Everybody makes mistakes but that fact does not make it any less frustrating when a character in a movie makes a blunder. Sometimes, the person we are supposed to be rooting for does something that makes us more furious than anything the bad guy is responsible for. See what we mean by reliving these moments that made heroes the accidental villains of their own stories.
Superman II (Clark Gives Up His Powers)
In 1980’s Superman II, Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) believes he can only have a normal life with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) by becoming human, which he achieves by entering a device at the fortress of solitude. Soon after, he realizes the error of this decision when General Zod (Terrence Stamp) and his allies take over the White House.
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack Of The Clones (The Jedi Council Hires Anakin To Protect Padme)
In the second Star Wars movie (in chronological order), when Padmé Amidala’s (Natalie Portman) life is threatened, the Jedi Council chooses none other than trainee Anakin Skywalker to be her bodyguard. They should have known better, given his obvious emotional connection to her, which would eventually lead to a forbidden affair and marriage. Silver lining: the birth of Luke and Leia in the next movie.
Inglourious Basterds (Lt. Hicox Flashes The American Three)
One of the most intense moments from one of Quentin Tarantino’s best movies, 2009’s Inglourious Basterds, sees a disguised Lt. Archie Hicox (Michael Fassbender) accidentally reveal to Major Hellstrom (August Diehl) that he is not German by merely holding up the wrong fingers when asking the bar for three drinks. Perhaps this one is really on the British Army for not teaching him that the German Three is made up of the thumb, index, and middle finger but who could have known when that would come in handy?
Avengers: Age Of Ultron (Tony Stark Creates Ultron)
Wanting to create a “suit of armor for the entire world,” Tony “Iron Man” Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) teams with Bruce “Hulk” Banner (Mark Ruffalo) to develop a powerful computer program that could do their work for them. Little did he know that this creation would become the eponymous villain of 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron (voiced by James Spader), providing another cautionary lesson against relying on AI.
Scream (Sydney Runs Upstairs Away From Ghostface)
Minutes after condemning the slasher movie trope of women running upstairs from the killer instead of out the front door, Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) does the same exact thing after Ghostface first attacks her. The star of the Scream movies is still one of our favorite horror final girls but it almost makes you wonder how she manages to survive as long as she would with a blemish like that on her track record.
Prometheus (Meredith Vickers Runs From A Rolling Spacecraft In A Straight Line)
Ridley Scott‘s 2012 Alien prequel, Prometheus, is one of the most divisive sci-fi movies ever made but even its strongest supporters cannot argue against one character’s uproarious miscalculation. Why Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) does not choose to easily run out of the way of the alien spaceship rolling toward her and, instead, keep running straight until it crushes her is a mystery that may remain unsolved.
Guardians Of The Galaxy (Drax Summons Ronan)
In 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, a few drinks make Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) confident enough to fight Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) himself, so he sends the tyrant to his current location. As a result, he gets his butt handed to him and Ronan gets away with The Power Stone.
Shrek Forever After (Shrek Makes A Deal With Rumpelstiltskin)
If there is one downside to Shrek (Mike Myers) finding love with Fiona (Cameron Diaz), she may have made him more willing to let his guard down a bit, potentially leading to his disastrous decision in 2010’s Shrek Forever After. His nostalgia for his swamp-dwelling days clouds the ogre’s judgment when speaking with Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), who convinces him to wish himself into an alternate reality where the trickster rules Far Far Away.
Bee Movie (Barry Sues Humanity)
Writer Jerry Seinfeld’s Bee Movie stars the comedian as an insect named Barry B. Benson, who becomes angry at humans profiting off of their honey and seeks legal action. He succeeds and bees no longer work in favor of the human race but it ends up causing an environmental disaster.
Avengers: Infinity War (Star-Lord Punches Thanos)
By putting Thanos (Josh Brolin) under Mantis’ (Pom Klementieef’s) trance, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Peter Parker (Tom Holland), and the remaining Guardians come super close to removing the Infinity Gauntlet from his hand. However, Peter “Star-Lord” Quill (Chris Pratt) learns that the Titan killed Gamora and punches Thanos in anger, breaking the trance and allowing him to get away. This is one moment from 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War that understandably prevents some fans from calling it one of the best Marvel movies.
