What An Idiot / Marvel Cinematic Universe Films

Everybody has moments of occasional stupidity. Even all-powerful heroes and villains.

Phase 1

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

• Bruce Banner is on the run. That's because he experimented with gamma radiation in an effort to recreate Dr. Erskine's Captain America formula, only to turn into a giant green rage monster instead. The commanding officer in charge of Banner's project, General Thaddeus Ross, wants to contain him as a weapon and to exploit his potential.
  You'd Expect: Ross to do what S.H.I.E.L.D. later does in The Avengers with considerably less collateral damage and negative PR: track down Banner, talk calmly to him as a scientist and not a monster, and offer some fringe benefits to being a guinea pig. Not to mention that his attacking Bruce is straining his relationship with his daughter, Betty Ross, who got injured as a result of the gamma experiments.
  Instead: Every time he gets as much as a whiff of Bruce's various locations, Ross sends in special armed forces to utilize brute force and More Dakka.
  Result: This inevitably triggers Bruce's unwilling transformations into the Hulk, which causes immense property damage, danger to civilian and military lives, and Betty's wrath. And no, Ross does not learn. The one time he actually manages to handcuff Bruce is when the latter has just taken a potential antidote, which suppresses the transformation until Bruce needs to change again to save New York from the Abomination. In The Avengers, when Natasha talks to Bruce and offers him a job because of his gamma knowledge, she's much more successful in persuading him.
  Even Worse: Ross even send his troops after Banner outside the United States,^note Brazil in the movie where he has no jurisdiction, risking a diplomatic incident between the United States and whatever country Banner currently is when shit goes sideways.
  • For an example of this, Ross has received word that Bruce will be at Culver University. This is his chance to capture him.
    You'd Expect: Ross to order his men to try to capture Bruce stealthily, so that he'll have less time to become agitated and thus transform, and to prevent student and faculty panic on the campus.
    Instead: He orders all his men to charge into the university in broad daylight.
    The Result: Bruce and Betty are alerted, the army's arrival causes chaos amongst the students and teachers, and terrifies Bruce enough that he transforms soon after they get to him. Then that leads to several million dollars in property damage...
  • After throwing everything they have at the Hulk, Ross orders Blonsky to fall back. Blonsky has personally emptied a grenade launcher at the Hulk, and while he did an admirable job at not getting killed, he did no lasting damage. Even with his recent enhancements, he's clearly outmatched.
    You'd Expect: Blonsky to retreat, get bigger guns, and try again later. At this point, the biggest weapon he may have is a pistol, which might tickle the Hulk.
    Instead: He lets his love for a good fight get the better of him, so he asks "Is that all you've got?" as if to tempt the Hulk.
    As A Result: A single kick from the giant green rage monster breaks every bone in Blonsky's skeleton.

Captain America: The First Avenger

• Steve Rogers is recovering from about 70 years on ice. The powers that be elect to lessen the shock by placing him in a mock-up of a recovery room and not letting on how much time he had been out until they could perhaps break things to him gently.
  You Would Think: At bare minimum, they would have the "radio" playing period music or if they insisted on a "live sports broadcast" they would take painstaking research to pick one that took place after Rogers vanished.
  Instead: They have a Brooklyn Dodgers home game from 1941 playing. Even if they did not know Steve had attended it, it's a matter of public record that he was still living in Brooklyn at the time.
  Result: Steve quickly figures out something's wrong, and finds out the truth. There are some fans, though, who actually believe that the mistakes in the mock recovery room were intentional. Fury implies that it was, calling it a "party trick".

The Avengers

• Loki arrives on Earth and brainwashes Clint Barton (aka Hawkeye), Eric Selvig, and another agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury is the only person in the room that is not brainwashed, and Loki wants the Cosmic Cube.
  You'd Think: Loki would find value in Nick Fury and brainwash him as well, since he is the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. He can then have Fury as his puppet and manipulate S.H.I.E.L.D. so that he can get away with his plans. And then the Avengers would never have been assembled. If he eventually thinks Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. are no longer valuable, he could always get rid of them.
  Instead: He doesn't value Fury at all, only viewing him as an ant. He only takes the briefcase, leaving Hawkeye to kill Fury.
  Result: Hawkeye fails to do so, and Fury survives to lead the fight against Loki.
• Thor also arrives, intent on bringing Loki home. He and Asgard thought that his brother was dead and had mourned him. Even though he's been cut off from Earth, he's heard "whispers" of what his brother has done.
  You'd Expect: Thor would signal his intentions to arrive peacefully. Seeing as the last time Thor came to Earth, Loki sent a Destroyer after him that tore up a New Mexico town and almost killed a bunch of innocent people, Asgardians haven't exactly made a good first impression.
  Instead: Thor rips open the Avengers jet and abducts Loki.
  The Result: Tony gets angry and attacks Thor, telling him, "Then don't steal my stuff." He and Thor engage in a brawl, as a smirking Loki watches. Steve has to talk them down, after Thor levels a forest.
• Loki has won round one of his confrontation with the Avengers. He's busted out of SHIELD custody, awakened the Hulk to cause chaos, and sent Thor falling to Earth. Tony and Steve figure out that he must be using the new Stark Tower to headline the Chitauri invasion; Tony goes ahead to face the god, while Steve helps Natasha and Hawkeye, who has been freed from Loki's brainwashing. Loki is waiting for Tony at the tower, who decides to take off his damaged suit and orders J.A.R.V.I.S. to prepare the upgrade fast. With a smirk, Loki starts taunting Tony about begging for mercy. Tony retorts, as he makes his way to the tower bar, that he's actually going to threaten him. Loki follows, in an Evil Gloating mode.
  You'd Expect: Loki to realize that if Tony is indeed stalling, to just cut to the chase and either try to brainwash him or kill him. Tony has shown he has firepower, and enough snark to turn the Hudson River into the Dead Sea. He must be stalling for a reason. Maybe accepting the drink that Tony offers will be a good idea, since the invasion hasn't started yet and Tony has good taste in hard liquor.
  Instead: He doesn't even acknowledge the shotglasses or vintages available and instead hears Tony out about how the god has managed to piss off all the Avengers. Only after Tony makes a Badass Boast does Loki try to brainwash him, telling him the Avengers will be fighting Iron Man instead.
  The Result: The delay was all the time needed for the suit to come and save Tony, just as Loki realizes the "glowstick of destiny" doesn't work on Tony due to his arc reactor and tosses him out the window for commenting on Loki's "performance issues". J.A.R.V.I.S. sends the suit flying in to knock down Loki, and stabilizes Tony before he splats on the sidewalk. On top of that, Loki doesn't get that drink when he requests it at the end of the movie, according to Avengers: Endgame. 

Phase 2

Iron Man 3

• After the explosion at the TCL Chinese Theater, Tony Stark personally declares war on the Mandarin and dares him to attack Tony, and then goes home.
  You'd Expect: Tony to take precautions and ready his house for defense at all times, and put on a fully operational and perfected Iron Man suit (i.e the Mark VII), in case there's the off chance the enemy suddenly attacks. Either that, or at least get Pepper Potts out of harm's way. If anything, just relocate to another place as soon as possible.
  Instead: Tony sits around and waits for the attack, and the only precaution he takes is going into an ineffective lockdown even though he explicitly acknowledges how dangerous his actions were.
  Result: You can guess why we made this entry here.
  Just To Add the Icing on the Cake: It turns out J.A.R.V.I.S. is capable of controlling all of the Iron Man suits at once. Meaning Tony could have had an army defending his house but decided to keep all of them in storage. Also, Pepper was sensibly trying to leave when they were attacked.
• Killian has done immoral, inhumane research to invent Extremis, which can make a Super-Soldier out of the right people. However, overdosage or the body being unable to handle it, results in said person's body combusting. He recorded all of this data and information involving the whole matter for personal datakeeping.
  You'd Think: He would lock up and deeply bury the data within A.I.M.'s servers or straight up delete it as potential exposure and evidence that could be used against him.
  Instead: He not only doesn't do this, but he ties the video files in a directory tied to each of the surviving subject's files, which can be accessed by the Iron Patriot suit's data access with minor effort. It could be his megalomaniacal arrogance or ignorance that kept the footage around for posterity, but that only explains keeping it rather than absolving it.
  The Result: Just by asking Rhodey for a username and password, Tony remotely cracks into the A.I.M. server with no effort where he finds this data instantly and pieces together most of Killian's plans within the span of a couple minutes. This also implies that if Rhodey or the U.S. government ever had any reason to doubt their intentions, back-hacking that access would've exposed A.I.M. and Killian even if they couldn't do it as fast as Tony can.
• Rhodey gets captured by Aldrich Killian's men, and is forced out of the Iron Patriot suit by Killian's Extremis Heat. They then knock him unconscious.
  You'd Think: Killian or one of his goons would either a.) tie him up so that he can't escape the mansion, or b.) since he is a trained soldier, and a potential enemy, shoot him dead.
  Instead: They just leave him there (assuming Tony's not an Unreliable Narrator, that is).
  Result Rhodey eventually regains consciousness and links up with Tony, who also has escaped captivity as well.
• After the above moment, Eric Savin, Killian's main henchman, uses the Iron Patriot suit to pose as Rhodes and infiltrate Air Force One. He arrives at Air Force One as President Ellis gets on board.
  You'd Expect: Before taking off, the Secret Service agents would make the guy take off his helmet to confirm that the man in the Iron Patriot suit is in fact Colonel Rhodes, find out that it's Savin and incapacitate him or at least blow his cover, thus averting disaster.
  Instead: They don't even bother to check and just assume Rhodes was still in the suit.
  Additionally: This very suit being hijacked was a major part of the plot in the previous movie. And Rhodes had been AWOL for about half a day.
  The Result: Savin manages to attack and destroy Air Force One, and has President Ellis kidnapped in the Iron Patriot suit.
• The final battle. On Tony's side we have Tony, Rhodey, and a load of Iron Man armors much like the ones Tony wears, remotely controlled by J.A.R.V.I.S., while on Killian's side we have a load of superhumans who can regenerate from damage, and make parts of their bodies extremely hot. Tony has encountered them before, so he knows what they're capable of, and he's here to rescue Pepper and the President of the United States.
  You'd Expect: J.A.R.V.I.S. to keep the suits out of range of the minions, and bombard them with repulsor rays, in order to keep them distracted while Tony and Rhodey rescue the hostages.
  Instead: The suits controlled by J.A.R.V.I.S. often get into punch-ups with the minions, so most get torn apart as a result, with only a few memorable ones surviving.

