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