TheMarvel Cinematic Universehas explored some incredibly dark storylines in the 16 years since it kicked off with the release of 2008’sIron Man. Marvel Studios has become well-known for producing a lighthearted, family-friendly and colorful live-action superhero franchise, which is something that other studios have often struggled to replicate. However, theMCU isn’t all fun and games, as some of the darkest and most heart-wrenching plot lines from Marvel Comics have also been adapted into the live-action MCU.
Audiences have seen the darker corners of the MCU ever sinceRobert Downey Jr.’s Tony Starkcame face to face with the consequences of his weapons manufacturing empire inIron Man, but Marvel’s stories have only become even grittier since then. Over the last 16 years, we’ve seen HYDRA almost commit genocide, theScarlet Witch descend into darkness, Thanos wipe out half the universe’s population and Agatha Harkness murder hundreds of witches in cold blood.These are just a few of the MCU’s darkest storylines, and more are surely on the way as the franchise continues to grow.
10Agatha Harkness Lures Witches To Their Deaths With The Witches’ Road
Agatha All Along (2024)
Marvel Studios' most recent live-action project,Agatha All Along, explained more about the history of Kathryn Hahn’s original Salem witch, following her debut in 2021’sWandaVision.Agatha All Along’sfinale, “Maiden, Mother, Crone,” revealed the truth of the Witches' Road, confirming thatAgatha Harkness and her son, Nicholas Scratch, had innocently written “The Ballad of the Witches' Road,” and then Agatha had used the song to lure witches to their deathsfollowing Nicholas' death. This was a twisted storyline that certainly makes it one of the MCU’s darkest yet.
The fact that Agatha Harkness made up the Witches' Road in the 1700s allowed her to work out that “Teen” was actually Billy Maximoff, a.k.a. the son of the Scarlet Witch, inAgatha All Alongepisode 5.
Shortly after burying her son in 1756, Agatha Harkness was approached by a witch seeking the rewardsthe Witches' Roadhad to offer. She brought together a coven, got them to sing the Ballad and provoked them when the Witches' Road didn’t appear. They fired their magic at Agatha, which she then absorbed along with their lives.Tainting the innocent song she’d written with her deceased son makes Agatha Harkness one of the MCU’s most reprehensible villains, especially since she carried out this same pattern for centuries after, at least until the Witches' Road actually appeared.
9Iron Man’s Parents Are Murdered By Bucky Barnes’ Winter Soldier
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
2016’sCaptain America: Civil Warhas persisted as one of the MCU’s most emotional movies, given the fact that it marked the disbanding of the Avengers and an epic battle betweenTony Stark’s Iron Man and Steve Rogers' Captain America. PerhapsCivil War’smost poignant and darkest moment, however, was whenStark learned the truth about his parents' 1991 deaths: that Bucky Barnes had killed them while operating as HYDRA’s Winter Soldier. After learning that Rogers knew Barnes had killed his parents, the deal was done for Tony Stark.
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Robert Downey Jr.’s acting at this moment was simply beautiful and heart-breaking, as he tried to come to terms with watching his parents be killed on security footage, while also seeking swift vengeance against Bucky Barnes.The battle between Iron Man, Captain America and the Winter Soldier was intense, leading many to believe that at least one would lose their life, while the fight ended with only Barnes losing his arm, and Rogers relinquishing theCaptain America shieldand mantle. Tony Stark learning the truth inCaptain America: Civil Waris a hard MCU moment to forget.
8John Walker Kills Someone With Captain America’s Shield
The Falcon & The Winter Soldier (2021)
Steve Rogers did adopt the Captain America role again inInfinity WarandEndgame, but soon passed these responsibilities on to Sam WIlson. Before Sam, however,Wyatt Russell’s John Walkertook on the role of Captain America, with his ego and corruption driving him to take an experimental super soldier serum, which seemingly led to this epic but harrowing moment in 2021’sThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier. After Karli Morgenthau inadvertently killed his friend, Lamar Hoskins, thesuper soldier John Walker apprehended one of her followers and publicly murdered him using Captain America’s shield.
