People Are Sharing The MCU Moments Where People Literally Lost It In Theaters, And I Decided To Rank Them From Least To Most Iconic
A while back, I rounded up some of the most cheer-worthy movie moments, and y'all had a LOT of Marvel submissions — enough to make its own list!
Marvel
I also added a bunch of my own moments. Oh, and thank you to banana22oats for the suggestion to make this list!
Below are 50 Marvel moments people remember audience members cheering at, ranked from "moderately exciting" to "literally changed my life." The submissions are (mostly) from y'all, but the ranking? That's all me.
OH, and before we go on, spoilers ahead! This list includes MCU movies up to Spider-Man: No Way Home.
50.The female Avengers team-up in Avengers: Endgame:
Suggested by shieldmaiden1975
Yes, this got a big cheer in theaters. But it felt so forced and unrealistic that I could not take it seriously. In what world is every single female Marvel character in that one place? Did they plan it? Was Steve like yo, if you're a female Avenger, go help Carol? Mantis and Valkyrie don't even know any of them. I am ALL for an awesome feminist movie moment, but this felt like it was written by a man — which, of course, it was — with only a vague idea of what might be empowering to women.
49.When the old man stood up to Loki in The Avengers:
Suggested by altheab
"This scene is wonderful. People don't cheer because it's cool, they cheer because it's important."
48.When Yondu got a Ravager funeral in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2:
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Not a giant cheering moment, but seeing all the ships come together for Yondu was really sweet.
47.When the tech refused to launch the ships because Cap told him not to in Captain America: The Winter Soldier:
"I loved the scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier when the tech with the gun to his head refused to activate the helicarriers for Hydra because of 'Captain's orders.'"
46.When Steven defeated Dormammu in Doctor Strange:
Suggested by Lou Corbett
The moment people realized Strange's plan, he got a big cheer. This is such a great character moment for him — I love also when Dormammu says, "You will die," and he says, "Yes, but everyone else will live." The growth!!
45.When Tony showed up in the end credits of The Incredible Hulk:
"When Tony appeared at the end of The Incredible Hulk. The MCU wasn't really a thing. No one expected the film to be connected to Iron Man any more than they expected those films to be connected to the latest Spider-Man films. When people realized it was not just Robert Downey Jr., but RDJ as Tony Stark, they cheered."
44.When Fury revealed his damaged eye and used it for the retinal scan in Captain America: The Winter Soldier:
Suggested by buzzy21
Such a badass Fury moment. Also, I can't get over that his eye looks that bad all because of Goose.
43.When Druig knocked Sprite out in The Eternals:
Sprite was annoying me, and I think everyone else, by this point. So when she got knocked out just as she looked like she had beaten Sersi, it was pretty darn satisfying.
42.When Venom recognized Peter in the post-credits scene for Venom: Let There Be Carnage (This is Sony, but I’m counting it as the scene takes place in the MCU):
Suggested by coldleafjuice
This moment ultimately had no payoff, but the idea that Venom could be in No Way Home was definitely cheer-worthy. (Okay, he is in No Way Home, but only for two seconds in a post-credits scene.)
41.When Norman said, 'I'm something of a scientist myself' in Spider-Man: No Way Home (a reference, of course, to his oft-memed line from Spider-Man):
I just love this tiny moment of fan service.
40.When Hulk said 'Hulk smash' and beat Abomination in The Incredible Hulk:
Suggested by jamaarbarkley
Hulk doesn't get a lot of great glory moments (and has unfortunately become more of the butt of the joke as the films have gone on), so of course we had to include this one. It's such a great satisfying moment, especially for comics fans.
39.When the Guardians held hands and withstood the Power Stone in Guardians of the Galaxy:
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While overall Guardians feels more comedic in its action, this moment was still really badass and cool and got a few cheers.
38.When Loki arrived with the ship in Thor: Ragnarok:
Suggested by Hannatude
An iconic Loki moment.
37.When Peter pushed his way out of the rubble without his suit in Spider-Man: Homecoming:
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I love a good "heroes friends come in at the last minute to save them" scene, but what happens here, where no one comes to help Peter and he has to get himself out, is almost more powerful.
36.When Hulk slammed Loki in The Avengers:
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Suggested by steveinva
I don't know about y'all, but I found this scene pretty damn satisfying.
35.When Daredevil showed up in Spider-Man: No Way Home:
The first crossover cameo in a movie full of them. Honorable mention to Matt's "I'm a really good lawyer."
34.When Steve first came out of the machine in Captain America: The First Avenger:
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This definitely got a huge cheer in theaters, because hello bulked-up Steve. But as a moment that exists purely for eye candy, I don't want to rank it any higher.
