Superheroes are great, aren't they? They continually put their lives on the line to save the world from evil and those who want to strip away our freedom. The MCU heroes are no different. They often risk their lives and sometimes even sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the planet.
While this is admirable and brave, the MCU heroes are also familiar with the odd mistake or five. From creating a giant, murdering robot to texting while driving, we have proof that even Earth's Mightiest Heroes get things wrong every now and again.
Iron Man - Creating Ultron
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) may be one of the most intelligent people on the planet, but creating Ultron (James Spader) was super dumb. After seeing a vision in which the Avengers have all been killed, Tony comes to the realization that a villain will eventually arrive that they are not able to stop, which means they need a more powerful alternative.
Ultron is undoubtedly more powerful than any single Avenger, but he doesn't share their compassion for human life. Instead, he seeks to wipe out the human race entirely. Tony's arrogance and inability to accept his mistake frustrates his fellow Avengers, but they eventually reunite to write Tony's wrong.
Captain America - Not Telling Tony The Truth About His Parents
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
Come on, Cap (Chris Evans), you don't keep secrets from your friends. Especially not secrets about the death of your friend's parents, no matter how horrible the truth may be. Though Steve knows that Bucky (Sebastian Stan), being controlled by Hydra, killed Tony's parents, he opts not to tell his friend and fellow Avenger.
When Tony finally learns the truth, however, he's understandably furious. He tells Cap that the two are no longer friends and fights to kill Bucky, though Cap steps in to defend his best friend. This is obviously a horrible thing to have to tell anybody, but if Steve had been honest with Tony, they might have come to an understanding that required far less violence and bloodshed.
Hawkeye - Becoming Ronin
Losing your entire family in the blink of an eye is enough to drive anybody crazy, but Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) lets his grief take him to an incredibly dark place. He abandons his Hawkeye alter-ego and instead becomes Ronin, a samurai-sword-wielding vigilante who kills criminals rather than sending them to jail.
He's only able to recognize his mistake when Natasha tracks him down and gives him hope that they can bring his family and everyone else they lost back. The Ronin suit made another appearance in the Hawkeye Disney+ series, once again forcing Clint to confront his mistake.
Black Widow - Blindly Following Orders
Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) finally put her dark past behind her when SHIELD gave her a second chance to become the hero they knew she could be. Because of this, however, she becomes overly trusting of the things SHIELD and Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) order her to do.
This causes friction between her and Steve Rogers in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a film in which Natasha and Steve discover that SHIELD is actually being run by undercover Hydra agents. Romanoff makes up for her error in judgment by leaking Hydra files online. Not a bad way to make up for a mistake.
Thor - Giving Up
Even Gods have their limits. After losing his Mother (Rene Russo), his Father (Anthony Hopkins), his brother (Tom Hiddleston), his best friend (Idris Elba), and half of all life in the universe, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) gives up on himself. He locks himself away on New Asgard to do nothing but drink beer and play video games. He blames himself for what Thanos did and is unable to see that he did everything in his power to stop it.
Thor eventually accepts it wasn't his fault and fights alongside the Avengers to bring back everybody we lost. Thor is bound to continue his journey of self-discovery in the highly-anticipated Thor: Love And Thunder, which recently released its second trailer.
Spider-Man - Interrupting A Pretty Important Spell
Here's a quick tip for everyone, keep your mouth shut when Doctor Strange is casting a spell. This is especially important if the spell requires everybody in the world to forget that Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is Spider-Man. Peter, however, is unable to stay quiet and, as a result, a group of villains from other universes sneak into their world. This comes at a huge personal price for Peter. Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) dies in his arms after being gravely injured by the Green Goblin (played by the incredible Willem Dafoe).
Of course, if this spell hadnt gone wrong we never would have seen Andrew Garfield or Tobey Maguire return to unite three Spider-Men on screen. Then again, Peter would probably rather Aunt May still be alive.
The Hulk - Running Away
It's a somber moment at the end of Avengers: Age Of Ultron when the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) makes the difficult decision to turn off his Quinjet's transponder and disappear into space. For us fans, it was a long wait before Hulk finally reappeared in the beloved Thor: Ragnarok.
After going toe-to-toe with Thor and cheating his way to a victory, the God Of Thunder soon discovers that the Hulk hasn't transformed into Banner in years. Banner, rather understandably, is horrified to learn this when he finally changes back to his human form, and he and the Hulk begin a difficult and uncooperative relationship from here on out.
Scarlet Witch - Going Full Villain
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
No Avenger has lost more than Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), which is probably why she's made so many mistakes in Phase Four. Firstly, her grief over the loss of her boyfriend Vision (Paul Bettany) caused her to enslave a small town in the first-ever Marvel Disney+ series WandaVision.
Following this, Wanda finally completes her transformation into a villain in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, where she murders a wild amount of people in an effort to be reunited with her children in an alternate universe. Though Wanda wanting to spend time with her children is understandable, the way she goes about it violates everything she once fought for, and it's led fans to wonder whether that will really be her last appearance in the MCU.
Star-Lord - Punching Thanos In The Face Repeatedly
If there's ever a time for cooler heads to prevail, it's when you and a bunch of other heroes have nearly pulled the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos' (Josh Brolin) arm. Unfortunately, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) didn't get the memo. In Star Lord's defense, he had literally just found out that Gamora (Zoe Saldana) had been sacrificed so that her father could obtain the soul stone.
But still, he should have known that the fate of the universe was hanging in the balance and the best way to avenge Gamora's death was to get the Gauntlet and the Infinity Stones away from Thanos. Oh well, hopefully he's learned his lesson when he once again graces the big screen in the upcoming Thor: Love And Thunder.
Doctor Strange - Texting While Driving
Okay, we know Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is responsible for almost breaking the multiverse and a whole host of other crazy shenanigans, but come on, a brilliant surgeon should know better than to text and drive. Steven Strange definitely pays the price for his mistake, though, losing the mobility in his fingers, without which he can no longer operate on people.
Of course, this leads to him becoming the Sorcerer Supreme (briefly) and transforming into the hero that we all know and love. Thankfully, in his new film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we see a much more sensible iteration of the character who finally confronts his hubris.