Marvel movies over the years have fallen into a formula, but that has not stopped the brand from releasing some incredibly strange and weird stories. Upcoming Marvel movies seem to be continuing that formula, with Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps expected to revert to type for the MCU. If any of these 2025 Marvel movies will implement weirder plot elements, it will likely be The Fantastic Four, but even then the film will tie to the sometimes more grounded MCU.

Over the decades, weirdness has not been something Marvel has been afraid to implement. Some of the best-ranked MCU movies include strange plot points, as do many of the films that were part of the Fox X-Men timeline. However, some films stand out more than others in regards to the strange plot points they implement, with some even stretching back to the first film Marvel created with a cinematic release in mind. From the strange elements of the Sony Spider-Man Universe to the weirder MCU installments and some older Marvel films, the brand has included some strange stories.

10

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine Is Weird In The Best Way

The Most Recent Marvel Movie Embraces Its Sillier Elements

In 2024, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine took the two Fox X-Men characters and blended them with the world of the MCU. Although this was exciting, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine‘s ending left them in their original universe after a weird and wonderful adventure led them across the universe. In many ways, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine can be categorized as a weird film, but it embraces these elements and works all the better for it, allowing the story to be purely fun but no less strange.

After all, the film opens with ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool dancing to NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” while killing TVA guards with Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton from Logan. This summed up how weird the film was willing to be, as evidenced later by the inclusion of Dogpool and Headpool as part of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool Corps, the goofy humor of certain characters, and the overall strangeness of the multiverse. As alluded to, though, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine worked specifically because of these weirder moments.

9

Thor: Ragnarok Made Thor’s MCU Brand Weird

The Third Thor Movie Took A Big, Weird Swing

The most criticized movies of the MCU’s Phases 1 and 2 were Thor and Thor: The Dark World due to their tendency to be overly self-serious. With Thor: Ragnarok, the franchise took a notable turn towards a more comedic approach, complete with the weird, strange humor of director Taika Waiтιтi. Thankfully – as with ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine – the move toward weirdness worked and Thor: Ragnarok became known as the best of the Thor movies.

The easiest way to sum up Thor: Ragnarok‘s weirdness is how it completely altered Thor’s MCU brand. From then on, the character became a split between a highly comedic character and a serious one, which even led to equally strange storylines like Fat Thor in Avengers: Endgame. The performance of Chris Hemsworth in Thor: Ragnarok typifies this, as does the wonderfully bizarre Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster.

8

Doctor Strange Was Intentionally Weird

It’s In The Name

Perhaps one of only two Marvel movies on this list that was intentionally weird was Doctor Strange​​​​​. The film served as the introduction to wizardry and the mystic arts in the MCU, meaning the film was always going to contain stranger aspects than political thrillers like Captain America: The Winter Soldier or the more grounded Iron Man. Throughout the film, the weirdness of the mystical world of the MCU was capitalized on.

The best sequence to sum this up would be Stephen Strange’s first journey through the astral plane. This comes when he first meets the Ancient One, sending Strange down a kaleidoscope of trippy, weird visualizations that had never been seen before in the MCU. This combines with the villain being a powerful cosmic enтιтy and the strange way of ending a Marvel film with the “I’ve come to bargain” moment to make Doctor Strange live up to the тιтular character’s name.

7

Venom: Let There Be Carnage Included A Weird Romcom Storyline

Eddie & Venom’s Story Takes A Turn

On the whole, Venom: Let There Be Carnage has some strange moments. Above all else, though, is the romcom storyline chosen for Eddie and Venom. The film shows them bickering a lot before having a “break up,” leading Venom to leave Eddie’s body and bond with other people for a while. This leads to Venom going to a nightclub and dancing with glowsticks, marking a weird and strange departure from the dark story involving Cletus Cᴀssidy/Carnage.

This is undoubtedly the weirdest part of the film, on top of all the other elements. Woody Harrelson’s performance as Cᴀssidy is unhinged in the best way, making him a shining light in the movie. Naomie Harris’ character is equally weird, making the overall tone of the film one that is admittedly conflicting. In both its darkest and lightest moments, Venom: Let There Be Carnage can certainly be classed among Marvel’s strangest movies.

6

Spider-Man 3 Had Several Strange Plot Choices

Bully Maguire Will Forever Be Famous

From oneVenom movie to another, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 makes some weird plot choices. On a more surface level, the film is overstuffed with contrasting storylines, from the exaggeratedly hilarious moments involving Eddie Brock and Venom to the serious, emotionally resonant story of the Sandman. All that said, it is Spider-Man 3′s most infamous moments that prove it to be the weirdest of Raimi’s original Web-Slinger trilogy.

