Considering the number of plotlines jammed into a few action-packed hours, there were bound to be scenes that didn’t make the cut when creating the best on-screen story. Still, a few of these would’ve been a welcome addition to a franchise where things often seem to just happen without much set-up or build-up. From curious origins to adventures taken through time and space, the following off-camera scenes are ones that deeply impacted the MCU and perhaps should’ve been featured.
10
Hulk as a Gladiator Champion
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ (2017)
Thor: Ragnarok was a surprising addition to the MCU that gave Thor (Chris Hemsworth) a chance to show off his comedic side and spend time with Avengers pal the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). When Thor lands on the distant planet of Sakaar, the last person he expects to see is Hulk, who has become a renowned warrior in his time on the planet. Although it was great to see Hulk and Thor catch up, it would have been preferable to see Hulk rise to prominence on Sakaar.
Complications with Universal Pictures still restrict Disney from making a movie starring Hulk as the lead character, so it’s understandable why there hasn’t been as much of him in the MCU. However, it doesn’t change the fact that there was a missed opportunity to fully adapt Planet Hulk, one of the green, raging monster’s most popular storylines. A gladiator movie where the Hulk rises to power as a champion of the arena would have been a crowd-pleasing spectacle for sure.
9
Spider-Man’s Origin
‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2016)
Captain America: Civil War was packed with so many heroes, both returning favorites like Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) and new ones like Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), that it didn’t seem possible to do any more fan service in one movie. At least, that’s what audiences thought before Spider-Man (Tom Holland) swung onto the screen and made his MCU debut. While everyone was glad to see the wall-crawler, there was curiosity about where Spider-Man was before showing up out of nowhere.
With Captain America: Civil War already sitting at two and a half hours, there was no room to pack an origin story for Spider-Man without grinding the film’s momentum to a halt. Still, it would have been interesting to see the MCU’s version of events, but between the Tobey Maguire-starring trilogy directed by Sam Raimi and the reboot starring Andrew Garfield, chances are audiences were up-to-date on how radioactive spiders work.
8
Captain America with the Howling Commandos
‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ (2011)
Captain America: The First Avenger takes viewers back to the 1940s as scrawny Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) takes the Super Soldier serum to become the muscular Captain America. The film takes its time setting up who Steve is, with a big lead-up to him fighting in his famous costume. However, once Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) presents Captain America with his trademark shield, the movie cuts to a montage of Cap fighting Hydra, skipping over his first victories.
Ultimately, Captain America: The First Avenger focused on the right aspects of Captain America’s story to establish the character, with the montage doing a serviceable job of showing the hero’s first steps. However, it’s hard not to feel like the movie speeds past fun parts of Captain America’s earliest adventures. The exploits of Captain America fighting on the front lines with the Howling Commandos could have worked as a standalone movie, and maybe it should have been.
7
The Story Behind the Worst Wolverine
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ (2024)
In Deadpool & Wolverine, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) tries to save his dying universe by finding a replacement for his world’s dead Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). When the Wolverine he brings back is considered the worst of all, intrigue is built up around what this Logan could have possibly done. Later in the film, Wolverine finally shares why he’s the worst of all his variants, and the answer is… underwhelming.
Logan’s behavior suggests he’s about to admit to something so dark even Wolverine is ashamed of it, but saying he was drunk when the X-Men were attacked and killed seems lackluster. It’s not like the X-Men were defenseless toddlers in his universe, so he’s allowed to get a drink. Perhaps this was a case of showing, not telling, because a flashback of his lowest moment would serve to contextualize his redemption. As it stands, the story feels like it’s missing something because if the X-Men were at risk every time Wolverine got drunk, they would have been slaughtered on his second day with the team.
6
Captain America Returns the Soul Stone
‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)
The final moments of Avengers: Endgame were dedicated to tying up a few loose ends, resetting the MCU to before Thanos (Josh Brolin) disrupted the universe. With Thanos in the rearview mirror and respects paid to Iron Man, Captain America travels back in time to return the Infinity Stones to each of their proper timelines. The next time the viewers see him, Steve is an old man, with a life lived as a contented civilian.
The time Captain America spends returning the stones leaves many fans speculating on what his journey would have looked like. Presumably, it was one of peace because Steve had finished his fighting and wanted to rest after many stressful and selfless years helping others. His run-in with the Red Skull returning the Soul Stone is of the most interest, as the first villain Steve ever fought would be the last one he sees before hanging up the shield.
