Top 10 MCU Mysteries That Need Answers

The MCU needs to get to the bottom of these. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 10 MCU mysteries that need answers. For this list, we’ll be looking at the unanswered questions, mysteries, and dangling plot threads that the MCU still has not addressed, despite its 10-year history. Because some plot elements of recent MCU films will be discussed, there may be spoilers ahead. #10: Weren’t all of SHIELD’s records made public? In “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” Hydra is revealed to still exist and to have infiltrated and partially control SHIELD. During the film, Black Widow and Nick Fury work to expose the organization to the public by leaking SHIELD’s entire database to the public. Given that SHIELD has been around for over half a century, that’s like Edward Snowden’s leaks, times a million! Yet there’s very little of the fallout from this explored in the MCU, particularly on “Agents of SHIELD.” While the organization crumbles and it has to be rebuilt, we’d have thought there would be more consequences to all those secrets being available to the world. #9: Why did Thanos give Loki a staff with an Infinity Stone in it? In the first “Avengers” film, the galactic tyrant Thanos grants Thor’s brother Loki a powerful staff, as well as an army to conquer Earth; provided he also retrieves the Tesseract, which contains an Infinity Stone. In “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” it’s revealed that Loki’s staff also contains one of the Stones. So if Thanos’ goal is to acquire all the Stones, why would he loan someone like Loki something so valuable, particularly since he lost it so easily? Was it just a case of a bad investment? #8: What happened to Samuel Sterns A.K.A. The Leader? Samuel Sterns is a biologist who meets with Bruce Banner in “The Incredible Hulk” with the goal of helping him control his condition. Sterns is intrigued by the possibilities of the Hulk’s abilities though and helps create the film’s antagonist, Abomination. In the process, he is injured and some of Banner’s blood falls into his head wound; foreshadowing his becoming a villain from the Hulk comics, the Leader. Although Sterns appears in a tie-in comic, like many elements of “The Incredible Hulk,” he disappears from the onscreen stories of the MCU. In the tie-in, he’s captured by SHIELD, but given that organization’s rocky history, is it possible Sterns escaped - or, given that they seem to be doing research on him, could they have been planning something? #7: What actually happened to Red Skull? Johann Schmidt, better known as Red Skull, is arguably Captain America’s archenemy. However, at the end of “Captain America: The First Avenger,” Red Skull appears to be disintegrated by the Tesseract. Ever since this happened, fans have long speculated that the disintegration was actually some kind of teleportation and that Red Skull is still alive out in the cosmos somewhere, or even trapped inside the Tesseract itself. Given the villain’s importance to Cap’s history, it seems odd that he hasn’t made any appearances after his initial one. #6: Where is the REAL Mandarin? Marvel fans were understandably upset with how Iron Man’s greatest foe was handled in “Iron Man 3.” First, he appeared to be a terrorist instead of the quasi-magic user he is in the comics, then the “terrorist” was revealed to be an actor, with a different character acting behind the scenes. The fan backlash was so great that a short film called “All Hail the King” suggested that the real Mandarin may exist in the MCU and be equally upset with how his name has been used. As mysterious as Red Skull’s whereabouts are, at least he appeared onscreen. Iron Man deserves a chance to properly face his own nemesis. #5: Do the Avengers not know Agent Coulson is alive? During the first “Avengers” film, Agent Phil Coulson is killed by Loki. His death serves as one of the motivations to bring the disparate heroes together. Coulson’s resurrection serves as a large mystery at the start of “Agents of SHIELD,” but he has not appeared in any of the MCU films since his death. Given that they’re a shared universe, shouldn’t the Avengers know about Coulson’s return by now? The lack of connectivity of the TV series with the films may be partly to blame, and the MCU may have just missed their window of opportunity. #4: Is Hela the MCU's equivalent of Death? In the comics, one of the things motivating Thanos to acquire the Infinity Stones is to impress and woo the female personification of Death in the Marvel universe. However, the MCU is considerably smaller than that of the comics universe and it has often combined characters and concepts to simplify things for wider audiences. Given that Hela, the villainess of “Thor: Ragnarok” is the Asgardian goddess of death, is it possible that Thanos means to court Hela in the MCU? Only time and the next two “Avengers” movies will tell. #3: Are the Sokovia Accords still a thing? An international agreement meant to provide oversight of super-powered individuals and vigilantes, the Sokovia Accords are a major talking point in “Captain America: Civil War,” with Cap and Iron Man each opposing and supporting the legislation, respectively. However, outside of a few mentions and appearances on “Agents of SHIELD,” the Accords have not been mentioned. For instance, did Spider-Man sign the accords? Does the international community know who Peter Parker is? If not, are his actions in violation of international law - if Tony is pissed, imagine how the U.N. feels! With the last few films taking place away from Earth and the next few taking place in either remote countries or dealing with bigger issues, it’s doubtful they’ll come up anytime soon. #2: Is Cap still Cap? In another mystery having to do with the fallout from “Captain America: Civil War,” the question of Cap’s status is left up in the air. Not Steve Rogers himself, of course, but rather, the title of Captain America. Rogers abandons his mighty shield and is shown dressed in civilian clothes at the end of the film. Would the U.S. government appoint someone new to be Captain America? In the comics, Steve Rogers had another superhero persona in the form of the Nomad. Whatever the case may be, we just hope the MCU stays away from that plunging neckline! #1: Where is Nick Fury? Nick Fury is traditionally known as the director of SHIELD and while he held the position for the first half of the MCU, he gives it up after Hydra is exposed, and goes underground. He resurfaces several times after that, to pass leadership of SHIELD to Phil Coulson and to help out the Avengers with their Ultron problem. However, the iconic character has been incommunicado since then. While we understand that Samuel L. Jackson is a busy actor, the fact that he’s not slated to appear in Infinity War is a disheartening prospect. Here’s hoping he returns to his MCU roots with another cameo.