10 Superhero Movie Twists You Can Predict From The Start

Superhero movies aren’t the most subversive pieces of entertainment in the world, and many of them attempt audacious twists that are childishly easy to see coming. The superhero movie formula has evolved a lot over the years, but the genre still fixates on many reliable tropes just like the comic books they’re based on. When superhero movies do attempt to pull over fast ones on the audience, they’re often incredibly easy twists to see coming, even for the most casual moviegoers.

There are a multitude of reasons that superhero movies in particular struggle with pulling off clever plot twists. Even if their writing is up to snuff, the films are still based on pre-existing stories at the end of the day, which means that some viewers will have a good idea where things are going no matter what. Superhero movies also often fall prey to advertising that gives away important twist elements, with Captain America: Brave New World‘s recent Red Hulk reveal being a glaring example.

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Chameleon Will Become A Villain

Kraven The Hunter

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In 2024, the Sony spin-off Spider-Man universe ended with not a bang, but a whimper thanks to Kraven the Hunter, the latest in a long line of duds for the franchise. One of the reasons the film might not have lived up to its full potential was the handling of the character Dmitri, Kraven’s brother, who spends much of the film being the film’s damsel in distress. The final act of the movie caps off with Kraven being rewarded for his efforts with treachery, revealing that Dmitri is taking over their father’s criminal empire as the shapeshifting Chameleon.

Even taken in a vacuum, the story of Kraven the Hunter hints quite heavy-handedly about Dmitri’s eventual ascension to the throne of the Kravinoff criminal empire.

Obviously, Dmitri’s identity as the Chameleon was spoiled by casting announcements, ensuring that even those unaware of the character’s comic history would know the villainy to come. Even taken in a vacuum, the story of Kraven the Hunter hints quite heavy-handedly about Dmitri’s eventual ascension to the throne of the Kravinoff criminal empire. It’s far from the shocking surprise that the film hopes it’ll be when Dmitri reveals his true intentions to his brother.

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Ikaris Is Evil

Eternals

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a little bit more reserved with the idea of twist villains, but that doesn’t mean the franchise hasn’t attempted them from time to time. One of the most glaring examples of the series’ difficult relationship with concealing villainy is Ikaris, who ends up being the primary antagonist of Eternals. Ikaris is sent along with his fellow superpower-wielding immortals to protect humanity from Deviants. Right away, it’s clear that Ikaris struggles to make sense of humanity compared to his comrades who are quick to embrace it.

Eventually, Ikaris and Ajak are told the true purpose behind the Eternals’ mission on Earth, which will end human civilization via the birth of a new Celesital. The moment Ikaris agrees to keep his brethren in the dark about this development, it’s clear that his loyalties ultimately lie with his creators rather than his compatriots. At least his conflicted nature leads to a surprising death via self-immolation in the Sun, hearkening back to his namesake.

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Mysterio Is The Movie’s Main Villain

Spider-Man: Far From Home

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Even if Mysterio is a great villain in Spider-Man: Far From Home, it’s hard to say that his initial facade as a hero fools anyone. While on vacation in Europe, Spider-Man gets caught up in helping the new superhero Mysterio deal with the threat of rampaging Elemental monsters. Before long, the entire conflict is revealed to be a holographic ruse created by Mysterio, actually a disgruntled ex-Stark employee, to goad Peter Parker into giving up control of the valuable E.D.I.T.H. technology.

For anyone remotely familiar with the comics, Mysterio’s presence was sure to be villainous from the very beginning, making it amusing for the film to even try to present him as a twist.

Even for those unaware of Mysterio previously, Quentin Beck’s nicer-than-belief attitude and the glossed-over explanation of the Elementals leaves the film begging for a true antagonist that only Mysterio makes sense to fill. At least Mysterio’s breaking of character that reveals him as the bad guy is one of the best post-Avengers: Endgame villain quotes in the MCU.

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Ego Has Sinister Ulterior Motives

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

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Kurt Russell’s Ego is quietly one of the best villain performances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even if his brief stint as a loving new father figure is easy to sniff out. Introduced as Peter Quill’s long-lost biological father and an alien of immense power, Ego the Living Planet is an ancient Celestial who initially saves the Guardians of the Galaxy from the dangerous Sovereign fleet. After an initial period of hospitality, Ego eventually devastates Quill with the revelation that not only is he planning on conquering the galaxy, but he was the one to kill Peter’s mother via cancer.

The Sovereign and the Ravagers are clearly too bumbling and unintimidating of foes to make for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘s sole villains, and before long, it’s clear that Ego’s cheery surface-level personality betrays a true darkness lurking within. The advertising also made no secret of Ego’s villainy, cluing in even the most obtuse of the MCU’s viewership. Even if Ego’s status as the film’s big bad is nothing surprising, he still makes for one of the franchise’s best villains overall.

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The Kree Empire Is Evil

Captain Marvel

The last of the MCU’s obvious twist villains, the entire Kree Empire being an evil nation relentlessly targeting the sympathetic Skrulls is dishearteningly obvious. At first, Captain Marvel is led to believe that the Kree Star-Force she serves with are the clear good guys, doing battle with the evil shapeshifting Skrulls across the cosmos. When the truth eventually drops that the Kree are far less sympathetic than they’ve made themselves appear to Carol Danvers, it’s far from a shocking surprise.

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Would you have liked it better if Secret Invasion was Captain Marvel movie instead?