5
Cap’s Team Breaking Out of the Raft
‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2016)
After Captain America and Iron Man part ways from their brutal fight, Cap takes Bucky (Sebastian Stan) off the grid while they work to deprogram his Winter Soldier brainwashing. Ever the dutiful soldier, he doesn’t forget about the team that he left behind and stages a rescue mission for his Avengers friends held as prisoners in the supermax prison, the Raft. While viewers do see glimpses of fallen Raft guards, the action is left to the imagination.
A one-man rescue mission infiltrating the world’s most advanced prison would have made for a very exciting scene, especially considering that Cap was without his shield. Prison escape scenes are reliable fun in movies, and adding superpowers to the mix would have made for an interesting twist on the trope. However, the prison break scene happens in the last moments of the movie, and it would have been putting a hat on a hat to tack on a prolonged action scene.
4
Peter and Gamora’s Relationship
‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)
The Guardians of the Galaxy were together for a substantial time before the events of Avengers: Infinity War, and it’s implied that Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) and Gamora’s (Zoe Saldaña) relationship has deepened over that time. As Gamora dreads the upcoming encounter with Thanos, she asks Peter to kill her if Thanos captures her. He reluctantly agrees, and they share a kiss that doesn’t look like their first. Later, they openly declare their love for one another.
The budding superhero romance between Peter and Gamora was a storyline slowly building over the first two movies, and fans who were invested in seeing them take the next step missed that moment. There wasn’t much time to enjoy seeing the two as a couple before they were split apart, and unfortunately, any future hopes of watching them enjoy life as romantic partners were cut short. So, while it’s nice to know the two did experience happiness together, from an audience perspective, the moment of realization never came.
3
Aunt May Accepts Peter’s Secret Life
‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ (2017)
Although leading a double life requires great sacrifice and lying to his friends, Peter Parker is mostly successful in keeping his life as Spider-Man a secret. However, New York City apartments are small, so it wasn’t surprising that at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) discovers Peter in his suit. Her exclamation of “What the fu-” caps off the film, leaving the audience to wonder how their talk will play out.
And they continue to wonder because the next film, Spider-Man: Far From Home, picks up with May in on the secret and playfully talks to him about his powers. One of the major plot points of Spider-Man comics is Peter hiding his life from Aunt May so as not to worry her and the drama his deception causes. It’s clever to subvert the audience’s expectations with an encouraging May, but seeing her come to terms with her nephews’ secret identity would have been nice and arguably necessary, too.
2
The Creation of Professor Hulk
‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)
Bruce Banner to his friends, Hulk to his enemies, and David to the people who knew him in the ’70s, has been historically known as a character whose greatest battle is from within. The Hulk appeared at typically inopportune times for Banner, who endlessly struggled to find a solution to his plight. So when Banner showed up in complete control of his alter ego in Avengers: Endgame, even die-hard fans were wondering if they missed something.
The driving conflict for Bruce throughout decades of comics and media has been his inability to master the uncontrollable beast of the Hulk. Bruce’s helplessness to control his anger and his alter ego ruined his relationships, drove him to suicidal depression, and forced a self-imposed exile from anyone who cared about him. The good news is, off camera, he just fixed it. A little bit of tinkering around in the Banner lab, and he’s all better now. That kind of moment should have been a big reveal and a payoff for one of the original MCU characters.
1
“Thanos Invades Xandar”
‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)
The beginning of Avengers: Infinity War kicks off with Thanos surveying the aftermath of an attack on the Asgardians who survived Thor: Ragnarok. Thanos is already in possession of the Power Stone, which was last seen guarded by the Nova Corps on Xandar. The audience soon learns Thanos previously mounted an assault on Xandar and took the Power Stone.
There was reportedly a scene planned to show Thanos’ decimation of the planet, but it was cut to trim down redundant footage of the Mad Titan’s conquests. While that logic makes sense, it’s unfortunate that the beginning of Thanos’ journey to collect the stones is the scene on the cutting room floor. After such a rousing defense of Xandar in Guardians of the Galaxy, fans of the franchise would have felt the significance of seeing the impressive capital of the Nova Empire fall.
About The Author
Discover more from imd369
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
