By Brandon T. McClure (@btmcclure @fakenerdpodcast)
The MCU, specifically the Infinity Saga (2008-2019) has meant a great deal to me, as I am sure it has for many people. What first started as a book pitch is now a series of essays of mine that will be (hopefully) published every week. The goal is to pick a specific moment within The Infinity Saga and share with you why I believe it’s a defining moment. To revisit previous posts, visit our site HERE.
Enjoy the ride as we count down from 50 of the most defining moments and share your thoughts in the comments.
• THE FIRST POST CREDITS •
MOMENT# 45
MOVIE:Iron Man
DIRECTORS: Jon Favreau
WRITERS: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum & Matt Holloway
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr) house during the post-credits of Iron Man.
The MCU has expanded to reach heights that fans had only dreamed of. No one knew what the franchise would grow to become when Iron Man came to theaters in 2008. Marvel had sold the rights to some of their more popular characters such as the X-Men and Spider-Man. The newly formed Marvel Studios was limited in what various heroes could form The Avengers. Fans were used to superhero films existing in their own little pocket universes, but that all changed with Iron Man.
Unaware that the landscape of superhero cinema was about to change forever, moviegoers went to see the Marvel film in modest numbers. Audiences fell in love with the new superhero played by Robert Downey Jr. This first MCU film followed the journey of Tony Stark after he gets captured by the Ten Rings terrorist group. They force him to make a weapon but instead he makes a suit of armor to make his escape. Afterwards he moves Stark Industries away from weapons manufacturing. His new objective was making a new suit and taking down his nefarious business partner, Obadiah Stane. He proudly declares to the world that he is Iron Man.
The credits rolled and nearly everyone left the theater, but those who stayed were treated with the first hints that something more was on the way. In a darkened house in Malibu, Samuel L. Jackson is introduced to audiences as Nick Fury. He informs Tony Stark that he’s become part of a larger world, ending with “I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative.” Since Iron Man, there has been a post credits scene in almost every MCU film, with the exception of The Incredible Hulk and Avengers: Endgame (and technically Avengers: Age of Ultron only has a mid-credits scene). The post-credits became a tool for Marvel Studios to tease up the next film or the next major story. Sitting in the theater waiting for that final scene to show has become a tradition for Marvel fans ever since.
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) delivering the line “I’m here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative” in Iron Man’s post-credits.
Fans had wanted superhero crossovers for years. The closest anyone ever got was a fake poster in I Am Legend. The world of superhero cinema had just changed forever. Kevin Fiege and Marvel Studios had just told the world that they were going to unite the Avengers on the big screen. At the time, no one knew how it would happen or when, but they were going to try, and that was more than enough.
All audiences had to do was sit through the credits.
By Brandon T. McClure (@btmcclure @fakenerdpodcast)
The MCU, specifically the Infinity Saga (2008-2019) has meant a great deal to me, as I am sure it has for many people. What first started as a book pitch is now a series of essays of mine that will be (hopefully) published every week. The goal is to pick a specific moment within The Infinity Saga and share with you why I believe it’s a defining moment. To revisit previous posts, visit our site HERE.
Enjoy the ride as we count down from 50 of the most defining moments and share your thoughts in the comments.
• NICK FURY STILL BELIEVES IN HEROES •
MOMENT# 46
MOVIE:Marvel’s The Avengers
DIRECTORS: Joss Whedon
WRITERS: Joss Whedon & Zak Penn
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in Marvel’s The Avengers
The first few years of the MCU were a frenzy of speculation and hype. When word was announced that the first phase of the franchise would come to a close with a massive team-up film, uniting the characters that had already been introduced, people just couldn’t believe it. A collaboration film like this was unheard of at the time and had only existed in the dreams of hardcore fans for decades. Nonetheless, in 2012, The Avengers was released and with it, many defining moments that would pave the way for the MCU for years to come.
The Avengers brought together the heroes introduced in each MCU film since 2008’s Iron Man. They joined to fight a new threat in the form of a Chitauri invasion of Earth led by the god of mischief himself, Loki. Nowadays, Marvel does these types of things in their sleep, but back then it was a juggling act that fans weren’t sure would pay off. In this first Avengers film, Loki is tasked by Thanos to retrieve the Tesseract. He brainwashes Clint Barton/Hawkeye and begins a plan to bring his army to Earth. In response to this, Nick Fury (director of SHIELD) brings together the mightiest heroes the Earth has ever seen, Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Black Widow, in the hopes to stop Loki before he can bring his army.
