As any fan will tell you, Marvel's many blockbusters are packed full of truly
incredible moments. But which ones are the most electrifying of all? From devastating cliffhangers
to epic fight scenes, these are the biggest jaw-dropping moments in Marvel movie history.
Everyone knew what they were in for with Avengers: Infinity War. Earth's Mightiest
Heroes would have a tough fight against Thanos, and it was likely that they wouldn't get away
without losing one or two members of the team. But even if they didn't win, they'd
at least prolong the battle until the sequel. Surely Thanos wouldn't actually win… right?
And yet, as Infinity War came to a shocking close, Thanos' dream of ending half of all life
in the universe was finally realized. Audiences around the world watched in horror as everyone
from Black Panther to Spider-Man dissolved into dust before their very eyes. It was a snap heard
around the universe — one that continues to echo through the MCU to this day. This was something
no comic book movie had even attempted before; it was ambitious, terrifying, and utterly unexpected.
Avengers: Endgame was a film that had to follow Thanos' snap — by both meditating on
the fallout of the tragedy and finding a way to rise above it. As a result,
it's a story packed to the rafters with great moments, any one of which could stake a claim
as the movie's best. From Captain Marvel's late-game entrance to Tony's sacrifice to
that iconic portal sequence… Well, they're all great. But there's great, and then there's this.
From the moment that hammer hovers, you know exactly what's coming. Cap lifting Mjolnir
is a concept first toyed with all the way back in Age of Ultron, and everyone knew it
was coming eventually — but it's still such a masterfully-executed payoff that you just can't
help but cheer. And it doesn't exactly hurt that the ensuing showdown with Thanos is one of the
most satisfying scenes in the whole MCU, either. It really doesn't get much better than this.
There were a whole heap of narrative challenges to overcome in that first Avengers movie. The
film had to successfully convey Loki as a villain big enough for all six heroes,
convincingly set up tension between them, and then prove that they're a great team after all.
And then, amidst all that, The Avengers had to pretty much redefine the character of the Hulk.
Luckily, Marvel rose to the occasion — and then some.
Hulk's whole arc in the film, from sad-sack scientist to reluctant hero,
is magnificent, but his best moment comes when Banner finally arrives at the final fight in
New York. Surrounded by the city's ruins, he utters arguably his most famous MCU line:
"Now might be a really good time for you to get angry." "That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry."
...And then he lets loose with a punch that shows the Hulk for what he really is: raw
power. Hulk's had plenty of great moments since then, but none have been quite as potent as this.
X2: X-Men United is among the best of Fox's X-Men films, largely because it's a movie that retains
what everyone liked about the first X-film, while upping the ante in just about every respect.
It does this not only by keeping the focus on Wolverine and Rogue, but also introducing new
characters with dazzling abilities and raising the stakes on almost every action set piece.
While Magneto's prison escape is a favorite scene for some fans,
for others, the undisputed champion of this film happens in its opening moments,
when Nightcrawler breaks into the Oval Office and attempts to assassinate the president.
It's later revealed that Nightcrawler has been brainwashed, and that his plight is at
the center of a massive conspiracy to rid the world of mutantkind. He also turns out to be
a perfectly nice guy who'd never deliberately do what he did in the film's opening minutes.
But that doesn't stop the sequence from packing a serious punch, and even today
it remains one of the most thrilling action scenes in the world of comic book movies.
Since its release in 2004, Spider-Man 2 has been followed by six other Spider-Man films,
four of which starred other actors as the iconic web-slinger. But for many fans,
Sam Raimi's sequel remains the gold standard for both Spidey and superhero movies, largely thanks
to its emotional core and superb action sequences. This is best demonstrated in the still-legendary
sequence in which Spider-Man has to stop a runaway train after Doctor Octopus sabotages the controls.
Though it would later be topped in scope by Homecoming's ferry sequence,
Raimi directs the heck out of the train rescue, in which Peter Parker, unmasked and desperate,
sticks his webbing to various passing buildings in an effort to make a sling with his own body.
But what really elevates this scene above all the rest is the moment in which Peter
passes out from sheer exhaustion and wakes to find all the train passengers staring at
him. They're so grateful for his help, and so understanding of how important Spider-Man is
to their city, that they hand back his mask and promise to never tell anyone who he is.
It's a beautiful final touch to a truly spectacular scene.
Logan isn't a particularly complex film by comic book movie standards. It doesn't introduce a horde
of new heroes, and it doesn't end with a massive, CGI-heavy apocalyptic showdown. At its heart,
this is a movie about a man who's waiting to die — and finds a reason to live a little longer.
Considering the heart of the movie is the relationship between Logan and his young clone,
Laura, you'd be forgiven for expecting some kind of action team-up between
the two. But this doesn't occur until the very end of the movie.
When it finally does happen, however, it's obvious that this is going to be
more than just a fight scene. When Laura realizes Logan has her back,
it's a tremendous emotional payoff. And as Logan's body fills up with bullets,
it becomes clear that this isn't going to end like other superhero fights, either. The whole
sequence is a tremendous combination of action and emotional intensity, making for a truly
memorable climax… and setting up one of the greatest endings in comic book movie history.
