MCU: 20 Phase 1 To Phase 3 Mistakes We All Missed

When Iron Man was released in 2008, fans would have never dreamed about the Marvel Cinematic Universe growing into what it has become. When Nick Fury mentioned “the Avenger initiative” to Tony Stark, it was unheard of for characters from other films to grow into a shared universe. Now, ten years later, the MCU has gone on to gross over $17 billion worldwide across its twenty films. The gargantuan nature of the MCU cannot be overstated as it changed the way people go see movies.

Across the different “phases” of the MCU, fans have been able to witness their favorite heroes come to life. From origin stories of Iron Man and Captain America, to watching The Avengers assemble all the way to “the snap” heard around the world, each phase has given fans something special. With films like Black Panther and Infinity War holding near perfect critical scores, it would be difficult to think that there is something wrong with any of the films. While it is easy to be spellbound by how great the films are, it is easy to spot mistakes if fans look close enough. While some fans consider the biggest mistake to be Thor not aiming for Thanos' head, production errors have existed all the way since Phase One. By reviewing films close enough and not getting caught up in the supernatural elements, various continuity, scientific of logical errors are able to be seen within any of the MCU films – it just takes Hawkeye-like precision. Avengers Assemble, here are 20 Phase 1 To Phase 3 Mistakes We All Missed:

Phase 1: Iron Man - Tony “Reins” Supreme

Robert Downey Jr holds his arms out to his sides as Tony Stark in the first Iron Man movie

As the MCU kicked off, fans were incredibly excited to see what this universe was going to hold. In the opening minutes of seeing how Tony Stark's story would unfold, grammar nerds all came out of their hiding places to point out a glaring error. It is a blink-and-its-gone type of error, but it cannot be unseen.

When introducing Tony Stark's accomplishments, a magazine cover says that he has taken “the reigns” of Stark enterprises. While this is very exciting for Tony, it is not the proper way to say this. Tony would either be “reigning” over the company or taking the “reins.” These words are homonyms, which are words that sound the same but have different meanings. Fans were excited to see Iron Man on the big screen for the first time, but someone should have caught this error in production.

Edward Norton as Bruce Banner The Incredible Hulk

Even though Bruce Banner has not received another standalone MCU film since this one, fans still love the character. The scientist-turned-monster is someone that people can relate to, and one that has continued to grow through the MCU. Despite being based around a scientist's journey to hold in his anger, it does have a glaring scientific error.

In an attempt to hide his work from prying eyes, Banner swallows a USB stick. Following a full day of running and avoiding anger triggers, he eventually regurgitates it whole. Considering that the USB spent the entire day inside his stomach, it would have been mostly deteriorated by stomach acid and rendered unusable. Perhaps it is mistakes like this why Disney decided to do away with the Hulk franchise back in 2008.

Phase 1: Thor - Thor's Mud Stains Disappear

When the MCU introduced fans to Asgard, it opened the doors to worlds other than Earth. In the first live-action version of Thor, the film was incredibly well-received; however, it was not without its own continuity errors.

When Thor is exiled out of Asgard and sent to Earth, he is without his mighty hammer. Upon locating Mjolnir, he cannot lift it out of the mud himself despite spending several minutes to do so. Eventually, covered in mud, Thor is captured by S.H.I.E.L.D., but when taken into custody, the mud stains that should be all over his shirt and jeans are not nearly as vast. It is almost as if he changed clothes in between scenes or something.

Phase 1: Captain America: The First Avenger - Dry After Coming Out Of The Water

It seems that Captain America also experienced the same production issue as Thor as natural elements do not seem to stick to his clothing. While Steve Rogers is certainly a super-soldier, there is no reason that he should be immune to water.

Following Steve's transformation, he is instantly placed into a chase with Hydra agent Heinz Kruger. The chase takes them through streets and eventually to the Brooklyn Pier where Kruger attempts to escape in a submarine. Not to be outdone, Steve dives into the water and pulls Kruger out onto the dock, but once they are out of the water, neither of their clothing is dripping wet, only lightly damp. Considering they were both submerged, they should have been soaked.

