Favorite MCU Moments.

It should be fairly obvious to anyone visiting this site that I am a big fan of cinema and superheroes which of course means this weekend is almost something of a holy celebration. And why shouldn't it be? Even with the existence of previous shared movie universes like Universal Monsters or long-form action series like Zatoichi or Tarzan, nothing has ever really been like what Marvel has put together with Infinity War. Good or bad this is a major shift for what movies can be.

When I was just a wee one it was common practice to live with very low expectations for any superhero movie. At the time it was easily one of the worst genres out there filled with garbage like Batman and Robin, Spawn, and Howard the Duck. The highest our hopes would ever reach is that we might one day get a Spider-Man or X-men movie that wasn't completely embarrassing. No kid was crazy enough to think we'd one day be blessed enough to not only see characters like Thor, or Rocket Raccoon in film but to see them done well. The additional notion of a shared continuity developing through all of these films was a largely untested concept. Now we live in a time when these ideas are taken for granted. This weekend should carry more meaning for film-lovers, comic-fans, and kids who grew up in a time when superheroes movies were actually good yet it's already tarnished by the current consume and cast aside mentality. On the upside, both Korea's got their shit together so it's a banner time all over the world.

Since this weekend is so important I wanted to ring it in with a special post. At first I thought I might do a total ranking of the MCU, every film, short, season of television, all of it. Then I realized that's the sort of hollow writing already prevalent across film journalism. Instead let's talk about some of my favorite moments from this franchise. After-all, what good is it to express what you enjoy without elaborating on why you enjoy it? There are plenty of options ranging from Spider-Man's interigation mode to Dr Strange's chase through the mirror dimension. For the sake of brevity I'll keep it down to just a few choice scenes. For anyone who may have been avoiding pleasure for the past decade, there may be some spoilers. In my defense, I gave you at least a year to catch up on these. Where else on the internet can you get that sort of consideration?

Drax and Mantis:

It may come to some as a surprise but I am not a big fan of the first Guardians of the Galaxy. Yes I like it, but it is far down the totem pole due to a combination of the circumstances of my original viewing and it's flabby storytelling. The sequel however I am all over. For all of its color and noise Guardians vol. 2 is a family drama in disguise. It's like The Ice Storm with lasers and evil demi-gods.

Even with my lesser outlook on the first entry, Dave Bautista as Drax was an immediate favorite. The guy can perfectly capture the whiplash nature of this painfully honest, often foolish, and tortured brute. No where else is this on better display than his conversation with Mantis among the gardens of Ego.

First there's the comedy of him insulting her looks before he softens to speak of the importance of inner beauty. Eventually the surroundings remind him of his departed daughter. At this point Mantis reaches out to use her empathic abilities on Drax and the scene becomes so much more.

Upon touching him she is clearly overcome with grief, openly weeping while he sits in place, a stoic look upon his face. In this moment she is introduced to loss unlike she's ever known while he lives with pain as a constant companion. It's such a wonderful moment that seals a bond between this warrior and his new friend “this gross bug-lady.”

Zemo's end:

Helmut Zemo is one of the most drastically altered villains from his original comic antics. Instead of a crazy costumed warmonger we were given a broken yet very determined man. As if changing the character wasn't enough his role was rather unique. Instead of a villain who creates the situation our heroes face, he instead manipulated those events to further his goal.

Both Zemo's plan and motivation were simple, even if his methods could stretch belief. This is a man who was utterly failed by these costumed-crusaders whose robotic creation Ultron caused the death of his family. Knowing he couldn't take such individuals on himself, he meddled whenever possible to turn them against each-other.

The completion of Zemo's plot wasn't some grand speech or bid for power. He sat outside, listening to the last message from his wife with plans to commit suicide. It was the intervention of Black Panther who chose to move past rage and loss to bring his enemy to justice. Not only does this moment serve as his first heroic-act but it's the entire backbone of the movie. These few minutes of film are the debate between a man whose life was ruined by so-called heroes while one of them stands in front of him, promising to do better.

When viewing the film for the first time I was concerned how Black Panther would play out in coming films as his motivation through most of Civil War as he mostly acts as a foil. This scene gave him footing as a real hero, perfectly setting him up for his own great adventure.

Vision and Ultron:

In general it's never a good idea to introduce a major character to your ensemble story when there's only 40 minutes left to spare. When that character is as good as Paul Bettany's Vision however things are a little different. Not only does he make a huge impression with minimal screen-time but he walks away with possibly the best scene in Age of Ultron.

Not unlike the confrontation between Zemo and Black Panther, this final meeting between Ultron and Vision serves as the debate between both sides. On one end there is Ultron, convinced of humanities looming failure, he would rather push them into extinction to make way for something new. On the other side is Vision who in only a brief time on this Earth has learned that the beauty of life is not found in security or continued success.

In a film as stuffed and fast-paced as this, taking out the villain with some explosive final maneuver would have been tacky. Letting the conflict end with a debate between artificial father and son gives the battle a level of dignity not often seen in this sort of story.

One can't help but take Vision's speech as something of a prophecy as well. Our time with these movies may not last. Lord knows, maybe the 2020s will see a resurgence of romantic comedies. In the here and now, we have the chance to experience this universe on a regular schedule and that's a beautiful thing regardless of how long it lasts.

Winter Soldier Attacks:

In case you were worried my entire list would consist of crying and moral-standoffs here's some full-blown action that accomplishes something very rare, the feeling of stakes. Hear me out. When watching action films we're generally secure in the knowledge that the hero will make it out just fine. This makes the methods they use to dispatch their foes the entertaining aspect of the film. The Winter Soldier reached a level of intensity reserved for only the finest action cinema where we start to doubt if our leads will make it out in one-piece.

The moment when the Solider goes after Cap, Black Widow, and Falcon for the first time is so intense witch surging music and excellent choreography. Each and every strike feels potentially fatal, pushing everyone to their limit in order to survive. The fact that it culminates in Captain America discovering the identity of this mad-dog killer adds a great cherry on top of an outstanding fight-scene.

Father and Son:

I've already mentioned just how much of an improvement I found the second Guardians to be over its predecessor. Every single element was a step above what had come before, allowing me to finally get in touch woth these characters that I had previously only found amusing. In an unexpected turn of events this colorful space adventure with poop jokes and classic folk-rock warped up with one of the most sad and touching moments of any superhero film.

From the music of Cat Stevens to the light-show put on by the Ravager fleet the funeral is the perfect mix of depressing while still celebrating the life that was lost. Each member of the group sees their emotional arc hit its peak whether that be admitting to love or learning from the friend they lost while each of them helps to raise a young Groot which completes the theme of parenthood throughout the film.

For me this ending is something a barometer to judge someone's tastes by. Consider how many still consider the movie as a simple popcorn flick, largely ignoring that the main ending shot of is of a crying raccoon at a fireworks laden funeral. It's a bit of a giveaway that if someone just sees this as something colorful and entertaining then they may not be the best person to engage about the intricacies of storytelling.

With that I'll stop waxing poetically about a decades worth of so-called silly movies. There's not long to go before I finally get to hit the theater and it seems like I'll have to live those hours out in fairly Amish fashion as one very tiny thing has already been spoiled for me. While I wait, feel free to share some of your own favorite scenes or if you want to keep it lighter just share your personal best entries in the franchise. This is a time to celebrate how far this genre has come in the past ten-years and what that means for us nerdy folk moving forward.