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With so much superhero content available, the MCU is now a household name that every young child from 2008 has integrated themselves into. Its next film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, will expand the universe even further with its myriad characters galloping across the silver screen.
With that being said, it only seems fair to recap all of the best moments from the MCU timeline and its rich history.
The series began back in 2008 with the release of the smash hit Iron Man, which starred Robert Downey Jr. Ever since the film came out, it has brought about a series of fans and legions of merchandise that made billions for the saga.
Without further ado, here are the best moments of the MCU.
Disclaimer: This article reflects the views of the author.
MCU's ten unforgettable moments
10) Ultron’s speech
When Tony Stark comes up with the idea to create a shield worldwide, he and Bruce Banner decide to develop a new suit of armor around the globe to protect it from any more threats.
As a result, the two created Ultron. However, the plan goes awry when the Frankensteinian creation manifests itself into a robot and claims that mass extinction is the only way to peace.
James Spader’s performance is so magnetic and raw that the robot’s sheer presence frightens. With each word uttered, it feels like such an underrated scene in MCU history.
9) Ego vs Quill
In Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, Peter Quill encounters his father, named Ego (Kurt Russell), who is, quite literally, a living planet. Ego attempts to use Quill for a team-up to make the entire universe ‘himself.’
After discovering that Ego planted a tumor inside Quill’s mother, Peter turns on him quickly, and a fight ensues.
The other guardians help out but get buried under Ego’s fury. Quill even turns into an oversized Pac-Man and is able to defeat his overpowered father using his celestial powers.
The power at this moment is a dynamic between father and son. It’s an incredible moment of sacrifice and emotion that truly stuck out in the Marvel Universe.
8) Avengers assemble
In 2012, fans were stoked to finally see the Avengers together on the big screen fighting Loki’s minions. Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hulk, Captain America, and Hawkeye don their costumes in superhero fashion, with fans rousing in adoration.
Its sheer magnitude seems almost inescapable to drown in its majesty and emotion is when they have assembled in New York and made history in the feats of comic-book history.
7) Death of Killmonger
Black Panther brought about a brand new superhero long overdue in the MCU timeline. Chadwick Boseman portrayed the character exceptionally, but there is a superb villain with every superhero.
Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) plans to exploit the country of Wakanda’s rich technology for the benefit of impoverished communities.
Towards the end, Black Panther and Killmonger dish it out below what seems like a Wakandan subway powered by vibranium. The match ends with the Black Panther stabbing Killmonger nearly to death.
With a twinge of pity for his enemy, the Panther shows him the landscape of Wakanda until Killmonger succumbs to his death. With a keen eye for visual detail and some tugs at the heartstrings, this moment in the MCU will live rent-free in fans’ minds.
6) Portals
When Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America try their best to take down Thanos, they are poorly trounced by the purple alien, with Cap the only one able to stand up with the Mad Titan’s army encroaching him slowly.
Just when it seems that all hope is lost, a portal looms behind Rodgers as the Black Panther, T’Challa, emerges with his associates. Soon after, nearly all of the MCU joins in suit.
As soon as the first portal opens, fans can almost feel the flood of emotions that emanate through the screen. It’s like a nostalgia rush that has been building up since 2008, and three years after its release, it still hasn’t gotten old.
5) Thanos snap
What’s more impressive than seeing all the Avengers come back to life? It’s probably seeing all of them get snapped away to oblivion.
Thanos has collected all of the infinity stones and plans to eradicate half of all life across the universe by the end of Avengers: Infinity War. However, he is seemingly stopped by Thor, who stabs him with his ax.
One would think that that would be the end of the fray, but Thanos survives and snaps his fingers, disintegrating half of the universe.
What starts with guns set ablaze and rage flying high ends with a soft whisper that shatters trillions of lives. It’s a testament to how far the MCU has come and the first time the bad guy actually wins.
4) Civil War climax
Something that might break fans’ hearts more is that Captain America and Iron Man once turned on each other for their sole purposes. It was revealed that Cap’s friend, Bucky, was instrumental in the murder of Stark’s parents with the help of Hydra.
The fight ends with Stark ripping off Barnes’ arm and Rodgers disabling the Iron suit.
What’s heartbreaking is seeing these characters come so far only to have their friendship shattered by what seemed to be a misunderstanding. The moment shook so many ardent fans that it seemed the Cap and Iron Man bromance had ended.
3) My turn
During the inception of the MCU, Tony Stark was known as the biggest baller in his prime. He was a brash, rude, arrogant snob before forming his Iron Man suit.
However, Stark was captured by a terrorist group called the Ten Rings. They force him to build a weapon to use for the group.
Instead, Stark builds a suit of armor that proves to be formidable against the Ten Rings and bulletproof. As the gunmen shoot at his suit, he briefly quips, “My turn,” and unleashes a barrage of flames on the men as he manages to escape.
It is another underrated scene that doesn’t truly get the justice that it deserves. It shines some much-deserved spotlight on Downey Jr.’s performance not only as the man but also as the machine.
2) The Itsy Bitsy Peters went up the MCU
Something in more recent superhero news is the spectacle that is Spider-Man: No Way Home. After Mysterio leaks Spider-Man’s identity as Peter Parker, the hero enlists the help of Doctor Strange to cast a spell to make people forget that Spider-Man was Parker.
The spell, however, goes awry, and it unleashes everyone who knows Spider-Man is Peter Parker, including the first two Spider-Men, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.
With the help of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, the three arachnids work together to cure the supervillains leaked into the MCU to send them home as redeemed men.
The chemistry is so incredible that it will make any Spider-Man or superhero fan nerd out at the mere notion of multi-dimensional heroes working together. Thank God Marvel came swinging in for the win in this feature.
1) I…Am….Iron Man
What will definitely be the saddest moment in the MCU timeline is when Tony Stark’s Iron Man sacrifices himself for the sake of humanity. In the epic climax of Endgame, Thanos has re-collected all of the infinity stones and snaps his fingers to destroy humanity again.
However, he arrives too late to the conclusion that Stark stripped away his stones and snapped his fingers to destroy Thanos and his army.
A dying Stark is comforted by Pepper Potts and Peter Parker, who can do nothing else but show their gratitude.
Emotional, tear-jerking, and lavishly powerful in its execution, this was the ultimate moment in Marvel’s history that cemented the genre’s status as true cinema, elevating itself from a generic superhero film.
