There was a time, really not that long ago, when kids and adults alike would spend all their hard-earned cash or pocket money on comic books. Back then, Marvel weren’t really in the movie making business, and this was the only way those poor souls could get their superhero fix. Fortunately for the world though, Marvel arein that business these days in a big way, and you can expect that for at least the next 10 years or so at the very least – thanks to recent successes, the tide of Marvel films won’t subside for some time.
If you are anything like me, you are already slobbering at the mouth at the prospect of your next Marvel superhero movie fix, and have spent pretty much everyday since The Avengers came out wishing it to be April/May 2013 already for the Iron Man 3 release. Luckily for us, 2013 brings us more than just Iron Man 3, with two more Marvel movies to go mental over – Thor: The Dark World, and The Wolverine – but because we have over three months to wait until our next Marvel movie fix, I have put together a list of the 50 Greatest Marvel Movie Moments of All Time.
Get ready to be swept away by awesomeness that is Marvel…
50. Spider-Man 3: Flint Marko Becomes Sandman
For all you Spider-Man 3 haters out there I assure you that this is one of only a few times any scene from the much loathed sequel is awarded a place on this list, and bare in mind this is only the 50th best… so in reality, it is still not ALL THAT good. However, this CGI scene where Flint Marko rises from a pit of sand as the Sandman is beautifully shot, and is the one and only time in this movie when any one thought that this version of Sandman would be any good. Forget how implausible this whole scene is in reality (he’s far from my favorite Spider-Man villain) and try to just appreciate the pretty sand as we at first follow a single sand grain until it forms to create the Sandman we all know…
49. Daredevil: Matt Murdock Discovers Enhanced Senses
Daredevil is one of my least favorite Marvel movies and consequently I haven’t seen the film all that many times, however I do remember watching the film and being impressed at the beginning before it threw away its potential as Matt Murdock began to discover that after being blinded his other senses had increased to the point where he was able to, with some ease, free-run around cities and beat up bad guys. Though the CGI in this scene probably suffers because the film itself is one of Marvel’s oldest, at the time of release this scene at the beginning of the movie made me excited to see where the story was headed.
48. Fantastic Four 2: Johnny Meets Silver Surfer
I’ve never been all that much of a fan of the Fantastic Four as characters (as far as the comic is involved I am almost exclusively an X-Men kind of guy) and the two films, like Daredevil, sit at the bottom of the pile when it comes to Marvel films I really like and Marvel films that are just about watchable… this is perhaps why this scene, like the Daredevil one comes at the beginning of the movie when for all I knew the movie was going to be good. The Silver Surfer (who looks pretty awesome by the way) is chased by Chris Evans “Johnny Storm” (the only bearable actor in the film) and the intergalactic traveller then drags Johnny into the edges of the Earth’s atmosphere and drops him down to Earth. Pretty cool no?
47. X-Men 3: Mystique Is “Cured”
Again, although the bottom of this list contains moments from the least well received Marvel movies this isn’t to say in those movies there were not some truly breathtaking moments and this scene certainly qualifies. When Mystique sacrifices her mutant abilities in order to save Magneto from having to sacrifice his and her blue skin is slowly turned white, I remember being all kinds of excited in the cinema audience- finally, a brave move from an often very safe movie genre. The idea and the metaphor of the mutant cure is also one of the genres most interesting plot points- shame it wasn’t explored as well as it could have in this disappointing sequel… but this scene had great potential, especially when Mystique is coldly rejected by her mutant partner in crime for being genetically inferior.
46. Spider-Man: Mary And Peter Kiss At Norman’s Funeral
Finally, we have reached a genuinely superb movie and one of Marvel’s finest. This moment is the first of two kisses on this list between what I consider the most believable and well-constructed relationship in the Marvel movie franchise, and it is the first time in the trilogy that these two honestly kiss each other, without any masks in the way. The original Spider-Man trilogy did a lot of things very well and one of those things was its ambiguous “cliff-hangery” endings, which all revolved around the complexities in Mary and Peter’s relationship: did Mary know Peter Parker was Spider-Man at this point? You’d have to wait 2 years for an answer and it turns out she still hadn’t exactly clocked on.
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28 Comments
Can’t believe Spidermans fight with Buzzsaw (Macho man Randy Savage) from the first film isn’t on your list
No love for Ang Lee’s Hulk, eh? I always thought the “Hulk vs. helicopters” scene was a highlight; in particularly for Sam Elliot’s no-nonsense approach to General Ross. He acts and sounds like a general would in battle, cool and collected, even when fighting an opponent as alien as the Hulk. But if I have to pick one scene from the film as THE standout it has to be when Betty and Bruce are reunited in the streets after Hulk’s rampage. The entire theme of the movie of a man who is lost inside himself is summed up simply and beautifully in their dialogue:
Bruce: You found me.
Betty: It wasn’t hard.