This symbol of hope, patriotism and unity was very quickly reduced to nothing more than a murder weapon, and the whole world was watching. This led to a huge spar between John Walker, Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, with the former Avengers ultimately acquiring the shield, while allowed Sam to officially become Captain America. Walker’s actions as Captain America will be investigated further inMarvel Studios' upcomingThunderbolts*, as he is currently famous for all the wrong reasons, and he will surely deliver some deadly blows in the MCU’s future, though not with Captain America’s shield.
7HYDRA Plans To Commit Genocide
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Captain America’s MCU stories have included some of the most game-changing and world-spanning events, such asHYDRA’s rise during World War II, the Avengers disbanding and the return of HYDRA in 2014’sCaptain America: The Winter Soldier. HYDRA was revealed to have been growing like a parasite inside SHIELD since the very beginning of the organization, but this only set the backdrop for this incredibly dark MCU plot. While SHIELD thought Project Insight was a peacekeeping strategy,HYDRA planned to use the trio of helicarriers to commit genocide, wiping out millions of threats at once.
Project Insight and STRIKE being outed as HYDRA was teased early on inCaptain America: The Winter Soldier, as their logos use yellow and green colored details, which are HYDRA’s colors in Marvel Comics.
Project Insight ran on an algorithm designed byHYDRA scientist Arnim Zola, who joined SHIELD after being apprehended inCaptain America: The First Avenger, but never lost his loyalty to HYDRA. Zola’s algorithm targeted the likes of Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, President Matthew Ellis and Stephen Strange, among millions of others - anybody who posed a threat to HYDRA’s mission then or in the future.Had Project Insight been successful, the world of the MCU would have been shaken beyond repair, and this came dangerously close to being a reality.
6Black Widow & Yelena Belova Are Raised In The Red Room
Black Widow (2021)
Ever sinceAvengers: Age of Ultrongave us a glimpse of Natasha Romanoff’s training as an assassin in the mysterious Red Room, many had hoped that a soloBlack Widowmovie would have explored Romanoff’s origin story. Unfortunately, onlyBlack Widow’sopening creditsdid this before the majority of the movie caught up with Romanoff in the time betweenCivil WarandInfinity War. Even so, this created one of the MCU’s most impactful and heart-breaking montages, as viewers saw Romanoff and Yelena Belova torn from their family and trafficked to General Dreykov and the Red Room.
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Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff mentioned many times her abuse and torture at the hands of the Red Room while growing up and being trained to be nothing more than a weapon, and this was reiterated byFlorence Pugh’s Yelena Belova inBlack Widow.Undergoing involuntary hysterectomies and being manipulated and chemically mind-controlled is only scratching the surface. There are hopes that a future MCU project will delve deeper into this dark and haunting backstory for both Romanoff and Belova, who is set to return alongside Bucky Barnes and John Walker inThunderbolts*.
5Gamora & Nebula Recount Their Childhood Being Tortured By Thanos
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Gamora and Nebula’s sisterhoodhas been one of the most rewarding things to see develop since the pair’s debut in 2014’sGuardians of the Galaxy, but this hasn’t been without its obstacles. Raised by Thanos, Gamora and Nebula have regularly mentioned the torture they faced at the hands of their father while growing up, and this culminated in Nebula trying to kill her sister in 2017’sGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Eventually, however,Nebula admits that she never wanted to fight, but only ever wanted to have a sister in Gamora, bringing the formidable villains-turned-heroes closer.
Gamora and Nebula were shown to be even closer in 2023’sGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, even though Gamora is a variant from 2014 who has not experienced Nebula’s growth for herself and never traveled with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Director James Gunn referred toGamora and Nebula’s hug at the end ofGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2as one of the most emotional scenes he’d written. This moment was full of connection due to the pair’s shared experience, each suffering under the father’s thumb.Gamora and Nebula’s childhood hasn’t been properly explored in the live-action MCU, but perhaps this is for the best, as it seems to be nothing but torture, pain and torment, contributing to some of the MCU’s darkest and most darkly funny moments in theGuardians of the Galaxyfranchise.
4Marc Spector’s Mother’s Abuse Leads To The Birth Of Steven Grant
Moon Knight (2022)
Oscar Isaac’s Marc Spectoris one of the most exciting yet troubled new heroes in the MCU, asMoon Knightrevealed that Spector is a man dealing with his dissociative identity disorder while also being the avatar for the Egyptian God of the Moon, Khonshu. The origins of Spector’s DID were explored inMoon Knightepisode 5, “Asylum,” which saw alter Steven Grant learn that he was created by Spector to quell the impact of his mother’s abuse following his brother’s accidental death.Wendy Spector blamed Marc for Randall’s demise, which produced some heart-wrenching moments inMoon Knight.