33.When Wanda fought Thanos in Avengers: Endgame:
Suggested by johnnyv1776
Wanda is by far the most powerful Avenger, so having her confront and fight Thanos one-on-one was pretty awesome, even in a climax filmed with awesome badass moments.
32.When Thor summoned BOTH the Mjolnir and Stormbreaker in Avengers: Endgame:
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Suggested by glitterway
A truly badass moment.
31.When Okoye said she would kill W'Kabi for Wakanda "without question" in Black Panther:
YES, OKOYE!!!! W'Kabi standing by Killmonger's regime was such a betrayal, and I'm so glad they showed Okoye as a strong independent character who knew exactly where her loyalties lay, and wasn't swayed by W'Kabi's choice. Wanda may be the most powerful Avenger, but Okoye is the most badass, IMO.
30.When Cap gave Sam his shield in Avengers: Endgame:
"I hated Endgame, but that moment when Steve handed Sam the shield, I literally yelled 'THAT'S MY CAP!' at our midnight screening."
Old Steve is pretty divisive, and people have a lot of thoughts, but it seems like everyone loved him giving the shield to Sam. It was SUCH a good choice of a successor — the only reason this isn't ranked higher is that it also meant we were seeing the last of Steve.
29.When T'Challa revealed himself to be alive to Wakanda/Killmonger in Black Panther:
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Suggested by tink1953
If this was the first moment we saw T'Challa alive, it would be higher up, but we already knew he'd survived. Still a badass moment.
28.When Peter saw through Mysterio's illusion and stopped him from shooting him in the head in Spider-Man: Far from Home:
This felt like such a growing-up moment for Peter. Mysterio has been manipulating Peter and his desire to be a kid — as well as his lack of a mentor/father figure now that Tony's gone — all movie. Here, we see Peter show that he's a lot smarter — and more jaded — after all Mysterio has done to him.
27.When Tony got control of the Infinity Gauntlet in Avengers: Endgame:
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Suggested by banana22oats
The reason this isn't ranked higher is because, as badass and amazing as it was, it was still Tony sacrificing himself. There were some shouts, but mostly a hush fell over the audience as they realized what was happening.
26.When Carol flew through Thanos's ship in Avengers: Endgame:
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Suggested by banana22oats
The arrival of Carol definitely came with a lot of cheers. As the newest MCU lead at that moment (who had been gone for most of the film), it was fun to see her return and kick some major ass.
25.When Carol got up again in Captain Marvel and it flashed back to all the times she got back up again after falling in her life:
Literal chills every single time.
24.When Natasha broke her nose to sever Dreykov's control over her in Black Widow:
Marvel
Another super badass moment that proves that Natasha has always been willing to do whatever it takes. It was so powerful to see her overcome Dreykov's control, and was one of my favorite moments in Black Widow.
23.When Natasha utterly dominated in this Iron Man 2 scene:
Marvel
Iron Man 2 is one of the worst MCU films, and it's pretty much only saved by introducing Natasha. She CLEANS UP in this scene, and it's a great taste of what she can do.
22.When Yon-Rogg tried to bait Carol into fighting him without her powers and Carol said she had nothing to prove to him in Captain Marvel:
This was one of my favorite moments of Captain Marvel. Yon-Rogg's proposal that they fight without powers felt like bait a male hero would take, and I was SO happy when Carol just blasted him away and was like, "screw that." Her "I have nothing to prove to you" was a great empowering moment of her character arc, too.
21.When Natasha and Okoye came to Wanda's rescue in Avengers: Infinity War:
Suggested by asifak17sp
They tried to repeat this with the female Avengers team-up (see #50) and it did not work at all. It was SO much better and more natural here. It wasn't a literal Taylor Swift-esque #squad of heroes that felt cartoonish, but rather Okoye and Natasha happening to be nearby and helping Wanda fight. It's even more powerful because Okoye and Natasha don't have any powers. This moment just feels so effortlessly empowering.
20.When Shang-Chi got control of half the rings in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings:
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We all knew it was coming, but that didn't take away from this being an awesome moment. There's really nothing like a superhero finally becoming the superhero in an origin story.
19.When Bruce revealed his "secret" in The Avengers and turned into the Hulk:
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Our first time seeing Mark Ruffalo's Bruce as the Hulk did NOT disappoint. This is honestly just an iconic MCU moment.
18.When T'Challa yelled "WAKANDA FOREVER!" and fought with the Wakandans and Avengers in Avengers: Infinity War:
Marvel
"In Infinity War, people were cheering throughout the Wakanda scene....[for example] when Black Panther said 'Wakanda Forever' and they charged."