Phase 1: Iron Man 2 - Justin Hammer Picks Up M134 Gun Like It's Nothing

When looking at a ranking of MCU villains, Justin Hammer would not be placed very high on this list. In fact, his plot to dethrone Tony Stark as a munitions dealer plays second fiddle in Iron Man 2. However, it seems that the production team accidentally oversold how strong Hammer is.

While showing off his wares to Ivan Vanko, Hammer comes across an M134 Gatling Gun. In an attempt to show how much weaponry he has control over, he picks up the gun so Vanko can see it. However, it seems as though proper research was not done because Hammer should not have been able to easily lift this particular weapon. M134 Gatling Guns weigh close to 100 pounds without ammunition, so someone like Hammer would likely have struggled at least a little to lift it up.

Phase 1: The Avengers - Incorrect German Grammar

Once all of the Avengers had finally assembled, it brought a new chapter to the MCU as superheroes from different films had never come together in a shared universe before. When The Avengers was released in 2012, it was a ground-breaking moment in film. Perhaps this is why any mistake in the film has not been noticed by most fans.

While Loki is searching for Iridium to carry out his plan, it takes him to Stuttgart, Germany. While this is the first time that Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor share the screen together, some fans were not distracted enough by the star power. In the distance, German linguists noticed a sign with incorrect grammar. Instead of a sign saying “Reserviertes Parken” it says “Reservierten Parken,” which is not grammatically correct.

Phase 1: The Avengers - Steve's Hair Doesn't Move While Riding

When all is said and done by the end of the MCU's Phase One, The Avengers are able to disassemble and go about their business. As a result, Nick Fury is confident that they will reassemble when the world needs them so he allows them to leave. However, it appears that some of them should have been watched closer.

While watching Steve Rogers leave S.H.I.E.L.D., he is traveling on a motorcycle. Even though he appears to be traveling at a very high-speed down the road, his picture-perfect hair is not moving in the wind. While Captain America is certainly perfect in most ways, even he must succumb to the laws of physics that would have his hair move in the high winds.

Phase 2: Iron Man 3 - Air Force One Windows Are Actually Bulletproof

As Phase Two begins, fans are thrust back into the world of Tony Stark. Following The Battle of New York, Tony faces new foes with new powers, but despite how great their powers may be, some additional research would have excused a fairly big error.

As Aldrich Killian's plan begins to unfold, he takes hold of the Iron Patriot armor to take down Air Force One, and unlike the Iron Man armor, the Iron Patriot mainly uses bullets as weapons. While the film depicts the suit as being able to take out windows and pieces of Air Force One, this would not be the actual case as it is well-documented that Air Force One is completely protected and is bulletproof.

Phase 2: Thor: The Dark World - Sif's Disappearing Head Wound

This entry of the MCU does not get a lot of praise and is usually cited as one of the weakest films in the series. Due to its criticisms, fans do not pay a lot of attention to this film, which causes them to miss any errors that it shows.

The first fight of the film features Thor, Fandral, Volstagg, and Sif defending Vanaheim in one of the final battles of the Nine Realms War. Thankfully, they are victorious and return to Asgard. However, they are not fully unscathed as Sif is left with a cut on her head. Yet, the wound has magically disappeared by the time the group returns to Asgard. Asgardian soldiers are certainly much stronger than humans, but they do not have the ability to heal themselves at will. It looks more like someone in the makeup department wasn't paying attention to continuity.

Phase 2: Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Bucky's Birth Year Is Wrong

Bucky Barnes Smithsonian Memorial Exhibit The Winter Soldier

During Captain America's second feature film, he is faced with living in a world without his best friend, Bucky Barnes. Due to him being frozen following World War II, he has not had time to properly process Bucky's demise; however, when he goes to visit his WWI memorial, he must have been surprised by the information.