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) in Marvel’s The Avengers
In the midst of an escape, Loki kills Phil Coulson, a SHIELD agent who had grown close to the various heroes. Coupled with Loki’s escape, some major psychological and physical damage to the team (as well as the Helicarrier) made the heroes feel like everything was lost. They had failed and Loki was in the wind with no way to find him. In a rare quiet moment in the film, Nick Fury, mourning the loss of his friend and agent, lays everything on the table to Steve and Stark, both mourning Coulson’s death as well. Fury talks about how there was an idea, to bring together a group of remarkable individuals to see if they could be something more. To drive the point home, he says “Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea…in heroes.”
Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in Marvel’s The Avengers.
Steve Rogers/Captain America, the man out of time, doesn’t know what his place is in this new world. He looks at the bloodied Captain America trading cards laid out in front of him, wondering, is there a place for him in this time period? Tony Stark/Iron Man, coldly looks off into the distance, unsure how to face his emotions for losing his friend. Upon hearing the line about heroes, he storms out of the room. After all, how could he be a hero? All the while, Fury is running one last play that he’s not sure is going to work. He watches Stark leave and says “well, it’s an old-fashioned notion anyway.”
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) with Coulson’s cards in Marvel’s The Avengers.
This parallels nicely with an early conversation in the film when Coulson speaks to Steve about the new Captain America uniform. Steve is unsure how something so flashy would work in the modern-day and asks whether or not it was too old-fashioned. Coulson just follows up with “people might just need a little old-fashioned.” The callback to the earlier scene is the button on the speech that persuades Steve because that's exactly what the world needs right now. After convincing the others, they converge on New York and prepare for the battle of their lives.
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in Marvel’s The Avengers.
Within the film, Fury’s speech gave the Avengers the push they needed to put aside their differences and be the heroes the world needs. This was the button on the first and biggest lesson the soon-to-be Avengers would learn: no matter what happens, you get up because the world is counting on you. Divided they could be beaten but together they were stronger. This was the penultimate moment to them uniting and becoming The Avengers.
Marvel’s The Avengers (L to R): Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson, Captain America (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth).
By Brandon T. McClure (@btmcclure @fakenerdpodcast)
The MCU, specifically the Infinity Saga (2008-2019) has meant a great deal to me, as I am sure it has for many people. What first started as a book pitch is now a series of essays of mine that will be (hopefully) published every week. The goal is to pick a specific moment within The Infinity Saga and share with you why I believe it’s a defining moment. To revisit previous posts, visit our site HERE.
Enjoy the ride as we count down from 50 of the most defining moments and share your thoughts in the comments.
• STEVE DOESN’T LIKE BULLIES •
MOMENT# 47
MOVIE:Captain America: The First Avenger
DIRECTORS: Joe Johnston
WRITERS: Christopher Marcus & Steven McFeeley
Chris Evans as a young and much smaller soldier in Captain America: The First Avenger
There are many character-defining moments for Steve Rogers in the MCU. Moments that show just what kind of person he strives to be, this is a guy willing to stand up for ideals. One truly personal ideal is his stance on bullies. One moment would define, not just his character, but the people he would go on to fight. Outside of the first two Avengers films (and a brief cameo in Thor: The Dark World and Spider-Man: Homecoming), Christopher Marcus and Steven McFeely have written almost every film Steve Rogers has appeared in. This is a distinction they don’t share with any other writers in the MCU. Because of this, they were able to lay down the character and then build on the foundations over time.
Audiences are introduced to Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger, the final movie before the hotly anticipated The Avengers. Before Steve Rogers became Captain America, he was a short scrawny guy, who just wanted to do his part. He felt it wasn’t fair that all these other men his age were going off to war and he wasn’t. After an argument with long-time best friend James “Bucky” Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Steve once again attempts to join the Army. He’s so desperate to do his part and fight for his country that he’s willing to risk prison time by lying on his physical form. He’d been trying every recruiter in the state to give him a shot. When it looks like he was found out, Doctor Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) walked into the room and asked Steve a simple question: “Do you want to kill Nazi’s?”