Bruce: Yes it was.
Had the film ended there, I think no one would have been talking reboot years later.
Although no scene from that movie features on this list (to be honest, this may be more due to the fact that it is somewhat forgettable) I actually didn’t overally hate the movie. I do think it is one of Marvel’s worst however, but it isn’t half as bad as people make out it is, and I don’t think “The Incredible Hulk” is any better… I just can’t remember their being any scene that particularly blew me away, though I appreciate that their obviously was for you.
Thanks for reading, commenting and suggesting a scene.
Good list man! I did love Flint Marko becoming the Sandman in Spider-Man 3 but at that point I expected it to be a good movie too haha, personally that was the only moment that really stood out of the film to me. I must admit I did prefer The Amazing Spider-Man though, I thought that tread quite brave / dark territory towards the end of the film too, killing off Gwen’s father and everything.
I think that “Puny God” scene from The Avengers would have come in very close to the top of my list, it was just so unexpected! haha
Thanks man… it took a lot of effort (well one very long night) and I am sure I have missed out some very good scenes on this list. I remembered the Puny God scene only during the end of this list so made reference to it it the section where Hulk punches Thor (which I think is just about the better scene). Still, it was very awesome indeed.
For some reason or another I just didn’t like The Amazing Spider-Man and was pretty down when they decided to make that film instead of the Anne Hathaway starring Spider-Man 4. I think it could have potentially have been amazing (especially if the Black Cat had been in it). The Amazing Spider-Man wasn’t terrible, but I wasn’t really wowed by any of it, and feel like it was some what unnesesery. Still, I am a big fan of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone so am hopefully that the sequel is better (Jamie Foxx is sure to help). Thanks.
The movie itself was awful but in X-Men Origins all the Ryan Reynolds wise cracking and the scene he takes out the room of thugs had me thinking I’m getting Deadpool, I’m getting Deadpool….then Fox craps on my dreams with the second half of that visual abortion.
I agree. I very almost included the scene you mentioned, but the movie was so so bad it didn’t make the cut. That said, had I rewrote this list I may have found space for it. The sword scene is visually spectacular and is pretty much the last and only moment in the film when Deadpool was actually cool. Thanks for reading.
How can you forget all the Stan Lee scenes??
Not really wowed by any of them tbh, though like that they include him in the films somewhere. What particular Stan Lee scene would you have added? Which was your favorite? I think the one in The Amazing Spider-Man is just about the best.
Captain America or Thor are probably my favourite Stan Lee scenes.
And they wow me like, “wow, thats how tey put him in”
My opinion though
Nice work Daniel. It is really tough putting together a list like this.
Some notable absences:
X-men – Magneto stops bullets (and the whole train station scene)
X-men 2 – Attack on Xaviers
X-men 3 – Magneto moves The Golden Gate
Daredevil – Electra’s death and the fight with Kingpin, particularly the director’s cut. The “I’m not the bad guy” scene is good too.
Incredible Hulk – Soldiers take on The Hulk in the factory
The Avengers – Thor vs Iron Man and Cap and Thor vs Hulk fights
I would have added some scenes from The Amazing Spider-Man too, and taken out some of the Raimi scenes like the running bride. I thought that was really unnecessary and cliche.
Oh, and the fight with the Frost Giants in Thor was great too.
I’m a sucker for the cheesy Raimi scenes I have to admit… I really really do love his vision for Spider-Man.
Thanks for suggesting some of your favorites… of the ones you suggested I may had included the Magneto scene from X-Men had I remembered it, and perhaps even the attack on Xavier’s, though the scene is fairly long and not exactly a “moment”. Still, great scenes.
I considered including the scene where Electra dies but I honestly dislike the movie too much to give it too much of a mention. I will admit though the scene where Iron Man, Cap and Thor fight should have been on this list probably. The Thor and Hulk scenes are great but I gave the two of them some mention quite high up on this list so probably wouldn’t have included an individual scene. If I am honest with you I am not all that much of a fan of the scene from The Incredible Hulk you suggested, but I didn’t dislike the film.
Though the Frost Giant scene in Thor was entertaining, I wasn’t all that much of a fan of the CGI in these moments hence why I left this scene out, but I can appreciate your love of this scene and I wish I had included more scenes here which featured Loki because he probably is one of my favorite Marvel movie characters.
Thanks for commenting and giving your suggestions, and you are completely right, it is very difficult to put a list like this together and once you are finished you remember so many cool scenes that you simply forgot so it’s great to hear other peoples suggestions. Thanks again.
If I had to pick a moment during the attack on the mansion, it would be Wolverine finally going into a bezerker rage. Hopefully we get to see some more of that in The Wolverine.
If you haven’t seen the director’s cut of Daredevil it is worth a look. I wasn’t a fan of the original cut, but the director’s cut convinced me that there was something worthwhile in it.
