2021 has been a big year for the Marvel Cinematic Universe - and here are all the biggest and best twists and reveals over the course of the year. The coronavirus pandemic meant even Marvel Studios sat out 2022, but they hit 2021 in style. There's a sense in which this was the year the MCU evolved into a transmedia multiverse - with WandaVision leading to a spate of popular Disney+ TV shows that officially tie in directly into the movies themselves.
For all that's the case, though, 2021 hasn't really been a year of massive surprises. Several of those Disney+ TV shows depended on villains twists, but in general they were telegraphed well in advance; the Sharon Carter/Power Broker reveal in The Falcon & the Winter Soldier was rather too obvious, for example, while the Kingpin's appearance in Hawkeye was foreshadowed from the first episode. Still, even some more obvious reveals have landed in a truly satisfying manner - most notably a delightful twist in Spider-Man: No Way Home - while there have been some other reveals that took audiences by surprise.
Given that's the case, here are the best reveals of 2021 - the character debuts, the plot twists, and the heel turns that will be most memorable. Phase 4's transmedia approach means some of these will be related to the small screen rather than the big screen, and some of them have been celebrated rather more than others.
The Surprise Introduction Of Blade In Eternals
Eternals' post-credit scene saw Kit Harington's Dane Whitman claim the Ebony Blade, setting him up to be transformed into the MCU's Black Knight. This was hardly unexpected - as soon as Marvel revealed the name of the character he was playing, it was clear they'd be taking him down that route sooner rather than later. But Dane was interrupted before he could pick up the Ebony Blade, by a mysterious voice warning him he may not be ready for it. This was the surprise MCU voice debut of Mahershala Ali as Blade, an unexpected delight for fans who'd been looking forward to seeing how the vampire hunter would enter the MCU. What's more, Marvel has promised this wasn't just a random cameo. "The Ebony Blade, the characteristics of the Ebony Blade are not dissimilar to some degree of vampirism," producer Nate Moore explained, "and we think that's an interesting kind of thing to play with. So we kind of knew that was on the table." It seems the MCU's Blade and Black Knight will be closely linked, making this important setup.
The Eternals Learn Earth's True Fate
The Eternals had believed themselves heroes, champions of humanity who had protected Earth from the threat of the Deviants for millennia. But Eternals revealed they had been misled; in truth they were simply pawns of the Celestials, who used them to ensure life flourished on worlds that contained a Celestial seed in their core. The seed grew over the millennia, until the nascent Celestial living in the heart of the planet drew upon the abundant life energy and emerged through the world's crust, destroying it - and committing an act of genocide. This revelation was a shocking one, and it forced the various members of the Eternals to choose a side - would they save humanity by rebelling against their Celestial creators, or would they continue to serve the Celestials and thus doom the world?
Black Widow's Identity Switch Twist
Black Widow's identity swap was one of the most effective twists in the MCU's latest spy thriller. Natasha Romanoff's mother figure Melina apparently betrayed her surrogate family, giving them over to the Red Room, and the stakes grew as the movie went on. Then, in a superb twist, it turned out both Natasha and Melina were using old SHIELD camouflage masks of the type seen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The Red Room had unwittingly imprisoned Melina, a scientist with the knowledge to get out of their cells, while Natasha Romanoff was confronting the leader of the Red Room itself. It was a tremendously effective twist, one that redefined the third act and set up the film's resolution.
Xialing's Heel Turn In Shang-Chi
Marvel typically use their post-credits scenes to set up future movies, but Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings' post-credits included one of the most effective to date - twisting the entire story round by revealing Shang-Chi's sister Xialing was a villain all along. Shang-Chi believed she had traveled to Hunan province to shut down their father's Ten Rings terrorist organization, but in reality she'd taken them over. This prompted viewers to look back through the film and recognize subtle signposts that pointed to the heel turn throughout, including a Red Skull Easter egg at her Golden Daggers fight club.
Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home
For months there had been rumors Charlie Cox would be reprising the role of Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer who secretly suited up as Daredevil, in Spider-Man: No Way Home. These rumors proved correct, with Murdock hired as Peter Parker's lawyer - and even demonstrating his superhuman abilities in one memorable scene. It was only a brief cameo, but it worked - in large part because of deliberate timing, because Daredevil's nemesis Kingpin had made the jump from Marvel Netflix into the mainstream MCU just days earlier before No Way Home's release, in Hawkeye episode 5. Marvel seemed to deliberately avoid any obvious indications as to whether these are the same characters from Marvel Netflix, or whether they've been rebooted, but details in the Kingpin design suggest the former.
WandaVision's "It Was Agatha All Along"
Most viewers had figured out Kathryn Hahn's Agnes was a villain in WandaVision, and indeed many had even speculated she was secretly sorceress Agatha Harkness, a powerful witch in the comics. But when Marvel finally revealed the truth, they did so in a wonderful montage that played with the style of the entire series - and featured an unforgettable song, "It Was Agatha All Along." This showed how the character had influenced some of the most bizarre moments in WandaVision, and built to a climax in which she delightedly told viewers, "And I killed Sparky too." This was easily one of the MCU's most stylish reveals in 2021, and the song won an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music.
The Introduction Of He Who Remains In Loki
Loki episode 6 finally saw the two Loki variants pull back the curtain and learn the true power behind the Time Variance Authority - He Who Remains, a variant of Kang the Conqueror. He Who Remains was the victor in the first multiverse war, and he had used the TVA to prune diverging timelines to prevent his reign being threatened once again. Sylvie killed He Who Remains, and within moments branched timelines had begun to emerge, recreating the MCU's multiverse - setting up Marvel's What If...?, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and even Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania - in which He Who Remains actor Jonathan Majors will return as another variant of Kang the Conqueror. This is easily one of the most important reveals in the history of the MCU, reshaping the franchise on an unprecedented scale.
Spider-Man: No Way Home's Spider-Men
But first place has to go to Spider-Man: No Way Home's thrilling use of the multiverse - bringing together three versions of Spider-Man, with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprising their roles alongside Tom Holland. Maguire and Garfield's presence in the film was one of the worst-kept secrets in the history of Hollywood, but it was handled perfectly, with the script positioning the three Spider-Men as different visions of the hero - Tom Holland as the rookie, Andrew Garfield as the hero who's paid a fearful price, and Tobey Maguire as the seasoned superhero. Even more remarkable, Spider-Man: No Way Home didn't just use Maguire and Garfield for fan-service, but rather made them essential characters, even giving them their own arcs. It was easily the most satisfying reveal in the MCU in 2021.