10 MCU Plot Twists That Are Still Confusing Years Later

The MCU has played host to some exceptionally mind-bending plot twists over the years, but there are many that are just as confusing years after they were first revealed. Having a shared universe in which characters, places, and plot threads are connected within overarching Sagas opens up myriad opportunities for Marvel to pull off more twists than could ever be crammed into a single movie, and it is safe to say that the studio has made the most of that ability. While most of them are compelling and valuable additions to the overall narrative, some MCU bombshells are more baffling than others.

Unfortunately, many of the questions that these plot twists create will probably go forever unanswered. Whether it is because Marvel is relying on the suspension of disbelief, the MCU plot thread has been dropped, or there is no valuable reason why they should be answered so long after the fact, the MCU timeline has shown that not everything is always going to be tied everything in a neat bow. With that in mind, here are ten of the MCU plot twists that still have people scratching their heads to this day.

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10 WandaVision’s Quicksilver Was Actually Ralph Bohner

WandaVision (2021)

While the world hoped in vain that WandaVision would herald the arrival of the MCU’s Mephisto, the arrival of Evan Peters in the guise of Pietro Maximoff felt like a boon out of left field. Sadly, this was a particularly egregious bait-and-switch from Marvel that hit where it hurt so soon after the development that Marvel regained control of mutants and thus could be introducing the X-Men to the MCU. The reveal that Peters was not reprising his role as Quicksilver, but was instead an entirely different character known as Ralph Bohner who was under the control of Agatha Harkness was disappointing and mind-boggling in equal measure.

9 Ben Kingsley Was Pretending To Be The Real Mandarin

Iron Man 2 (2010)

In the comics, the Mandarin is one of Iron Man’s most iconic recurring villains, so the reveal that he would supposedly feature in Iron Man 2 caused a stir for many reasons. Among these was the fact that he was being portrayed by Ben Kingsley, one of the most lauded actors in Hollywood. The twist, however, was that Kingsley instead played a hapless, down-and-out actor called Trevor Slattery, who was in actual fact playing a role to throw the world off the scent of the true mastermind behind his “acts of terror,” Aldrich Killian. The reveal was confusing, as it was both hair-brained and relatively easy for Tony Stark to figure out.

8 Old Man Steve Rogers Returns

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Steve Rogers’ mission to put the Infinity Stones back where they came from came with a cavalcade of questions that can largely be answered with a nod to Captain America’s unparalleled talents. An arguably more prescient question left by that sequence, however, is that of how Old Man Rogers made his way back to his old friends on the Sacred Timeline at the end of Avengers: Endgame. This is, of course, a question that is purposefully left unanswered by a grinning Captain America, who resolutely refuses to provide elaboration, leaving this as a baffling twist that will forever endure.

7 Ned Has The Powers Of A Sorcerer

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

In the comics, it is the destiny of Ned Leeds to become the Hobgoblin, a role that is practically impossible to imagine Jacob Batalon’s affable Ned filling in the MCU. Ned’s true destiny, however, is rendered all the more confusing by the fact that he was somehow capable of using Doctor Strange’s portal-creating sling ring with no official training whatsoever. It was thanks to Ned’s natural ability to employ the powers of a sorcerer that the world was gifted a double-whammy reveal of Andrew Garfield’s and Toby Maguire’s Spider-Men, which eclipsed the fact that the otherwise unassuming Ned just pulled off a mind-bending feat of mystical prowess off the cuff.

6 The Red Skull Becomes The Guardian Of The Soul Stone (For Some Reason)

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

The Soul Stone is easily the most enigmatic of the Infinity Stones, and the mystery that surrounds it is only compounded by the fact that Red Skull becomes the stone’s keeper for some reason. He explains that he was banished to Vormir by the Space Stone seemingly as a result of his hubris, and is thereby condemned to “guide others to a treasure [he] cannot possess.” Red Skull’s reappearance after several years was a pretty big twist, but is still inexplicable to this day.

