From the first Iron Man, back in 2008, until last year's Ant-Man, the MCU has presented the fans with ten solo adventures and two major ensemble movies. But, above all else, it has managed to present a coherent shared universe, in which all of the major set pieces from the solo flicks had consequences in the subsequent ones.

Well, at least, this is what was intended. And that is because there are plenty of questions that haven't been answered just yet. And we believe that some of them will not be answered, even well after the Infinity War has ended.

Of course, some of them were presented in the tie-in merchandise, or even in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series. But isn't a movie supposed to stand on its own, without relying on anything other than itself? This is what we believe: we don't have to read some comic book or watch some TV series in order to, for example, find out what happened with the Leader at the end of The Incredible Hulk. Don't you agree?

This list is all about the unanswered questions the MCU still presents. Read on - but there may be some spoilers!

Where are Abomination and the Leader?

Since we mentioned these two, the first point can be this one: what happened to all those characters from the Incredible Hulk? Quite a few times, the MCU has brought back secondary characters from the solo movies in subsequent installments. For example, Peggy Carter still appears in the Captain America series (as well as in some others). Erik Selvig has popped up in both of the Thor movies, as well as in both of the Avengers flicks. Even Coulson got the chance to appear in quite a few solo flicks, until his untimely death in the first Avengers.

We always knew that The Incredible Hulk was like an outsider movie that somehow managed to make its way into the MCU.  But this year the Civil War will show that it is indeed one of the recognized movies of the shared universe - General Ross will be brought back, being one of the men behind the Sokovia Accords.

If he’s back, there are a couple of questions we could ask that the silver screen movies of the MCU haven’t answered, including these: Where is Abomination? Where is the Leader? And where is Betty Ross?

As far as the latter is concerned, knowing her past relationship with Bruce Banner, it is inexplicable how she hasn't appeared again thus far. Pepper Potts did on a number of occasions, and so did Jane Foster and Peggy Carter. Can't the big guy catch a break?!?

Is Coulson dead or not?

This is a silly question, we know, but it should be answered: Why are the Avengers so unaware of the existence of Agent Coulson?

As we’ve said before, Coulson was one of the characters who appeared in more than one movie up until the release of the Avengers, effectively introducing SHIELD to the audiences. He became a fan-favorite - but this didn't stop Joss Whedon, who killed him in a most satisfying way (if we can call it that): His death was the one that united the Avengers, and convinced them to battle Loki, instead of one another.

Apparently, Coulson was a pretty important friend (or something) to all of the heroes (we know for certain that he was closer to Iron Man, because of his friendship with Pepper Potts). So how come none of the Avengers is aware of his existence? How come he isn't mentioned in the big MCU movies, despite his being alive and despite his being so important?

This is one of the questions which will never be addressed in the MCU, simply because his revival had nothing to do with the internal logic of the shared universe. It was just a move to cash in on the Coulson fan base.

Why are so many Infinity Stones linked to Earth?

This might be another silly question - but it is one which should be asked. It is a bit weird, to us at least, to have all of the Infinity Stones linked to Earth, in one way or another.

First, we have the Tesseract, which was found on Earth by Red Skull (after Odin, inexplicably, left it there). Then there is the Aether, which was accidentally discovered by Jane Foster. And there is the Orb, which is handed to the Nova Corps by an Earthling (Star Lord). Lastly, there is the Scepter, whose Infinity Stone is now on Vision's forehead.

The rumor is that the first Doctor Strange flick will bring another of the Infinity Stones.

And this is so weird, to have so many powerful and interconnected artifacts related to a single tiny place in a large shared universe. We guess we like our MCU as anthropomorphic as possible, right? But the thing is that many other space races could have been introduced via the Infinity Stones.

Well, Marvel has just one shot left now, if the Doctor Strange rumor ends up being true.

Why did Odin and Thanos part ways with such powerful artifacts?

This is a mind-bender: Why did Odin leave the Tesseract on Earth, when he actually had the Infinity Gauntlet in his vault? The All-Father must have known what it was and he must have wanted to keep it safe. Just like the Casket of Ancient Winters, he must have known that the Tesseract could bring ultimate destruction if left in the wrong hands.

And yet, he left it on Earth.

There is also another, even bigger question: Why did Thanos hand the scepter to Loki in the first place? He surely knew that it contained one of the Infinity Stones. And if he tries to collect all of them, it just doesn't make sense.

Of course, we don't really know what the Mad Titan's plan is, and maybe that is why it doesn't make sense right at this moment. But even if it will be explained later on that he wanted the Avengers out of his way, it will still sound ridiculous.

Just like it sounds ridiculous for him to send Ronan to collect the Orb, when he could have done it himself (What, is the MCU going to show us that this was also part of a plan, since Thanos didn't want a direct confrontation with the Nova Corps?!?).

Speaking of Infinity Gauntlets"¦

Why are there two Infinity Gauntlets?

It makes sense to have two gauntlets, one for each hand. But it doesn't make any sense in the MCU, especially since there are only enough Infinity Stones to equip one of them. Obviously, one of them is fake - but which one? We guess we'll find that out in the Infinity War"¦

However, the question still remains. One was in Odin's vault, while one is with Thanos. Are we to expect that any of these two powerful characters can be fooled so easily? Are we to expect that either Thanos or Odin doesn't have the necessary resources to find out that he doesn't own the real one?

And this raises yet another question: Isn't this bad writing? Isn't this an easy way of resolving probably the biggest question of the entire MCU? With the Gauntlet and the Infinity Stones, Thanos is basically undefeatable. Having a second (and real) Gauntlet would solve so many problems for the heroes, wouldn't it?

