It’s that time of the year again. As we wrap up the first decade of the MCU, we look back at moments – big and small – that moved us. The greatest hit is pretty explanatory. Big and joyous moments that make the most impact in the theater. A lot of obvious for how iconic they are but that doesn’t make them any less special. Here are our favorites!
No one can top the portals scene in Avengers: Endgame. I teared up when I first saw it and I felt a moment of catharsis. It was a big deal for anyone who religiously followed the MCU in the past decade. Seeing all your favorite characters fighting side by side is a dream come true for any MCU fan whether you are an adult or a kid. I recalled when I watch it during the first day of screening and the crowd erupted as if we are watching a playoff game of a major sport. Being in that moment, I came to realize that the MCU have grown from being just a movie to an experience like no other. I’m more than happy to be part of that. – Aeron Eclarinal, News Writer
With the MCU becoming the biggest movie franchise of the decade, it’s not easy to pick one. But I’d rather choose something that happened earlier than later on, something that helped define the MCU as it is. And that would be the Avengers 360 shot in the Battle of NY. It showed us what this universe was all about in a cathartic moment that blew everyone away. It marked how iconic the Avengers were becoming, and it is still one of the most talked about shots of the decade. It’s simply a masterpiece. – Tiago Fiszbejn, News Writer
We get a lot of different experiences from the MCU. Captain America picking up the hammer makes us jump out of our seats, small reverences make us geek out and those big climactic moments tear at our hearts. It was difficult at first to say what truly was that moment of the decade that got to me but there is a song that just always brings me back to a specific moment from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. No, it’s not the iconic funeral of Yondu, as much as Cat Stevens’ Father and Son gets to me even before I saw the film, it is the moment that Peter’s past pushes him forward. All seems lost as Ego slowly tries to use Peter’s connection to fullfill his goal. Suddenly, as Yondu uses probably the cheesiest line in the film, we go through moments of Peter’s past before Fleetwood Mac starts playing in the background. The song has a rather somber moment when our team splits up earlier in the film, so this time it hits harder. Without those short bursts of emotions through gleeful memories building up to Peter standing up to the man he always wanted to meet with the words of his adoptive father echoing through his head. It may be cheesy to say that it all comes from the heart but many moments in Guardians Vol. 2 really feel like that is how they were made.- Joseph Aberl, Editor
While the 360 shot from Avengers is great, I think the 40 second one-shot a few minutes later is even better. This single shot encompasses all six Avengers as they start working together as a team for the first time. Much of the film is about these characters trying (and occasionally failing) to work together, so this sequence is the perfect payoff! Even though we may take it for granted now, having these characters (and their drastically different abilities) interact so seamlessly was a very bold and untested concept back in 2012. So seeing it work this well really set the stage for everything that followed and made for one of my favorite action sequences in the entire MCU! – Alex Lurie, Feature Writer
Spider-Man has always been the hero that hits closest to home for me, as his original solo movie was my intro to comic book movies back in 2002. It feels only fitting for me that my greatest MCU hit of the decade comes from Spider-Man: Homecoming, the wall-crawler’s first solo movie in the same universe the Avengers. When I saw a 15-year-old kid literally being crushed by a building after his revelation about the Vulture in this movie, it was one of the most excruciatingly painful film moments I’ve ever watched. Honest truth, I whispered to myself “Come on, Peter” sitting in the theatre mere seconds before Tom Holland whispered to himself in the movie “Come on, Peter” and used every bit of his strength to rise from the rubble. Seeing Peter Parker refuse to give up and realize how much strength he had, both physically and emotionally, was an unbelievable reminder that even the most powerful people on earth have to fight through tough moments, along with a reminder of the immeasurable value of pure will power. Spider-Man joining the Avengers has brought the MCU a whole new world of success and possibilities, and seeing the youngest iteration of the character yet in such a dire situation was easily the biggest sucker-punch impact moment I’ve experienced this decade. – Richard Nebes, News Writer
One of my proudest achievements within this quaint life of mine is introducing my 77-year old grandmother to the MCU. More than fulfilling the lifelong comic reader in me, I think the MCU will always resonate with me simply with how close it made myself and my grandmother. Her interest in the MCU began amidst the hype of Avengers: Infinity War. It was the topic of many a family gatherings so it was inevitable that she’d be peaked by such intense discourse from my relatives. From there, I meticulously handpicked a bunch of MCU films to prep her for the culmination of the MCU. Some films like The Incredible Hulk and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 I skipped because I didn’t want her overwhelmed with the amount of content. But for mainstays like the Avengers and the Captain America films, she adored them. She fell in love with the relationships these characters had and in a way got to know them in a way I never expected a 70-year old person to know. Fast forward to the iconic portals moment in Avengers: Endgame. I’ll never forget hearing her sniffle watching all those portals conjure on screen and seeing Cap on the verge of tears as his family races to the end of the line next to him. It’s this moment in the MCU that impacted me the most on several levels, which in my book makes it the MCU’s greatest hit. – Charles Villanueva, Editor-in-Chief
The climax of Doctor Strange with the titular character confronting Dormammu, only to die over and over again, is by far one of the best conclusions to a character arc this franchise has produced. A man who started the movie as a selfish narcissist only seeking glory through his patients to someone who would willing die for all eternity for the sake of humanity and it all happens at a natural pace. The fact that Strange doesn’t blow up Dormammu or simply banish them with an incantation, but bargains with him to simply leave Earth alone is brilliant. We see how tired Strange is throughout this encounter and how he is willing to accept it as his new reality while Dormammu, the closest thing to a god in this universe, isn’t. – Pierre Chanliau, Editor
There’s so many obvious moments for the MCU’s greatest hits – Cap lifting Mjolnir, the portals scene, Spidey swinging in with Cap’s shield, the list goes on. Personally, I’m gonna go for Thor’s entrance to the final battle in Ragnarok – it was the first time in the MCU we got a real sense of how badass and powerful Thor really is, and the awesome visuals coupled with the Immigrant Song made it one of the most striking and memorable moments in the entire MCU – and finally did Thor justice. His entrance in Wakanda is a close second – but that first one, to me, means so much more. – Alex Josiah, News Writer
That’s it for the decade! We’ll catch you guys next year. Let us know in the comments below what your picks are!