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Marc Spector’s mother blamed him for Randall’s death as he had led his younger brother into caves during a flash flood, which trapped the pair inside and ultimately led to his brother’s demise. Of course, this was not actually Marc’s fault, but his mother’s abuse in the wake of this traumatic event spurred thebirth of Steven Grantto bring some lightness and joy to Spector’s life.It’s common for alters to appear in young children following trauma, and this was beautifully represented in the MCU, despite being one of the franchise’s most tragic and gut-wrenching moments.
3The High Evolutionary Brutally Enhances Rocket & His Friends
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
While previousGuardians of the Galaxymovies packed an emotional punch, 2023’sGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3was the most heart-breaking installment yet. Through flashbacks,audiences were shown Rocket Raccoon’s origin story, including his cybernetic enhancements at the hands of the twisted High Evolutionary, his painful first words and his joyous experiences with hisnewfound friends, Lylla, Teefs and Floor. Rocket’s backstory had been alluded to in previous MCU projects, but actually seeing it unfold in live-action was incredibly powerful and emotional.
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Chukwudi Iwuji’s High Evolutionary proved himself to be one of the MCU’s most twisted, sinister and disgusting supervillains thanks to his actions inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3and throughout the MCU’s unseen history.His enhancement of Rocket and his friends was just the beginning, as he went on to create the Humanimals, but eventually wiped them out in a brutal and haunting act of genocide. TheHigh Evolutionary’s survivalmeans more dark plots can surround him in the MCU’s future, which is both exciting and terrible.
2Scarlet Witch Holds Westview Hostage
WandaVision (2021)
Elizabeth Olsen’sWanda Maximoff has been on a tumultuous journeysince her debut in 2014’sCaptain America: The Winter Soldier. She has gone from minor villain to Avenger, and from grieving mother to outright villain, allowing her to be the subject of some of the MCU’s darkest storylines, particularly in Phase 4. The entire plot of 2021’sWandaVisionsawWanda Maximoff, in her grief over Vision’s demise, inadvertently erect a hexagon-shaped barrier of radiation around Westview, New Jersey, trapping the residents insideand forcing them to play out sitcom-style scenarios across various decades.
The Scarlet Witch used her Chaos Magic to throw Westview into sitcom-style scenarios, casting spells without incantations and changing reality at will, proving that she is perhaps the most powerful magic-user in the MCU.
This act of sheer power and the manipulation of reality was a truly spectacular display of Wanda Maximoff’s power, which eventually led to her officially becoming the Scarlet Witch. However, the residents of Westview surely weren’t as impressed, as they were practically tortured during Wanda’s entire stay in the sleepy New Jersey town.They felt her pain, dreamed her dreams, had no free will or will power of their own and were gaslighted when they eventually confronted the Scarlet Witch with Agatha Harkness' help.Agatha All AlongrevealedWestview is still reeling from the Scarlet Witch’s actionsinWandaVision.
1Thanos Wipes Out Half The Universe’s Population
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
While all of these dark events have had a huge impact on the MCU and its viewers, the darkest moment in the franchise is, of course,Thanos snapping his fingers inAvengers: Infinity War. The 2018 marked the culmination of a decade of stories in the MCU, as most of the franchise’s heroes came together to attempt to thwart Thanos' plan to collect the six Infinity Stones and bring balance to the universe.After several defeats and emotional deaths, the Avengers were ultimately unsuccessful, leading to a few harrowing minutes as we watched some of our favorite characters turn to dust.
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The likes of Bucky Barnes, T’Challa, Peter Parker, Peter Quill and Wanda Maximoff, as well as trillions more, lost their lives inInfinity War.Avengers: Endgamethankfully reversed this five years later, meaning the MCU was thrust into a lengthy period of uncertainty, darkness and depression in the wake of Thanos' attack.Even Thanos' eventual defeat was bittersweet, as both Natasha Romanoff and Tony Stark paid the price. The Mad Titan’s snap will always be remembered as one of the most iconic and darkest moments not just in theMarvel Cinematic Universe, but in cinema history as a whole.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
