MCU: 10 Retcons That Bothered Redditors The Most

With the recent release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Phase 4 of the MCU has officially come to an end, with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania kicking off Phase 5 in February 2023. Fans are more than ready to see the franchise continue to thrive even without many of its most prominent faces, like Steve Rogers and Tony Stark.

Yet, while the MCU has been remarkably consistent, there have been a few holes in its many plots. Being 15 years into the franchise, it’s understandable that they’ve had to engage in a few retcons. But some of them have drawn fans’ ire.

The Fake Infinity Gauntlet

Early on in the MCU, fans had a chance to see an Infinity Gauntlet in the heart of Asgard. It led to fervent speculation about how Odin might have claimed it and what Thanos would have to do to get it back. Yet it was retconned, and Reddit user knobby_67 was annoyed by “Odin having the infinity gauntlet which is now fake.”

While many characters contributed to Thanos’ downfall, it would have been fun for them to mirror their attacks on Asgard’s previous assault on Thanos. Seeing that history could have added depth to the world, and it could have given Thor a more apparent role in the final fight. Unfortunately, the retcon made it pointless.

Recasting Bruce Banner

After the release of The Incredible Hulk, fans expected to see Edward Norton appear again as the not-so-jolly green giant. Yet they were instead greeted with a recasting that rubbed many viewers the wrong way, given that Norton did a brilliant job with the part.

While Mark Ruffalo has made some of the best Hulk movies, some casting consistency would have gone a long way. Some fans may argue that a recasting is not a retcon, but Reddit user TigerBoah says, “Bruce Banner looking like Mark Ruffalo his whole life was a bit of a retcon.”

Steve Being Peggy’s Husband

The timeline in Avengers: Endgame was inconsistent at best and wildly incoherent at worst. While it would eventually reunite Steve with his true love, Peggy Carter, the plot was confusing. “Steve was Peggy’s husband all along,” says Reddit user teghlura. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

After all, Endgame made it clear that timelines would branch rather than impact the future. So Steve going back in time would have created a branching timeline, rather than influencing the events of the mainline Marvel universe.

Changing The Rules Of The Quantum Realm

While Scott Lang is a lovable himbo, that doesn’t mean that he’s outright stupid. So when he forgot his time in the Quantum Realm, many fans believed it was an inherent quality of the realm that would play a role in future movies. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

“In Ant-Man, Scott couldn’t remember how he was able to get back,” says Reddit user styrrell14. “But now it appears that everyone can always remember their stay there.” It completely changed the Quantum Realm, taking away one of many aspects that made it a unique space.

The Hulk’s Pulse

In The Incredible Hulk, Bruce Banner wore a heartbeat monitor everywhere he went because he realized that his heart rate affected his transformations. If he could keep his heart rate down, he wouldn’t become the Hulk. It was a brilliant take on his character. Unfortunately, it didn’t last.

“They took away the whole it’s when his pulse elevates he turns into Hulk thing, and just turned it back to when he gets angry,” says Reddit user PeterQueen. It was disappointing to see because the heartbeat monitor added layers to Banner. It could have even added a mounting feeling of horror anytime viewers saw the monitor starting to tick faster.

Black Panther Not Helping War Machine

Wakanda has technology rivaling even alien empires that have spanned across the galaxy, and it’s one of many things that make them unique. Unfortunately, they don’t always choose to use it. “In Civil War, Black Panther chose not to heal War Machine’s spine using Shuri’s technology like he did with Everett Ross,” says Reddit user Jtco235.

Introducing that technology later made T’Challa seem incredibly heartless. Just by viewing his suit, the Avengers already knew that Wakanda was more capable than they liked to portray themselves. By not helping to heal War Machine, despite being his ally, the Black Panther seemed to lack empathy.

The Origins Of Thanos

As the brother of Thanos, Marvel is currently setting up Eros to lead the MCU. Yet the Eternal’s presence raises some questions about the Mad Titan. “Since he’s an Eternal doesn’t that mean he’s got that synthetic thing going on?” asks Reddit user Halflife37.

Given that Thanos was outright killed and did not appear to be synthetic at all, the retcon is incredibly confusing. It could potentially be a means through which the MCU can resurrect Thanos, which could be fun, but it’s still irritating to see it handwaved by a retcon. It should have been planned and set up before the Avengers lopped off his head.

Zemo As A Rich Baron

In the hopes of aligning Zemo with his comics counterpart, the MCU retconned Zemo so that he was actually a rich baron. “My problem with this retcon is that it completely destroys what made his character actually a great villain in Civil War, despite having nothing in common with comic book Zemo: He was just a guy,” says Redditor Shortroundbinks3.

Zemo was engaging because he managed to trick the Avengers. He didn’t need money, prestige, or power to do it. Instead, he was juste a regular man going up against infinitely more powerful people. It was disappointing to see that retconned, and it made him less interesting.

Gamora Not Being Alone

In Guardians of the Galaxy, Gamora is meant to be completely alone. Yet a retcon managed to change that forever. “It says Gamora’s the last of her kind, but Infinity War revealed that half of her planet is alive supposedly,” says Reddit user MetalJrock.

Given the realization that Gamora’s people are alive, it’s not likely that she wouldn’t have returned to them. While she might feel some shame keeping her away, there should at least be a dialogue about that shame. The idea that her people still exist, and she fails to acknowledge it at all is as strange as it is irritating, given that fans already developed an idea of her past. It’s something about Gamora that just doesn’t make sense.

The Number Of The Universe

There is nothing that gets Marvel Comics fans more upset than massive changes in the universe. So, when the MCU changed its designation, fans were furious. “The MCU used to be Earth-19999 in the overall Marvel multiverse, with the comics being Earth-616,” says Reddit user Sodium1111. Now, the MCU is Earth-616 as well.

While it’s a minor change, it throws a wrench in the idea that the MCU is a part of the Marvel Comics multiverse. It also has caused major breakdowns in communication, as fans struggle to determine whether others mean the MCU-616 or the comics-616. It just makes things more difficult and was entirely unnecessary.

MORE: 10 Times The MCU Could’ve Ended Already