Thor: The Dark World

• The Dark Elves have carried out a multi-pronged surprise attack that has left Asgard damaged (but not entirely crippled), with their Red Shirt Army having taken not insignificant losses, but with almost all named characters (save for Frigga) fine and Asgard still in possession of the Aether (which is possessing Jane Foster). Odin, enraged at the attack, wants to take the fight to the Dark Elves to eliminate them.
  You'd expect: Knowing that the Dark Elves' attack relied on their element of surprise, and their numbers still nowhere near that of Asgard, the Aether is still safest there and to put Jane Foster into protective custody until the threat is dealt with.
  Instead: Thor disagrees with Odin on hunting the elves, and instead decides to take Jane Foster to the Dark Elves' home turf himself against Odin's orders, in the process knowingly losing every single ally they have other than Loki, whom they free specifically for this mission. The plan: trick the Dark Elves into removing the Aether from Jane, so Thor can destroy it.
  The Result: The Dark Elves get the Aether (which Thor fails to destroy), and Loki is seemingly killed (but in reality he faked his death and usurped the throne of Asgard by taking Odin's place).

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

• Steve receives a top-secret flash drive from Nick Fury after he is shot by the Winter Soldier. The flash drive contains S.H.I.E.L.D. secrets of the highest priority, and Steve is advised to not trust anybody. Shortly thereafter, at the hospital, after Nick is presumed dead, he's told to report to a meeting and doesn't want to have whoever is there finding the drive. Looking around, he spots a vending machine that's currently open to be filled with snacks.
  You'd Expect: If hiding it in the vending machine is the only option, for Steve to hide it where it would be completely hidden, such as the last row of bags of chips.
  Instead: Steve hides the flash drive in the vending machine between the two packs of gum left. And he leaves the drive tilted such that, if anyone actually wanted to purchase said gum as they scanned the machine's wares, the drive is clearly visible.
  Result: Luckily, one of his allies, Black Widow, finds it first, but it was a close call.
• HYDRA tells Steve they are responsible for arranging the deaths of Tony's parents (including Howard, Steve's friend), and The Winter Soldier (Bucky) may have personally done it.
  You'd Expect: Since Steve does not like to keep secrets, him to reach out to Tony after the current crisis is resolved and mention what he's learned. If Tony demands to know the exact circumstances of their deaths, he would simply head over to a HYDRA facility and examine the culprit of his parent's killer.
  Instead: Steve decides to keep Tony in the dark and never tells him any of his suspicions, and just tries to find Bucky on his own.
  Result: In Captain America: Civil War, Tony finds out exactly who murdered his parents at the worst moment possible, goes completely ballistic and tries to murder Bucky, and destroys his friendship with Cap (until the Time Heist in Avengers: Endgame). Even if Steve doesn't know who exactly killed Tony's parents ^note given Zola showed the information to stall him and Natasha until the missile could wipe out the bunker, Steve might have suspected Zola was lying, but still..., telling Tony would have drastically softened the blow, possibly even enough for Tony to calm down and capture Zemo instead.

Guardians of the Galaxy

• The Guardians take the Power Stone to Knowhere to hide it from Ronan the Accuser, who wants the Power Stone to wipe out Xandar. Meanwhile, Drax is on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against Ronan for killing his family.
  You'd Expect: Drax to understand that protecting the Power Stone is more important and wait until it's safe and away from Ronan's hands as possible. When they do face Ronan, they will be prepared and make sure he can't get the Power Stone.
  Instead: Drax drunk-dials a challenge to Ronan, meaning there's an entire armada of Kree battleships headed to Knowhere for the Power Stone.
  The Result: Ronan gets the Power Stone, curbstomps Drax in a fight and nearly drowns him, while Peter and Gamora are captured by the Ravagers and Rocket launches into a rant against Drax for endangering everyone's lives over revenge.
• Near the end of the movie, Ronan the Accuser's ship crashes onto the surface of Xandar. He survives the crash, and is going to annihilate Xandar with the Power Stone.
  You'd Think: Ronan would immediately use the Power Stone and annihilate the planet without gloating, especially since Quill and his buds are still alive, and still would pose even the slightest threat to his agenda.
  Instead: Ronan, being a religious extremist, takes his sweet time to gloat and mock the Guardians before annihilating Xandar.
  Result: He gives Quill enough time to improvise a distraction so the Guardians can separate him from the Power Stone, and vaporize Ronan with it.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

• Wanda and Pietro Maximoff blame Tony for indirectly murdering their parents, as his company built the missiles that destroyed their family's apartment. They are the HYDRA base's last weapon, hiding in the shadows. Wanda has both telekinesis and can trap people in their worst nightmares. She says she wants to see Tony Stark destroy himself after she mind-rapes Iron Man.
  You'd Expect: Wanda to think through her revenge so that it doesn't cost innocent lives. She's been a HYDRA weapon for years, so it's safe to assume that she has some knowledge of planning things out for the long-term. So, as soon as Tony is alone, she fires a blast of her magic and turns Tony's head into chunky salsa.
  Instead: Wanda lets Tony loose to watch him hang himself by mind-raping Tony with a vision showing his greatest fear, then lets him leave with Loki's scepter, expecting him to use the scepter in an attempt to give himself powers. Then she does the same thing on Klaue's ship after mind-raping every one of the Avengers, including Bruce Banner.
  The Result: Tony uses the scepter to bring Ultron to life. Ultron eventually goes on to kill Wanda's brother, and nearly destroys the planet, while the Hulk goes on a rampage in Johannesburg (although in the fairness to Wanda, she likely didn't expect the Hulk to go on a rampage; it looks like she only expected him to be rendered catatonic like the others). Pietro chastises Wanda in a deleted scene for deciding to let Tony walk away.
  And Also: Pietro himself - the person Wanda loves most on Earth - gets killed by Ultron.

Ant Man

• Scott Lang has just been released from prison. His ex-wife has told him that if he wants to see their daughter again, he has to pay accrued child support. Even though he has a master's degree, Scott can only find a job at Baskin-Robbins.
  You'd Expect: Scott to come clean about his criminal past. Most companies are willing to hire people with a criminal record as long as they are honest about it.
  Instead: Scott doesn't.
  Result: Baskin-Robbins always finds out. And though his boss is sympathetic, he still has to fire Scott for lying on his application (which is the sort of red flag that could signify a problem employee).
• Hank Pym has profiled Scott as a potential thief to use the Ant-Man suit in a heist, to keep the Pym technology out of corporate hands. This is because Scott went to jail for exposing white collar crime. Scott in the meantime is trying to avoid going back to the criminal life, because he wants to go straight for his daughter's sake.
  You'd Expect: That Hank would invite Scott over to his place for an interview, and give him a test: break into his house and steal a valuable suitcase, or do some other sort of audition. If Scott avoids getting caught, the job is his. If he fails, Scott technically hasn't committed a crime and would keep his mouth shut because he is against white collar crime, and people using dangerous technology. Note that Hank researched Scott enough to know he's the same height, and so the suit would fit.
  Instead: Hank, being the paranoid, controlling sort, pays several people to spread a rumor that reaches Scott's ears about a valuable safe in his house.
  Result: Scott breaks in, tries on the Ant-Man suit, and he gets arrested when he breaks in again to return it. Hank helps bust him out by posing as his lawyer and using his ant colonies to smuggle a suit into Scott's cell, but it means that Scott is pretty much forced into the position and remains in hiding as a fugitive from the law and from his daughter's stepfather Paxton (who's a police detective). And when they do the heist, a suspicious Paxton recognizes Hank and nearly thwarts the whole deal. Paxton also arrests Scott later when the latter fights the Yellowjacket.

