1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
After heaping so much praise on the ending of The Avengers, youd be forgiven for wondering how on earth its not in the top spot of this list. The fact is though that The Winter Soldier makes a very strong case for being the best film that Marvel has made to date, and the final third, which manages to be climactic whilst also a natural and coherent progression of the films tone and style to that point, is a big part of that. The Winter Soldiers conclusion is a perfect blend of suspense, action and emotion. Set against the countdown to the activation of Hydras latest flying-death-ship-plan (seriously, they need to start branching out), Cap and Falcon rush disable the SHIELD Helicarriers that are due to start obliterating known threats to the organisations vision for world peace. Meanwhile, Black Widow and Nick Fury square up to Robert Redfords villainous Alexander Pierce and the whole thing ends with those Hellicarriers, a symbol of SHIELDs might in The Avengers, compromised and crashing symbolically into the intelligence agencys HQ, marking the end of an era for the MCU. The real stand out sequence though, is the fight between Bucky Barnes and Cap. The pain and conflict on The Winter Soldiers face as Cap refuses to fight back and appeals to the part of him that was once his best friend is heartbreaking, lending the fight an emotional angle that is neither mawkish or overblown. Its a moment of character work in the midst of the spectacle and its what that means for the characters and the MCU on a whole that elevates Captain America: The Winter Soldiers denouement above that of any other film that Marvel Studios has produced so far. What's your favourite Marvel finale? Shout out your favourite down in the comments.
Mark Grainger
Contributor
Stereotypically awkward writer, gamer and general nerd. Dislikes writing in the third person, likes tea as much as the next man but not as much as a typical blogger and has breath as fresh as a summer ham.
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Mark