False Facts About The Marvel Cinematic Universe You Always Thought Were True

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a cultural juggernaut that shows no signs of slowing down. Every movie helps build a complicated web of interconnected mythologies, leaving fans very eager to see what's going to happen next. Because the MCU is everywhere that fans look (on Netflix, on ABC, in theaters), it's easy for fans to think they know every nook and cranny of this world, from Iron Man's choice in liquor to the size of Chris Hemsworth's biceps. It turns out there are many things that fans thought were true about this cinematic universe that are outright false. Here are just a few of the main offenders.

This next misconception is easy to make because of the nature of the Thor movie. By necessity, the character and his story are aspects of Norse mythology that audiences view through the lens of Western culture. As such, audiences are eager to use the cultural touchstones they are familiar with in order to understand the story in front of them. For instance, part of the drama of the Thor movie is that he is exiled to Earth and cannot wield his hammer, Mjolnir, until he is "worthy." This doesn't happen until the Destroyer armor, controlled by Loki, tries to kill Thor. This leads many to think that his willingness to die makes him worthy.

It's no surprise Western audiences come to this conclusion because, on a basic level, this is the story of Jesus Christ. Like Christ, Thor is willing to die to save others, and seemingly like Christ, he ascends to a higher spiritual status as a result. But Christianity is not Thor's culture. Audiences can see that Thor's Asgardian people respect fighting and martial prowess. They are, after all, modeled after the popular cultural ideas surrounding the Viking warriors who were, in turn, inspired by genuine Norse mythology. What does this have to do with Thor's worthiness? When he confronts the Destroyer, he offers no resistance whatsoever in exchange for the safety of the town. Compare this to the "hammer first, ask questions later" Thor from the beginning of the movie and it is clear that Thor was willing to set aside everything that he and his culture hold sacred if it meant saving someone else. This, and not a simple willingness to die (Thor was willing to die fighting Frost Giants earlier in the movie, remember), is what signified he had become worthy.

One of the darker moments from The Avengers that is presented as a surprise is both that Bruce Banner attempted suicide and that the suicide was impossible. He tells the gathered heroes that he once put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger and "the other guy," the Hulk, spit the bullet out. This is presented as something which should shock and surprise both his audience and the movie audience alike, but the simple truth is that close viewers of these movies would not be surprised at all.

The evidence goes back to Marvel's Incredible Hulk movie, the one that starred Edward Norton as Bruce Banner. He is captured by General Ross and the Army after Dr. Sterns, the enigmatic "Mr. Blue," has introduced an alleged Hulk antidote into Banner's system. When Banner and Ross see the chaos being wrought in Harlem by the other big scary monster, the Abomination, Banner volunteers to jump out of the helicopter and fight the creature. During the jump, though, he can't voluntarily transform, screaming an obscenity as he plummets to the ground only to be miraculously transformed by the time he hits.

Audiences can see Banner is at least a little suicidal. The antidote has seemingly worked: otherwise, Banner's anger at Ross would have induced a transformation. His willingness to jump out of the helicopter indicates at least a partial willingness to kill himself, and it apparently would have if Hulk hadn't protected him from certain death. Comics readers likely recognized this as a modified version of a plot from The Ultimates in which Banner was too doped up to transform and a coldhearted Nick Fury authorized throwing him from a helicopter. He was gambling that Hulk would not let Banner die, which is exactly what audiences see in this movie. By the time the Avengers rolls around, Ruffalo-Hulk's confession and explanation seems a bit redundant.

Here is a misconception that can be partially blamed on Tom Hiddleston's amazing performance. He plays Loki, known far and wide as the trickster god, so when audiences see him mind-controlling people in The Avengers, many of them just assume that it is an extension of his other abilities. After all, he has a bizarre ability to deceive people with projected images of himself. However, later movies make it clear that this power is due to the staff that he wields. He is given the staff by Thanos, who ultimately wants to gather the Infinity Stones (more on that later), and the staff is powered by one such stone, the Mind Gem. This is why Loki does not exhibit any ability to directly control minds in either the first Thor movie or its sequel, as he does not have the staff in those films. It's entirely possible that Hiddleston walked away with the gem after filming, though, because the internet is filled with reports that most people are eager and willing to do whatever Hiddleston asks them to do.

Iron Man 3 is, to put it mildly, a divisive movie. Many people love it for the mad improvisational humor and how well it serves as the end to Iron Man's solo movies, while others hate it for the bizarre "Mandarin" reveal. Another thing that makes the movie stand out, though, is the theorized major plot point regarding Tony Stark having PTSD after nearly dying defending New York. He engages in obsessive behavior, has panic attacks, and generally worries about his ability as "a man in a can" to fight alongside gods and monsters against aliens and God knows what else.

Because this is the only film to focus on such a thing, many viewers think that Tony Stark is the only Avenger who suffers from PTSD. However, sprinkled throughout the other movies are hints that this is not the case. In The Incredible Hulk movie, Bruce Banner looks at a showerhead and suddenly sees a helicopter's gun firing directly at him. When Captain America relentlessly punches a punching bag in The Avengers, audiences can see he is still imagining the raging battles of World War II that are, to him, only weeks in the past. Furthermore, the Winter Soldier shows him bonding with Sam Wilson over their inability to adjust to the comforts of modern life when they cannot take their minds off past conflicts. And while much of what she says to Loki in The Avengers is centered around getting information, Black Widow genuinely seems to be haunted by some of the terrible things she has done as a spy in the past (both for Russia and for the U.S.) and sees the Avengers as a possible key to redemption. Of the core Avengers, the majority suffer from some form of PTSD, so it's possible Tony could have just started a support group instead of blowing up billions of dollars in suits.

The final misconception is at the heart of Civil War's entire plot, and it is that Scarlet Witch is guilty of killing those Wakandans when she lifts up a self-detonating Crossbones and he explodes close to the building they are in. Unpacking this misconception requires a few deep dives, so here goes. First, it is obvious that if Scarlet Witch had done nothing and merely let Crossbones blow himself up, many more people would have died in the crowded ground area, including Captain America. Therefore, from a moral perspective, she had to do something. Her power seemed like it was partially able to contain the blast, but not enough to keep it from killing 26 people in the building.

However, what everyone seems to overlook is that the building helps contain a blast that otherwise would have injured and killed a great many people on the ground. It's impossible to know the exact blast radius of Crossbones' suicide vest, but he was chucking frag grenades earlier in the movie that have an effective casualty range of 49 feet. He presumably still had some of these on his person, so Scarlet Witch's only other option, to chuck Crossbones high in the air away from any buildings, would have realistically resulted in a rain of both deadly shrapnel and the blast itself. Again, given how crowded the marketplace was, it seems like more than 26 people would have died, and she may have assumed that the building had been evacuated by S.H.I.E.L.D. Considering that the Avengers were tracking terrorists to that area, evacuating ambassadors and politicians honestly should have been a priority. At the end of the day, Scarlet Witch made the best call when she was given nothing but terrible options, but the entire plot centers around the idea that she made a terrible mistake.