10 Worst Twists That Ruined Superhero Movies

The Mandarin Was A Struggling Theatre Actor In Iron Man 3 (2010)

Leading up to the release of Iron Man 3, fans were excited to see the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) as the villain, especially given that the terrorist was played by an Academy Award-winning actor, and he looked the part in the trailer with his kaftan and baritone voice. However, it was a complete bait and switch, as the Mandarin was revealed to be a British beer-loving theatre actor called Trevor Slattery, who was hired by the real villain, the unmemorable Aldrich Killian.

Though Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings rectified the mistake by introducing the real Mandarin, it doubled down on ruining Trevor. While the struggling theater actor was never a genius, he still had his wits about him, but the 2021 movie turned him into an idiot that thought the humans dressed as apes in The Planet of the Apes were real apes.

Batman And Superman’s Mothers Have The Same Last Name In Batman V Superman (2016)

It’s almost impossible to fail to deliver an incredible event movie when two of the most iconic superheroes are facing off against each other. Unfortunately, Batman v Superman wasted a good premise, as the title fight lasted a total of around five minutes, and it had a rather abrupt ending that left fans scratching their heads

As Batman defeats Superman and is about to murder him in Dawn of Justice, Superman screams out, “Martha!” He’s literally calling for his mother, and as Bruce’s mother is also named Martha, it somehow brings the two of them together. In the end, Batman saves Superman’s mother, and the two superheroes form an impossibly strong bond in the few following scenes they share. Because of it, their friendship feels forced and inauthentic.

Nick Fury Was Never On Earth During Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Nick Fury being revealed as Talos the Skrull at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home was a great twist, and it was a satisfying payoff after Fury had been acting mysteriously slightly off throughout the whole film. However, the worst part of the twist was that Fury wasn’t on Earth at all, but in space where he was pretending to vacation in Hawaii.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent would absolutely care about what’s happening on the planet, especially if it’s being attacked by the demonic Elementals that Mysterion made up, but the real Nick Fury is acting even less like Fury than Talos. The usually militant agent is acting untypically cavalier about the whole thing when it cuts to him in the post-credits scene.

Henri Ducard’s True Identity Is Ra’s Al Ghul In Batman Begins (2005)

Though Bruce Wayne is under the impression that Ra’s al Ghul died in a fire in Batman Begins, it’s revealed in the third act that Bruce’s mentor, Henri Ducard, was really Ra’s all along. The plot twist is obvious, as fans are supposed to believe that a character with absolutely no dialogue and played by a completely unknown actor is the one and only Ra’s al Ghul.

However, the twist also ruined the whole character of Ra’s Al Ghul. He didn’t look remotely like his comic book counterpart, didn’t have any supernatural abilities, and was simply a pretty skilled ninja, and there’s nothing that theatrical or epic about that. While director Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies were more grounded and realistic, that meant that it was impossible to adapt Ra’s al Ghul in an exciting way.

Sandman Killed Uncle Ben In Spider-Man 3 (2007)

There are undoubtedly a lot of problems with Spider-Man 3, the conclusion to director Sam Raimi’s mostly great trilogy about the web-slinger. However, while some fans don’t have a problem with the odd depiction of Eddie Brock or even emo Peter Parker dancing down the street, the reveal that Sandman really killed Uncle Ben not only ruins the Spider-Man 3, but it butchers Spider-Man too.

The fact that Marco Flint was really the one who killed Uncle Ben ruins the whole idea that Peter was partly responsible for his uncle’s death. The man who was originally thought to have killed Ben is the petty criminal that Peter helped escape, and now that guilt Peter had was all for nothing.

Superman Dies In Superman V. Batman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)

Though it was Batman who killed Superman, the Man of Steel still didn’t make it to the end of the movie, as he was killed by Doomsday, which nobody saw coming. However, the reason why nobody saw it coming isn’t that it’s a great plot twist, but because he was killed before the release of the already-announced Justice League movie.

The Justice League isn’t the Justice League without Superman, and it was obvious that he was going to somehow return from the dead. His coming back to life was even hinted at in the post-credits scene, so it made the sacrifice feel completely redundant. But in fairness, many wouldn’t have seen the post-credits scene, as audiences walked out of the screening long beforehand.

Deadpool Had His Mouth Sewn Shut In X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Ryan Reynolds is now best known for his portrayal of Wade Wilson in Deadpool and its 2018 sequel, and Deadpool 3 will be released in 2024. Reynolds and Wade are one of the same, and the actor made the character iconic. However, it was the second attempt, as the character featured in the critically scathed X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

The 2009 movie didn’t need a badly-written plot twist to ruin the film, as that was already achieved by the terrible CGI and underdeveloped narrative, but Deadpool getting his mouth sewn shut helps it cross the finish line. Wilson is called the Merc with the Mouth for reason, and the character was absolutely butchered. However, this terrible twist did help to make the character’s 2016 comeback even better.

John Blake Is Robin In The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

John Blake is never referred to as Robin the superhero in The Dark Knight Rises, and it isn’t as if he wears the red and green costume, but it’s inferred that he’s Batman’s trusted sidekick. And after being by his side for the whole movie, it’s revealed at the end that John Blake’s real name is Robin.

Robin has never actually been called Robin in any of the previous iterations of Batman, whether it’s in comic books, TV series, or movies. The Boy Wonder is usually either Dick Grayson or Tim Drake, but in The Dark Knight Rises, Robin’s real name is actually Robin. It’s one of those reveals that just didn’t need to be said outright, as not only does it not make sense, but it’s implied in the very next scene when John finds the Batcave.

Quicksilver Died Instead Of Hawkeye In Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)

Throughout the whole of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Hawkeye’s death is hinted at, but the movie subverted expectations when Quicksilver took a bullet for him. It isn’t so much that Hawkeye should have died, as he actually had an interesting arc in Avengers: Endgame, but killing off a character that audiences hadn’t even gotten to know meant that there wasn’t exactly any emotional resonance. Not only that, but a Quicksilver-less MCU meant there has always been something missing in the MCU over the past few years.

It seems like the Quicksilver character is unfortunately the source of the worst plot twists in the universe. In WandaVision, fans were overwhelmingly excited when the X-Men universe’s Quicksilver showed up, but they were quickly disappointed when it was simply a setup for a penis joke.

Miranda Tate Is Talia Al Ghul In The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

As great as Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is, the movies tend to fall into the same traps, especially when it comes to unnecessary character reveals. Along with John Blake in the same movie, and even the character’s very own father in Batman Begins, it’s revealed that Miranda Tate isn’t who she says she is but is actually Talia al Ghul, Ra’s al Ghul’s daughter.

First of all, the twist was obvious from a mile away, as even viewers who weren’t clued-up with the comic books or animated series could tell that Miranda was hiding something. But what makes it worse is that it means Bruce Wayne hasn’t learned all that much since Batman Begins, as he literally fell for the same trick that her father pulled on him.

MORE: 15 Twist Endings More Famous Than The Movies Themselves