The factory fight in Incredible Hulk I thought was really good how it didn’t actually give you a good shot of the monster, but you got to see the destructive power. It was really working on the Jeckll and Hyde thing. More horror than superhero film, and quite refreshing.
The Frost Giant scene was CGI heavy, but it was the first (and really only time) in Thor that we got to see how powerful he is.
In terms of Loki scenes, his “you were made to be ruled” speech was really good. Also the discussions with him in the cell were very good.
Yes, the Wolverine berserker moment in the mansion probably should have been on this list you are right.
I haven’t seen the director’s cut of Daredevil (never even really knew there was one) so thanks for suggesting it. I may check it out if I can force myself to re-watch that film again. Hopefully they make a Daredevil rebooted movie soon that is actually good.
Awesome list I love reliving those moments. I do think some moments were missed.
From x-men: first class – Young Magneto bending the gates at the concentration camp. Also I can’t believe you left out Charles getting hit by the bullet deflected by Erik. I think another comedic scene from that movie is the end where Charles says “Next thing you know I’ll be going bald”.
From The Amazing Spider-Man- I broke down in tears during the bridge scene when Spidey takes off his mask to show the boy that he’s a normal guy. I thought that was such a powerful scene. Also, I loved the ending when the teacher says “Don’t make promises you can’t keep” and Peter replies directed to Gwen “but those are the best kind”. Moments like those add that extra heart to films.
From The Avengers- how could you have missed Iron Man sacrificing himself by flying into the big hole in the sky( sorry cant remember the proper term). I thought that took the narcissistic Tony Stark we knew and totally transformed his character. I am looking forward to seeing that Iron Man on May 3rd.
Thanks again for making this list. I really enjoyed it.
That’s alright, I’m glad you enjoyed reading it, and thank you for adding your favorite moments.
Personally I wasn’t all that much of a fan of X-Men: First Class (in fact I wrote a whole article about how disappointing I found the movie) and I really didn’t enjoy The Amazing Spider-Man, hence why it doesn’t feature on any of my personal favorite 50.
As for The Avengers scene you mentioned I very almost included it here in this list, but didn’t want to fill it all with just Iron Man/ Avengers moments. In truth, you could easily have done a 50 greatest moments from The Avengers alone.
Thanks again.
What about the Gamma radiated dogs in “Hulk”…just kidding…
I would have added the massacre of Frank Castle’s family in the Punisher (Thomas Jane) and the fight between Blade and Asad (Danny John-Jules) and Damaskinos’ daughter Nyssa (Leonor Varela) in Blade II. I personally thought that when Hulk was calmed by Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) in the Incredible Hulk while on the mountain in the rain was a very moving and effective scene.
Thanks for these. Just so you know I laughed at the first line in your comment, and until the “… just kidding…” was preparing myself to write a rather scathing reply back to you.
My memory is not so good when it comes to the specific scenes you mentioned, but I am sure they are all good. I remember really liking Blade 2 and the scene where he fights Nyssa, but if I recall there are moments during that fight where the CGI is just plain dreadful, hence why it isn’t included here. Having said that, there are quite a few Blade moments I probably could have included in this list, and had I watched the films as recently as I had watched many of the others I am sure I would have included a few more.
Excellent point about the bad CGI…I cannot disagree with that but I will state that in defense of that scene which lasts about 2 and a half minutes the choreography of the fight was GREAT up until the last 15 seconds which is the brief time in which the bad effects come into play. See for yourself…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA0Ch2_2o7I
Excellent point about the bad CGI…I cannot disagree with that but I will state that in defense of that scene which lasts about 2 and a half minutes the choreography of the fight was GREAT up until the last 20 seconds which is the brief time in which the bad effects come into play. See for yourself…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA0Ch2_2o7I
Loki being ragdolled by Hulk isn’t on the list, therefore this is invalid
Actually, it is mentioned, just not titled, under the heading about when Hulk punches Thor pretty high up on the list. It was meant to be about both those moments in the film really… the reason I didn’t split them up and the reason the section is mostly dedicated to the Hulk punching Thor moment is because I think that bit is just slightly better.
Favorite scene in the Incredible Hulk was when we first get a full look of the rebooted Hulk at the college and he bust through the glass.
Avengers- One of my favorite scenes was the conversation with Bruce Banner and the old security guard when he ask if Bruce was an alien and he says no, the guard says “well son, then you have a condition”.
What about the X-mansion invasion in X-2. When wolverine takes out a s%#% ton of soldiers.
Yeah, I think somewhere above in the comments I admitted that the scene you reference probably should have been included here. Consider it part of this list.
A few good shouts
Xmen First Class Wolverine, cameo
Xmen 2 Attack on the Mansion
Xmen Brotherhood hold up
Avengers Loki catches arrow
Spiderman 2 Harry finds out who Spiderman is :O
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