The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for its familiar, formulaic storytelling. Almost all of its movies and TV shows follow a traditional “hero’s journey” and culminate in a climactic battle sequence in which good triumphs over evil.
But the franchise has still surprised audiences with twists like Liz being the Vulture’s daughter in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thanos’ plan succeeding in Avengers: Infinity War. The most recent stage of the MCU, Phase Four, has brought a bunch of its own shocking twists and turns involving Agatha, the Sacred Timeline, and the Guardians of the Multiverse.
Taskmaster Is General Dreykov’s Daughter (Black Widow)
One of the main conflicts in Black Widow is whether or not “the ends justify the means,” which is explored when the identity of the villainous Taskmaster is finally revealed. In the comics, Taskmaster’s alter ego is Tony Masters, but in the movie, she’s revealed to be Antonia Dreykov, the daughter of General Dreykov.
As a young rogue agent, Natasha recruited Antonia to help her track down her father, then ordered an explosive strike within range of her. Under the guise of the Red Room’s go-to assassin Taskmaster, Antonia was able to seek revenge.
Ralph Bohner (WandaVision)
Marvel trolled fans on a massive scale with WandaVision’s “Ralph Bohner” twist. One of the series’ episodes ended with the jaw-dropping revelation of Evan Peters seemingly reprising his role as Quicksilver from another universe.
This hinted at a multiverse incorporating Fox’s X-Men movies. Then, when Agatha is revealed as the mastermind behind Wanda’s warped reality, Peters is just used for silly wordplay with the goofy name “Ralph Bohner.”
The TVA Is Looking For A Variant Of Loki (Loki)
In the first episode of Loki, the titular God of Mischief reluctantly agrees to help the TVA with its latest investigation and asks Mobius who they’re after. In the final moments of the pilot, Mobius tells him, “The variant we’re hunting is you.”
This is a great mind-bending sci-fi setup that also hilariously plays into the trickster god’s trademark narcissism. The twist introduces a female Loki, paving the way for Classic Loki, Kid Loki, and Alligator Loki to eventually be introduced.
Shang-Chi Murdered His Mother’s Killer (Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings)
Like many MCU movies, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is about family. The titular martial artist grapples with his family’s history of violence, revealed in flashbacks throughout the movie’s nonlinear narrative. Shang-Chi and his sister witnessed their mother’s murder, then Wenwu brought Shang-Chi to identify the gang members that did it and killed them with the Ten Rings in front of his son’s young eyes.
It’s later revealed that, when Shang-Chi’s father sent him to assassinate his mother’s killer, he actually went through with it. It would’ve been easy to make him a straightforward hero who couldn’t go ahead with the killing. Now, he has to live with that guilt.
The Watcher Assembles The Guardians Of The Multiverse (What If...?)
Marvel’s first animated series, What If...?, broke its anthology format in the finale episode, “What If... the Watcher Broke His Oath?” This finale unified the show’s first season by pulling together Avenger variants from each episode to do battle with Infinity Ultron.
Together, Captain Carter, Star-Lord T’Challa, Strange Supreme, Party Thor, Black Panther Killmonger, and a Thanos-killing Gamora variant make up “The Guardians of the Multiverse.”
The Contessa Hires Yelena To Kill Hawkeye (Black Widow)
It seems that the new Black Widow won’t be on as fond terms with Hawkeye as the first one. Whereas Natasha was the best of friends with Clint Barton, Yelena has been sent to kill him.
In the post-Endgame post-credits scene of Black Widow, as Yelena mourns her sister’s death, she’s approached by Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Val and recruited to track down Clint – who she blames for Nat’s death – as her next target.
The U.S. Government Tested The Super Soldier Serum On Black Soldiers (The Falcon And The Winter Soldier)
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier dealt with the same pertinent themes as the Truth: Red, White & Black comics that inspired it, exploring the dark side of Captain America’s origin story.
When Sam Wilson visits Isaiah Bradley, played spectacularly by Carl Lumbly, he learns that the U.S. government tested early versions of the Super Soldier Serum on Black soldiers they considered to be expendable before giving it to Steve Rogers.
Ikaris Is A Villain (Eternals)
Richard Madden was the perfect casting choice to play Ikaris in Eternals, because he’s so charismatic and likable that audiences don’t suspect foul play before the twist reveals that he killed Ajak and he’s planning to betray everybody.
After Brightburn and Invincible, Eternals is the latest superhero story to play with the “evil Superman” trope. In many ways, Ikaris is Marvel’s answer to Homelander: a charming yet sociopathic Übermensch.
It Was Agatha All Along (WandaVision)
Not many plot twists come with a catchy theme song. Kathryn Hahn was initially introduced in WandaVision as Agnes, a classic example of the “nosy neighbor” trope found in countless sitcoms from Seinfeld to Home Improvement.
However, midway through the series, “Agnes” is revealed to be the disguise used by ancient witch Agatha Harkness. This twist reveal is accompanied by an Emmy-winning musical number.
Loki Gets Stranded In The Wrong Timeline (Loki)
The season finale of Loki reveals that the TVA is being controlled by “He Who Remains,” a variant of Kang the Conqueror. In the episode’s shocking final moments, the trickster god is banished from the Citadel at the End of Time.
He thinks he’s just been sent back to where he came from, but it turns out to be much worse than that. Mobius doesn’t recognize him and there’s a statue of “He Who Remains” looming over the TVA, suggesting he’s stranded in a different timeline.