MCU: 10 Most Paused Moments

Back before fans had seen the original squad of Avengers assemble for the first time, Jon Favreau was absolutely determined to blow the minds of the growing MCU audience in Iron Man 2.

On top of the aforementioned S.H.I.E.L.D. places of interest bombshells, Natasha Rominoff/Black Widow joining the universe, and Mjolnir eventually making a dramatic appearance in the post-credits scene, one of the most iconic pieces of equipment in Marvel history makes its first major appearance.

We say major, as Captain America's unmistakable shield, or at least a prototype version of it, also appears in the background of Tony Stark's garage during the first Iron Man movie. That brief tease was easily missed. However, the defensive item's appearance in Iron Man 2 forced multiple double-takes and numerous pauses/replays once fans realised what they were seeing.

Teasing the complicated future relationship Stark and Steve Rogers would have later down the line, when Agent Coulson asks why the wise-cracking Iron Man had possession of this distinct prototype device, Stark overlooks the importance of the object and uses the shield to prop up his own project.

Though this wasn't actually the real deal, this beat did succeed in getting fans even more hyped for the incoming First Avenger feature, and gave us one of our first looks at a version of a shield which would find itself at the centre of the MCU's most important moments going forward.