Even if Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was considered to be a step down from all that’s come before, it still showed that the franchise wasn’t incapable of delivering surprises. After all, it kept the name of an entire movie a secret until that film’s final moments. But the true title of Thunderbolts* wasn’t the only big surprise that’s come from an MCU film. It’s been delivering surprises from the very beginning, and we’re going to go through the best twists here. However, we’re not relegating things solely to the MCU. In other words, we also considered plot twists from even the movies that predated the release of Iron Man, not to mention the Marvel movies that came out while the MCU was a thing, but were not part of it.
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But to be considered, it had to actually be a twist. So, stuff like Doctor Octopus sacrificing himself at the end of Spider-Man 2, while a big detour from robbing banks, is more the conclusion of a character arc than a twist. It comes down to there being a reveal, like if a friendly presence ends up being, well, not so friendly. We have to have been led to believe one thing before the narrative flips the script on us. In other words, surprising cameos don’t count as twists. Naturally, spoilers follow.
10) Doctor Strange Has a Third Eye Now in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness certainly surprised some people by having John Krasinski play Reed Richards, but that wasn’t quite a twist. The film’s final moment, however, is.
We see Doctor Strange go up against the Darkhold-manipulated Sinister Strange, who has been “graced” with a third eye on his forehead. We then see Doctor Strange walk away from the fight with his life. But then the film’s final scene shows that, after his time with the Darkhold and dream walking via a corpse, the Doctor Strange we’ve grown to know and love gets a third eye all his own. It’s definitely a surprise, but it’s also hurt by some shoddy CGI.
9) Yashida Is the Silver Samurai in The Wolverine
We meet Ichirล Yashida fairly early on in The Wolverine. Specifically, in 1945, when Logan saves him from the Nagasaki bombing. Later in the movie we see Yashida, dying and apparently wishing to bid Logan farewell. He offers to take Logan’s immortality away from him, thinking it would be a gift (a sentiment Logan doesn’t entirely disagree with). We are also introduced to the Silver Samurai, which at first appears to just be a big robot with a sword. But the Silver Samurai and Yashida are one and the same. Yashida wants Logan’s immortality so badly he’s gone full villain. What a way to repay someone for saving your life in your youth.
8) Scud’s a Bad Guy in Blade II
It may not be Guillermo del Toro’s best movie, but that’s only because the competition is so lauded. But, as it stands, most would agree Blade II is an improvement over its already solid predecessor.
And, like its predecessor (more on that in a bit), Blade II comes equipped with a surprise villain reveal. In this case, Norman Reedus’ Scud, who we really do spend most of the film’s runtime believing is a decent assistant to Blade and Abraham Whistler.
7) Not Such a Great Mentor in Iron Man
Throughout the first half or so of Iron Man, we’re led to believe that Raza, the leader of the Ten Rings, is the film’s main villain. But it’s not so, he’s just playing second fiddle to the true big bad.
The true big bad, of course, is Obadiah Stane, Tony Stark’s mentor, friend, and number two at Stark Industries. It’s a twist that works to this day, not so much because it’s particularly surprising, but rather because its the kindly Jeff Bridges playing Stane, a man who is betraying the son of his deceased friend just for, you guessed it, money and power.
6) Ikaris Is the Villain in Eternals
While it’s not considered one of the MCU’s stronger films, Eternals does have one of its more effective twists. Specifically, the fact that Ikaris, the leader of the Eternals, is the villain the rest of them need to face. That said, the fact they’re all genetically engineered by Celestials is a good twist (for non-comic readers), as well.
One can almost understand Ikaris’ goal, which was basically to do what they were designed to do. But to do so, the people of Earth would need to die, and not only is he fairly cool with that, but he also killed the previous “Prime Eternal,” Ajak, to carry that plan out to fruition.
5) The Snap in Avengers: Infinity War
Perhaps this is more of a plot development than a twist. To those who would argue as such, we can’t fully disagree. But, come on, not many (certainly not everyone) saw “The Snap” coming in Avengers: Infinity War.
How many villains in movies succeed in their plot, especially when their goal is to eliminate half of all life in the universe? It was devastating, and it’s a finale that the MCU will likely never top.
4) Blade’s Mom Is a Villain in Blade
It doesn’t look like the MCU’s Blade movie is ever going to come to fruition, but we’ll always have the Wesley Snipes trilogy (or, if you’re sticking to movies that work, the first two thirds of the Wesley Snipes trilogy). The first film is a terrific ’90s timepiece, along with being a formative Marvel movie, and its third act comes with a truly devastating twist.
Up until the third act, the only hint we get of Blade’s mother Vanessa Brooks (Sanaa Lathan) is her giving birth to him and seemingly dying. But as it turns out she was bitten by the film’s big bad, Deacon Frost, while she was pregnant. What’s shocking about the revelation that Vanessa is alive comes two-fold. For one, yes, her being alive is surprising. But what really twists the knife are the decisions she made. She’s been lovers with Frost this whole time, she’s going along with Frost’s plan to drain Blade’s blood for his world-conquering plot, and she even tries to seduce her own son to help this plot come to fruition.
3) Trevor Slattery Is a Goofball, Not a Terrorist in Iron Man 3
Plenty of people find the whole “The Mandarin’s actually just a drunk, womanizing amateur actor” twist in Iron Man 3 to be so bad it’s almost funny. And to be fair, they’re not entirely wrong.
But it’s not outright dumb the way the shot of Guy Pearce breathing fire out of his mouth like a suit-wearing dragon is. And no matter how one feels about the twist, they can’t deny that they didn’t see it coming.
2) Serious Daddy Issues in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Peter Quill, as it turns out, was quite right to feel skeptical regarding this man who claims to be his father in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Not because the man isn’t his father, but rather because he is his father, and his father’s an absolute monster.
When it comes to gut-punches in the MCU, it’s really hard to beat Ego’s casual info drop about killing Peter’s mother. The death of his mother has been plaguing Peter ever since it happened when he was a boy. To find out that it was done at the cruel, cold hands of the man with whom he’s just developed a seemingly warm connection leaves you breathless for a few moments. Toss in the fact that Ego is played by the lovable Kurt Russell and it’s perhaps the MCU’s most crushing moment.
1) Liz’s Dad Is the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming
The moment when Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes opens the door to see a startled Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming was a jaw-dropper when the movie opened in theaters. It’s a sweet scene right up until then. Parker gets help from Aunt May to look all spiffy for the prom, he’s going with the girl he’s had a crush on for a while, and he’s feeling fairly confident.
But he’s also been distracted trying to live up to what he thinks Tony Stark’s expectations are of him, primarily by pursuing Toomes’ and his gang of arms dealers. Then it’s Toomes himself who opens the door to Liz’s house. You can practically feel Parker’s heart go from racing in anticipation to racing in fear.
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Image courtesy of Lucasfilm. -
image courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
