Thanos' destruction of Xandar is a glaring MCU omission.
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00:00 The Marvel Cinematic Universe is about as expansive as modern movie franchises get.
00:05 And yet, even with such a massive canvas on which to tell basically any kind of story
00:09 they want, Marvel Studios hasn't always found room for everything, for better or worse.
00:15 There are many, many pivotal or amusing MCU moments that ended up taking place largely
00:21 off-screen, leaving fans to basically fill in the blanks in their own imagination.
00:25 So with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with WhatCulture here with 10 Off-Screen MCU Moments
00:30 We All Want To See.
00:33 10.
00:34 The fallout of the blip in Avengers Endgame
00:37 In terms of sheer global impact, the most glaring MCU omission to date is surely the
00:42 five years worth of trauma and chaos that transpired during the blip, before Thanos'
00:47 decimation of the universe was finally undone in Avengers Endgame.
00:51 In the four-plus years since Infinity War was released, we've seen only fleeting snippets
00:56 of life during the blip, despite the absolute goldmine of material it offers for both movies
01:01 and especially more expansive Disney+ shows.
01:04 The psychological impact of the snap on those left behind, both regular civilians and superheroes,
01:09 speaks for itself, not to ignore the volatile power vacuum as various unsnapped villains
01:14 scramble to take advantage of the situation.
01:17 This would be a fascinatingly eerie setting for future MCU stories, and it's frankly
01:21 baffling that we've seen so little of what is undeniably the most pivotal and transformative
01:26 event in the MCU's history to date.
01:28 While there's likely never going to be a time where fans won't want to see more of
01:32 life during the blip, it nevertheless makes sense to strike while the iron's hot and
01:36 tell these stories while Infinity War and Endgame are still fresh in fans' minds.
01:40 9.
01:41 Hulk becomes Sakaar's champion in Thor Ragnarok
01:44 Though Thor Ragnarok lovingly incorporated elements of the beloved Planet Hulk comic
01:50 storyline, many fans decried the fact that it was ultimately adapted in such a piecemeal
01:54 fashion, effectively serving as a relatively minor portion of Ragnarok's story.
01:59 By the time we first see the Hulk on the alien planet Sakaar, he's already a much-Ballyhooed
02:03 champion gladiator, when the journey getting to that point would arguably be much more
02:08 interesting and entertaining.
02:09 Ultimately, it would have been ideal for the MCU to simply adapt the Planet Hulk story
02:13 in a more overt way, showing the Hulk's rise through the ranks as an unmatched combatant
02:18 who wins himself a legion of adoring fans in the process.
02:21 A Planet Hulk movie styled as a parody of classic sports films could have been a lot
02:25 of fun.
02:26 An array of awesome gladiatorial combat, crossed with a giddy satire of the cult of celebrity,
02:31 Hulk enjoys on Sakaar.
02:33 Sadly, it feels like the boat has well and truly sailed on this one, especially with
02:37 Marvel still not pulling the trigger on a solo Hulk film.
02:40 Though it's not entirely out of the question that we might catch a flashback to Sakaar
02:44 in the upcoming She-Hulk series.
02:46 8.
02:47 Peter Number 3 as a bitter, vengeful Spider-Man in Spider-Man No Way Home
02:53 One of Spider-Man No Way Home's greatest triumphs was in doing justice to Andrew Garfield's
02:58 iteration of Peter Parker, who was of course done so dirty by the wildly uneven Amazing
03:03 Spider-Man films.
03:04 By the time we reconvene with him in No Way Home, it's clear that Peter Number 3 isn't
03:09 in a good place.
03:10 He confesses that he's still wracked with guilt over the death of his love Gwen Stacy,
03:15 and in the years since her demise, he's become a bitter shadow of his former self.
03:18 Though Peter Number 3 doesn't go into specifics, he basically implies that he's shifted away
03:23 from being a friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man and instead transformed into a more violent,
03:27 merciless type of superhero, while using his persona to distract himself from the realities
03:32 of his grief.
03:33 While Peter Number 3 thankfully wound up in a far better spot by the end of No Way Home,
03:37 it sure would be fascinating to see a down-and-out, ruthlessly unforgiving Spider-Man vengefully
03:42 prowling the streets in the wake of Gwen's death.
03:44 The fact that Peter Number 3 anguished over his loss for so many years would have surely
03:48 seen him embark on some uniquely dark adventures as Spider-Man, ones quite unlike those undertaken
03:54 by either Tobey Maguire or Tom Holland's variants of the character.
