Without the fans, Star Wars, Harry Potter and the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be but a distant memory. They keep the fires burning when fickle mainstream audiences are flocking elsewhere.

And then there are the superfans.

The fans who can name everyone who ever played a Stormtrooper. The ones who have made their own wands out of an elder branch. This breed of fan likes nothing better than to pick apart that which they claim to love and deride it mercilessly.

Here are some of the best moments when superfans got super-upset...

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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Ignoring the Rey issue for a moment (which, if you remember, is what all the toy people did too), Star Wars fans got a bit chippy at the return of the saga for its seventh instalment.

Their basic issue was that it was an unimaginative retread of the original 1977 classic: Jakku very similar to Tatooine; everybody's related somehow; and Starkiller Base was basically the Death Star Mark III.

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Back to Rey. Let's not forget those fanboys (and we mean "boys") who got upset at a female lead. Not to mention all the racists who freaked out at a black Stormtrooper.

Lastly, our favourite complaint: there were no Y-Wings. Apparently they're perfect for bombing raids such as the one on Starkiller Base. Sheesh.

2. Spectre

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Blofeld, a character much admired by James Bond fans throughout the franchise, made his Daniel Craig 007 debut in 2015's Spectre, as played by Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz.

A man once intent on the simple matter of world domination and feeding people to his piranhas was given a familial connection to Bond. Turns out, Ernst Stavro Blofeld is his foster brother. We're guessing the writers hadn't seen Austin Powers in Goldmember?

Waltz revealed just last month that, unlike James Bond, he won't be returning.

3. Pride and Prejudice (2005)

'Janeites' and obsessive fans of the 1995 BBC television adaptation were left fanning themselves and getting their quills out to complain most vociferously at the big-screen version starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the small-screen take with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth is an unbeatable gem, and this fanbase were NOT pleased ten years on.

Mainly, it was the casting which peeved them so – Knightley just wasn't up to it, apparently (despite an Oscar nomination for Best Actress), and Macfadyen was no Firth. So vexing.

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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The film versions of the JK Rowling franchise had Potterheads annoyed on numerous occasions (lack of back story for Voldemort, not enough Dobby) but we'll go with this huge omission from the sixth Harry Potter film: Dumbledore's funeral.

One of the series' most loved characters goes unmourned after the Hogwarts headmaster's death with the book's funeral ceremony, which cements Dumbledore's importance and the grief at the school's loss, magicked out of the movie completely.

5. Man Of Steel

Comicbook and superhero fans, as we will see, are heavily invested in their beloved strips. None more so than in Henry Cavill's 2013 debut as Superman.

We could be here all day arguing if it's any good or not but the one thing that really ground the gears of the superfans was the moment when their caped hero killed fellow Kryptonian, Zod.

It should be said that Zod was a pretty bad guy and deserved it but the Superman disciples felt it went against the entire ethos of the wholesome and heroic character (of course the real superfans know that he let Zod die in Superman II too).

6. Batman Returns

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Fans were pissed off enough when Michael Keaton was announced as Batman for the 1989 Tim Burton movie, and they were apoplectic when Vicki Vale (played by Kim Basinger) was allowed in the Batcave to discover the Dark Knight's true identity.

But fast forward three years to the sequel, arguably one of the best Batman movies, and the situation is exacerbated by two things: 1) the depiction of the Penguin, visually more grotesque than previously portrayed in comics and on TV; and 2) Batman ripping off his cowl to reveal Bruce Wayne beneath to Michelle's Catwoman and Christopher Walken's Max Shreck – a big no-no for Gotham's finest.

7. The Girl on the Train

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Book adaptations are notorious and book-readers are just the worst, right?

Relocating a story just for American audiences can get the backs up of most Brits but, in this case, it's justified.

The mundanity, monotony and, let's just say it, Britishness of the lead character's daily drunken commute is rendered somewhat more beautiful and idyllic in its cinema setting of upstate New York.

And how come Emily Blunt gets to spend her time is spacious carriages and not cramped and unforgiving London transport? It sort of goes against the purpose and tone of the journeys, integral to the book.

Speaking of Blunt, even the author felt the actress was too beautiful to play an overweight alcoholic.

And yes, busted, we are not paraphrasing superfans here. We are among them.

8. Iron Man 3

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In the comics, The Mandarin is Iron Man's greatest nemesis but, in the third instalment of the MCU, the makers chose a different route.

Iron Man 3 had purists seething when the supervillain, played by Sir Ben Kingsley, was positioned as The Mandarin (even looking like the comicbook version) only to be revealed as a British actor posing as a terrorist.

The real Mandarin, according to the movie, was Guy Pearce, who bore little resemblance to the well-known villain, despite his Chinese dragon tattoos.

9. Bridget Jones's Baby

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In the third book of the Helen Fielding series, Mad About the Boy, it was revealed that Bridget Jones was now a widow. Poor old Darcy had snuffed it.

Yet, in the third film, Bridget Jones's Baby, we see Colin Firth's Darcy fighting for Renee Zellweger's affections with Patrick Dempsey.

Not only that, where the hell was Hugh Grant?

From: Digital Spy