15 comic book movie decisions that aged poorly 

Year after year, Marvel Comics and DC Comics, come out with their superhero movies that have fantastic visuals, impressive fights, and stellar action. The industry has grown so much, that its movie franchises are now known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and, the DC Universe/DC Extended Universe (DCU/DCEU). But sometimes, the characters in the movie make bad decisions that have long-lasting ramifications. Here are 15 such instances.

Disclaimer: This article contains the writer's opinion. Readers’ discretion is advised.

1. Thor (2011)

Starring Chris Hemsworth and directed by Kenneth Branagh, this superhero movie revolves around Thor, who is banished from his kingdom Asgard and sent to Earth. He must then prove his worth and stop his brother from usurping the throne. But, the reason for banishing Thor was his poorly led decision to fight against Jotunheim. A decision, that leads to Thor’s removal and the rise of Loki as the villain.

2. Suicide Squad (2016)

Starring Jared Leto, this superhero movie is about Amanda Wallers, who heads a government agency and decides to hire imprisoned villains to help the forces in exchange for reduced prison sentences. During the post-credits scene of the movie, it is revealed that Waller could have easily enlisted the help of Batman and other heroes but made the poor decision of enlisting villains, which ultimately backfired.

3. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, and others, this superhero movie is about how overseeing the Avengers causes it to disrupt into two warring factions. All this began when in the Age of Ultron, Tony Stark decided to support the idea of Governments overseeing superheroes. At the time, other Avengers supported him. But, this decision turned out poorly as in Civil War, this Accord becomes the reason for the disbanding of the Avengers.

4. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the MCU movie brings together the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop Thanos from collecting the infinity stones and causing destruction. However, a weak spot during the movie causes problems. The heroes catch Thanos for a while but Star-Lord punches the villain in anger and allows him to get away from the heroes’ clutches. This leads to Thanos collecting the stones and wiping out half the life on Earth.

5. Man of Steel (2013)

Starring Henry Cavill and directed by Zack Snyder, this DCEU movie mapped out the origins of Superman. The movie is a powerful feature but there is a glaring loophole. When Clark Kent aka Superman’s father, Jonathan Kent, is in danger, he stops his son from saving him because it would reveal his superpowers to the world. Superman’s father ultimately dies but this could have been stopped. Superman could have saved his father and not revealed his abilities to the world.

6. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Starring Robert Downey Jr, this whole movie is the result of one horrifyingly bad decision. Tony Stark gets paranoid after the destruction caused by the superheroes’ fights and decides to create a powerful A.I., called Ultron, with Bruce Banner, which would protect humans better than the Avengers. But this decision has far-reaching impacts as the machine turns on them and decides to wipe out humanity instead.

7. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Directed by Zack Snyder, this superhero movie is about Batman being manipulated by Lex Luthor and deciding to kill Superman. Viewers were excited to watch their two favorite superheroes on screen together, but this plot for revenge turned out poorly as it did not add to the story. In the end, the two reconcile and Batman’s vow seems immature. Batman even tries to bring Superman to life when he dies at the hands of Doomsday.

8. Black Panther (2018)

Starring Chadwick Boseman, and directed by Ryan Coogler, this superhero movie revolves around the kingdom of Wakanda where T’Challa becomes the king but has to fight against his cousin, Killmonger, who wants to destroy the kingdom. Killmonger’s hatred begins when T’Challa’s father, T’Chaka, kills his brother N’Jobu for betraying the kingdom. But, T’Chaka leaves behind N’Jobu’s son, Killmonger, to fend for himself. This is a poor decision as Killmonger becomes a villain and comes back for revenge.

9. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Another terrible decision that reflects poor writing in the movie is when Lex Luthor decides to bring himself in between the two superheroes and manipulates Batman into killing Superman. His decision seems half-baked as during the death of Superman, he is scared that Earth is now vulnerable to evil, even though he wanted Superman killed. Luthor also gets imprisoned ultimately, which makes his character and his choices flimsy.

10. Aquaman (2018)

Starring Jason Momoa, this DCEU movie is about Aquaman leading the kingdom of Atlantis and must stop his evil brother, Orm, from destroying Earth. During a pivotal scene, a submarine is attacked by pirates, and Aquaman fights with the father-son duo of David and Jesse Kane but leaves them both to die. This poor decision has negative ramifications as David escapes and comes back as Black Manta to kill Aquaman and take revenge for his father’s death.

11. Batman Begins (2005)

Directed by Christopher Nolan, his trilogy of Batman movies was a smash hit, and during the first installment, audiences see an idealistic Bruce Wayne on his way to becoming the future protector of Gotham. But the superhero makes a blunder when he accidentally sets fire to the League of Shadows headquarters and decides to save his mentor, Ducard. But Ducard turns out to be the man who wants to destroy Gotham. Therefore, Bruce’s decision to save Ducard turned out poorly.

12. The Marvels (2023)

Starring Brie Larson, this superhero movie revolves around Captain Marvel aka Carol Danvers, who has successfully fought against the evil Kree. But, due to the forces of a destabilized universe, her powers get entangled with two other superheroes—Rambeau and Kamala. During Dar-Benn's attack on Tarnax, she makes the poor decision to leave the Skrull colony behind, even though she promised to protect them. This comes across as unheroic.

13. Iron Man 3 (2013)

Directed by Shane Black, this movie takes place after The Avengers and sees a mysterious character, Mandarin, deciding to launch a national terrorism campaign on the US. In the film, Tony Stark makes a poor decision when he gets angry after Mandarin attacks his friend, Hogan, and decides to taunt the terrorist on TV by giving his home address and inviting him for a fight. Mandarin attacks Stark and his home almost killing him, and destroys his technology.

14. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Starring Chris Evans, the superhero movie revolves around the origins of Captain America as he transforms into a superhero and must stop the evil, Red Skull. But a moment occurs in the movie where the US Government decides to use Captain America as a PR stunt and sell war bonds. This decision seems immature and almost laughable as the superhero was made for tackling serious problems and not being used as a PR stunt.

15. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Starring Tom Holland, this MCU movie was the result of a poor decision. When Peter Parker’s identity is revealed by Mysterio in Far From Home, he requests Dr. Strange to use his magic and make people forget him. But during the spell, Parker botches the spell when it is being cast. This causes the multiverse to open and leads to the entry of several different Spider-Man’s. This poor incident therefore causes far-reaching implications.