Doctor Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) in Captain America: The First Avenger.
“I don’t want to kill anyone. But I don’t like bullies, I don’t care where they're from.”
Steve’s response is short and to the point. The future Captain America had spent his entire life being bullied. He learned at a very young age that they would never stop unless he stood up to them. He would later tell Peggy (Haley Atwell) that he knew that if he ran, they would never let him stop. His response to Dr. Erskine in that room was what ultimately convinced Erskine that Steve was the perfect candidate for the super-soldier program. Steve was willing to put his life on the line to fight the most dangerous bullies the world had ever seen, not because of some sadistic desire to kill, but because it was the right thing to do. As far as Erskine was concerned, he’d found his man.
General Phillips (played by Tommy Lee Jones) and Erskine (Stanley Tucci) in Captain America: The First Avenger.
During basic training for the program, General Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) would try to push Erskine to pick Gilmore Hodge (Lex Shrapnel), since Hodge was the most capable soldier at that camp. Erskine just replied that Hodge was a bully. In his mind, the serum had to go to a good man, a man who didn’t seek power, but a man whose sole desire was to do right. Erskine had seen firsthand what his serum could do to a man who had power already with the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). While Hodge might not have turned out to be another Red Skull, giving a bully of any kind the serum was not an option to Erskine.
The moment in that physical room told Erskine and the audience everything they needed to know about Steve Rogers. Standing before Erskine was a good man, the kind of man that will stand up to the bullies of the world. This philosophy would guide Steve throughout his journey in the MCU. When he faced Loki, SHIELD, or his fellow Avengers, he knew what the right course of action would be because he was an incorruptible force and he had to put the bullies in their place.
Captain America Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) in Captain America: The First Avenger.
Steve Rogers is a true hero. A good man, constantly trying to do the right thing and taking a stand against the bullies of the world to protect those who can’t protect themselves. The anti-bullying theme of the MCU may not be the most overt one but it was baked in its DNA from the beginning and given shape and form with Captain America. That one fateful moment in a physical room at the Stark Expo gave the MCU one of its most prestigious heroes and more importantly, one of its defining ideals.
By Brandon T. McClure (@btmcclure @fakenerdpodcast)
The MCU, specifically the Infinity Saga (2008-2019) has meant a great deal to me, as I am sure it has for many people. What first started as a book pitch is now a series of essays of mine that will be (hopefully) published every week. The goal is to pick a specific moment within The Infinity Saga and share with you why I believe it’s a defining moment. To revisit previous posts, visit our site HERE.
Enjoy the ride as we count down from 50 of the most defining moments and share your thoughts in the comments.
• A FIRST DANCE •
MOMENT# 48
MOVIE:Avengers: Endgame
DIRECTORS: Joe and Anthony Russo
WRITERS: Christopher Marcus & Stephen McFeeley
Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans) and Peggy Carter (played by Hayley Atwell) dance in Avengers: Endgame
Steve Rogers has had a rough journey through the course of the MCU. Frozen in time, betrayed by the government he swore to protect, forced to fight his friend to save his other friend, and then half the population of the universe is snapped away. While Steve didn’t constantly struggle with living in the modern world, it was never easy for him. When he had a second chance, knowing the world would be safe, he took it.
One of the major through-lines of Captain America: The First Avenger is that Steve has never danced with a woman. After all, he figured he’d wait for “the right partner”. When he meets Agent Peggy Carter, he realizes that she was that partner he was looking for. The events of Captain America’s origin film also play out as a love story between Peggy and Steve. There’s clearly an unspoken love between them, but they just can’t find the right time. During the climactic moments of the film, they make a date for that first dance. Sadly, Steve never makes it to his 8:00pm date at the Stork Club. When he finally does reunite with Peggy, she’s grown old and is suffering from dementia, but he couldn’t leave his best gal. The doomed romance of Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers is one for the ages.