Phase 3

Captain America: Civil War

• People across the world are afraid of the power the Avengers wield and the collateral damage they cause, and the nations of the world band together to pass the Sokovia Accords to deal with them.
  You'd Expect: The President of the United States would appoint an accomplished diplomat to approach the Avengers to respectfully persuade them that signing the accords would only further their goal of making the world safer.
  Instead: The President appoints Thaddeus Ross. A man who believes all enhanced individuals are government property, who is so incompetent that his long quest to capture the Hulk not only failed but inadvertently led to the creation of the Abomination, who is so predictable that Coulson easily pulled a Batman Gambit on him, who is so universally despised that even his own daughter Betty wants nothing to do with him, and who commands so little respect that even those who willingly sign the Accords, including Tony Stark and James Rhodes, don't hesitate to hang up on him when they don't feel like dealing with his bullshit.
  The Result: The Avengers break up, leaving Earth vulnerable to Thanos.
• Ross tries to get the Avengers to sign the Sokovia Accords.
  You'd Expect: Ross would focus on the battle against Ultron and events in Lagos, and to maybe offer benefits to the Avengers such as better funding and equipment, public support, etc. They could even offer training for Wanda in how to use her magic more carefully.
  Instead: He focuses on the Hulk's rampage through Harlem (which was mostly his and The Abomination's fault), the Battle of New York (whereas the World Security Council's idea was to just nuke the whole city instead of sending troops to fight alongside the Avengers), and the destruction of the Triskelion (which, if not for Steve and Natasha, would've been much worse). No wonder the Avengers aren't happy about signing it.
  The Result: This causes the Avengers to become even more split on the Accords, with some supporting it like Tony or Natasha (albeit reluctantly in her case), and others vehemently opposing it like Steve and Sam. This culminates in a huge battle between the Avengers that wrecks a whole airport, resulting in Rhodey being paralyzed and all the people on Steve's side save for himself and Bucky being incarcerated.
• Wanda, while trying to stop Crossbones' suicide bomb from detonating, ends up getting a bunch of Wakandan humanitarian workers killed in the course of trying to relocate the blast. She's extremely regretful about it, while Steve tells her it was his fault for not leading well, and the team knows that it's Not Helping Your Case after what happened with Ultron. Wanda also as a result becomes a public menace, and feared.
  You'd Expect: That given Wanda's dubious track record (as before she was an Avenger, she and her brother volunteered for Strucker's experiments and were accomplices to Ultron), the entire team would sit and discuss how to handle the situation, and what to do with Wanda. There are a few things working against her like the fact that she doesn't have a US visa and thus is in danger of getting deported every time she leaves Avengers headquarters. And unlike the others, including Black Widow (who has "red in her ledger") and Hawkeye (who was brainwashed by Loki into assisting with mass murder), she doesn't have a low profile.
  You'd Also Expect: Whatever they come up with, let Wanda have final say over what happens to her, which would show respect for her autonomy.
  Instead: Tony decides how to handle it on his own, despite having resigned from the Avengers following his failure with Ultron. He decides to illegally confine Wanda in the Compound without telling her until she offers to buy spices for Vision, and Tony doesn't tell the others about this until it's time to sign the Accords.
  The Result: Just like when the others found out about Ultron being Tony's creation, this lack of communication drives further rifts in the team. Wanda takes offense at being treated like a naughty child. Steve is furious because what Tony's doing—holding Wanda against her will without being charged or informed by a legal authority of her status (and being confined based on other people's fears)—is authoritarian and "internment"^note And one of his closest friends was Jim Morita, a Japanese-American who faced prejudice. And Hawkeye finds the whole situation absurd when Steve sends him to bust her out.
• Realizing that they could use some extra manpower to help Steve take down the Winter Soldiers, capture Zemo, and exonerate Bucky, Falcon has Clint pick up Scott Lang aka Ant-Man. Falcon also warns Scott that this trip is an illegal endeavor due to the Sokovia Accords, and if they get caught then Scott is back in jail.
  You'd Expect: Scott would have talked the trip out with Hope and Hank, since Hank wants to hide the Pym technology from the world for fear of others exploiting its military potential, and Hope agrees with her father on this one. Also, as Hope later mentions, if she had gone with Scott, he wouldn't have been busted or imprisoned.
  Instead: Scott went without talking to either family member because it's freaking Captain America asking him to join the Avengers. After the airport battle, he gets jailed and then busted out by Cap, who lets him go home to his family rather than seek sanctuary in Wakanda.
  The Result: The Pym technology gets outed, forcing father and daughter on the run, and Hank gives a What the Hell, Hero? to Scott about it in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Hope also calls out Scott, saying that at least he could have given her the choice to accompany him. He also ends up on house arrest.

Doctor Strange

• Dr. Stephen Strange is currently driving down a windy road while it is dark and rainy, and has received a phone call from his colleague regarding three potential patients that he can operate on.
  You'd Expect: That Strange would realize that texting in the middle of driving is a really, really, really REALLY bad idea (and illegal in most states), and just tell the caller he is currently driving and could not respond at the moment. Or if he really needs to respond, he find some place to park so he can reply safely with little risks of an accident. Or, for a compromise, call the person and put them on speaker. With certain mounts or Bluetooth technology, you communicate with them while still having both hands on the wheel.
  Instead: Strange, who is something of an adrenaline junkie, decides to text while driving at high speed, on a tight road, and in bad weather.
  The Result: Strange gets into a bad accident, severely damaging his hands, and begins the Trauma Conga Line that is to follow.

Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol 2

• The film begins with the Guardians battling a massive space monster. The team eventually notice that the monster's skin is too tough to cut, and so Drax allows himself to be swallowed by it in order to...
  You'd Expect: ...target the monster's internal organs.
  Instead: He tries to cut the monster's skin from the inside. As pointed out by Peter and Gamora moments later, the skin's just as thick on one side as it is the other.
  Result: Drax is left fruitlessly hacking away at the monster's skin, before Peter and Gamora kill the monster without any help from him.
• After the exchange is made for Nebula's life, Rocket nearly gets the team killed by insulting the Sovereign. They walk out, lucky to have avoided a fight.
  You'd Expect: Once the job's done, the Guardians would just take Nebula and leave, right?
  Instead: Rocket decides to steal some very valuable anulax batteries from the Sovereign, simply to get back at them for their snobbery, and because he felt like it. This after he called Drax out for siccing Ronan on the Guardians for the sake of his personal revenge in the last movie.
  Result: Rocket's pointless idiocy does nothing but cause massive problems for him and his friends. The Sovereign are incredibly offended by the theft, respond by sending an entire armada after the Guardians. In the resultant chase, the Guardians crash land on Berhart. The Sovereign then hires Yondu and his Ravagers to go after the Guardians, and thanks to the busted ship, he manages to capture both Rocket and Groot. The only reason the other Guardians aren't captured is because they all left with Ego earlier. Yondu has no intentions of handing the Guardians over to the Sovereign, and the reveal of this leads to Taserface inciting a mutiny within the crew, in which Yondu is overthrown, his loyalists are all executed, and the new leadership has no intention of being nice towards the Guardians.
  To Make Matters Worse: And as a bonus, thanks to a tipoff from Taserface in his dying moments, the Sovereign armada shows up during the final battle and nearly screw things up for the Guardians. As a result of their attack, Peter's mask is damaged and Yondu has to sacrifice his life to save him when Ego is destroyed. Their arrival also contributes to the deaths of thousands more people as their interference delays the heroes' destruction of Ego's brain, allowing the Expansion to continue.
• After their successful mutiny and takeover of Yondu's ship, the Ravagers lock him and Rocket together in the brig. Yondu's crest was damaged by Nebula during the revolt, so he can't use his Yaka arrow against the mutineers. However, he does still have a prototype crest in his quarters as a backup. The Ravagers not only know about the crest, but also know exactly where Yondu keeps it.
  You'd Think: The Ravagers would have destroyed that crest, too. Or at the very least, changed where it's hidden.
  Instead: They don't.
  Result: Kraglin, guilt-ridden over his friends getting killed, helps Baby Groot obtain the crest, and Rocket reinstalls it on Yondu's head. To the mutineers' credit, Taserface does raise the alarm immediately upon waking up and finding it missing. Unfortunately, by that point, "Come A Little Bit Closer" has started to play over the ship's PA system...
• At the end of the movie, after they've had time to reconcile and battle out their frustrations, Nebula tells Gamora that she intends to go and kill their father. Gamora tells her that Nebula could stay and become part of the team, to build a new family the way that Drax has.
  You'd Expect: Nebula to take the offer. While she thinks that the boys spend all their time competing makes them ridiculous and shortsighted, they all just survived an apocalypse. Also, if they do have to face Thanos, they will face him as a team so that Nebula won't be alone.
  Instead: Nebula turns down the offer. Gamora reluctantly lets her go, after hugging her and promising they will always be sisters.
  The Result: In Infinity War, Thanos takes Nebula hostage when she sneaks onto his ship in a bid to assassinate him. He tortures Nebula in front of a captive Gamora, to get Gamora to reveal the location of the Soul Stone. Gamora, who feels guilty that she didn't protect Nebula from the forced cybernetic upgrades when they were children, can't bear to see her sister ripped limb from limb and leads Thanos to the right location. It ultimately means that Gamora dies instead of Nebula, who when she finds out has much regret over her earlier choice. In addition, because Gamora dies, Thanos gets the Soul Stone, which allows him to perform The Snap.