The Descent (Juno Chooses An Unmapped Cave To Explore)
We are not sure if we can count Juno (Natalie Mendoza) as a hero of 2005’s The Descent, due to the idiotic stunt she pulls in the otherwise great horror movie. Her friends learn that she chose an unexplored cavern for their spelunking trip only after they get trapped inside with man-eating, nocturnal mutants.
Hancock (Hancock Fights Mary)
It is revealed in Hancock that Will Smith’s eponymous superhuman gets weaker the longer he stays in contact with Mary Embrey (Charlize Theron), who turns out to be part of his kind, too. That does not stop him from engaging in a cataclysmic fight with her near the end of the superhero movie not based on a comic book from 2008.
The Blair Witch Project (Mike Throws The Map In The River)
It is not unusual for horror movie characters to make questionable decisions but when Mike (Michael C. Williams) tosses the map to the Black Hills Forest in The Blair Witch Project is simply unforgivable. He argues in the 1999 found footage thriller that the map was ultimately useless, and he may have been right, but discarding the one chance you may have of reaching safety is never the right move.
Skyfall (Q Connects Silva’s Computer To MI6’s Mainframe)
There is a reason they say you should go through IT before you investigate a suspicious piece of equipment at the office yourself and Q (Ben Whishaw) demonstrates why in 2012’s Skyfall. Perhaps the older version of the tech wizard from previous James Bond movies would have been smarter about hooking up Silva’s (Javier Bardem) laptop to MI6’s main system, which causes the organization to lose control of their tech to the villain.
Army Of Darkness (Ash Speaks The Wrong Incantation)
Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams becomes increasingly dumber in each of the Evil Dead movies, leading up to his absolute worst mistake while trapped in the Middle Ages in 1992’s Army of Darkness. He does not even bother to properly memorize a set of words that will take him back to modern times when he finds the Necronomicon and, in attempting to fake his way through it, ends up unleashing more evil forces.
The Big Lebowski (Walter Destroys A Stranger’s Car)
Suspecting that teenage Larry Sellers used stolen ransom money to purchase a hot Corvette, Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) smashes it repeatedly with a crowbar, only to discover it belongs to Larry’s angry neighbor. It is easily one of the funniest moments from one of the best movies of the 1990s, The Big Lebowski, but also makes us sad for The Dude (Jeff Bridges) that he is best friends with such an impulse-driven dolt.
Jeepers Creepers (Darry Tries To See Into The Creeper’s Pipe)
In Jeepers Creepers, witnessing the Creeper (Jonathan Breck) shoving dead bodies down a large pipe sticking out of the ground, Darry (Justin Long) tries to investigate by looking down the pipe himself but ends up sliding right into the killer’s lair. If only he had listened to his sister, Trish’s (Gina Philips), meta warning: “You know the part in scary movies when somebody does something really stupid, and everybody hates them for it? This is it.”
The Flash (Batman Sacrifices Himself To Destroy Zod’s Ship)
While Michael Keaton’s return as Batman in 2023’s The Flash was awesome, one not-so-stellar moment sees him attempting to save the day by crashing the Batwing into Zod’s ship. Unfortunately, the otherwise valiant effort caused very little damage to the craft and only the Dark Knight fatally succumbed to the crash.
Moana (Maui Steals The Heart Of Te Fiti)
The opening scene of the modern Disney animated movie classic, 2016’s Moana, explains how Maui (Dwayne Johnson) stole and misplaced the heart of Te Fiti, which he insists was for humanity’s benefit. It is not until he meets the title character (voiced by Auliʻi Cravalho) that he realizes that the artifact’s absence caused damage to the Hawaiian Islands and their locals.
Jumanji (Peter Tries To Cheat The Game)
In the original 1995 adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg’s children’s book, Jumanji, Peter (Bradley Pierce) tries to end the wild board game’s reign of terror by dropping the dice at the right number to finish. Unfortunately, the game knows better and punishes him for trying to beat it by reverting the evolutionary process, turning him into a monkey.
Iron Man 3 (Tony Stark Gives The Mandarin His Address)
One of the major issues fans have with Iron Man 3 is Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) rash decision to challenge The Mandarin to a one-on-one duel, going as far as revealing where he lives on a video recorded by a press member. Well, the fearsome terrorist clearly got the message, based on the violent attack on Stark’s home, which forced him to jump ship and get stuck in Tennessee.