03:58 We'll almost certainly never get to see anything from the period between The Amazing
04:02 Spider-Man 2 and No Way Home, sadly.
04:04 But the storytelling possibilities are nevertheless massive.
04:08 Number 7 - Cap Returns The Soul Stone To Red Skull In Avengers Endgame
04:13 There are many things that fans would love to see because they'd simply be awesome
04:17 as hell.
04:18 And then there are moments so outrageously weird and awkward that the novel curiosity
04:22 factor speaks for itself.
04:24 Case in point, when Captain America returns the Infinity Stones to their original places
04:28 in time at the conclusion of Avengers Endgame.
04:31 As Cap had to visit Vormir to return the Soul Stone, that surely guaranteed he had a surprise
04:36 encounter with the Soul Stone's stonekeeper, his own former nemesis Red Skull.
04:41 One can only imagine the look on both of their faces when they each cast their gaze upon
04:45 the other.
04:46 What would they have said and done?
04:47 Would they have fought?
04:48 While the countless possibilities are perhaps more exciting than the franchise ever actually
04:53 committing to a concrete answer, this potential-filled belated reunion between Cap and Red Skull
04:58 is still consistently one of the MCU's most requested missing scenes.
05:03 Number 6 - Hulk's Nightmare Vision In Avengers Age of Ultron
05:08 Though Scarlet Witch ends up joining the Avengers during Age of Ultron's third act, she and
05:12 her brother Quicksilver are initially presented as antagonists hellbent on revenge against
05:17 Tony Stark and his comrades.
05:19 Scarlet Witch uses her abilities to attack the heroes with horrifying visions, such as
05:24 Stark witnessing an illusion of Earth being successfully invaded by the Chitauri.
05:28 Wanda also subdues Bruce Banner by forcing him to witness a vision, one which causes
05:32 him to uncontrollably Hulk out, requiring Tony Stark to stop him with his new Hulkbuster
05:37 armour.
05:38 Yet unlike with Stark, we never actually see the content of Banner's vision, though the
05:42 implication is clearly that it's something intensely disturbing enough to make him transform
05:46 into the Hulk.
05:47 Given that all of Wanda's other visions were either reminders of a horrific past or premonitions
05:52 of a painful future, it's reasonable to assume that Banner may have been witnessing his worst
05:57 nightmare, losing control of his abilities and causing a mass catastrophe.
06:00 Whatever the content, it's certainly a shame we didn't get to see it, because anything
06:04 traumatic enough to freak out the big green guy sure must be bad.
06:08 Number 5 - The Secret Avengers Fighting Crime In Avengers Infinity War
06:13 Captain America Civil War concludes with Cap breaking his imprisoned allies out of the
06:18 Raft, which of course leads to the events of Avengers Infinity War where Team Cap is
06:22 effectively working as the Secret Avengers.
06:25 Despite their awesome new looks, especially Black Widow's blonde hair and Cap's thick
06:29 beard, the Secret Avengers' time as off-the-grid heroes is disappointingly short-lived, with
06:34 them rejoining the core Avengers line-up in an attempt to stop Thanos.
06:39 Considering that roughly two years pass between Civil War and Infinity War, that's a lot
06:43 of unexplored time for Cap, Black Widow and Falcon to be off around the globe fighting
06:47 crime.
06:48 One can only imagine the more minor comic book villains they could have battled during
06:52 that time, and which could have made for a thrilling movie or limited series in its own
06:57 right.
06:58 This is another corner of MCU lore we probably won't get to see much, if any of, unfortunately,
07:02 especially given the monumental cost of getting Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Anthony
07:07 Mackie back together for even a six-episode Disney+ show.
07:11 Number 4 - Mordo Tries To Kill Strange A Lot In Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
07:17 The first Doctor Strange concluded with the revelation that the villainous Karl Mordo
07:21 was effectively plotting to purge sorcerers on Earth, with the implication being that
07:25 he was coming for Doctor Strange too.
07:28 Mordo reappears in the recent Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, albeit not quite
07:32 how anyone expected.
07:34 The version of Mordo in the film is a sorcerer supreme from the alt-universe Earth-838, while
07:40 the Mordo from Strange Prime's own universe is never actually seen.
07:43 However, Strange does make a comment about the original Mordo having dedicated his life
07:48 to trying to assassinate him ever since we last saw him, with all of these attempts evidently
07:52 being unsuccessful.