Aside from giving his speech atop the sacrificial mountain on Vormir, Red Skull doesn’t seem to do much. It seems just as prudent for an inscription or a vision to carry out the same job, as Red Skull was presumably spoken to by the stones to carry out his role anyway. Why it was the Red Skull out of every one of the countless figures that no doubt came into contact with the Space Stone since its birth at the beginning of everything is another baffling question that opens up several others. At this point, it’s easier to assume that Red Skull was simply placed there as a callback.

5 Wanda Decimates The Illuminati

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)

Wanda’s powers in the MCU were seriously nerfed at certain points. This is summarily rectified, however, when Wanda turns villainous and, with her Darkhold-imbued powers, proceeds to dispatch the Illuminati of Earth-838 in short order. While the moment is designed to illustrate just how powerful Wanda has become, it is a twist upon a twist that leans too far in the other direction.

The powers that Wanda unleashes in this sequence are godlike in their effects, akin to the powers of the Infinity Stones. Meanwhile, the Illuminati – which features a council of super-powered individuals capable of the most impressive feats in the MCU – were reduced to mystical cannon fodder. To this day, Wanda’s ability to kill several Illuminati members, including Professor X, with little effort is still particularly mind-boggling.

4 The Existence Of Hela (And Balder)

Thor: Ragnarok (2017) And Loki Season 2 (2023)

For several MCU movies, it was assumed that the Asgardian royal family comprised Odin, Frigga, Thor, and Loki. While this flies in the face of the pantheon on which they are based, the presence of figures like Hela and Balder was never so much as mentioned until Odin’s death. While Odin’s flaws are easy to highlight when explaining his silence on the matter of Thor and Loki’s siblings, it was hard to reconcile Hela’s unstoppable takeover of Asgard with the fact Odin gave nobody any time to prepare, deciding to mention his bloodthirsty daughter when moments away from the death that would lead to her arrival.

Balder, meanwhile, is even more confusing. When his effigy was depicted in a single scene in Loki season 2, it was apparent that even Loki was aware of his brother, as he confirmed the obvious: no one’s even heard of him. There was no later scene in the series to pay off Balder’s first and only mention in the MCU, thus consigning him once more to the realm of forgotten Asgardians. The last-minute mention of both Asgardian siblings gives rise to the question of how many other Asgardian gods have yet to make themselves known, but with Asgard now decimated, this may forever remain unanswered.

3 The Tesseract and Scepter Are Infinity Stones

The Infinity Saga (2007-2019)

The fact that the Tesseract – which more closely resembles the Cosmic Cube from the comics – and the Scepter – which was willingly given to Loki by Thanos in the events of The Avengers – turned out to be houses for the Space and Mind Stones, respectively, was surprising but also raised some eyebrows. Said confusion was primarily because the Tesseract & Scepter’s early appearances in the MCU demonstrated some unusual powers not typically associated with each stone. This helped turn them into two of the most powerful Infinity Stones in the MCU by virtue of the sheer number and variety of abilities they displayed by the time they were destroyed.

2 The Eternals And Their Purpose

Eternals (2021)

Despite trying to explain away the Eternals’ lack of involvement in a world beset by numerous cataclysmic events throughout their time as its supposed caretakers, Eternals still made it difficult to fathom the absence of the eponymous heroes. Upon discovering their true nature as synthetic beings designed to ensure the Emergence of Tiamut, the questions of why the Eternals allowed Thanos to get away with the Snap, or Ultron’s attempts at genocide remain to this day. Unfortunately, the Eternals returning to answer these questions doesn’t look like a likely prospect in the near future.

1 She-Hulk Breaks The Fourth Wall

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (2022)

The mind-bending twist ending for She-Hulk: Attorney At Law was about as off-piste as Marvel has ever been. While Jennifer Walters consistently broke the fourth wall throughout the series by talking to the audience, it was hard to prepare for the ending that saw her storm the Marvel offices and face-off against the robot K.E.V.I.N. and demand an immediate rewrite of the series finale. While the sequence was simply a humorous homage to her comic book counterpart, it’s hard to avoid reflecting on how Walter’s apparent meta-powers would make her the most powerful character in the MCU.