5 Ways The MCU Dropped The Ball

Meanwhile, the MCU event that kicks off Civil War is decidedly less compelling. The heroes nobly try as hard as they can to prevent destruction caused by bad guys, but fall a little short. Scarlet Witch tries to contain an explosion set off by Crossbones, but the blast destroys the top floor of a building, killing some Wakandan aid workers. The public backlash mainly consists of crowds shaking their fists in a news report, and then William Hurt is dragged out of the bar we left him in at the end of The Incredible Hulk to tell everybody they need to register with the government.

Ross does explain that the events of Age Of Ultron, wherein the Stark-created Ultron tried to destroy the world by lifting up a city and dropping it Looney Tunes-style, also figures into the need for registration. But that seems more like a justification to stop billionaires from making all-powerful murderous AI systems (which hopefully was already against the law), rather than a legitimate "Maybe superheroes are bullshit" debate.

It all feels less like the pressure cooker finally blowing and more like the MCU saying, "Well, we've done enough movies to have Civil War now." Stark's side of the argument seems petty, penalizing heroes for garden-variety blockbuster collateral damage, instead of holding them accountable for a disaster caused by attention-seeking and greed -- something that would actually call into question the entire idea of flamboyant public superheroism itself.

Related: 5 Reasons The Marvel Cinematic Universe Should Have Failed

Comics Mandarin is an orphan and a descendant of Genghis Khan. He finds an alien vessel that is powered by ten rings, and he harnesses their powers. He's also a master tactician, a skilled martial artist on par with Iron Fist, and completely bound to a code of honor. It makes sense that the Mandarin is one of Iron Man's archenemies; he's a strict, serious adversary, and Tony Stark is a freewheeling alcoholic who makes an enemy out of nearly everyone he chats with.

The MCU, however, has never really settled on what they want to do with him. In Iron Man, we're introduced to a terrorist group called the Ten Rings (the Mandarin leads them in the comics), who Iron Man just beats the dogshit out of. But we never see any actual Mandarin. It only gets worse in Iron Man 2, when an agent of the Ten Rings shows up to laughably give Whiplash tickets to Monaco, where he can attack Iron Man at a car race.

Finally, in Iron Man 3, the Mandarin steps forward. Played by Ben Kingsley, he makes ominous videos and gives long-winded speeches in a desperate attempt to outdo Bane from a year before. But surprise! He's just an actor hired by the REAL Mandarin and the third weapons developer adversary in an Iron Man film, Aldrich Killian. In the end, Killian even announces dramatically that he's the Mandarin before Pepper Potts comically swats him away, because god forbid the MCU have a sincere moment last longer than four seconds.

But he's not the Mandarin either, as a Marvel one-shot short film attempts to clean up this mess by making an even bigger one. It turns out there's an actual Mandarin out there, one we never get to see. Killian modeled Trevor's persona on a myth he'd heard, and the real Mandarin is not happy he's been degraded to a parody and is seeking retribution. And I totally get it, dude. I'd be mad too if my only meaningful role in the MCU was as an extra on the Thor: Dark World DVD.

However, in a recent Reddit AMA, Kevin Feige did say "Yes" when asked about continuing the plot from Iron Man 3 and the All Hail The King short. So maybe he's hinting at a future where we'll be able to say "The Mandarin USED to suck."

Related: 6 Big Marvel Characters No One Cared About Before The Movies

Pym concocts a plan to get back on the team, and to put it gently, it's below-par. He builds another killer robot, only this time he installs a weakness that he'll exploit at just the right moment so he can save the Avengers, thus proving he's worthy. His wife Janet discovers his we'll-charitably-call-it-desperate plan and tries to stop him, and this is where Pym reaches the nadir, striking her.

Of course the plan fails miserably. Janet divorces him, and he's left penniless. It's tragic; a man with the potential for heroism is undone by a series of unforgivable decisions. Yet he still used to be an Avenger, and it's human nature to want to see him redeemed, to overcome the part of himself that seems twisted beyond repair.

None of the flaws that make comic Hank Pym feel real are present in the MCU, where Douglas mainly explains and hands out technology that makes people shrink. The closest you get to feeling anything for him is that he lost his wife, the MCU's original Wasp, to the Quantum Realm. He blames himself, but it's totally not his fault. This is a stark contrast to the comics, in which everything is Pym's fault and the question becomes "Is it even possible for such a man to redeem himself? How?" rather than "What cool watch does he have for Paul Rudd today?"

Related: 4 Crazy Marvel Scenes You Definitely Won't See In The Movies

But the full tumble comes when the movie kills off Quicksilver in the dumbest way possible (the fastest thing in the world gets shot by the bullets he's spent most of the movie easily avoiding). He lives fast and dies young (and fast), and you're left wondering why the hell he was even there in the first place.

Related: 5 Marvel Superhero Teams We Should Be Giving Our Attention

For more, check out After Hours - Awkward Scenes That Must Have Happened In Marvel Movies (Captain America, The Hulk):

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