Top 10 Abandoned MCU Storylines

“Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)

Although a seldom seen character, Taneleer Tivan, better known as the Collector, is a prominent part of the Infinity Saga, due to his interest in collecting important artifacts. The most notable parts of his collection are easily the Infinity Stones. The Collector manages to obtain the Reality Stone from the Asgardians, while he hires mercenaries, including the Guardians of the Galaxy, to obtain the Power Stone. Even though he loses the latter, one would think that Tivan would continue in his quest to collect all six Stones. However, as Thanos was also aiming to get them all, the purple Titan’s efforts probably took priority. He certainly seems to have killed the Collector during his rampage across the universe to obtain them.

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017)

Damage Control is a company charged with doing cleanup duty on messes left behind by superheroes and other supernatural events. Their most prominent appearance is in “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” where their intervention in the cleanup after the battle of New York prompts Adrian Toomes to start down his path towards becoming the Vulture when they steal his contract. Peter Parker also gets trapped in their vault. Plans were in place as early as 2016 for Damage Control to receive its own TV series. However, they continually fell through. At this point, it looks like the damage to Damage Control’s chances of appearing in the MCU is too much to rectify.

“Iron Man 3” (2013)

Tony Stark has several character traits and behaviors that kind of fall by the wayside during the franchise. For instance, his alcoholism isn’t really addressed after a certain point. But one of the most jarring is his post-traumatic stress disorder. In “Iron Man 3,” Tony experiences severe anxiety and panic attacks resulting from the trauma he experiences during “The Avengers.” While it is possible to manage PTSD symptoms, to the point where they don’t recur for years, Tony puts himself into dozens of dangerous and stressful experiences following “Iron Man 3.” One would think that at least one of them would have led to a relapse or new trauma.

“Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015)

The second “Avengers” film sees Thor have a vision of the Infinity Stones. He also seemingly resolves to hunt for the rest of the Stones at the film’s conclusion, despite knowing the location of half of them already. Thor’s whole storyline in “Age of Ultron” seemed geared towards him looking for the Stones, but it was basically dropped in his next appearance. In the very first moments of “Thor: Ragnarok,” Thor claims that he went looking for them, couldn’t find them, and gave up. And sure, the Soul Stone was hidden and Dr. Strange had the Time Stone, but he should’ve easily heard that the Power Stone was on Xandar. It was a big deal! We’d have loved to see Thor meet the Nova Corps.

“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (2013-20)

Vijay Nadeer is the brother of a senator, Ellen Nadeer. Both of them despise superpowers and aliens. Unfortunately, Vijay experiences terragenesis, as he carries the Inhuman gene. Vijay’s transformation takes longer than normal and once he’s out of his cocoon his powers only activate when he’s under threat. His sister ends up fulfilling a promise they made to each other, and shoots him; dumping his body out of a helicopter into the ocean. However, Vijay’s body becomes encased in a cocoon once again underwater, hinting at his survival. Fans kept expecting Vijay to “resurface” throughout the rest of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” but he never did.

“Luke Cage” (2016-18)

Luke Cage may be bulletproof, but he still has difficulty cleaning up the streets of Harlem as one man alone. By the end of his show’s second season, he finds more success, but it’s due to him being more willing to walk the line between the right and wrong sides of the law. He essentially becomes a crime boss in all but name. Sadly, the show was cancelled after season 2, meaning that we never got to see how Cage developed in this role. Did he go too far? And how would anyone stop him if he did? Although Cage cameoed on “Jessica Jones” afterwards, this story deserved to be fleshed out in full.

“Captain America: Civil War” (2016)

The Sokovia Accords enact oversight on superhero activity, particularly internationally. They also act as one of the catalysts for the Avengers splitting apart. However, following their initial appearance, they don’t really come up as often as you’d think. While they were brought up and played a role on “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” the films largely ignored them. The Avengers who refused to sign had no apparent problems after “Infinity War.” Spider-Man did hero work in Europe with little to no issue. Even Sam and Bucky’s international intrigue in “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” got them little more than a slap on the wrist. For as much sense as they make logically, the Accords do limit what heroes can do – and that’s not cinematic.

“Iron Man 2” (2010)

The second “Iron Man” film sees Tony Stark attend government hearings on sharing the technology behind his suits with the government. They make the argument that other countries are working on similar technology and could be a threat if he doesn’t turn over the tech. While Tony illustrates how behind his own suits other nations are, he still faces a threat later in the film from Ivan Vanko and Justin Hammer, who team up to make powerful drones and suits that nearly match his own. And following this film, no other countries appear to have created their own Iron Man suit. This seems odd, considering how invested real-world nations are in getting the latest weapons.

“Avengers: Endgame” (2019)

The Hulk comes a long way during the MCU. He begins the franchise as a barely coherent green rage monster. However, thanks to interacting with characters like Black Widow and Thor, he forms his own identity. He then spends years on Sakaar, becoming independent and almost like a child. He also experiences his first brush with fear after being defeated by Thanos. However, by the time we pick back up with Hulk and Banner in “Endgame,” they’ve become one person, with Banner being the dominant persona. It feels like Marvel cut out the culmination of Hulk’s story arc and just left us with the wrap-up. While we enjoy “Professor” Hulk, the way the MCU introduced him doesn’t feel as satisfying as it could have been.

“The Incredible Hulk” (2008)

A lot of elements from the only Hulk film in the MCU got dropped after its release. Although at least one character is set to appear again soon, one plot element from the movie that didn’t get paid off involves the character Samuel Sterns. A scientist who both aids Bruce Banner in searching for a cure and helps create Abomination. Sterns is exposed to some of the Gamma irradiated material in his final scene, causing his head to distort, seemingly setting him up to become the villain, the Leader. Although the comics sees Sterns taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, we have yet to see him or his supervillain persona return on screen.