Spider Man: Homecoming

• The beginning of the movie reveals that Tony recruited Spider-Man to help with a "crazy" Captain America. After the mission, and Peter's been badly concussed, Tony tells Peter to call Happy as a liaison guy. Happy is less than amused since Peter took an embarrassing video of him and he has to move the Avengers headquarters upstate.
  You'd Expect: That even with the Civil War fracas, Tony and Happy would keep tabs on Peter and prepare him for more challenging missions than bicycle thieves in Queens. The Avengers Compound would have a training field, and there is always plenty of weird stuff happening all over the country. Or, even better, recruit Pepper for her advice and help since she knows how to ground uncontrollable people. If no one is available, Tony could find someone who would be a more suitable liaison.
  Instead: Tony and Happy leave Peter in the lurch, neither returning his calls or texts for two months. Happy refuses to listen when Peter reports the high-tech bank robbery. Tony appears via a remote suit when the Vulture nearly drowns Peter, and pretty much shuts him out of the strange case.
  Result: Peter is understandably annoyed that both men are treating him like a kid; while he is one, he is also more than capable.
  Also: When Tony realizes that Peter disabled the suit's tracking device and is going after the Vulture alone at the Staten Island Ferry, where the FBI are waiting, Peter hangs up on him while preparing to attack. Spider-Man and everyone on the ferry nearly die from the ensuing fight. In the call, Tony says he's worried he's becoming like his late, distant father, and he wants to do better, but it's already too late. All he can do is show up and mitigate the disaster.
• Peter also wants to become an Avenger. Tony refuses and wants Peter to stay "close to the ground".
  You'd Expect: That Tony would explain that since Peter is a minor, if he joined the Avengers he'd have to sign the Sokovia Accords. Since he's a minor, that would mean Aunt May would have to sign for him. This is a plausible explanation, since Peter doesn't want Aunt May to know. It's obvious by the end that Tony can override this legal problem, but Peter doesn't know that.
  Instead: Tony just goes Because I Said So.
  Result: Peter thinks that he has to prove to Tony that he's good enough to be an Avenger. This leads to the Staten Ferry fiasco, and to him getting locked into a Damage Control warehouse.
• Adrian Toomes is running a legitimate cleanup business during the events of The Avengers (2012), doing so with the Chitauri tech lying around. Tony Stark just commissioned Damage Control so that more incidents like Loki and the Sceptre could be avoided, and Toomes could lose his job due to it.
  You'd Expect: Toomes to appeal to Tony or the heads of Damage Control. Knowing that Toomes and his people know the city more than Stark himself, Tony might surely have given Toomes a position with Damage Control, thus ensuring he and his men still have a job. He could also take his grievances down to City Hall, as the City of New York would be on the hook for terminating the contract.
  Instead: Toomes doesn't do anything. He solely blames Tony and "the big guys" for his troubles, and uses it as an excuse to deal in illegal and dangerous alien technology, out of spite.
  The Result: After a few years, Toomes and his entire crew is busted by Peter, condemning them all to prison, and Toomes becoming estranged from his wife and his daughter due to the fallout.
• Peter wants to tackle something a little more challenging than grand theft bicycles, as well as prove himself to Tony for the awesome factor of being close with other heroes, but can't find anything simply patrolling the streets of Queens.
  You'd Expect: Peter would start patrolling worse neighborhoods in New York City, which are many now thanks to the destruction caused by the Incident, where he can probably stop more serious, but still not very dangerous to him crimes and/or try to reach out to publicly known New York superheroes like Matt Murdock, Jessica Jones or Luke Cage, who have both tackled real supervillains like Kilgrave and powerful crime syndicates like those of Wilson Fisk, the Hand, Cottonmouth, and Diamondback, despite having only a fraction of his power. That way, he'd be earning himself a reputation quickly, and could even prove himself to Tony by having his own sort of-Avengers team.^note Admittedly this might not be doable if one assumes Homecoming takes place between Daredevil season 2 and The Defenders, a period of time where Matt wasn't doing Daredevil activities out of guilt over Elektra's death, and while Luke was imprisoned at Seagate prison in Georgia waiting for Foggy to get his conviction appealed and charges thrown out.
  Instead: He keeps patrolling Queens and helping old ladies who buy him churros, and then calls Happy and Tony to tell them about his mundane adventures everyday, ensuring they don't take him seriously. A real threat in the form of Vulture's weapons eventually leads him to make himself known and he proves himself, but nearly dies several times in the process, and gets no help from the other New York heroes.
• After school, Peter changes into his Spider-Man suit so he can go on patrol and stuffs his street clothes and personal items in his backpack.
  You'd Expect: Peter would store his backpacks on rooftops where no one will find or reach them, like in the comics.
  Instead: He leaves his backpack next to a dumpster in the alley and by the time he gets back, it's been stolen.
  Worse: This is the fifth time it's happened. And Peter's not an idiot.
• After skipping the Prom, Peter tracks down Vulture who is revealed to be Liz's dad Adrian Toomes to his hideout and learns that he's planning to rob a Stark Industries cargo plane. Pete confronts Vulture and webs his left hand to a table to keep him from moving. While he's webbed up, Adrian tries to justify his crimes with a speech about how the rich "don't care about people" like himself and Peter.
  You'd Expect: That Peter wouldn't waste time listening, and web up Adrian's other hand and his feet (and maybe his mouth so he can shut up) and immediately call the police, pretty much defeating him right there.
  Instead: Peter gets distracted and stalls long enough for Adrian to summon his Vulture suit.
  The Result: Vulture uses his suit to collapse the building and trap Spider-Man underneath the rubble. Pete only survives due to his super-strength and sheer willpower. He does eventually catch Vulture, but only after an insanely dangerous battle aboard the cargo plane that nearly gets both of them killed.
• Tony returns the suit he gave to Peter, who doesn't want Aunt May to know his superhero alter ego.
  You'd Expect: Peter to close and/or lock his door when putting the suit on in case Aunt May comes in.
  Instead: He leaves it wide open, allowing Aunt May to see him wearing the suit and letting her know he's Spider-Man.

Thor Ragnarok

• Eons ago, before Thor or Loki were born, Odin had a daughter, Hela. They conquered many worlds together until Odin either no longer found her useful or had a Heel Realization. Hela didn't agree with his newfound approach to peace, so he sealed her away. She will be freed when he dies, and she will claim her birthright in Asgard.
  You'd Expect: Odin would have warned his sons way before his death. They had all the time in the world to prepare for this battle.
  Instead: Odin didn't, finding Hela's legacy shameful.
  The Result: Hela curbstomps her younger brothers before they can even put up a decent fight, and they end up exiled on Sakaar. She then invades Asgard and starts slaughtering anyone who goes against her. Heimdall is the Only Sane Man who starts rescuing the Asgardian citizens and hiding them.
• After being sealed away for her coup by Odin, Hela makes an attempt at breaking out of Hel.
  You'd Expect: For Odin to know just how powerful his own daughter is and employ magical and/or cosmic countermeasures like the Odinforce against a god that throws swords like confetti. Sending conventional armies against her is no different from throwing them into a meat grinder.
  Instead: He sends the Valkyries against her with just their standard gear. Which consists of just their sword, armor and flying horse.
  The Result: Predictably, they all get slaughtered except for one.
  Even Worse: It is highly implied that the Valkyries were sent to Hela for that very outcome, as they know Hela personally and would have revealed his coverup. Apparently, Asgard has no memory wiping spells.
• Loki has been impersonating Odin between movies.
  You'd Expect: He would keep his ego in check.
  Instead: Loki starts up Bread and Circuses while ordering Asgard to mourn him, building statues of himself and performing dramas of his (faked) death. He also banishes Sif, who would have seen through the ruse.
  The Result: Thor busts him. Also, as the only positive consequence, Sif is spared when Hela emerges and slaughters Thor's friends and allies, only to be wiped out by Thanos's fingersnap.
• Hela needs to open the Bifrost so she can send her army throughout the universe. She discovers Heimdall stole the key.
  You’d Expect: Hela, clearly knowing what the Tesseract is, would use that instead. Alternately if she is that obssessed with her birthright, she could have used Gungnir, Odin's spear, which could also operate the Bifrost.
  Instead: She holds everyone in Asgard hostage and threatens to kill them all until someone tells her where it is.

