There are some major events in the MCU that don't actually make sense. They're moments where we really wish Stan Lee's cameos involved him popping up on screen to provide editor's notes, frankly.
Here are the most significant times we really could have used his help.
1. Phase 2 contains a massive tribute to Star Wars
We really could have used this information while we were actually watching Phase 2.
You'll probably remember the fact that basically every single Phase 2 movie has someone getting their arm torn off (even if it sometimes felt a bit shoehorned in *cough* Age of Ultron). Well, apparently that was an obscure tribute to Luke losing his limb in Empire Strikes Back.
Which sort-of makes sense, but actually really doesn't. We get doing it in one movie, but ALL the movies?
Thor in Thor 2, Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3, Bucky in The Winter Soldier, Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man in Age of Ultron, and Yellowjacket in Ant-Man – they all lose an arm. Like, why?
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It's not as though Phase 2 was the middle part of a trilogy, these phases will be going on forever!
When will they get to sticking an Ewok in every Marvel movie? That's what we want to know.
2. The terrorist in Ant-Man is working for Mandarin
Unless you were able to pause the cinema screen during the first Ant-Man movie (and if you did, who are you? Zack from Saved By The Bell?) you may have missed that the 10 Rings terrorist organisation had a cameo in Marvel's comedy-heist flick.
In the scene where Darren Cross is presenting the Yellowjacket suit to potential buyers, if you look really, really closely by pausing the Blu-ray and sitting too close to the telly, one of the bidders has a ten rings tattoo on his neck.
He's the one who drew his gun to shoot Hank Pym, but was taken out by Ant-Man. So, yeah, The Mandarin is still at large in Ant-Man.
Which leads to SO MANY questions, not least...
3. Who is the real Mandarin?
Actually, speaking of The Mandarin, Shane Black's Iron Man 3 brilliantly subverted the concept of a (racist) supervillain by turning him into propaganda – a made-up man used to misdirect from the real villain's plans.
It was great, but, in our first glimpse at the kind of man-baby whining that would go on to ruin Star Wars, the fanboys didn't like this subversion of their favourite racist stereotype and (in our first glimpse at Disney capitulating to the whims of morons) the MCU retconned Iron Man 3 in a one-shot short that revealed that the Mandarin DID actually exist.
But that 'solution' leads to more questions than answers. Who is he? Where is he? Why doesn't Tony Stark seem to care that he exists, when he's the REASON HE BECAME IRON MAN IN THE FIRST PLACE?
It's like Batman suddenly forgetting his parents got shot, deciding to let their killer carry on committing crimes without doing anything to stop him.
4. James Gunn's Guardians easter egg
Yeah, sorry folks – remember that massive Easter egg hunt Gunn sent fans in search of shortly after the release of the first movie? The one that STILL hasn't been solved?
Let's hope that the James Gunn news means we'll get an answer in Vol 3.
5. Black Widow is a scientifically engineered spy
Ever wonder how ordinary woman Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) can hold her own alongside Gods, monsters and super soldiers? Simple: in the comics, she's also a super soldier – well, super spy.
Despite the fact the MCU hinted at Natasha's dark past in Age of Ultron, they still haven't explained that her ability to do all that flippy stuff is down to some dodgy scientific experiments that engineered her into the perfect human.
She's not as powerful as Cap, but she's close. Maybe we'll get more information in her solo movie, but for now a lot of people don't even know she's special.
6. Why did Odin have a fake Infinity Gauntlet?
Soooo… Thanos (Josh Brolin) made Eitri (Peter Dinklage) create the Infinity Gauntlet when he started collecting the Infinity Stones. Cool, cool, cool. Then why did Odin (Anthony Hopkins) have a fake Infinity Gauntlet in the first Thor movie, which took place before Thanos embarked on his mission to create the fanciest supervillain accessory since Loki's (Tom Hiddleston) staff?
Feels like Odin having a version of the Multiverse's ultimate weapon in a glass case before it was even created could be important, maybe?
WE NEED ANSWERS, FEIGE, NOT LAZY RETCONS.
7. Why isn't General Ross completely freaked out by Bruce Banner?
We understand that Bruce is a scientist who turns into a giant green monster, which is freaky enough, but surely General Ross (William Hurt) must have had his mind completely blown by the character's transformation from Ed Norton to Mark Ruffalo.
But we guess it explains why Ed Norton was completely in love with his daughter Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) one minute, before turning into Mark Ruffalo and developing a crush on Scarlett Johansson the next.
Actually, speaking of Betty Ross... What happened to Betty Ross, Marvel? At least Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) got a throwaway break-up line in Thor: Ragnarok. We haven't heard anything about Ross since The Incredible Hulk – not even from her dad!
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Freelancer writer
Sam is an entertainment writer with NCTJ accreditation and a twenty-year career as a film journalist.
Starting out as a staff writer at Total Film, moving up to Deputy Online Editor, Sam was responsible for Total Film’s YouTube channel, where he revolutionised the magazine’s approach to video junkets, creating influential formats that spread to other outlets.
He’s interviewed a wide range of film icons, including directors such as David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sofia Coppola, Ridley Scott, Michael Bay and Sam Raimi, as well as actors such as Meryl Streep, Nic Cage, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Anne Hathaway, Margot Robbie, Natalie Portman, Kermit the Frog, all of the Avengers and many more.
Sam has also interviewed several comic creators, including Stan Lee, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and he has a zombie cameo in The Walking Dead comic.
In 2014, Sam went freelance, working directly for film studios including Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox and Disney, as well as covering red carpet events for film marketing company PMA Productions.
Sam is the co-host, producer and editor of the Arrow Video podcast, which has seen year-on-year growth since its creation in 2017, gaining over half a million listens in that time.
His byline has appeared in outlets such as Yahoo, MTV, Dazed, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Good Housekeeping among others.
In 2012, Sam made it to the final of the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year competition, and went on to become a filmmaker himself, directing three features that have all played major festivals, and secured distribution – starring in two of them.
Jim Carrey once mistook Sam for Johnny Cash, and John Carpenter told him to ‘Keep up the good work.’ He promises to try his best.