How powerful is Scarlet Witch?

In the comics, Scarlet Witch is one of the most powerful mutants, being responsible for the M-Day event, during which most of the mutant population lose their powers. Furthermore, she has a pretty well-defined set of powers, based on her ability to manipulate probability (the Witch part of her name can be explained by the fact that she can manipulate magical energies).

In the MCU, however, we have no idea what she can do. Her powers are not explained, with Maria Hill saying that she is weird, or that she uses mental telepathy (is there another kind?).

In Age of Ultron, we only see her using some sort of telekinetic powers (when fighting robots, stopping moving trains, and so on), as well as entering the minds of the Avengers. But that is about all - as a matter of fact, we only know that she is the weird one, the unexplained one. Tony Stark is a genius (as are all the others), Captain America is the perfect soldier, thanks to some super-soldier serum, while Thor controls lightning and is, basically, an ancient God (Hulk is a side-effect of extreme gamma radiation, Black Widow is a super spy, Hawkeye is good with a bow and arrow).

Yes, she is also the result of an experiment - but what that experiment did to her, and precisely what her powers are, is anybody's guess.

Rumor: Scarlet Witch will die in Civil War, which means we will never know the full extent of her powers.

Were those visions of a probable future?

Age of Ultron, as said, presented what powers Scarlet Witch possesses. One of them is to enter the minds of other people and show them visions, saddening/terrifying visions. Black Widow lives again the traumatizing moments of her childhood, when she became a spy; Thor realizes that Asgard is in danger; Iron Man sees the Avengers killed; who knows what Hulk saw; and Captain America"¦

Well, Captain America is a bit different, since he sees something that should have happened, if he hadn't ended up frozen.

As said, these are saddening and/or terrifying images. Nonetheless, they can be said to be visions of either the future or the past - and Captain America is yet again an exception, since he didn't actually dance with Peggy Carter. Unless"¦

What if what Steve Rogers saw was a vision of a probable future? If it was, then we can guess that time travel will be introduced into the MCU at some point. Which brings up another question, one which hasn’t been answered just yet: Will the Time Stone be used to resurrect fallen heroes and villains?

Where is the Mandarin?

For better or for worse, we did get to see the Mandarin, Tony Stark's greatest enemy, in the MCU - he was just an actor, hired by the secret villain of Iron Man 3 to instill fear and distract the hero from his real plans.

But, as the All Hail the King one-shot revealed, there is indeed a real Mandarin in the shared universe, one who was pissed off when he heard that his name was used in vain. And, apparently, that Mandarin is the real deal (hopefully).

So, where is he? Marvel spent one whole Phase without even mentioning him. Is he supposed to make his grand appearance after the Infinity War? If so, does this mean that Iron Man will be recast, or that he will be the enemy of another hero?

Furthermore, and even more important, are his powers technologically based, or does he employ the magic of the ten rings? At this point, his fake appearance in Iron Man 3 was a missed opportunity. But, leaving this aside, it is still a wonder why Marvel hasn't mentioned him just yet.

Is the Collector one of the Mad Titan's generals?

In the comics, the Collector is actually one of the Mad Titan's enemies (even if this is too strong a word to use): Using his precognitive abilities, he can see that Thanos is a big threat for the entire universe, so he tries to thwart his plans.

In the MCU, however, we have no idea what his plans are. And, by the looks of it, we won't see him anytime soon (even if he is still in the possession of the Aether). What we know is that he is keen on collecting all of the Infinity Stones - just like Thanos.

Could he be a secret villain of the MCU? It is highly unlikely - the biggest chances are that he is also one of the small wheels in the Mad Titan's grand scheme. But we don't know whether he is willing to aid him or not.

We will see the Collector in the MCU, most likely in Thor: Ragnarok, the other space adventure of the MCU's Phase III. If not, it will definitely happen during the Infinity War.

Is Loki still working for Thanos?

As we saw in the first Avengers, the relationship between Thanos and Loki was based on obedience and fear. And if we are to trust what the Other said, Loki will be punished for his failure. So this is an interesting question: Is Loki still, somehow, a part of the Mad Titan's plans?

We daresay that he isn't, and that Loki had plans of his own in the first place. Sure enough, Thanos gave him the means to conquer Earth - but that doesn't mean the Trickster was going to hold up his end of the bargain. After all, he is the Trickster God. After all, he is not so foolish as to think that Thanos will spare him when he kills the MCU.

Furthermore, Loki has thus far been portrayed as an anti-hero, rather than just a straight-up villain. So we believe that, in the end, he will ally himself with the Avengers and the other heroes in order to defeat the Mad Titan.

This won't end up too well for him, though, since we believe that he will die sacrificing himself for Thor. Again, but this time for real.

Or, at least, this is what we hope. We cannot even dare to believe that he is still working with Thanos, since this sort of plot would be based almost entirely on chance (as knowledgeable as the Mad Titan might be, he'd still have to rely on plenty of events over which he has no power at all).

Just how small is the MCU?

The problem with the Infinity Stones is that they make the MCU seem very small - as said, the ones we already know are in one way or another linked to Earth.

But there is also another problem - thus far, they are the only powerful cosmic artifacts we have seen, and they’re known as having absolute power in this shared universe (save for the Casket of Ancient Winters). And this does make the MCU feel even smaller.

So are there any other powerful objects?

Then there is also the vault of Odin, which holds so many other powerful objects. But, so far, they have been only Easter Eggs. So what if, say, the Eternal Flame comes into play after the Infinity War? What if Surtur arrives and brings about the real Ragnarok, the real ending of the world?

And, since we mentioned the Mandarin in this list, what about his rings?