The sequence in question is the so-called “Bully Maguire” subplot. Despite many agreeing that these moments are hilarious, no one can deny their weirdness. In the film, Peter Parker’s connection to the symbiote makes him more confident, with Spider-Man 3 highlighting him strutting down the street, flirting with women, dancing in a suit, and uttering iconic lines like “I’m gonna put some dirt in your eye.” Each scene is hilarious, over-the-top, and downright strange in a way that makes Spider-Man 3 impossible to truly hate as a weirdly compelling film.

5

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania Embraced Its Weirder Elements

Ant-Man 3 Delved Into Another Universe

Alongside Doctor Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania can be described as intentionally weird. As the subтιтle suggests, the film delved into the weird and strange world of the Quantum Realm. Like Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Ant-Man 3 is strange in both its more lighthearted and darker moments.

The lighter moments include Ant-Man’s alliance with the people of the Quantum Realm, with each one sporting a bizarre new design. One of the more memorable set pieces in the film was Scott working with duplications of himself to gain access to a power core, which itself is a weird action sequence. Then there is MODOK, whose uncanny valley CGI effects can certainly be described as strange. Other moments, like an army of super-intelligent ants defeating Kang the Conqueror, show just how much Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania embraced the, well, mania.

4

Madame Web Is A Bizarre Spider-Man Movie Without Spider-Man

Madame Web Was Weird For A Web Of Reasons

The second Sony Spider-Man Universe movie on this list is Madame Web. Madame Web is an interesting case study, as its execution is just as weird as its story. The film itself is poorly made, resulting in baffling editing choices, flat dialogue, and painfully obvious ADR voice lines from its villain. For these elements alone, Madame Web feels weird to watch.

Beyond that, however, the film simply has strange in-universe implications. Madame Web takes the concept of Spider-Man quite literally, revealing a group of spider-like people who live in the Amazon Rainforest. This subplot gives Madame Web perhaps the single-most bizarre take on the Spider-Man mythos, which combines with the other aforementioned elements to make it a truly weird film.

3

The Trial Of The Incredible Hulk Is As Weird As The Name Suggests

The Trial Of The Incredibly Hulk Doesn’t Even Have A Trial

Stemming from the 1970s series The Incredible Hulk, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk was a feature-length spin-off that is as weird as its name makes it seem. The film places the renamed David Banner on trial for his secret idenтιтy as the Hulk, weirdly teaming him up with Matt Murdock/Daredevil throughout the film. To make things more strange, the тιтular trial does not take place in the movie.

The only scene involving a trial takes place in a strange dream sequence, in which the Hulk smashes up a courtroom. Beyond that, the film focuses on Banner’s attempts to foil a kidnapping plot conducted by Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. Overall, the film is unfocused and makes for a weird addition to the Incredible Hulk canon of the 1970s and 1980s.

2

Marvel’s First Spider-Man Movie Was Incredibly Strange

Spider-Man Has Only Gotten Better

Spider-Man is a staple character of Marvel cinema in the modern age, but his adaptations have not always been so normal. In 1977, Marvel attempted its first feature-length adaptation of Spider-Man, marking a weird cinematic debut for the Web-Slinger. Not only did the suit look weird, but the film’s insistence on making Spider-Man fight a new villain was an endlessly bizarre choice.

In the film, Spider-Man fights a guru. This Guru is able to take over the minds of New York’s citizens, with his master plan being the extortion of $50,000,000 from the city. If he does not receive his money, the Guru threatens to mind-control the kidnapped citizens into committing suicide. As is evident by Spidey’s more recent adaptations, they have – ironically – become more normal as they embraced the otherworldly aspects of the source material.

1

Howard The Duck Was Marvel’s First (& Weirdest) Film

Marvel’s Cinematic Debut Was A Strange Choice

The first film ever crafted by Marvel for a cinematic release was 1986’s Howard the Duck. Howard the Duck is somewhat of an iconic Marvel character who, within the context of the comic books, is fairly normal, all things considered. However, when placed in a realistic setting, the character just becomes strange.

1986’s movie proved this, with the martial arts-knowing duck emulating how strange the concept was. The visualizations of a duck smoking a cigar, fighting off criminals, or flirting with a human girl never quite turn into anything other than weird, even decades later. As pointed out, weird films are no stranger to the Marvel brand, but Howard the Duck may take the crown as the most baffling.