To celebrate the release of Captain America: Civil War (review coming soon), I thought it would be fun to look back through all the Marvel films to date. Not to rank them – what kind of asshole would do that? – but to talk about the best individual scenes from each one. This list is in no order save for chronological, and will probably be updated after I’ve seen Civil War (along with the other article of mine I shamelessly linked to).
Iron Man – “I am Iron Man”
This one was a no-brainer. When Tony Stark admits, at the end of Iron Man, that he is in fact the titular superhero, he, and the film, broke the first rule in every superhero manual. It was with this jaw-dropping ending that Marvel announced the publication of a new rule book: their own. It is also at this point that Marvel films became something more akin to events. Here, at the end of Iron Man, Marvel changed the game. It can’t be changed back.
The Incredible Hulk – Bruce Banner meditates
Okay, yes, obviously I was tempted to go with the Hulk screaming “HULK! SMASH!” in his fight against the Abomination, but that’s really more of a cool moment, not as much a scene. The Incredible Hulk is an unfairly maligned film for a number of reasons, chief of which, I’d wager, is the re-casting of the title role. A move like that will always make us think twice about the original. But Edward Norton was a damn good Bruce Banner, and in the final scene of his sole Marvel outing, he shows how well he tapped into the character. This is the first scene to suggest that Bruce and the Hulk aren’t mutually exclusive, which would be explicated further in The Avengers. Somewhere in the four years between the two films, Bruce Banner learned that the Hulk is part of himself, not a different entity, and in doing so became enormously powerful. It begins here. Plus, it makes for a nice callback; in The Avengers, Tony Stark tries to guess Bruce’s secret, and suggests yoga and meditation.
Iron Man 2 – Whiplash’s attack
Iron Man 2 is probably the nadir of Marvel’s cinematic output, which is pretty remarkable considering that portions of it are entertaining as hell. While the film was rightfully maligned as a feature-length trailer for The Avengers, that judgement glosses over the fact that director Jon Favreau took every opportunity available to show off his considerable flair for action scenes. Nowhere is that more apparent than in Ivan Danko’s attack of Tony Stark at the Monaco Grand Prix. Mickey Rourke, one of Iron Man 2‘s major bright spots, is at his best here: shirtless, tattooed, with a sense of deliberate malice in his body language. Whiplash is at his scariest when he’s silent, and although the film didn’t do a great job with the character, Rourke rose above the material. In this one scene, he proved himself.
Thor – Thor destroys the Bifrost
Guys, I’m not gonna lie to you: I fucking love Thor. I missed it in theaters, but rented it at a Redbox a few months later. The next day, my friend and I were bored and didn’t know what to watch, so I went back and got Thor again. This film succeeds on so many levels, from giving us our first look at Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston as Thor and Loki, to taking a huge gamble by launching the MCU into a much larger realm. But what really sells Thor is the personal aspect. Nowhere is that more evident than in Thor’s selfless act of destroying the Bifrost, the road that leads Asgard to the rest of the universe. He uses all his considerable strength to destroy it so that Loki can’t return to Earth or harm Jane Foster. It’s the mark of a true transformation, away from impulsiveness and toward something approaching nobility.
Captain America: The First Avenger – Steve Rogers jumps on a grenade
This isn’t just the best scene in a damn good movie: it’s a perfect scene. Captain America screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely show, in this short scene, just how well they understand Steve Rogers (probably why they did such great work on The Winter Soldier). Steve Rogers is, as Dr. Abraham Erskine says, a good man. He throws himself on a grenade to save his fellow recruits. It’s not just a gesture borne of heroism, but of patriotism, which, as Captain America posits, is an advanced form of heroism. What’s remarkable about this scene is how true it rings. It doesn’t feel written, it feels legendary – the man who jumped on a live grenade to save the lives of men who actively resented his presence. It’s an action worthy of the ideal of American spirit that the film so passionately embraces, and is the first indicator that Captain America will become the leader of the Avengers. Half a dozen viewings of Captain America later, and this scene still moves me to tears. It might be the best in any Marvel film.
The Avengers – “I’m always angry”
If the above scene isn’t the all-time best, then this one is. The Hulk is a difficult character to put on film, and trying to do so has stymied even some of our best directors (Hulk director Ang Lee has two Oscars, people). Yet Avenger director Joss Whedon – and co-writer Zack Penn – prove, in one scene, just how well they understand the character. “I’m always angry” is a brilliant way to return agency to Bruce Banner, and it takes a bold, empowering step towards making him an participant instead of a spectator. The cherry on the top of this scene comes right after Mark Ruffalo’s perfect delivery of this line, when the Hulk smashes the shit out of a Chitauri leviathan. I saw The Avengers in theaters three times, and this always elicited cheering.
