The Marvel Cinematic Universe was once known as the ultimate interconnected franchise, with multiple stories all folding into one another to tell one overarching narrative. However, as it continues to grow, the MCU finds it increasingly difficult to keep up with all the ongoing storylines, character arcs, and loose ends in each of its movies, television series, Special Presentations, and one-shots.
In a franchise as large as the MCU, some storylines will inevitably lose traction and disappear along the way. However, some of the MCU’s loose ends are much more frustrating. Over the years, Marvel has made bold promises with major plot twists that promised big things to come, only to completely forget about them over time.
The Celestials Promise to Judge the Earth
Arishem looks at Sersi in EternalsImage via Marvel Studios
Eternals, one of the MCU’s most misunderstood movies, is home to many of the franchise’s most tantalizing cliffhangers that may never be resolved. Among these is one of the biggest plot twists in any superhero film. After the Eternals stop the Emergence and save the world, everything seems to have calmed down for them until, suddenly, Arishem the Judge appears in the sky and demands to speak with them. He then kidnaps Sersi, Kingo, and Phastos, taking them away to hear their reasoning. He caps off the film with a promise to return to Earth and judge mankind.
This is one massive plot twist that likely won’t ever be resolved in the MCU. Eternals underperformed both critically and commercially, becoming one of the MCU’s biggest bombs. Four years later, there is still no word on any kind of follow-up to Eternals. Not only are there no sequels or spinoffs in the works, but none of the film’s characters are confirmed for future appearances in the franchise. Aside from Tiamut’s appearance in Captain America: Brave New World, Marvel seems to be sweeping the entire film under the rug and hoping that audiences will forget the loose ends.
Eternals Introduces Thanos’s Brother Eros
In the now-infamous mid-credits scene of Eternals, Thena, Makkari, and Druig travel aboard a spaceship in search of other Eternals. The other Eternals find them, however, when two mysterious figures board their ship. They are greeted by a troll named Pip, who introduces his liege, the brother of Thanos, Eros.
Introducing the brother of Thanos naturally leads to extensive questions (not the least of which being why Eros looks like that while Thanos looks like that). This scene also seemed to set up an exploration of deeper lore, including the true origins of the Deviants and the Eternals and their relationship to the Celestials. Rumors spread that Harry Styles was set to portray Eros in multiple upcoming films, but all such fervor has died down. Like the rest of the Eternals’ cast, Styles’ MCU future remains undetermined.
Sharon Carter Is the Power Broker
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier includes the massive plot twist reveal of Sharon Carter, Peggy Carter’s niece and Steve Rogers’s one-time love interest, as the villainous Power Broker. Managing to escape detection by the heroes, Carter works her way back into good standing with the United States government during the series. In the post-credits scene of the series finale, she is reinstated as a government agent, giving her access to experimental technology to fund her criminal operation for years to come.
The Power Broker plot twist has not been addressed since The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, leaving fans hanging for over four years. This was most likely meant to be a tease for Armor Wars, War Machine’s upcoming solo movie that revolves around stolen Stark technology. However, Armor Wars is still stuck in limbo and may never be completed now that the Multiverse Saga is almost over. Thus, audiences may never find out what happens with the Power Broker in the MCU.
Dane Whitman Is the Black Knight
Yet another major plot twist in Eternals remains annoyingly unresolved four years later. In the film, Kit Harington plays Dane Whitman, who serves as the main love interest for Gemma Chan’s Sersi. He plays a minimal role in the plot of Eternals, other than the occasional hint at a secret family history that plagues him. The post-credits scene confirms this when Dane prepares to claim his family sword, only to be interrupted by a mysterious voice, whom viewers know to be Mahershala Ali’s Blade.
This post-credits scene was meant to set Dane Whitman up as his comic book alter-ego, the Black Knight. Eventually, Black Knight would team up with other supernatural heroes like Blade, presumably to form the team known as the Midnight Sons. Unfortunately, the endless delays to Marvel’s Blade movie mean that all plans for the Midnight Sons have been delayed or cancelled. Harington has frequently expressed doubt that he will ever return to the MCU, though he still professes that he would come back if the studio asked.
Rhodey Was Replaced by a Skrull
War Machine (Don Cheadle) appears in Avengers: Age of UltronImage via Marvel Studios/Everett Collection
Is it really a plot twist if you see it coming? One of the worst-executed reveals in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe comes from the 2023 Disney+ series Secret Invasion. During the events of the infamous series, it is revealed that shapeshifting Skrulls have taken the place of several key figures, including government officials, reporters, and even superheroes. Among the impostors is James Rhodes/War Machine, a revelation that most fans saw coming from the very first episode. Secret Invasion even hinted that Rhodey had been an imposter for longer than anyone thought, perhaps as early as the ending of Captain America: Civil War.
