Simply Marvelous: The Top 21 Marvel Movie Moments From Each MCU Film

Photo: Marvel Studios

Avengers: Endgame could mark the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it. As things come to an end and Phase Four prepares to launch, it’s time to look back at all 21 Marvel movies and relive their best moments. From new characters to insane marketing techniques, each Marvel movie stands on its own with incredible moments that we won’t soon forget.

Of course, spoilers ahead for those who are still getting caught up on these movies before next week brings us the Endgame, so scroll on with caution, relive these moments, and sound off on some of your favorite moments on our social media!

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Marvel Movie Moments

'Iron Man'

It's the movie that started it all. And believe it or not, when this movie was announced, it was kind of a joke. Batman dominated and Marvel had some mediocre Spider-Man movies. So Iron Man? No one outside of hardcore comic book readers knew Iron Man. And Robert Downey Jr.? He had mostly been in movie jail for years. But it arrived and blew us all away. It's full of memorable moments but it's when Nick Fury shows up to talk to Tony Stark about the Avengers initiative that had us all ready to go.
'The Incredible Hulk'

It isn't mentioned much, but it's cannon. The only character outside of Bruce that still pops up is General Thunderbolt Ross. Ed Norton was replaced by Mark Ruffalo and it was mostly forgotten, except for when Hulk kicks Emil Blonsky into a tree, who would later turn into Abomination.
'Iron Man 2'

For what it's worth, Iron Man 2 is a solid follow up to its original; however, it borrowed heavily from the original plot with Mickey Rourke's character following a similar path of Tony Stark. It's when Tony gets his hands on the briefcase that is actually Iron Man armor that we knew Iron Man had a lot we had yet to see.
'Thor'

Thor is an amazing character but it really wasn't this movie, or even its sequel, that had us falling in love with him. However, when he first tries coffee is where he shines. It just needed more "fish out of water" moments.
'Captain America: The First Avenger'

This was Captain America's first movie. When the trailer came out, it featured the song "Tool" by Forty Six & 2. That's all I needed. But it's the moments before he becomes Cap that are our favorites. His line of "I can do this all day" shows up later on in Civil War and showed how much heart and grit Steve Rogers has, and why he's our Captain America forever.
'Avengers'

We really had never seen anything like this. Years of movies leading up to them all crossing over into one huge event. Seeing the team together really for the first time in that circling camera shot gave everyone goosebumps, especially with that music from Alan Silvestri.
'Iron Man 3'

No movie divides the MCU fan base more than Iron Man 3. It ranges from people saying it's the worst to some saying it's their favorite Iron Man movie. And it's when we find out that the major swerve of the movie was that Ben Kingsley really wasn't playing The Mandarin and fans kind of felt deceived by it. Our opinion? It's good.
'Thor: The Dark World'

If this movie did anything, it was make us fall head over heels in love with Loki. He was charming in previous movies but he turned it all the way up in this one. The best moment in this movie? All of the ones with Loki.

Related: Take a Loki at Who Might Be Alongside Tom Hiddleston in Marvel TV Makeover
'Captain America: Winter Soldier'

This was the turning point. Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World seemed to lose some fan faith as they were both viewed as mediocre. But enter The Russo Brothers. Winter Soldier didn't just right the Marvel movie track, but it gave us one of the best spy movies of all time. Best moment? The elevator scene.
'Guardians of the Galaxy'

Up until now, all the Marvel movies had characters everyone had heard of in one way or another, except for the Guardians. No one knew what to expect. It confused everyone until that first trailer, which has to be one of the best of all time, dropped. The opening moment of the movie, when Star-Lord introduces us to someone who would become a new fan favorite and made the Guardians everyone's favorite group, cinched it for us.
'Avengers: Age of Ultron'

Again, this is one that has everyone on the fence. It had its moments but something just felt off. It brought in new characters, we lost one that we didn't even get a chance to know, and it gave us this amazing Hulk versus Iron Man scene.
'Ant Man'

An Ant-Man movie had everyone excited and then you throw Paul Rudd on top of it and it becomes perfect. The best part of the movie comes from the trailer, and it involves Thomas the Tank.
'Captain America: Civil War'

Comic fans knew of Civil War. And when the Marvel movies got going, it was one storyline everyone wished to see and it sure delivered. No scene in any movie at all was as huge and epic as the airport fight scene. And the fact that this was when Marvel worked their magic and finally got their hands on Spider-Man is what made it even more important.
'Doctor Strange'

Doctor Strange came along finally and it had so many mind-bending moments it's hard to narrow it down, but the finale of Strange against Dormammu stands out. It showed Strange at his full potential.
'Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2'

Kurt Russell arrives in the MCU and is revealed to be Star-Lord's father. Sylvester Stallone shows up and we learn he left the original group of Guardians. It also gave us a minor Tango and Cash reunion. And of course this was the return of Yondu from the first movie, who we find out raised Star-Lord since he was a kid. We had thought Peter had been kidnapped and was forced to do weird criminal work for Yondu, which he was, but he was also raised to be the man he was. And it was the line by Yondu as he rescues Peter that had us all emotional, which lead to the death of Yondu, the the first major death in the MCU. Sorry, Quicksilver, but we didn't know you like we knew Yondu.
'Spider-Man: Homecoming'

We finally got Spidey in Civil War, and then he got his own MCU movie and it gave us the very best Spider-Man movie to date. Michael Keaton had a large part to play in that. The scene in the car where Keaton learns that sweet little Peter Parker is actually his nemesis, Spider-Man, and they have a talk that goes down as one of the best moments ever.
'Thor: Ragnarok'

Thor's movies had been OK. The first was good but it wasn't very memorable. The second movie was what it was. The third? It set Thor up at the top of one of our favorite MCU characters and this one as one of our favorite movies. The best moment, though, goes to newcomer Korg. It's comic relief we hope to see again in all of the MCU movies. Hopefully he didn't die on that ship from Thanos. Who knows?
'Black Panther'

Black Panther was the first comic book movie to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. It's a perfect superhero movie from top to bottom. No moment stands out more than the return of T'Challa who comes back to Wakanda to take back his throne.

Related: Why 'Black Panther' Is the Most Important Superhero Movie To Hit So Far
'Avengers: Infinity War'

The snap. Thor arrives. The battle with Thanos. So many moments. But the one that we will always remember isn't really from the movie, or even in the movie. It's the marketing. The shot in the GIF here was in all the trailers, but was never in the movie. They used scenes in the trailers to throw us all off. It was this shot in the GIF that we kept playing in our heads as Thanos arrives on Wakanda. "Wait, we didn't see them all running together yet." Even when Thanos snaps, we're still thinking the movie isn't over yet. We still have that team running shot to go, right?Nope... credits.
'Ant-Man & The Wasp'

Marvel's main characters always shine bright, but sometimes it's their minor characters that shine even brighter. Such is the case with Luis in both Ant-Man and this movie. It's in this one where he really gets in on the action and his moments hold as the best of the movie.
'Captain Marvel'

We go back in time to the '90s with Captain Marvel and find out what's about to happen in a post-Infinity War world. The best moment is when she fully becomes Captain Marvel and destroys a fleet of Kree and has us all thinking the same thing: "Thanos is in big trouble."