10 Comic Book Movie Mysteries Solved Outside the Movies

The comic book movies of the MCUThe DCUAnd further often leave unexplained mysteries, and sometimes answers come out of the movies. Throughout the respective movie timelines of the DCEU, the MCU, and other comic book film franchises, many interconnected stories have played out in their own shared movie universes. The movies often tease future developments or deliberately leave questions unanswered, usually as a means to enrich the overall experience of the shared universe.

However, in many cases, the movies of the MCU, the DCEU and others leave the plot threads hanging for one reason or another, or simply fail to offer answers to burning questions. Thankfully, answers are sometimes offered in the most unexpected places, including in media outside of the movie universe in question. On more than one occasion, tie-in materials, interviews and other methods have been used to clear up unsolved comic book movie mysteries.

10

How Trevor Slattery escaped prison after Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 (2013)

After the events of Iron Man 3Trevor Slattery, the actor who took on the role of the Mandarin, was jailed for his role in Aldrich Killian’s schemes. In the movie timeline of the MCU, Slattery goes from incarceration after Iron Man 3 to be in the mandarin’s clutches in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. For those only following the MCU movies, this raised the question of how exactly Trevor Slattery escaped from prison.

The Marvel one-shot All hail the king But already answered the question. It shows the life of Trevor Slattery in prison before He is interviewed and then abducted by an agent of the MandarinWhoever tears him out. Anyway, the events of All hail the king Slipped by some MCU fans, although it has already offered an explanation as to how Trevor Slattery could appear in Shang-Chi after his arrest.

9

How Joker’s guns got to the cathedral

batman (1989)

Tim Burton Batman is widely regarded as a landmark title in superhero cinema, but that’s not to say it didn’t leave one or two unanswered questions. The film’s climax sees Batman chase Joker to the roof of Gotham Cathedral, only for three of the villain’s henchmen to appear and attack the Dark Knight. As the film did not show or explain why the three guns were there, it was commonly considered a baffling plot hole.

The novelization of the movie actually offered a clear and logical explanation to the mystery, though. The story explains that the thugs told Joker they fled to the cathedral roof during the villain’s fight with Batman in the Batwing, in order to get a better view of the proceedings. The novelization simply and effectively rationalizes the presence of guns in the cathedral by explaining that they simply climbed up there before the Joker or Batman.

8

The official designation of the MCU Earth

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

Even before the MCU officially began exploring the multiverse, the franchise hinted at the existence of other realities and alternate timelines. In the comics, the main Marvel Universe is dubbed Earth-616, and Spider-Man: Far From Home signaled that this would also be the official designation of the MCU’s own universe. however, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Said that the MCU is in fact Earth-19999, referencing the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The confusion over the official designation of the MCU’s main continuity has been cleared up outside of the movies. Marvel’s official MCU timeline book revealed that The main reality of the franchise is, in fact, Earth-616Give a definitive answer to the question of inconsistencies in Marvel movies. This was another example of Marvel solving an issue outside of the movies themselves.

7

What happened to the DCEU’s Robin

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

The DCEU movies featured many iconic DC characters, but one that was conspicuous by its absence was Robin, Batman’s traditional sidekick. The franchise’s use of an older and battle-hardened Batman saw his references to Robin made only sparingly, with only one major indication that he was in the DCEU’s continuity. At one point, Robin’s defeated armor is shown in the Batcave, heavily implying that Batman’s sidekick was murdered by the Joker.

The DCEU never goes so far as to explicitly explain what happened to Robin. It seems clear from his costume that the Joker killed him, but details are not explored in the franchise. Director Zack Snyder later confirmed that Robin’s identity was not Jason ToddAccording to the story of death in the family of the comics, but that the Joker has instead killed Dick Grayson in the DCEU, clear part of the mystery surrounding his death.

6

Why Spider-Man Homecoming said 8 years later

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

As the MCU’s timeline grows increasingly complex, so do the continuities of its individual heroes. Spider-Man’s movie timeline in the MCU was especially confusing, as the original release of his first solo movie, Spider-Man: HomecomingNoted that it was set in 2020, eight years after the events of The Avengers. This created a major mystery about how exactly the MCU timeline would work, especially in Wii Come home Fit in the franchise Avengers Movies.