Iron Man 3 – The Mandarin is revealed
The Mandarin is one of Iron Man’s most famous foes. Oscar winner Ben Kingsley was chosen to portray him on screen. Every trailer or commercial for Iron Man 3 showed chilling glimpses of its Osama bin Laden analog, and I still remember the way Kingsley hissed out lines like “You’ll never…see…me…coming.” So revealing the Mandarin to be goofy, drunken, British actor Trevor Slattery, nothing more than a puppet for Aldrich Killian, was an incredibly bold move that threatened to piss off and alienate a lot of fans. This is the most polarizing moment in Iron Man 3, one that is still discussed by fans who either love the film or hate it. There is no middle ground. It shows the remarkable amount of respect that Disney held for writer/director Shane Black, and showed just how much Marvel trusts its directors.
Thor: The Dark World – Thor fights Malekith across dimensions
Thor: The Dark World is never going to be anyone’s favorite Marvel movie. For whatever reason, this one seemed to fly under the radar, not making nearly the splash that it should have (it introduced an Infinity Stone!). But there’s a lot to like here, especially in the end. Yes, portals are overused at this point – so overused – but Thor’s dimension-spanning fight with Malekith was a visual wonder, really the only place in The Dark World that director Alan Taylor got to put his own stamp on the material. The fight was a flurry of other worlds, and the cavalcade of alien sights was so relentless that it afforded a bit of levity to Marvel’s most somber hero.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier – “Hail Hydra”
Okay, this is more of a montage than a scene. I don’t owe you an explanation. The Winter Soldier succeeded as a paranoid conspiracy thriller in the guise of a comic-book movie, and nowhere is it more apparent than in Hydra’s gradually uncovered conspiracy. Hearing “Hail Hydra” whispered from the lips of men in an unbelievable position of power – a Senator and a Cabinet Secretary – show just how far the infection has spread, and more than that, what odds our heroes face. The implications go far beyond The Winter Soldier, and threaten to undermine everything that S.H.I.E.L.D. has worked towards for over half a century – literally, as S.H.I.E.L.D. is dismantled in this film. It broadens the scope of Marvel’s cinematic universe. And directors Joe and Anthony Russo – who also directed Civil War – deserve all the credit in the world for getting Oscar winner Robert Redford to say “Hail Hydra.”
Guardians of the Galaxy – The prison break
Guardians of the Galaxy is fun as hell. It’s the most batshist insane Marvel movie on this list, and indeed the craziest one ever made. This is a film made by a studio that knew it could put anything on the big screen, and nowhere does Guardians embrace its punk-rock ethos more than in the jailbreak scene. It’s thrilling and funny in perfect balance, just like the rest of the film. But more importantly, it shows the title characters coming together and working as a team for the first time. Plus, it was the first time we heard what might be the most iconic three words in the entire Marvel cinematic universe: “I am GROOT!” Vin Diesel has never given a better performance, and that is in no way sarcastic.
Avengers: Age of Ultron – Vision lifts Thor’s hammer
The Vision is a weird character. He’s the physical embodiment of Tony Stark’s AI Jarvis, imbued with all the powers of an Infinity Stone. How do you convey that visually? It helps to have Paul Bettany, the voice of Jarvis, provide the body movements as well. But to display Vision’s pure power, no scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron does more to do so than Vision’s introduction. While the audience – and the Avengers – are justifiably baffled by his appearance, Vision casually lifts Thor’s hammer, an act shown earlier to be impossible, and hands it to Thor. It’s a quietly jaw-dropping moment, and a fitting introduction for one of the MCU’s most powerful new characters.
Ant-Man – Ant-Man fights the Falcon
“Hi, I’m Scott!” Very few fight scenes begin with one of the combatants introducing themselves to the other. And it’s a tribute to Paul Rudd’s general guilelessness and affability that he sells this line without making himself or his character, Scott Lang, seem too goofy. Ant-Man’s fight against the Falcon (Anthony Mackie) is light and breezy, but never weightless. Here Scott shows himself to be a valuable future member of the Avengers, as he shows genuine ingenuity and fearlessness. Ant-Man is sadly destined to be an underrated and undervalued film, but this scene makes an incredibly strong case for its existence.
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