10 MCU Continuity Errors That We Still Can’t Unsee

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Summary

Marvel's continuity blunders highlighted in MCU films span over 15 years, causing timeline discrepancies.
Films like Spider-Man: Homecoming create glaring errors with time jumps and event placements.
The introduction of time travel in the MCU leaves room for major continuity issues within the timeline.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn't always manage to maintain a cohesive continuity, with a handful of particularly bad examples being hard to ignore. Spanning over 15 years of consistent movie releases, the films of the MCU have a staggering number of events to keep track of within the Sacred Timeline. As the series' projects change hands through scores of directors and writers, the order of events and general continuity can sometimes get lost in the shuffle.
Many of Marvel's issues with maintaining continuity come from naming the years in which certain events take place, with the films roughly mirroring the modern day they were released in at first before diverging heavily in the five-year time skip following Avengers: Infinity War. But even before this event, the franchise has often contradicted itself when describing when certain events take place. The release of the official MCU timeline source book has cleared up some of these discrepancies while calling attention to others.
10 Spider-Man: Homecoming's Infamous Eight Years Perhaps the most obvious continuity blunder in the MCU

With a single caption, the Marvel Cinematic Universe managed to produce one of its most confusing continuity errors ever in Spider-Man: Homecoming. After being introduced in Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man made his solo film debut in the franchise, which begins, in film's own words via a title card, eight years after the events of The Avengers. After even a cursory amount of thought, it's easy to realize how this couldn't be the case.
The Avengers took place in-universe in 2012, the year it was released. Yet Spider-Man: Homecoming also irrevocably establishes that it's taking place only a few months after Captain America: Civil War, with Peter Parker still struggling to come back down to Earth after participating in the airport fight in Germany. This would place the film in 2016 rather than 2020 as the title card implies. The MCU have since confirmed this caption to be an overt continuity error, firmly placing the film in 2016 once and for all.
9 Asgard Is Unaware Of The Infinity Gauntlet's Origins Yet still managed to get a hold of a convincing fake

Initially, the early appearance of Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet in the treasury of Asgard seemed to be one of Marvel's biggest and earliest blunders in continuity, with Thanos revealing his control of the mythical weapon in various post-credits scenes later on. In Thor: Ragnarok, this continuity error is explained away, with Hela explaining that the Infinity Gauntlet Odin has is a fake with a throwaway line. However, even the presence of a fake version of the gauntlet raises some puzzling questions.
In Avengers: Infinity War, it's revealed that the Infinity Gauntlet was forged for Thanos by the legendary blacksmith dwarves, with Peter Dinklage's Eitri being the sole survivor of Thanos' commission. Yet this event is implied to have happened relatively recently, and in total secrecy -- After all, it makes no sense for Thanos to reveal his literal hand earlier than necessary. How the Asgardians would even know of the Infinity Gauntlet's existence by the time of its replica's appearance in Odin's armory is a gaping plot hole in the MCU's timeline.
8 The Year Captain America: The First Avenger's Climax Took Place In Bucky's rescue is lost in the 40s

In his debut movie, Captain America is devastated after he fails to save Bucky from the clutches of Hydra, leaving his sidekick and best friend to fall off a train and into the freezing wastes of the Swiss Alps. While Bucky's re-appearance later on as The Winter Soldier confirms the significance of this event, when it actually happened is left up in the air. Both Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain America: The Winter Soldier present conflicting dates as to when Bucky disappeared.
Arnim Zola claims that Bucky was first captured in 1945, placing his transformation into the Winter Soldier at the tail end of World War II. Yet in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers visits a Captain America museum that features a Bucky exhibit, stating his disappearance in combat to have happened in 1944. Marvel Studios: The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline points this out as a legitimate continuity error, one that's hard not to notice.
7 Old Steve Rogers Disregards The Established Time-Travel Rules Hulk's detailed explanation is thrown out the window

The MCU opened up a whole new can of worms with the introduction of time travel. To avoid confusion, Hulk very explicitly establishes the rules of time travel in the MCU, almost speaking directly to the audience to clear things up. According to Hulk's explanation, altering events in the past essentially creates a new timeline, and can't retroactively make changes to the same present one started in.
Not only does Loki break the rules of MCU time travel later on, but Captain America himself nullifies Hulk's explanation within the same film. By appearing in the present-day as an old man, Steve Rogers has effectively altered the present reality of the starting timeline by altering the past, something the Hulk claimed shouldn't be possible. This would be more forgivable if it wasn't for the fact that Bruce Banner was demonstratively correct on how time travel functioned at all other points in the film.
6 When Exactly The Events Of The Incredible Hulk Took Place Edward Norton's Hulk movie has an uncertain place in MCU history

Being the only film to star Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, as well as being the only solo Hulk film, has put The Incredible Hulk in a tenuous spot in MCU canon. As if that weren't bad enough, the series can't seem to agree on when exactly the events of the film takes place. While the Phase 1 convention of movies taking place in the year they released would put the film in 2008, several other sources vie for a different year to place the movie's plot in.
The idea that The Incredible Hulk takes place in 2008 is supported by an email Bruce Banner sends to Dr. Sterns, which visibly lists the date as June 12th, 2008. Yet within the same film, Emil Blonsky receives military orders that are marked with a 2007 date. To top it off, other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies seem to implicate The Incredible Hulk as taking place in 2010, leaving the definitive year of the narrative a mystery.
5 Scarlet Witch And Quicksilver's Changing Birth Year Jimmy Woo can't seem to keep his facts straight