The official timeline book of the MCU revealed that the “Eight years later“Title card is actually a mistakeand that it should have read “Four years later“. The book firmly established the events of Spider-Man: Homecoming In 2016, erase one of the MCU’s worst timeline issues. As such, the movie mystery was resolved outside of the franchise itself.

5

How Ma-Ma’s death could actually make things worse

Dread (2012)

Although comic book movies outside of the MCU and the DC Universe typically have not achieved the same levels of success as those of major franchises, 2012’s. Dread Earned cult status. The comic book adaptation saw Karl Urban’s Judge Dredd take on Ma-Ma, an urban warlord with an army of violent crooks at her disposal. The movie ends with Ma-Ma’s death, but it is clear that the resulting power vacuum will be something of a problem for the residents of Mega-City One.

Dredd: Underbelly was the comic book sequel to the movie, exploring the fallout of Ma-Ma’s death. The film explored the implied issues that arose as a result of the antagonist’s death, including the economic repercussions of Dredd taking Ma-Ma’s slo-mo drugs out of circulation. Underbelly ties up multiple loose ends left by the 2012 movieGive answers to many questions that remained unanswered after Ma-Ma’s death.

4

Why Tony Stark was recruiting Avengers when he was a rejected candidate

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

2008s The Incredible Hulk Ends with a scene in which Tony Stark approaches General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross about putting a team together. The next entry in the MCU, 2010s Iron Man 2Set shortly before the events of The Incredible Hulk, it reveals that Stark was rejected by the Avengers. This created an obvious plot hole as to why Stark would be recruiting for a team he had rejected.

The Marvel one-shot The consultant Resolved the plot hole by explaining Stark was sent by SHIELD on purpose. The reasoning behind this was that Stark’s personality would dissuade Ross from pushing for Abomination to become an Avenger, which it explains is exactly what happened in the universe. As convoluted as the recon may seem, it fixes an MCU plot hole without dropping excessive exposition into either of the franchise’s movies.

3

How the Kryptonian ship ends up on Earth in Man of Steel

Man of Steel (2013)

The first entry in the DCEU’s short-lived timeline was 2013 Man of SteelWhich introduced Henry Cavill’s Superman in an origin story that pitted him against General Zod. Despite resolving its central conflict, the movie left one or two questions unanswered that were not explored in subsequent DCEU movies. Perhaps the most glaring of these was about the crashed Kryptonian scout ship discovered by Clark Kent and how it came to be on Earth.

The story of exactly how it crashed is chronicled in the Man of Steel Prequel comicAn official tie-in for the movie. It follows Kara Zor-El as she travels to Earth in the scout ship, only for damage to its controls to force a crash landing. The comic ends by showing exactly what the ship figured into Man of Steels story, neatly tying off the movie mystery.

2

Why Wanda and Pietro didn’t die in Hydra’s experiments

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

After the Maximoff twins were briefly introduced in one of the MCU’s post-credits scenes, they made their full debut in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Starting the film as Agents of Hydra and the result of Baron Stroker’s experiments with the Mind Stone, Wanda and Pietro become heroic ahead of the Battle of Sokovia. However, exactly why Pietro and Wanda were able to survive the devastating experiments is not explained, only that they are considered “miracles”.

WandaVision Confirmed that Wanda’s magical powers were latent since birth, but that the mind stone enhanced them. But, before that, The MCU tie-in book The Wakanda Files Explains that the Maximoff twins already possess genetic abilitiesWhich is why the Mind Stone experiments didn’t kill them. Although it was later explained in one of the MCU’s TV shows, the mystery was first resolved through an MCU tie-in book.

1

How Billy Dee Williams’ Harvey Dent became two-faced

batman (1989)

It’s no secret that Tim Burton’s time making Batman movies is short. Burton had more movies planned after The Caped Crusader, meaning he was unable to fulfill some of the unresolved mysteries of his two Batman movies. One of these was how exactly Billy Dee Williams’ Harvey Dent would become two-phase, as he was only briefly shown in the movies before his transformation.

The tie-in sequel comic series, Batman ’89Explore Harvey Dent’s story in detail. After his brief appearance in the 1989 movie, The comics show his transformation into the villain Two-FaceFinally clear the mystery left unresolved after Burton’s exit from the franchise. In doing so, it was yet another example of comic book movie mysteries of the MCUThe DCUAnd beyond resolved outside of the movies themselves.

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