Black Panther

• King T'Chaka has sent his brother, Prince N'Jobu, to the United States to spy on the world. He is dismayed by the ways in which black people are oppressed in the United States, and the way law enforcement crack down on their attempts at organized resistance and community building. N'Jobu also knows that T'Chaka and the Wakandan council would never agree because of the Wakandan policy to keep their technology and wealth a secret.
  You'd Expect: N'Jobu would use his assets as a wealthy prince to surreptitiously fund communities in need of breakfasts, proper education and such, the way his nephew T'Challa does later on as the king with his community centers.
  You'd Also Expect: That N'Jobu would choose a partner for his venture who doesn't have a personal grudge against Wakanda.
  Instead: N'Jobu sells out Wakandan vibranium to Ulysses Klaue, an arms dealer who holds a grudge against Wakanda after his great-grandfather was killed by a previous Black Panther during the 19th Century (to the point that he'd tried to assassinate T'Chaka at the Bilderberg Conference in case the monarch refused to open up Wakanda's resources to international trade, according to his Age of Ultron dossier), with the intention of using the vibranium to build weapons to arm the black communities with.
  The Result: Klaue kills thousands of Wakandans while stealing the vibranium, and he reneges on the deal with N'Jobu. T'Chaka busts N'Jobu and demands an explanation, and kills him on the spur of the moment when N'Jobu pulls a gun on the spy who sold him out. No one wins, except Klaue.
  To Add to It: N'Jobu in a roundabout way causes his brother's death, as Klaue sells the vibranium decades later to Ultron, who uses the vibranium in his plot to wipe out Sokovia, killing Zemo's family, and Zemo responds by carrying out a bombing that kills T'Chaka.
  Furthermore: N'Jobu was so tunnel-visioned about helping black people throughout the diaspora, that even if Klaue hadn't double-crossed him, he failed to consider the ramifications of distributing vibranium all over the world. In particular, those very people selling drugs and engaging in gun violence getting ahold of vibranium based weapons from Klaue, or sellouts handing it over to foreign governments, who would become greedy for more of it, and could ultimately discover Wakanda.
• N'Jobu also fathered a son, Erik (real name N'Jadaka), out of wedlock. The woman is currently imprisoned and later executed for her supposed crimes. While plotting to break her out of jail, N'Jobu raises his son alone, with maybe "Uncle James" aka Wakanda War Dog Zuri for help. Due to the Wakandan secrecy policy, the royal council would be against the child coming "home".
  You'd Expect: N'Jobu would have prepared paperwork to assign N'Jadaka a proper guardian, send him to his mother's family, or go to T'Chaka and demand that his brother legitimize N'Jadaka as a potential heir to the throne. As a spy, and as someone who is committing treason against the throne, he has to think of his child's well-being if the worst-case scenario happens.
  You'd Also Expect: Knowing that he has a nephew, that T'Chaka would make some arrangements for N'Jadaka to have a guardian, or take Erik with him when demanding N'Jobu return to Wakanda to explain why he sold out the vibranium to Klaue.
  Instead: Unless Zuri was Erik's godfather, we don't see any forward planning apart from Erik's glowing Wakanda tattoo. Thus, when T'Chaka and Zuri abandon Erik, he has no one. Erik as a preteen suffers the worst of fears when he sees the departing ship, senses something is wrong and runs into his apartment. He finds his father dead from panther claw wounds. It means he grows up without anyone looking out for him in the Bay Area, not even his mother.
  The Result: As an adult, Erik gets recruited into the US Army, and he becomes scarily efficient at deposing governments, while obtaining a degree at MIT. This knowledge and experience, combined with Erik's drive for revenge, causes him to, as an adult, nearly destroy Wakanda and twist what his father ultimately wanted. N'Jobu in the afterlife realizes this when Erik talks to him, in child and adult form. T'Challa, Erik's cousin, is beyond furious when he hears what his father and Zuri did and decides to end the Wakandan isolationism.
  Furthermore: T’Chaka not taking Erik back to Wakanda ran the risk of Wakanda’s secret being exposed, given how bitter Erik was about his uncle murdering his father.
• In the climax, T'Challa appears after he's been presumed dead and Killmonger has been crowned. He demands for Erik to finish the challenge one-on-one. Erik by this point doesn't care about tradition and orders W'Kabi to set his men on T'Challa. Okoye protests, saying Erik showing no honor means he has no right to be king and W'Kabi shouldn't enable him.
  You'd Expect: While W'Kabi is supporting Killmonger, he's also been shown as respecting tradition and his wife, so either he should tell Erik to finish the challenge or go himself to honor it so it's still fair. At least it would show W'Kabi still has some honor.
  Instead: He orders his men to fight his king and summons rhinos when T'Challa and the Dora Millaje fight back.
  Predictably: Okoye, most of the Dora Millaje, and the Border Tribe end up clashing because Okoye turns her spear on Killmonger. W'Kabi even threatens to kill his wife at one point if she doesn't surrender, if not for M'Baku's timely arrival with the Jabari. This ends up destroying his marriage as Okoye saves M'Baku's life and declares she will kill her husband for Wakanda's safety; W'Kabi looks around, seeing his countrymen dying, and surrenders shocked at what he's done.
  Afterwards: T'Challa, after defeating Killmonger in a fair fight, strips W'Kabi of his council position, replacing him with M'Baku. It's implied he was imprisoned or exiled as of the subsequent Avengers movies.