Thor: Ragnarok is a film that sets out to reimagine both Thor and the world around him.
As a result, it's a movie full of fresh sights and sounds that offer a lighter — and yet more
emotionally resonant — take on the god of thunder. There are a number of absolutely
dazzling moments in the film, but they don't get much better than that final fight.
As Hela's armies close in on his friends, an injured, one-eyed Thor is desperate for some
kind of help. Then he thinks of his father's words, realizes his power comes from within,
and unleashes a lightning bolt that finally slows Hela down.
Scored by Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," Thor makes the mother of all entrances as he joins
the battle on the Bifrost. Throw in Valkyrie and her firework strut, Loki's redemption,
and Hulk suplexing Fenrir, and you've got the recipe for one of the MCU's best fight scenes.
Spider-Man: Far From Home establishes that the MCU's Peter Parker does indeed
have a spider-sense, which his aunt has helpfully nicknamed "the Peter Tingle."
He also apparently has the legendary Parker luck, because just when you
think the kid has finally caught a break, the film pulls the rug out from under him.
By the end of Far From Home, everything seems to be going well for Peter. He's
in a relationship with MJ, all of his friends made it home from Europe safe,
and he's cemented his place as Tony Stark's successor in the MCU.
That all comes crashing down, however, when it's revealed via J. Jonah Jameson that Mysterio
has framed Spider-Man for his apparent death… and exposes his secret identity to the world.
"What the f-"
The long-awaited reintroduction of J. Jonah Jameson to the MCU was enough to put jaws on
the floor, but then the scene went further by totally ruining Peter Parker's life.
This one's going to take some fixing.
A film like Captain America: Civil War is more or less purpose built for big surprise moments.
It introduced both Black Panther and Spider-Man to the MCU,
and pitted various heroes against each other in a super v. super battle like no other.
And that iconic airport scene's biggest moment turned out to be the biggest in a very literal
sense. This is the moment in which Scott Lang reveals that he's capable of growing his body
to a gigantic size. Seemingly out of nowhere, Ant-Man grows several dozen feet and plucks War
Machine right out of the air. And while he would later reappear in both Ant-Man and the Wasp and
Avengers: Endgame, this Giant-Man moment will always hold a special place in fans' hearts.
Steve Rogers isn't a superhero in the same sense that, say,
Thor or the Hulk is; nor is he an ordinary man in the same way that Tony Stark is.
Steve Rogers' treatment with the Super Soldier Serum has enhanced his body to the point that
he's essentially reached maximum human potential in terms of strength, speed, endurance, and more.
He's quite literally the best version of a normal human being without any external enhancements.
And because he has the heart and determination of Steve Rogers,
he's able to push himself to the point where even other enhanced humans wouldn't be able to go.
"I can do this all day." "Yeah, I know, I know."
This is perhaps best exemplified in Captain America: Civil War, when Cap single-handedly
holds a helicopter in place, mid-takeoff, for several seconds, using nothing but his
sheer strength and his willpower. Even for Cap, it's quite a feat, and Chris Evans' startling
ability to make his biceps pop is enough to make this sequence even more memorable.
Captain Marvel arrived in the MCU at a time when Thanos had already snapped, when the Avengers had
assembled three times, and when characters such as Vision and Giant-Man were practically commonplace.
Despite all of this, Captain Marvel had to convince fans that they were witnessing the
creation of the MCU's most powerful hero — someone stronger than virtually any other
Avenger in the room. So how did the movie do this? Simple. By having the hero defeat
a whole army all by herself. After choosing to defend the persecuted Skrulls, a fully-powered
Carol Danvers takes out an entire Kree squadron and then flies through a massive Kree warship,
destroying it in seconds and sending the surviving bad guys packing. And from that point on,
there's absolutely no doubt that Carol Danvers is a force to be reckoned with.
No one knew quite what to expect from Venom, the first solo film to star the titular antihero.
Would it be overly dark and gritty? So self-serious that it became silly? Too
focused on its creature to add any real humanity? It wasn't easy to pin
down from the marketing, either, which is why the end result was so refreshing:
a genuinely quirky blend of darkness, action, and self-aware humor.
Venom begins as a sort of body horror film, as Eddie Brock accidentally comes across the
symbiote, and then struggles to understand why there's a voice in his head all of a sudden.
It's an adjustment period that manifests itself in all kinds of ways, but the most memorable
one occurs when Eddie storms into a fancy San Francisco restaurant in an effort to confront his
former partner with his discoveries. Of course, the Venom symbiote has other plans, and by the
end of the scene Eddie has submerged himself in a live lobster tank. The whole scene just
gets weirder when Eddie snatches up one of the crustaceans and chows down on a raw seafood lunch.
Although Venom certainly has flashier moments along the way, this is the one that set the tone
for this particular superhero franchise: Funny, unpredictable, and more than a little bizarre.
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