Prior to the world knowing him as “The Winter Soldier,” Bucky is regarded as a war hero for his sacrifices. His memorial plaque reads that he was born in 1916 in Brooklyn and continues to describe his life. Yet, the bottom of the plaque reads that his life spanned between 1917 to 1944. If Barnes was idolized as a war hero, couldn't someone have at least done enough research to get his birth year correct?

Phase 2: Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Cap's Car Is In Park

It seems that Steve Rogers does not have a lot of luck with motorized vehicles while on the silver screen. While the other pieces of his films are excellent, people seem to drop the ball here.

While Rogers and Romanoff are fleeing following a fight with “The Winter Soldier,” they wind up driving together to recruit Sam Wilson. During their conversation in the truck, a brief shot of the dashboard reveals that the vehicle is actually in the “park” position. Movie-magic would have viewers believe that Rogers is actually driving, but with the car in park, it reveals that the actors are being towed by another car for this scene. Suspending disbelief while watching the MCU is easy, but not when errors like this are caught.

Phase 2: Avengers: Age Of Ultron - Quicksilver's Wounds Change Size

At this point in the MCU, none of the main Avengers have passed away during battle. In fact, with the exception of Agent Coulson, none of the “good guys” have lost their lives. However, Age of Ultron changed all that when Pietro Maximoff shields Clint Barton from a bullet. While it was a big loss for the group, fans would have seen a mix-up on screen if they were watching closely.

After a couple camera shots fly over Pietro's body, his wounds change in size and scale over time. While it stands to reason that the stains of his vital fluid may increase, they actually get smaller depending on which angle he is being filmed at. In what should be a very emotional moment, this takes fans out of it once they notice.

Phase 2: Avengers: Age Of Ultron - Cap's Shield Gets Cleaned During The Fight

It is often cited that Captain America is one of the strongest Avengers. Despite not having mechanical abilities like Iron Man or god-like strength like Thor, he is the most capable in hand-to-hand combat out of his group; even to the point that he fights face-to-face with Ultron despite being unmatched. Thankfully, he always has his trusty shield during battle. In fact, this shield is so helpful that it even appears to clean itself between fight scenes.

During their fight in Sokovia, Rogers is determined to take out Ultron on his own on top of a truck, but he gets his shield banged up in the process. However, when The Avengers regroup to fight Ultron together, Cap's shield is surprisingly clean. Steve is obviously a clean-cut kind of person, but even he does not have time to buff out his shield in between punches.

Phase 2: Ant-Man - The Pym Particle Concept Doesn't Make Sense

Ant-Man was a surprise hit for the MCU. As a late addition into The Avengers, fans were not initially sure how to take in the pint-sized hero. However, according to Marvel fans, Paul Rudd's portrayal of Scott Lang has been a very welcome addition. On the other hand, science majors do have a bone to pick with the film's central concept.

The concept of “Pym Particles” is reducing the space between atoms in order to shrink an object, and by increasing it to enlarge them. However, this does not account for the object's weight, so even if something has been shrunken down, it will still be its original weight. This means that Lang would still be his grown-man weight and would not be able to ride ants, and Pym should never have been able to hold an army tank in his pocket. This may take all the fun out of Ant-Man, but scientists had a big problem with this one.

Phase 3: Captain America: Civil War - Tony's Disappearing Ring

One of the ongoing jokes about Tony Stark is that he has yet to solidify his relationship with Pepper Potts, and since she is certainly his better half, this would be a good move on Tony's part. However, it seems that Robert Downey, Jr. forgot this while filming some of his scenes.

During several shots where Stark's hands are visible out of his Iron Man suit, a wedding ring is clearly seen, but in other scenes, he is not wearing one. It seems that RDJ might have forgotten to remove his wedding ring before some takes, and it was never caught by the production team. Downey, Jr. even posted about this mistake himself, making fun of the situation. Not even Iron Man can catch everything!