17.When Harry Styles/Starfox showed up in the post-credits scene for The Eternals:
As a Harry lover, I am biased in placing this so high up, but I will say it got the biggest cheer during Eternals, more so than any other moment.
16.When Doc Oc showed up in Spider-Man: No Way Home:
Yes, this moment was in trailers, but that didn't stop it from being (and excuse my 2008 slang) EPIC. I mean, this was really our first confirmation of the multiverse!!!
15.And when Goblin's laugh started and he showed up in No Way Home:
Marvel
Kind of a let-down, as Peter's immediately transported away, but Goblin's laugh always gives me chills.
14.When the Jabari showed up to help T'Challa's supporters in Black Panther:
"When the border tribe (aka traitors) had the remaining guard trapped and the mountain tribe showed up and kicked ass, omg. That was my favorite moment in Black Panther."
13.When Tony finally saw Peter again and hugged him in Avengers: Endgame:
This literally HEALED MY HEART.
12.When Steve, Nat and Sam made their entrances in Avengers: Infinity War:
Suggested by buzzy21
Our heroes were sorely missed post Civil War, so seeing our faves pop back in to help Vision and Wanda was an extremely satisfying moment. Also, hello bearded Sam and blonde Nat!!!
11.When Thor showed up in Wakanda in Avengers: Infinity War with his axe:
Marvel
"In Avengers: Infinity War, when the Avengers are getting beaten badly and Thor's axe suddenly comes skipping through the field, everyone in the theater I was in cheered! It always gives me chills."
"'BRING ME THANOS!!'"
10.When Thor summoned lightning with no hammer in Thor: Ragnarok:
"I literally watched this scene again yesterday, and I got so many chills repeatedly. Holy crap, that scene was incredible."
Just want to add that the choice of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" directly afterwards elevates this scene from great to spectacular.
9.When the original six Avengers all assembled for the first time:
Marvel
Suggested by glitterway
Chills. I have nothing else to say.
8.When Hulk showed up in Thor: Ragnarok:
Thor: Ragnarok is the best MCU movie and it's not even a contest. It was elevated by Hulk's inclusion (he was sorely missed in Civil War!) and led to so many great moments between Thor and Bruce/Hulk, which helped in developing and bonding two original Avengers who felt like fringe characters of the group at times (Thor never really bonded with any of them, and Natasha and Bruce felt really forced). So when Hulk revealed himself, it was just such an incredible moment — as was Thor's reaction, then him immediately getting his butt kicked.
7.When all three Spider-Men swung together in Spider-Man: No Way Home:
WHAT A MOMENT. I don't have much else to say here. Just iconic.
6.When Cap said, "Avengers, assemble," in Avengers: Endgame:
Marvel
"The entire place erupted when I saw this at the movie theater."
An iconic moment, but as only a small part of the whole portals scene, I don't think it should place in the top five.
5.When Steve recognized Bucky in Captain America: The Winter Soldier:
The Winter Soldier really is a top tier MCU film and superhero film in general, and I think the whole best-friend-turned-evil trope is a huge reason of why it works. Bucky is a fan favorite (for good reason), so having him show up here was incredible.
4.When Cap got control of Mj?lnir in Avengers: Endgame:
Marvel
In Endgame, this moment probably got the second-loudest cheers. For some people, it was a long time coming, but for me it was super unexpected and yet made perfect sense, which made it that much more enjoyable.
3.When Tony revealed himself to be Iron Man at the very end of Iron Man:
Marvel
Y'all, this is how one superhero film spawned an entire UNIVERSE of movies. Iron Man was already a great movie, but it completely did away with the tired superhero trope of hiding your identity in this one scene, and it's still, IMO, the smartest thing the MCU ever did, and one of my all-time favorite moments. Such a great reversal of expectations!
2.When Andrew's Peter Parker (and, to a lesser extent, Tobey's) showed up in Spider-Man: No Way Home:
I gotta hand it to Marvel for not spoiling this. It would've been so easy to market the movie with Tobey and Andrew, and instead they pretended they weren't in it for the entire publicity tour. When people finally realized the Spider-Man jumping through the portal Ned created was not Tom Holland's Spider-Man, they lost it. And again when he pulled off his mask. And AGAIN when Tobey showed up (though of course Andrew's entrance was bigger, just because his entrance was first and basically confirmed that Tobey would be coming).
1.When everyone came through the portals in Avengers: Endgame:
I mean, obviously this has to be #1. People LOST IT. I lost it. This was truly incredible to witness in theaters on opening night, and I will forever be chasing the collective high of this moment.