I think one of Marvel Studios’ biggest post-Endgame fumbles was making Secret Invasion a series predominantly focused on Nick Fury as the only real big name beyond some appearances from James Rhodes as a Skrull. Secret Invasion has the potential to be as big as Civil War, and I feel like it would have been great to have seen it as the plot of Captain Marvel 2, essentially being like a smaller Avengers movie like Civil War with multiple big stars, while keeping the focus on Carol and Fury as they try to determine who they can trust and who they can’t. The MCU show as it stands contains almost none of the suspense and mystery fans were hoping for.

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Firstly, the Kree are certainly an evil empire in the comics, even if the MCU is kinder with its portrayal of the Skrulls. Secondly, seasoned MCU viewers will already know the Kree to be evil thanks to Ronan the Accuser’s time as the main villain of the first Guardians of the Galaxy, describing him as a zealot that might only be slightly more tyrannical than the average Kree leader. Finally, Jude Law’s performance as Yon-Rogg is distractingly obvious in its villainy, resulting in a sneering and forgettable MCU antagonist whose only appeal is his duplicity.

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Rocket Raccoon’s Friends Weren’t Making It Past The Flashbacks

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

In terms of villains, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has perhaps the opposite of a twist antagonist, instead featuring a man accurately described as vile and horrendous as the scenery-chewing bad guy. Another MCU convention broken by the film is the heavy use of flashbacks, which chronicle Rocket Raccoon’s origin as an afterthought experiment made by the High Evolutionary. From the moment they show up on screen, it’s clear that Rocket’s adorable cybernetic critter friends aren’t making it to see the end credits.

For one, the fact that neither Lylla, Floor, or Teefs have been seen or mentioned once in the entire Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy should be a dead giveaway. More importantly, the trio are simply too syrupy sweet to be kept alive, with obvious targets on their back as devastating emotional baggage for Rocket to carry, implied as much when the raccoon tells Drax in the first film that he isn’t the only one who has lost people. However, knowing their deaths are coming doesn’t make it any less sad when it finally happense.

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The Joker Killed Batman’s Parents

Batman (1989)

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Marvel is far from the only comic book company whose movie adaptations have made some audacious attempts at clever twists. Tim Burton’s original Batman follows the Caped Crusader’s origin story mostly to a T, showing how Bruce Wayne became Batman after witnessing his mother and father’s callous murder, swearing to eliminate violent crime by any means short of taking a life himself. That being said, Burton’s Batman departs from the comics in one major way – The actual identity of Thomas and Martha Wayne’s killer.

Batman instead supposes that the man who would eventually become the psychotic Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker, is the one to blame for the crime, giving Batman a much more personal connection to him.

In the comics and most adaptations of the story, it’s made clear that a random thug named Joe Chill is to blame for the Waynes’ demise. Batman instead supposes that the man who would eventually become the psychotic Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker, is the one to blame for the crime, giving Batman a much more personal connection to him. In the context of the film, this twist is glaringly hinted at multiple times, though that doesn’t stop it from still being one of the best Batman movies.

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The Other Spider-Men Joining Tom Holland

Spider-Man: No Way Home]

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Fully swinging feet-first into the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s multiverse era, Spider-Man: No Way Home made the clever decision to bring back classic villains from the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield universes. While familiar antagonists like Doc Ock, the Green Goblin, the Lizard, Electro, and Sandman were all shown off in the trailers, the actual previous two live-action Spider-Men themselves were nowhere to be seen. That doesn’t mean that it was a shock when they do eventually show up mid-way through the film’s second act.

Even if they were digitally scrubbed from the trailers and Andrew Garfield was willing to straight-up lie about his participation in the film when directly asked, it was clear that Tom Holland’s predecessors simply had to show up. One infamous trailer also missed a spot, showing the Lizard being punched by an invisible force in the final edit, cluing in fans to the reveal. The mere concept of bringing back the original two universe’s villains without also paying homage to their own wall-crawlers would be nothing short of sacrilegious.

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Diana Is The God Killer

Wonder Woman

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The movies of the DCEU were also not without their indulgences in obvious twists, particularly the first Wonder Woman film. Set during the throes of World War I, the film posits Diana as a superhero for the first time as she seeks out the meddling influence of Ares, the Greek God of War, who is spurring on the conflict. At multiple points throughout the film, reference is made to a “God Killer” weapon, the only thing capable of defeating Ares once and for all.

It’s discovered that Diana herself is the sought-after God Killer, allowing her to soundly defeat Ares with divine powers. This was a development that came to the surprise of no one, considering how leaders like Hippolyta gaze at Diana when discussing the supposed weapon. When the sword Diana thinks is the God Killer is destroyed, there’s also far too little runtime left for any other explanation to be the case.

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Evelyn Deavor Is Screenslaver

The Incredibles 2

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Few sequels are as dramatic as step down in quality as The Incredibles 2, thanks in part to the film’s weak twist villain. Pixar has a long history of twist villains, but they’re rarely a positive influence on the story, as is the case for The Incredible 2‘s Screenslaver. Screenslaver is introduced as a mysterious masked criminal with a modified voice who uses hypnotic technology to ruin the name of superheroes just as they’re beginning to make their big comeback.

Obviously, the previously-introduced benefactor scion of the Incredibles, Evelyn Deavor, is the Screenslaver all along. Evelyn’s vocal criticism and cynical attitude make her far too obvious of a candidate for Screenslaver’s identity, which doesn’t have any other conceivable options. That’s not even mentioning the fact that her name literally sounds like “Evil endeavor”, marking her as perhaps the most obvious twist in a superhero movie ever created.

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