Despite the many timeline issues that Rhodey’s Skrull reveal creates, this plot twist is especially frustrating because it seems to be going nowhere. Rhodey hasn’t been seen since Secret Invasion, even though the real character was rescued at the end of the series. The MCU planned to pick up on this storyline in Armor Wars, but the film has stalled to the point of potential cancellation. With Don Cheadle still not confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars, Secret Invasion may be the last time that audiences see Rhodey.
Venom’s Vacation to the MCU
Spider-Man: No Way Home brings multiple Spider-Man villains from alternate timelines to Earth-616, including Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock. First seen landing in the MCU in the post-credits scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Eddie and Venom don’t appear in the main story of No Way Home. Instead, they return in a mid-credits scene, where they are shown hanging out at a tropical island bar, learning about this timeline’s history. Before they are sent back home, Venom leaves a trace amount of the symbiote behind, hinting at an eventual crossover with Spider-Man.
Although there is still a chance for this symbiote sample to return in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it seems just as likely that the MCU will forget about it completely. This post-credits plot twist was introduced long before there were any concrete plans for the next Spider-Man trilogy. Now that Destin Daniel Cretton is helming the franchise, Venom may or may not fit into his plans. Venom: The Last Dance even tried to clean up this hanging thread by having Chiwetel Ejiofor’s secret agent character apprehend the Venom sample. This, however, is an unsatisfying resolution given that The Last Dance takes place in a completely different universe than No Way Home’s post-credits scene.
Zeus Survived and Is Plotting Revenge With Hercules
Thor: Love and Thunder introduced a lot of new elements to the MCU–some utterly ridiculous and others with the potential to make a lasting impact. One of the more intriguing additions was that of Zeus and the other pantheons of deities. During an action sequence, Zeus is seemingly killed by Thor and his friends. However, a post-credits scene reveals that the Greek god of lightning survived after all and has sent his son, Hercules, to get revenge on Thor.
Love and Thunder’s post-credits twist sets up a potential conflict between the Norse and Greek gods, with their two greatest champions clashing in what could be one of the MCU’s most epic matchups yet. Unfortunately, time is rapidly running out for Hercules to accomplish his mission. It doesn’t seem abundantly likely that Chris Hemsworth’s Thor will continue to appear after Avengers: Secret Wars. This leaves only two more years for Marvel to resolve this lingering storyline, which doesn’t seem likely at this point.
She-Hulk’s Intelligencia Reveal Is Underwhelming
MCU fans had plenty of gripes with She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, to varying degrees of legitimacy. However, one of the show’s more disappointing elements was the introduction of the Intelligencia. In the comics, the Intelligencia is a conglomeration of the world’s most dangerous evil geniuses led by the Leader. She-Hulk’s twist reveals that the group is nothing more than a Reddit chat group of angry men who can’t get a date.
While the Intelligencia plot twist is more disappointing than it is unresolved, there are still plenty of unanswered questions about the group that need to be fleshed out further. The Intelligencia had outstanding resources, including the technology to develop a Hulk serum. This is something that countless government organizations, renowned scientists, and even supervillains would want to get their hands on. She-Hulk can’t explain it all with a hand-wave excuse about Todd being rich. There are deeper forces at play behind the Intelligencia that will most likely never be revealed following She-Hulk’s poor reception.
Marc Spector’s Third Identity is Revealed
Moon Knight proved to be surprisingly captivating as it navigated the split identities of Marc Spector and Steven Grant. Oscar Isaac’s dynamic performance as both characters helped the audience identify with Marc and Steven as they learn to work together. However, the rug is pulled out in the season finale when it is revealed that there is a third, more brutal identity residing in Marc Spector’s brain: Jake Lockley.
The Jake Lockley reveal was a clear setup for Season 2, but Moon Knight has yet to be renewed for more episodes. Three years later, Moon Knight’s future in the MCU remains uncertain, with Oscar Isaac confirming that he will not appear in either of the two upcoming Avengers films. This is especially frustrating, as Moon Knight was one of the few Disney+ series that legitimately captivated fans, yet it seems Marvel has no intentions of continuing its story.
The Council of Kangs Plots to Take Over the Multiverse
Kang the Conqueror in QuantumaniaImage via Marvel Studios/Everett Collection
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania features some of Marvel’s most ridiculous scenes, including its groundbreaking mid-credits tease. After Kang the Conqueror’s defeat earlier in the film, this scene introduces multiple variants from other universes, including Pharaoh Rama-Tut, the Scarlet Centurion, and Immortus. Audiences learn that there are thousands more Kang variants in the multiverse, all of whom come together to destroy the Avengers of Earth-616.
This scene was obviously meant to set up Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which would have featured the Avengers fighting the Council of Kangs. Now that the Kang storyline has been replaced with Doctor Doom and the next Avengers film has been reworked accordingly, it doesn’t seem likely that the MCU will ever address Quantumania’s mid-credits scene. Thus, the Council of Kangs becomes the franchise’s biggest loose end of all time.