07:54 Considering the apparent gravity of Mordo's heel turn in the first film's post-credits
07:59 scene, it is a bit of a cop-out that this still hasn't been properly followed up almost
08:03 six years later.
08:04 A montage showing off Mordo's various botched attempts to kill Strange in a multitude of
08:08 wacky scenarios could have been insanely fun, but with credible rumours suggesting that
08:13 a scrapped scene saw Mordo being executed by Wanda at the start of the sequel, we may
08:18 never see the original Mordo again.
08:20 3.
08:21 Young Loki Turns Into A Snake And Stabs Thor In Thor Ragnarok
08:26 While many of the moments on this list are broader and more conceptual, there's one
08:30 incredibly specific moment mentioned in Thor Ragnarok that just about everybody would love
08:35 to see.
08:36 In the film, Thor hilariously mentions that when he and Loki were just eight years old,
08:40 Loki transformed himself into a snake.
08:42 Thor, being a great lover of snakes, went to pick the reptile up, at which point Loki
08:47 turned back into himself and stabbed his brother, confirming he's been a sneaky trickster from
08:51 a most tender young age.
08:54 Incredibly funny though the story might be, as told by Thor, actually seeing it would
08:58 be something else entirely.
09:00 We can only hope that we might see the scene play out for real in the upcoming Thor Love
09:04 and Thunder, especially as the trailer confirms that the film will feature flashbacks of Thor's
09:09 youth.
09:10 The story is only as good as you tell it, but in the case of Young Loki turning himself
09:13 into a snake and stabbing Thor, we definitely need to see it.
09:17 2.
09:18 Thanos Destroys Xandar For The Power Stone In Avengers Infinity War
09:22 Avengers Infinity War kicked off with a big surprise, revealing that Thanos had actually
09:27 already picked up the Power Stone from Xandar, with it later being confirmed that he sacked
09:32 the planet and annihilated the Nova Corps in the process.
09:35 The Mad Titan then used the stone to intercept and attack the Statesman.
09:39 The ship harbouring the Asgardian refugees as well as Thor, Loki, the Hulk and Heimdall
09:44 and acquire the Space Stone.
09:46 While earlier drafts of Infinity War's scripts did indeed show Thanos destroying Xandar,
09:51 it was ultimately cut to avoid repetitious scenes of Thanos wrecking locations and pinching
09:56 coloured stones, even if it left many fans disappointed regardless.
10:00 More than four years since Infinity War's release, fans still regularly lament the scene's
10:04 absence, while holding out hope that the recently announced MCU Nova project will feature a
10:09 flashback to Thanos' destruction of the planet.
10:12 While the event has arguably now been built up so much that it'll struggle to satisfy
10:16 everyone, it'd still be quite the sight to witness Thanos wreaking havoc on Xandar.
10:21 1.
10:22 Peter and May Argue Over Him Being Spider-Man In Spider-Man Homecoming
10:28 Spider-Man Homecoming ends on an extremely funny and unexpected exclamation point when
10:33 Peter dons his recently returned Spider-Man suit, only to be greeted by an unsuspecting
10:38 Aunt May, who loudly shouts "What the ffff?" as we abruptly cut to the credits.
10:43 Given that sequel Far From Home picks up many years later after the blip, we never get to
10:47 see any sort of confrontation or discussion between Peter and May about this shocking
10:52 superheroic revelation.
10:54 The heavy dramatic lifting all takes place offscreen, with May having fully accepted
10:58 Peter's web-slinging superheroism by this point in time.
11:01 And yet, considering both the awkwardly comedic and character-driven potential of such a scenario,
11:07 it's a shame that we never got to see it.
11:09 Knowing the headstrong, fiercely protective May's foul-mouthed reaction to seeing Peter
11:13 in the Spidey suit, we can only imagine that the two didn't exactly have a calm exchange
11:18 of words before she came around to the idea, or more likely realised she was powerless to
11:22 stop her nephew.
11:23 There isn't an immediately obvious place where this scene could have been slotted in,
11:28 really, beyond appearing as a credit scene in Homecoming or an establishing scene in Infinity
11:32 War, but even then it likely would have felt pretty rushed in either case.
11:37 And that concludes our list.
11:38 If you can think of any we missed, then do let us know in the comments below and while
11:42 you're there don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
11:45 Also head over to Twitter and follow us there, and I can be found across various social medias
11:49 just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
11:51 I've been Ellie with WhatCulture, I hope you have a magical day and I'll see you real
11:55 soon.