The time-traveling events of Avengers: Endgame see the Avengers take the Infinity Stones from different points in history so they can bring back the 50% of the universe that Thanos snapped away. Steve and Tony have to retrieve the Tesseract (the Space Stone) from the 1970s, and there, in an old S.H.I.E.L.D. bunker, Steve sees Peggy for the first time since attending her funeral in Captain America: Civil War. When Thanos is defeated and Steve is sure the world will be safe without him, he gives his best friend, Bucky, one final hug and leaves the timeline to return the stones and find that life he’s been missing.
The film ends with their first dance.
Whenever there’s talk about endings within the MCU, most always point to Iron Man. Since Tony was the MCU’s first hero, his ending was a major point of interest for many. Unlike comic books, the characters in the MCU will age and eventually have to be written out. Early on, there was a lot of talk of recasting, much in the same way as Mark Ruffalo replaced Edward Norton. As the franchise went on, recasting became a harder task. Marvel Studios couldn’t just recast Robert Downey Jr. or Chris Evans. Audiences had developed an emotional attachment to these characters, and the actors who played them over the years. Having anyone else in the role would be a hard sell.
Avengers: Infinity War, already prepared audiences for what Avengers: Endgame was going to bring, but a happy ending seemed like a pipe dream. Giving Steve Rogers a happy ending shows that not every character has to go out in a blaze of glory. Sometimes, they can get everything they want. Steve Rogers was able to have the life he longed for, the life he didn’t feel he could have because of his responsibility to the world. A happy ending was given to a character that was beloved. Steve Rogers was allowed to ride off into the sunset, live the life he was robbed of with the woman he always loved. For Steve, there was no more “what could have been”. Now Captain America didn’t have to disappear, a new timeline could be formed where Steve lived a happy life with Peggy. One can’t help but wonder what that other timeline was like…
By Brandon T. McClure (@btmcclure @fakenerdpodcast)
The MCU, specifically the Infinity Saga (2008-2019) has meant a great deal to me, as I am sure it has for many people. What first started as a book pitch is now a series of essays of mine that will be (hopefully) published every week. The goal is to pick a specific moment within The Infinity Saga and share with you why I believe it’s a defining moment. To read #50, click HERE.
Enjoy the ride as we count down from 50 of the most defining moments and share your thoughts in the comments.
• PETER PARKER •
MOMENT# 49
MOVIE:Captain America: Civil War
DIRECTORS: Joe and Anthony Russo
WRITERS: Christopher Marcus & Steven McFeeley
Spider-Man (played by Tom Holland) in Captain America: Civil War
Let’s say you aren’t the kind of person who eats up every piece of news that the 24-hour entertainment circuit throws at you. If that were true, you wouldn’t have known about the deal that Disney struck with Sony to share the rights of Spider-Man. If that were true, you were probably shocked when Tony Stark yelled “UNDEROOS!” in the Captain America: Civil War trailer and none other than Spider-Man swings into frame, stealing Captain America’s shield.
The introduction of Spider-Man into the MCU was something fans had wished for since the start but Marvel (now owned by Disney) had sold the character to Sony in the 90s and it made his inclusion nearly impossible. However, talks of Spider-Man cameos were happening as early as The Incredible Hulk (2008). One most notable case was when the VFX artists on The Avengers let it slip that talks of including The Amazing Spider-Man’s Osborne tower in the MCU skyline were happening. It wasn’t until the infamous “Sony hacks” that Sony decide to enter into negotiations for the character. Coupled with The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s critical failure, Sony was open to work with the MCU.
A deal was struck and history was made.
Thanks to two studios putting aside financial hesitations in favor of creative design, Spider-Man could now interact with the other heroes in the world’s biggest franchise. The events of Captain America: Civil War lead Tony Stark/Iron Man to take on someone who will help him against Captain America. He ends up in Queens where he then flirts with the new Aunt May and recruits Peter Parker. The scene that plays out instantly tells the audience everything they need to know about this new Spider-Man. He’s young and inexperienced but he’s already lost his Uncle Ben and feels the weight of responsibility. Sony and Marvel wisely felt they could skip the origin story this time around.
Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in Captain America: Civil War
The character of Spider-Man introduced brand new elements to the MCU. Up until this point, there had been no talk of legacy heroes, secret identities, or even young heroes. Spider-Man brought with him all three. While his solo films would go on to explore these avenues to greater effect, his first appearance made a huge impact and sent ripples throughout MCU Phase 3. Quite literally in one sense as the entire schedule was changed to accommodate two Spider-Man movies (pour one out for Marvel's only canceled film, Inhumans). Now that Sony was willing to work within the MCU, it felt even bigger than it did originally. Marvel could now play with the entire Spider-Man universe that they sold off in the 90s.
Since Captain America: Civil War was filled with great moments between Captain America and Iron Man, the young high school kid from Queens’ debut in the MCU is often overlooked. From the obnoxiously large location text, to Peter’s tender moment with Tony and his fight with Team Cap, Spider-Man’s introduction was a resounding success. A success that created a sense of excitement for the possibilities to come, which was very important for a franchise that had made 13 films in about 8 years.
By Brandon T. McClure (@btmcclure @fakenerdpodcast)
The MCU, specifically the Infinity Saga (MCU Phase 1) has meant a great deal to me, as I am sure it has for many people. What first started as a book pitch is now a series of essays of mine that will be (hopefully) published every week. The goal is to pick a specific moment within The Infinity Saga and share with you why I believe it’s a defining moment.
Enjoy the ride as we count down from 50 of the most defining moments and share your thoughts in the comments.
• LOKI’S FINAL DEATH •
MOMENT# 50
MOVIE:Avengers: Infinity War
DIRECTORS: Joe and Anthony Russo
WRITERS: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
The hype for Avengers: Infinity War was astronomical. People knew that this was the movie they had been waiting almost a decade for. The creative team behind the last two Captain America films (Captain America: Winter Soldier & Captain America: Civil War) were making the next Avengers movies(?!?!).
It was another world back then (circa 2017-2018).
Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) in Avengers: Infinity War.
After the ominous post-credit sting of Thor: Ragnarok, the Sanctuary II had arrived at the Asgardian refugee ship and fans were then eager to see where Avengers: Infinity War may begin. With Thanos and his Black Order having already decimated half of Thor’s remaining people, the opening was bleaker than what we were used to. With every turn of the opening sequence, audiences were kept on the edge of their seats.
Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) with the Tesseract in Avengers: Infinity War.
The scene plays out after Loki delivers the Tesseract to Thanos (we also discover that Loki had stolen the Tesseract from the Asgard vault before its destruction) in order to save his dying brother. He makes one last play to try and convince Thanos that he can take him to Earth to retrieve the remaining Infinity Stones. Thor and the audience are also led to believe this deception up until Loki turns to Thor and calls himself “son of Odin”. Sadly, knowing what’s about to happen, Loki “the trickster” fatefully tries to stab the mad titan with a knife, only to be killed himself.
Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) attempting to kill Thanos (played by Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War.
“No resurrections this time.”
- Thanos says to Loki’s limp body in his hand.
Loki’s death by Thanos not only sets the stakes for the movie; that anyone you’ve come to love could die, but also completes Loki’s character journey. Throughout the films, Loki has played villain, both primary and secondary to Thor and the Avengers. Thanks to the events of Thor: The Dark World, audiences weren’t sure what to make of this death. Was this permanent? Did we really just see the death of the god of mischief? Even after the film was released, fans were picking apart his death scene to find clues as to how he could have survived.
The death of Loki (Tom Hiddleston/Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War.
Woefully, not this time. The writers practically went out of their way to tell audiences this was for real. Loki’s death showed how powerful Thanos could be. Thanos was no longer just the foreboding figure in the background. Now he was a real threat that was coming to kill the characters that fans have grown to love. Loki’s death made it so that us onlookers could see a character like Vision get stabbed and be forced to consider if he may be next.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) witnessing the death of his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in Avengers: Infinity War.
More than coming to terms with mortality, this death proved that the MCU was willing to let characters meet endings in order to wrap up their character arcs. For many years, fans were wondering what would come next. Long-time comic book readers know that character arcs never end and if they do, it doesn’t last. The MCU was different with the death of Loki and wrapping up his story arc was an arguably satisfactory and tragic way for the creators to show the audience that someday, you’ll have to say goodbye to the characters you love. Loki’s final death signaled not only the end of of his story but also those in the coming movies.