Phase 3: Captain America: Civil War - Falcon Can't Count

Prior to the Civil War breaking out, The Avengers are still working together as a team, and when working together, they each take their areas of expertise in order to accomplish their mission. Captain America takes care of hand-to-hand combat, Hawkeye is a sharpshooter, and Falcon takes care of aerial attacks; however, it would be helpful if Sam Wilson could keep track of what he is dealing with.

Part of Wilson's job is to update everyone on how many enemies are still out there. While in battle in Nigeria, Wilson takes count of “seven hostiles left” and immediately takes out three on his own, but he then announces that there are “five hostiles left.” It seems that the United States military did not provide all their paratroopers with mathematics courses prior to beginning their service.

Phase 3: Doctor Strange - Medical Protocol Mistakes

As another late addition to the MCU, fans were not sure what to expect with Doctor Strange. Thankfully, Benedict Cumberbatch was a great addition to the group, and his portrayal of Dr. Stephen Strange was very well-received. Perhaps it would have even been well-received by the medical community if Dr. Strange followed some basic hospital protocols.

When Strange is first introduced, he is getting ready to perform brain surgery, but he fails to follow basic sanitary techniques prior to entering surgery. Instead of putting on his face mask and then washing his hands, he does it the opposite way. This leaves his hands open to contamination after touching his mouth area. Since the film is much more focused on the supernatural, most fans did not notice this error, but anyone who has had to work in a hospital before instantly noticed this sanitary faux pas.

Phase 3: Spider-Man: Homecoming - Continuity Error Between Peter's Vlog And Civil War Battle

Following a start-and-stop career with Sony, Spider-Man finally made his first appearance in the MCU in Civil War. When the first trailer dropped and featured Peter Parker interacting with Iron Man and Captain America, fans were ecstatic. Then, when Homecoming was released and it replayed those moments from Peter's perspective, fans got to relive the excitement again, but if they were listening closely, they would have heard some differences between the two movies.

When it turns out that Peter was video-blogging his first Avengers battle, the lines spoken by Tony Stark do not match between both films. Between the moment where Peter grabs Cap's shield, to where he says “hey everyone,” there was originally dialogue about the Spider-Man suit. However, these lines are missing in Homecoming's recording. Peter does tend to talk a lot, but there is no reason his recording shouldn't have picked them up.

Phase 3: Ant-Man & The Wasp - Nothing In The Pym Lab Is Out Of Place After Being Shrunken

Ant-Man and the Wasp Pym Enterprises Building Shrunken With Pigeon

Taking place alongside Infinity War, Ant-Man & The Wasp explains what Scott Lang was up to during Thanos' invasion. While more answers will be provided in the next installments, this was a good update on Ant-Man. This film took fans on a wild ride while introducing new characters and Pym experiments, but there were still plenty of questions that came out of this film's scientific choices.

The idea of having the Pym Laboratory be shrunken down and carried in a suitcase was helpful to drive the film along and having the lab be stolen and retrieved was also what helped drive the movie along in its first act. However, once the heroes retrieved the lab and grew it back, it seemed strange that nothing was out of place. If the entire contents of the lab had just been fought and contested over, wouldn't furniture be knocked down or papers be out of place? It seems that film-makers may have forgotten to take this into account.

Phase 3: Avengers: Infinity War - Peter's Bus Escape Does Not Set Off An Alarm

Peter Parker on a school bus noticing an alien spacecraft in the distance off-screen.

While it still remains to be seen how Peter Parker will continue his academic career, Infinity War catches him on the way to a school field trip. Instead of standing by while Thanos' Children invade Earth, he leaves his class behind to help The Avengers. While incredibly noble, Parker didn't take into account if he would be missed on the trip, or that he would have been caught had the school bus been up to code.

When Peter sneaks off the bus, the emergency exit window should have set off an alarm, but he is undetected instead. Emergency exit alarms are standard issue on any school bus, and the “warning” sticker is even visible in the scene. While it would have made for a short film if he had been told to sit down, bus driver Stan Lee should have been aware of the window opening.

Are there any other mistakes that Earth's Mightiest Heroes have made on screen? Let us know in the comments before Endgame!