Oftentimes, the ultimate consequences of a continuity error in the MCU aren't very grand. Small dates being off by a year or two doesn't make the biggest impact at the end of the day, and the massively-spanning series can be forgiven for the occasional slip-up. But what makes some continuity errors so noticeable is just how fast Marvel sometimes contradicts itself within the same project, as is the case of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff's birth year in WandaVision.
As Jimmy Woo fills the audience in on the history of the Maximoff twins, he describes them as being born to Iryna and Olek Maximoff in 1989. But in the same breath, seconds later, he hands over a classified S.W.O.R.D. file that instead clearly inscribes their birth year as being 1988. While the mistake doesn't have any grand ramifications for Wanda Maximoff's timeline in the MCU, it's hard to ignore once noticed because of just how quickly a contradiction happens.
4 The Marvels Contradicts When The Term "The Blip" Was Coined Snap or Blip, the MCU can't keep its terminology straight

Custom Image By Debanjana Chowdhury By far the single most impactful event in MCU history has been Thanos' snap, instantly wiping away half all life in the universe. This is second in importance only to Hulk's second snap, which brought back the population of dusted victims after five years, creating what would later be called "The Blip", referring to the blip in existence these people experienced. The Marvels forgets this key detail when exploring the memories of its main trio.
When the group is looking back on their memories, Carol is seen speaking with Maria, who is patiently waiting for Monica to somehow return. Carol gently informs Maria that Monica had been "blipped", referring to her as a victim of Thanos' snap. Yet Spiderman: Far From Home established that the term "blip" didn't come about until after Hulk had brought everyone back, making this verbiage anachronistic in the MCU timeline. Back then, Carol should've referred to Monica's fate as having been "snapped."
3 The Statue Of Liberty Oxidized Again Incredibly Quickly From green to brass and back again

In real life, the Statue of Liberty was gifted to New York City by way of France, who sent the statue over in pieces as a beautiful copper sculpture. After her debut in 1886, the Statue of Liberty took around three decades to oxidize, resulting in the green color it's known for today. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, it's revealed that the New York City of the Marvel Universe is working on restoring the statue to her former glory, rebuilding the monument to once again be a shining brassy sepia tone.
Sadly, this idea is quickly ignored in Ms. Marvel, which presents the Statue of Liberty in episode 6, "No Normal," which doesn't account for Lady Liberty's makeover in Spider-Man: No Way Home. This is one of the few continuity errors egregious enough for the MCU to actually fix in post. Disney+ quietly altered the Ms. Marvel episode, digitally restoring the Statue of Liberty to the brown hue she should be at Ms. Marvel's place in the MCU timeline.
2 Stan Lee's Watcher Talks About Events That Haven't Happened Yet Not only is Lee's Watcher omniscient, but he can see the future, too

One of the most charming aspects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was the constant cameos of famed Marvel Comics writer Stan Lee. Responsible for many of the franchise's most popular heroes, Stan Lee enjoyed a hilarious collection of small appearances throughout the MCU. Unfortunately, one of Stan Lee's best Marvel cameos also presents a major plot hole.
In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, it's revealed that Stan Lee is actually a Watcher in disguise, a race of omniscient beings that simply observe the events of the universe. He directly refers to several other cameos, including his appearance as a FedEx worker in Captain America: Civil War. However, Captain America: Civil War actually takes place two years after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in 2016, making Stan Lee's character apparently able to time travel.
1 Kingpin's Wardrobe Is Inconsistent In Flashbacks Echo doesn't fully line up with Netflix's Daredevil

Making the Netflix Daredevil series was a bold move by the MCU, confirmed in the Disney+ series Echo. Re-introducing Kingpin as a street-level big bad, the series shows his development throughout the Netflix series as being essentially canon, meaning that Charlie Cox's Daredevil in the MCU is also one and the same. That being said, Echo muddies the waters on a key detail regarding Kingpin's wardrobe choices, which are notoriously critical to his character development.
In Daredevil, it's explained that Kingpin exclusively wears black suits adorned with his father's cufflinks due to the lasting trauma inflicted on him by his horrific childhood. In 2017, with the help of Vanessa, Wilson Fisk finally learns to embrace his evil side, abandoning this tradition for a white suit and a new set of cufflinks without the same sentimental value. Yet in a flashback to 2008 in Echo, Kingpin can be seen already wearing the white suit, making Kingpin's development in Daredevil incongruous with his MCU timeline.
Upcoming Marvel Movies Release Date Deadpool & Wolverine July 26, 2024 Captain America: Brave New World February 14, 2025 Thunderbolts* May 2, 2025 The Fantastic Four July 25, 2025 Blade November 7, 2025 Avengers: The Kang Dynasty May 1, 2026 Avengers: Secret Wars May 7, 2027

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