the fearsome terrorist leader who is Tony Stark’s iconic arch nemesis in the comics – was revealed to be an actor named Trevor Slattery. Instead of pushing Stark to his limits, he just stunk out the room, cheered for a football match, and instantly gave up the puppet-masters who had been touting him in the media as America’s next top terrorist. And the guy who turned out to be the “real” Mandarin, Aldrich Killian, was yet another generic incensed genius trying to get back at Stark.
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