Paranormal Activity (Micah Breaks Out A Ouija Board)
If we were to make a list of the worst significant others in horror movie history, there would definitely be a place for Micah (Micah Sloat) from the first Paranormal Activity movie, released in 2009. Exhibit A: after a medium warns against using a Ouija board, as that would make his and Katie’s (Katie Featherston) haunting situation much worse, Micah decides to bring one into the house and makes their haunting situation much worse.
Sleeping Beauty (Flora And Merryweather Fight Over Aurora’s Dress Color)
In 1959’s Sleeping Beauty, Aurora’s fairy guardians want to make a dress just for her but Flora wants it to be pink and Merryweather is dead set on making it blue. Despite being advised not to, they use magic to change the dress’ color over and over, which ends up alerting Maleficient of their location and putting Aurora in danger.
Evil Dead (Eric Reads From The Necronomicon)
Fede Alvarez’s Evil Dead is considered one of the best horror movie remakes of its time but is certainly not without its flaws. In fact, the demonic carnage is caused when Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci), for no reason at all, reads aloud from the Necronomicon, ignoring blatant warnings written into the flesh-bound, blood-inked book to leave it alone.
Deadpool (Wade Leaves His Ammo Bag Behind)
Twice in the 2016’s Deadpool does the Merc with the Mouth (Ryan Reynolds) leave behind a huge duffle bag full of weaponry that certainly would have really come in handy against his foes. Instead, he is forced to rely on “maximum effort”… and his immortality, of course.
Spider-Man: Far From Home (Peter Gives Mysterio E.D.I.T.H.)
In 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, feeling that he has found a trusted friend in Quentin “Mysterio” Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), Peter Parker (Tom Holland) decides to give him full control of E.D.I.T.H. – an augmented reality security, defense, and artificial tactical intelligence system designed by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Unfortunately, that is exactly what the disgruntled former Stark Industries employee wanted him to do, planning to use it to launch an attack on London.
Annabelle Comes Home (Daniela Explores The Warrens’ Artifact Room Alone)
Whether or not you believe in the stories behind the Conjuring Universe movies, we imagine no one wants to be caught dead where Ed and Lorraine Warren keep their collection of haunted heirlooms. However, Daniela (Katie Sarife) braves the forbidden room in hopes of making contact with her late father but ends up unleashing the demon that possesses the eponymous doll in Annabelle Comes Home.
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (Clark Fails To Properly Explain His Situation To Bruce)
In the moments leading to the climactic battle of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) takes way too long to explain to Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) that Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) is holding his mother (Diane Lane) captive and, instead, resorts to doing exactly what the evil billionaire wants him to do and fight the Dark Knight. When he finally gives an explanation, with Batman seconds away from killing him with a Kryptonite spear, he says, “Save Martha,” instead of the more matter-of-fact, “Lex is going to kill my mom.”
The Marvels (Carol Destroys The Supreme Intelligence)
In The Marvels, Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) is forced to work with Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) after their powers become linked but the hero otherwise known as Captain Marvel is reluctant to rope her friends into the battle against Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton). This is because she is personally responsible for their enemy’s vengeful motivation, having created a Civil War among the Kree after destroying their A.I. leader.
Fantastic Four (Reed And Others Test Their Teleportation Device While Inebriated)
The 2015 Fantastic Four adaptation was widely disliked for a multitude of reasons, including the dumb decision that leads to the four main characters gaining their superpowers. After a few too many drinks, the designers of a groundbreaking teleportation device decide to test it out themselves, changing their lives forever.
Thor: Ragnarok (Loki Summons The Bifrost To Escape Hela)
In 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, when he and the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth) are confronted by their sister, Hela (Cate Blanchett), Loki (Tom Hiddleston) tries to make a quick getaway with the Bifrost. It may have seemed like a good idea at the time but Hela ends up chasing after them, ultimately leading her right to Asgard while the half-brothers get stranded on Sakaar.
Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (Austin Keeps The Receipt For His Special Pump)
In the spy movie parody, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, when the titular agent (Mike Myers) is collecting the belongings he left behind before being cryogenically frozen, he claims that a certain special, Swedish-made pump does not belong to him. However, a credit card receipt for the item, a warranty slip with his name on it, and a book about his experiences using the product found with his stuff prove otherwise.