Avengers: Infinity War

• Thanos has Thor hostage and demands Loki hand him The Tesseract so he can extract the Infinity Stone from it.
  You'd Expect: Loki, being The Trickster, would give Thanos an illusory Tesseract and stab him in the neck while he's distracted.
  Alternatively: Loki gives Thanos the real Tesseract, but stab him while he's trying to slot the Space Stone into his Gauntlet.
  Instead: Loki waits until Thanos has the Stone slotted into the Infinity Gauntlet, then has the gall to be shocked when Thanos stops him from stabbing him in the front with the Space Stone's power.
  The Result: Thanos kills him for his trouble.
• Earth is being attacked by aliens, again, and both Vision and Iron Man are MIA. Secretary Ross is videoconferencing with Col. Rhodes (the last Avenger around) when Steve, Wanda, Sam, and Natasha, all on the run due largely to administrative disputes in the wake of Civil War, show up at the Compound with a gravely wounded Vision. Steve tells Ross that he's not looking for forgiveness, but he's going to fight the aliens and Ross can either stay out of the way or fight them. Rhodey also points out that while he signed the Accords, he's slowly coming to disagree with them after he got paralyzed by friendly fire from Vision during the airport battle, and especially in light of the fact they caused the Avengers to become divided.
  You'd Expect: Ross to demand information and cooperation in exchange for a pass on shenanigans to date, or perhaps a head start once the current mess is dealt with, with a bit of posturing at worst. This would reflect poorly on Ross from an objective viewpoint, but at least would indicate he has a grasp of the bigger priorities.
  Instead: Ross orders Rhodey (who, even if he wasn't on the verge of a Broken Pedestal, is out of his armor, outnumbered, and can only walk with difficulty) to arrest the others immediately.
  The Result: Rhodey realizes that Ross has allowed his hatred of superheroes to cloud his judgment, hangs up in the man's face, and goes rogue.
• The Guardians of the Galaxy have teamed up with Thor to stop Thanos before he can obtain all the Infinity Stones. They plan to split into two groups. Thor, Rocket and Groot will go to Nidavellir to obtain a weapon capable of killing Thanos, while Quill, Drax and Mantis will go to Knowhere to get the Reality Stone from the Collector before Thanos can. Gamora meanwhile knows the location of the Soul Stone, and realizes that Thanos will want to question her about it.
  You'd Expect: Gamora to go with the group heading to Nidavellir, a place where Thanos has no reason to go. If he's not in the same place as her, he can't get the stone's location from her.
  Instead: She joins Quill and the others who are headed to Knowhere, which puts her at risk at being kidnapped by Thanos, seemingly because she wants to kill Thanos personally to atone for the crimes she committed as his daughter, and to avenge the abuse that she and Nebula suffered as children.
  Result: Thanos gets there first. Using the Reality Stone, he lures the group into a trap and captures Gamora, and forces her to lead him to the Soul Stone's location by torturing a captured Nebula, and then he throws her off a cliff in order to obtain the stone. This ends up biting the heroes further down the line; when Quill learns about Gamora's death, his rage ends up making him wreck an attempt by Dr. Strange, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Mantis and Drax to get the Infinity Gauntlet off of Thanos' hand, thereby allowing Thanos to beat the group, take the Time Stone from Strange, and leave, leading to the example below.
• The Guardians, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, and Spider-Man have successfully subdued Thanos on Titan. Mantis has sedated him while Nebula is unoccupied. Star Lord interrogates Thanos, demanding to know where Gamora is. Thanos, who had just sacrificed Gamora to get to the Soul Stone, starts mourning, which Mantis picks up on as she's restraining him.
  You'd Expect: Mantis (and later, Nebula) would keep quiet until Tony and Peter Parker get the Infinity Gauntlet off.
  Instead: Mantis tells Quill that "He mourns" and Thanos says "My Gamora". When Quill demands an explanation, Nebula says aloud that Thanos killed Gamora.
  You'd Then Expect: Quill to wait for the heroes to finish retrieving the gauntlet before attacking Thanos.
  Or at the very least: Since Nebula was unoccupied, she would step in and restrain Quill by force.
  Instead(!!!): Much like in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 when he learned Ego killed his mother, Quill immediately starts attacking Thanos in a fit of rage, and Nebula doesn't stop Quill before he does so, causing Mantis to lose control of him.
  The Result: Thanos manages to retrieve the Gauntlet from Peter Parker, making the entire group effort for nought.
• The Children of Thanos unleash a horde of Outriders on Wakanda in an attempt to get the Mind Stone from Vision. Standing between them is the Wakandan army, along with the border tribes, plus Captain America, Bucky, Falcon, Black Widow, Black Panther, War Machine and Banner wearing the Hulkbuster armour. The Wakandans are positioned on a hill behind an energy dome, and the Wakandan troops have spears that shoot energy bolts and cloaks that turn into shields. When it becomes apparent that the Outriders are trying to flank the dome, T'Challa orders a section opened to keep the horde in front of them and create a bottleneck. For the record, the Outriders have no ranged capabilities and no armour. Their only strength is their speed, their ferocity and their sheer numbers.
  You'd Expect: For the Wakandans to hold position and blast the Outriders from range, Falcon and War Machine to provide air support, with the melee fighters slightly further down the hill to intercept any Outriders who break through the barrage, while the ranged warriors fire over their allies' heads at the main force. In the event that any Outriders make it past the melee line, the ranged warriors can use their cloaks as a shield wall until they can fight them off/get support.
  Instead: While they do follow some of the above tactics for all of about 30 seconds, in a stunning display of Hollywood Tactics they then all immediately charge down the hill and engage the Outriders in melee, including the ranged warriors, who actually drop their shield wall to fight in a less advantageous position.
  The Result: The battle becomes a disorganised melee, the aerial support is less effective as they can't unleash their full power without hitting their allies, the Outriders can play to their strengths, and the heroes would have been overwhelmed if it wasn't for the sudden arrival of Thor. It should be noted that maintaining formation would have been disastrous once the War Wheels entered the fray, but no-one could have predicted those.
• With the Mind Stone in hand, Thanos has collected all of the Infinity Stones and inserted them into his gauntlet, when Thor suddenly appears and buries his axe deep into Thanos's chest, leaving him critically wounded, but still alive, to which Thor stands over Thanos, gloating about having gotten revenge for Thanos murdering half of the surviving Asgardians on the Statesman.
  You'd Expect: Thor to immediately withdraw Stormbreaker while Thanos is reeling from his wound, then:
  A) decapitate him and end the threat once and for all
  B) use the axe to bludgeon him repeatedly
  C) amputate his left arm so he can't use the gauntlet
  D) just shock him to death with lightning.
  Instead: Thor just pushes his axe further into Thanos's chest with the intention of making him die a slow and painful death.
  Result: Thanos grins, says, "You should have gone for the head," and uses the Infinity Gauntlet to obliterate half the population of the universe, including Winter Soldier, Black Panther, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Star Lord, Drax, Groot, Mantis, Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, Nick Fury, and Maria Hill, as well as Hank Pym, Janet van Dyne, Wasp (as revealed in Ant-Man and the Wasp), Hawkeye's entire family, Shuri (as revealed in Endgame), Michelle Jones-Watson, May Parker, Ned Leeds (as revealed in Spider-Man: Far From Home), Monica Rambeau (as revealed in WandaVision), Wilfred Nagel (as revealed in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Yelena Belova (as revealed in Hawkeye), Betty Ross and Sif (according to the Russo Brothers). Thor eventually gets PTSD from guilt, and ends up becoming a fat, layabout shlub who drowns his regrets in beer and junk food. The End.

Ant Man and the Wasp

• Hope and Hank are on the run, and trying to rescue Janet from the Quantum Realm. They reluctantly recruit Scott, who is under house arrest, when he calls them and says he had a dream that was Janet's memory. He's trying to help them discreetly so that Jimmy Woo, the FBI agent supervising his house arrest, won't bust him or arrest the Pyms. At one point Luis calls him because they need to fix plans for an account they're hoping to land for their security firm. Scott promises to come help as soon as he helps the Pyms.
  You'd Expect: He would agree to meet Luis at a discreet location far from the Pyms.
  Instead: He tells Luis where the Pyms are and where to come.
  The Result: Sonny Burch interrogates Luis and the others with truth serum, and then tips off his contact at the FBI. They succeed in arresting the Pyms, and endanger Janet's return to the human world..

Captain Marvel

• Vers is a trainee soldier for Starforce, an elite band of Kree soldiers. She wants to prove herself, but her commanding officer Yon-Rogg fears she is too emotional and impulsive. Eventually, the Supreme Intelligence gives her permission to fly with her squad. The Supreme Intelligence knows that "Vers" is actually Carol Danvers, a United States Air Force test pilot, and that Yon-Rogg and Minn-Erva abducted her from Earth, wiped her memories and brainwashed her to become a super-weapon for the Kree.
  You'd Expect: The Supreme Intelligence would send Carol and her squad on a mission far from Earth or the Skrulls. She is a newbie to actual combat, after all. If Carol ever learns what Yon-Rogg did, which she does, the Kree's new super-weapon could turn against them.
  Instead: They send Starforce to a Skrull refugee camp on Torfa to extract a spy. Torfa is a planet that is relatively close to Earth.
  The Result: It's a trap. By the time they arrive, Talos has killed Soh-Larr and assumed his identity, along with the secret codes the Kree use to identify themselves. The Skrulls engage Carol's teammates in a gunfight while Talos personally captures Carol. They then take Carol aboard their ship, probe her memories, and realize it's full of holes. And when Carol escapes, she and the other Skrulls crash-land in southern California.
• Meanwhile, on Earth, Nick Fury from S.H.I.E.L.D. (a former Army Colonel, Cold War CIA agent, and not an idiot) gets a call about a strange woman in a laser-tag suit crashing through the roof of a Blockbuster and raiding the Radio Shack next door for parts. He finds Carol using a payphone to call Yon-Rogg, and apart from a half-hearted He Went That Way ploy, she's honest that she's from another planet and trying to stop an alien invasion.
  You'd Expect: Fury would tread carefully, even with Arbitrary Skepticism. She did crash through a building but doesn't look visibly injured, apart from possible head-trauma.
  Instead: He tries to immediately arrest Carol for property damage and burglary.
  The Result: Carol saves him from a Skrull assassin that happened to be on the building nearby, and makes her getaway. Fury is astounded at how far she gets, and he ends up making much more headway by simply talking to Carol in a bar.
• The Skrulls aren't much better. Talos is trying to find his wife Soren and daughter G'iah, who were Skrull refugees. And soon his team learns that the Kree have kidnapped Carol, the last person to work with Mar-Vell AKA "Wendy Lawson", a Kree scientist trying to protect the Skrulls.
  You'd Expect: That when they find Carol, they seek out a truce from the start and Never Hurt an Innocent for naive life forms. Carol suffers a terrible Heel Realization on finding out the Skrull aren't colonizers but rather genocide victims, on seeing Talos's family.
  Instead: They spend most of their initial time on Earth firing at Carol, trying to kill Fury after he's served his purpose, and impersonating various S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
  Predictably: Carol at first doesn't want to help. When Talos finally gets a chance to talk with Carol, he has to show her the black box that he recovered to get her to listen. Talos lampshades the realization that he hasn't really helped his case.

Avengers: Endgame

• To facilitate their plan of traveling to the past to get the stones, remake them and undo Thanos's fingersnap, Captain America splits the teams into three groups: one will go to New York, when the Avengers were battling Loki; another will go to Morag and the death planet, and a third will head to Asgard in the past.
  You'd Expect: Iron Man to remember that Hulk threw a temper tantrum on using the stairs in the past.
  Instead: He forgets this important thing.
  The Result: The plan becomes jeopardized because of this forgetfulness. Past-Hulk's tantrum knocks away Ant-Man and Future Iron-Man just as they get the Cube; Loki grabs it and manages to vanish. This necessitates Future Cap and Iron Man to need to head to another point in time to get the Cube as well as more Pym particles.
• After traveling back to Morag in 2014 for the Power Stone, Nebula's memories get entangled with those of her 2014 counterpart, thus allowing that year's version of Thanos to discover that he'll succeed in his plan to wipe out half the population of the universe, but be killed by Thor afterwards.
  You'd Expect: Nebula to immediately return to 2023, thus ensuring that Thanos won't be able to get his hands on her, and just hope that Black Widow and Hawkeye have enough of a head-start in their mission to claim the Soul Stone before Thanos can potentially catch up to them — assuming he actually knows that's where they're going.
  Instead: She stays behind and tries to warn Black Widow and Hawkeye of the impending danger.
  The Result: Thanos catches up to Nebula and captures her, then sends his Nebula back to 2023 in her place. Then he reverse-engineers Nebula's Pym Particles and time-travel gear, retrofits it onto Sanctuary II, and travels to 2023. Just after the Avengers undo his 2018 version's work, he carpet-bombs the Avengers compound with missiles, and reduces the base to a pile of rubble.
  • While being held captive, Nebula begs past-Gamora to not listen to Thanos. She all but says that their father killed her version of Gamora, and she doesn't want that to happen again. Gamora, who defected in canon before Nebula did, is perturbed that this version of her sister is more concerned about her than the current one (who wants Gamora dead and didn't get over this until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2).
    You'd Expect: Gamora would act sooner since she doesn't believe in her father's mission.
    Instead: She only frees Nebula after Thanos has sprung forward into the future. Possibly out of fear.
    The Result: Past Nebula threatens Gamora. Present Nebula shoots herself, and the fracas of the battle separates her and Gamora. Plus, Gamora sabotaging the time travel forward would have helped the heroes a lot more.
• In the midst of the Final Battle, Black Panther drops the Nano Gauntlet with all six infinity stones on it. past-Ebony Maw has the Gauntlet and the stones in sight and uses his telekinesis to create a rock tornado to bring the gauntlet to him. But Black Panther jumps onto the floating gauntlet.
  You'd Expect: Ebony Maw to use his telekinesis to separate Black Panther from the gauntlet in case the King of Wakanda does something to hinder his strategy.
  Instead: When T'Challa holds the gauntlet, Maw brings Black Panther to him so that he can get the gauntlet the hero.
  You'd Then Expect: Maw to restrain Black Panther (carefully so kinetic energy isn't built up in his suit) so that he can't move the gauntlet away from him.
  Instead: He doesn't.
  The Result: Black Panther, using his free appendages, throws the gauntlet to Spider-Man, who takes the gauntlet away from Ebony Maw.
• This is it. 2014 Thanos has the nano gauntlet with all six infinity stones and puts it on, feeling the stones' energy. A weakened Iron Man tries to take the gauntlet away from the Titan, only to get knocked away. However, when Thanos puts the glove on, there's something off about it.
  You'd Expect: Thanos, knowing how the stones work and feeling their power when putting on the gauntlet, would realize that something's wrong like how there isn't any energy emitting from the glove or to check to see if Stark took at least one of the stones away from him.
  Instead: Too happy that he can wipe out all life in the universe, he snaps his fingers without checking.
  The Result: Tony, who managed to get the stones away from Thanos, snaps the latter and his entire army out of existence.

Spider Man: Far From Home

• It's revealed Tony created a failsafe drone system named EDITH ("Even Dead, I'm The Hero") to protect the world. This was already shortsighted given what happened with Ultron, but then he decides to choose someone to control it.
  You'd Expect: He would have given control to the US government, or to Pepper or Happy Hogan. Pepper is his wife and CEO of Stark Industries. She can handle the responsibility. Happy in contrast is the head of security at Stark Industries and would know how to finagle dangerous weaponry.
  Instead: As Happy reveals, Tony gave control of E.D.I.T.H. to Peter Parker. Who is a teen and literally just came back to life in the final battle against Thanos.
  Predictably: Peter is flattered by the gesture but worried that he can't handle the responsibility and seems to prove it when he accidentally orders an airstrike on his classmates. He gives the glasses to Quentin Beck, whom he assumes will treat them well after they team up against the Elemental. Only Quentin Beck is the Big Bad and uses the drones to try and kill Peter. Beck even lampshades Tony's decision at one point.
  Even Worse: Beck uses E.D.I.T.H.'s drones to enact a Thanatos Gambit to frame Peter as his murderer and behind the drone attacks in London, ruining the boy's life even after he's judged to be framed, while the goggles themselves are seized by Damage Control, probably to be destroyed or as evidence. This will later lead to multiversal events whose culmination is Peter Parker's identity completely erased from the populace of the universe, an outcome Tony clearly wanted to avoid.
• Quentin Beck is a disgruntled former Stark Industries employee who lost his job either due to workplace issues, or Tony "stealing" his invention that was featured in Civil War. It's unclear who is telling the truth. Regardless, he managed to retain his team and has a second chance after the Snap and when it's undone, and Tony's death.
  You'd Expect: He would do what Toomes did in 2017, and sell modified versions of the tech under the radar to willing customers. It's enough to Mind Rape people, deceive them, and reveal their worst memories. All valuable in the criminal world. Toomes managed to do this for five years without getting caught, and Quentin has his whole life ahead of him.
  Instead: He creates a Fake Ultimate Hero ploy where he lies about being Mysterio, a sorcerer from another dimension that is fighting beings called the Elementals. The plan is to establish himself as Iron Man and Thor's replacement and use special effects to "rescue" people.^note Even the added wrinkle of the above bullet point, that Beck also decided to take E.D.I.T.H., revolted at Tony putting his legacy on the hands of a teenager, to make his ploy easier, faces the problem as trying that would be an extra opportunity to be uncovered. But see below for why he wasn't.
  Predictably: The only reason the ruse goes on for so long is that he's dealing with a child co-hero and Talos, who is impersonating Nick Fury, with Nick's permission. Another child, Michelle Jones, finds evidence that Quentin is a fraud and shows Peter Parker, her classmate whom she knows is Spider-Man. This ends up leading to Quentin's downfall, especially when a Made of Iron Peter returns from Quentin's murder attempt to save Michelle and his other friends. And by then Talos starts to catch on too.
• Talos (as Fury) uses his connections to transfer Peter's class trip to Prague, so that Peter's identity won't be compromised. They stage a rest stop where Peter can get a replacement suit in a bathroom.
  You'd Expect: They would lock the bathroom, which is actually Bigger on the Inside and looks more like a drug den.
  Instead: The female agent leaves the door unlocked and orders Peter to take off his clothes. That way he can try on the suit.
  The Result: Brad Davis walks in, and stops in surprise. He mistakes the agent for a prostitute and takes a photo of Peter with his pants off, hoping to show it to MJ. Peter deletes it in time, but that is the worst level of security ever.
• After the disastrous test-drive Peter does on the bus with EDITH, Talos and Soren inform him that the next elemental will attack during the City of Lights Festival. Peter is worried because his friends will want to go out and be in the line of fire.
  You'd Expect: Talos would reassure Peter he'll take care of that part. Have a handful of agents and a distraction to ensure the kids don't go outside.
  Instead: Talos (who is also a highly experienced intelligence operative, just like Fury) takes no such precautions and leaves it in Peter's hands to fix. He says it's Peter's responsibility since Peter nearly killed everyone on the bus.
  The Result: Peter does his best, but no one is interested in the Opera distraction, not even MJ. Ned, the Only Sane Man who knows about Peter's mission, reluctantly sneaks out with Betty Brant and they get trapped on a Ferris Wheel while the fight happens. It says a lot that Happy Hogan is the most competent adult to get Peter's friends out of the line of fire in London, much later.
• Beck successfully manages to convince Peter that he's a genuine hero, even enacting a Heroic Sacrifice to sell his story. Peter then decides to hand E.D.I.T.H. to him, thinking Tony wanted him as the successor, not Peter.
  You'd Expect: Peter to use the goggles to enact a scan on Beck just in case, using his previous experience with the Vulture in Homecoming, which showed him appearances can be deceiving. The scan would have clearly showed Beck being a former Stark employee no less, and even if Beck used the Multiverse to convince Peter, the boy would have had reasonable suspicion of him.
  Instead: Peter blindly trusts Beck and hands him the goggles.
  The Result: Beck uses E.D.I.T.H. to commit Engineered Heroics in London, and would have killed thousands of innocent civilians just to arise as the next Iron Man, unless Peter hadn't intervened. He then uses the drones as well as Manipulative Editing to convince the world that Spider-Man is a villain and a murderer.
• Following the attack in Prague, one of Beck's minions, William Ginter Riva, notices that one of the drones used to stage the attack is missing a hologram projector.
  You'd Expect: Riva would immediately inform Beck so they can find it.
  Instead: He shrugs it off as no big deal, and doesn't even bother to tell Beck until he notices a problem with the holograms.
  The Result: A furious Beck has to explain to Riva that the missing projector is evidence of their crimes and threatens to kill him for his sloppiness. Sure enough, the projector is found by M.J., who shows it to Peter, allowing him to uncover Beck's scheme and foil it.
• With the fallout from Mysterio being a fraud, Talos and Soren talk in private. Jameson has just outed Peter Parker in New York. Following this stinger, Talos admits that he messed up by basically strong-arming Peter into enabling a liar and turning a child into a soldier when he wanted a few weeks off.
  You'd Expect: SHIELD, as an apology, would give Peter some compensation or a safe house for himself and Aunt May, as well as protection for his loved ones. They can easily do damage control and use a Skrull to "prove" either that Mysterio was lying in the incriminating video or show that Mysterio was a fraud. Show some Stark employee credentials using EDITH even, and find some of the former Stark employees that they can arrest as scapegoats.
  Instead: Talos decides to call Fury, who is off-planet. Fury does his best but is too far to protect Peter.
  The Result: The stress from handling the fallout makes Peter desperate in No Way Home when Michelle and Ned are affected. He goes to Stephen Strange, and drama ensues.

Phase 4

Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings

• Shang-Chi is on the run from the Ten Rings and his Archnemesis Dad after he became disillusioned after failing to gain any satisfaction from killing the man who murdered his mother. Said dad is a crime boss whose organization literally goes back centuries and has eyes and ears everywhere.
  You’d Expect: Shang-Chi would put some effort into hiding himself from his father by going somewhere remote and changing his name.
  Instead: He hides in San Francisco and changes his name… to Shaun, something that is mocked in the movie itself for being a lazy disguise.
  The Result: Shockingly, his father finds him with the greatest of ease, with the added implication that his efforts only made it easier for the Ten Rings to locate him.
• The backstory has this. It's revealed Wenwu was a centurions-old warlord until he met Ying Li, who convinced him to retire from the Ten Rings and seek an honest life. She in turn gave up her powers since her village wouldn't let a former criminal bring his bad karma to their peaceful home. They raise a family, and Wenwu is prepared to grow old with the love of his life, put down the rings and spend time with his children. There's a problem: criminals with long memories do not forget the Ten Rings. The Iron Gang wants retribution.
  You'd Expect: They would kill Wenwu to get their revenge. Or take his wife hostage, since they consider threatening children off-limits, and bargain with Wenwu for either his life or a one-on-one fight.
  Instead: The Iron Gang sends an army to take down Ying Li at a time when Wenwu is away from his home.
  The Result: While they succeed, Ying Li takes down at least six of the men, showing it was a huge loss. Wenwu comes home to see his oldest son crying over his mother's body. When he finds out what happened, his rage becomes ice, and he picks up the Rings again. To teach Shang-Chi the meaning of vengeance, Wenwu instructs him how to track down a criminal, eviscerate his men, and deliver the killing blow. By the time Shang-Chi is a teen, the Iron Gang incarnation is dissolved effectively, and Wenwu is a threat again. His daughter soon grows up to become a crimelord in her own right, reforming the Ten Rings when Wenwu dies.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

• After Peter’s identity is exposed to the world and he and his family and friends are arrested, Matt Murdock, AKA Daredevil either gets hired or volunteers to defend them. He meets with them, narrowly avoiding revealing his alter-ego as Hell’s Kitchen’s hero, and assures them that they can’t be brought up on charges.
  You’d Expect: Afterwards, Matt would go to Peter as Daredevil and give Peter some way of contacting him or the other three Defenders, since New York has become increasingly dangerous since the Incident, let alone the Snap, with supervillains and crime syndicates constantly popping up to cause chaos, and the ability for the city’s heroes to easily contact each other either for team-ups or just to share information could prove vital the next time someone like Wilson Fisk, the Flag Smashers, or the Vulture is causing trouble.
  Instead: It never seems to occur to Matt to do this, and his only interaction with Spider-Man is as his lawyer.
  The Result: New York’s heroes remain uncoordinated, and when half-a-dozen supervillains appear in New York in a few months time, Peter has to first find, then fight them alone (at least until some remarkable luck brings in two Spider-Men from alternate universes). Even then, having a hero with more understanding of this universe’s New York or a fourth hero at the Statue of Liberty battle could have saved Peter and his friends from some very close calls.
• Peter asks Stephen Strange to help him restore his secret identity, and Strange decides to cast a spell that would cause everyone in the world to forget that Spider-Man is Peter Parker.
  You'd Expect: That Strange would take the time to explain what the spell does, and ask if Peter wants anyone to be excluded from forgetting (such as the other Avengers, or his friends) before he started casting the spell, or to check that Peter has tried to solve this problem through methods that don't involve reality-destroying magic (which, given Strange's later question about whether Peter had checked with MIT about reconsidering his application, he knew about and could have brought up beforehand).
  Alternatively: He could've cast a spell that made everybody forget that Mysterio existed. Would likely be less strenuous and less likely to go haywire.^note As we see how the spell works though, the scenario might have changed to Beck (not Mysterio) exposing Peter, thus not changing anything major in the grand scheme.
  Instead: He arrogantly starts casting it right away, while Peter barely has any time to process what's about to happen.
  The Result: Peter learns the specifics of the spell, naturally panics, and says he needs certain people^note In order: MJ, Ned, May, Happy, and the rest of the Avengers to remember, which repeatedly changes the parameters of the spell, which causes Strange to lose control of the spell, and kickstarts the rest of the film.
• Peter doesn't entirely escape blame for the above idiocy. Peter successfully convinces Strange to allow MJ, Ned and May to still know his identity, but it's clear that Strange is very annoyed by this and he has warned Peter how dangerous it is to continue tampering with the spell.
  You'd Expect: Peter would cut his losses and accept that he can simply tell anyone else he wants to know his identity after the spell is cast.
  Instead: Peter continues to try to make changes to the spell even as reality is visibly crumbling around him.
  The Result: A very pissed-off Strange shuts the spell down and slams the door of the Sanctum in Peter's face, and the failed spell causes several multiversal villains to cross over causing major problems for the rest of the movie.
• Peter decides to try and 'fix' a group of dangerous super-villains before sending them back to their home dimensions.
  You'd Expect: For Peter to take them out of their cells one by one, restrict their freedom of movement in some way (e.g. by tying them up), and/or devise some way of instantly neutralising them if they try to attack or flee away.
  Instead: He treats them like a group of troubled teenagers on community service, brings them into Happy Hogan's apartment, and allows them to interact with his aunt without sufficient oversight and without enough restrictions. Even The Lizard is left in a van he can leave at will.
  The Result: The entire building gets wrecked, all the captured villains flee, Green Goblin kills Peter's aunt, a SWAT agent shoots at Peter, and Spider-Man's reputation takes even more serious damage.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

• Doctor Strange goes to see Wanda for help in protecting America Chavez. However, unbeknownst to him, Wanda herself is the one hunting her down.
  You'd Expect: Wanda would avoid mentioning America's name and pretend she doesn't know her in order to fool Dr. Strange into handing her over.
  Instead: Wanda mentions America's name before Strange could tell her.
  The Result: Strange finds out Wanda is hunting America down so she can steal her powers, refuses to hand her over, and even rallies the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj to stand against Wanda when she comes for her.
  However: Wanda's powerset includes telepathy, which is an easy explanation for how she knows America's name (even though she claimed she wasn't doing magic), meaning she either had a slip, or she was doing it on purpose.
• The Illuminati (a group of superheroes in Universe 838 established as a semi-governing body that's working to stop high-level threats) are confronted with evidence of Wanda's rampage and are sent to stop her.
  You’d Expect: That, between the various members of this group (and given Strange's testimony as to Wanda's actions), they formulate a plan to (at the least) find some way to either calm her down or distract her long enough to launch a surprise attack that will kill her. The Illuminati also inform Strange that they are apparently aware of Wanda's power level and knew how to take her down easily (not the least of which being that Reed Richards would keep their strongest weapon [Black Bolt's voice] a secret).
  Instead: The confrontation with Wanda begins with Richards doing little to calm Wanda down, nor trying to sympathize with her in order to lower her guard. Instead, he tells her how Black Bolt's powers work, costing him any leverage he might have had in the process.
  The Result: Wanda prevents Black Bolt from using his powers by erasing his mouth just as he's about to use his Super-Scream powers on her.
  You'd Then Expect: For Black Bolt, knowing full well what his powers can do, to not make a sound, and instead slowly allow the breath he just took out through his nose, while the rest of the team figure out a plan B.
  Instead: He decides to scream loudly, which reflects off his sealed mouth and explodes his head.
  The Result: With their heaviest hitter dead, Wanda presumes to wipe the floor with the Illuminati.