Board 8 > Post your favorite MCU scene and I'll rank it

(+) Yeah! (+)

<She-Hulk last episode SPOILERS> - Speaking of spoilers, I foolishly glanced at a spoiler tag without realizing what I was doing so by the time I got to the final episode I already knew she would be breaking through the fourth wall Animal Man style.

Sadly I didn't get the impact from it that most people felt, but it was still executed in a fun enough way that even without the initial surprise it remains entertaining. I'm most impressed that they pulled no punches and roasted the hell out of their own formula, while simultaneously having a seemingly meaningful conversation about what the future of the MCU could be like. Will it actually lead to more satisfying subversions of the formula? We can only hope. I predict it won't be a full upheaval.

• Rating - Animal Man did it first/10

<Mysterio's Treehouse of Horror> - I know I ain't alone here, the Scarecrow sections in Arkham Asylum were so influential that not only did many of us discover our new favorite villain, it also ushered in a new precedent for mindbending scenes even extending to film. This is likely the greatest attempt at capturing that video game magic on the big screen. It throws you for so many loops, it's expertly crafted.

Similarly this sequence cemented my growing adoration for Mysterio, who I never really gave much thought to before. I won't deny that Jake Gyllenhaal added a lot to the appeal as well, he fit the character so perfectly that I was half hoping they would actually trick us and he'd end up being a good guy. That just made the fact that he was who we all expected him to be hurt even more.

• Rating - 10/10 no joke

<Scarlet Witch Disassembles> - Pretty sure my jaw was on the floor after viewing this for the first time. MoM really stretches the limits of a PG-13 rating and it's no doubt impressive to say the least. Wanda is straight up brutal here, you may have been thinking that there was still a chance she wasn't so far gone, then this scene plows in to shut those hopes down.

People still think this was character assassination, but this is Scarlet Witch. She was always going to go down a dark path, she likes bouncing back and forth between hero and villain. Might as well get used to it, she'll be back with a redemption arc don't you worry.

I love how Black Bolt is disposed of immediately, considering he had the power to destroy Wanda. This is the moment where the true threat of the Scarlet Witch is fully realized.

• Rating - Terrifyingly adorable/10

That's definitely the scene that made me fall in love with Doc Strange 2. And the whole sequence after it is just masterful too. Incredible Marvel film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3PtV9H9eK4

CassandraCain posted...

Rating - Animal Man did it first/10

I had to double check, I thought you were right at first. But Animal Man #26 came out in 1990, while Sensational She-Hulk #1 was 1989. Take that, Grant Morrison!

Had another scene from Werewolf by Night, which is still new so I'll spoiler again: Jack's transformation and ensuing battle.

<Yondu: The Greatest MCU Father> - It's no secret that the MCU is obsessed with daddy issues. The galaxy is riddled with deadbeat fathers. Or was, they have thankfully made strides to represent good father figures, starting with Scott Lang (the reason why my own dad holds the first Ant-Man in such high regard).

But hell, even with those advances in fatherhood, I'm not sure they can ever top the true love and pride that exudes from our favorite blue man [with the sick techno mohawk]. It's even more meaningful given that this isn't a legit biological bond, Peter Quill just went through the whole ordeal of finding his real dad only to realize he was the villain all along. And the person Quill thought was the bad guy all along was actually his greatest protector, as a father should be.

And then Yondu proceeds to prove that through the ultimate sacrifice.

I won't lie, there are several scenes in the MCU that have caused me to shed tears, however I don't believe I'm lying when I say this was definitely one of the most emotionally moving. Not only were tears shed, but it elevated the character himself into a league that not many get close to.

Another live-action actor making the comic character way better.

• Rating - All of the feels/10

<Shang-Chi and the Ten-Thousand Pixels> - I jest but I'm also likely the only person in the world who enjoyed this sequence of events. I understand that most people are turned off by a mess of CGI, and the climax of the movie being some random dragon demon probably didn't gel well with the plot. Totally not disagreeing with those criticisms. At the same time, it's a comic book movie.

I remember reading a recent-ish issue of Superman (Jon Kent) and a random ass mecha dragon came out of nowhere to attack Metropolis. Jon deals with it in a couple of pages and moves on to the next problem. No more mention of the mecha dragon. Was it pointless? Probably. Was it entertaining? Undoubtedly (to me).

Well that's just to say that I enjoyed the final CGI confrontation in a relatively decent movie. I'm sure it could have been done better, but maybe I was just sick of the daddy issues by the time I watched this one. So it was more refreshing to me for them to simply have a generic monster to slay...

• Rating - Higher than anyone else would place it/10

<The Only Mother in MCU Dies> - I might just be realizing this now after all the daddy issue talk, but yeah, Frigga is essentially the only mother figure in the entirely of the MCU. I feel conflicted about it because there are bad moms in the world too but I don't need to travel down that line of thinking.

Err... so anyway, Frigga's funeral is another scene I retroactively have more feelings about than when I first saw it -- or any time afterward for that matter since Thor 2 isn't exactly the type of film you'd wanna watch multiple times. Granted, as boring as we all consider it to be, it did give us a few beautiful scenes. Not the least of which was this one. I'm more than sure that we can all agree the movie would have succeeded if it had more focus on Asgard.

And the reason I care more about this scene now than before is because of Frigga's reappearance in Endgame. Rather sure I ain't alone in this, but the brief conversation with fat Thor did more for their mother/son relationship than either of the first two movies did. Sure you can feel Thor's distress at his mother's passing in the moment, but the true emotion of the situation doesn't reveal itself until several movies later.

Or maybe I just don't have a heart who knows.

• Rating - Viking Funeral Visuals were top notch though/10

<Wanda's Scuba Diving Adventure> - No seriously, why were those dudes just standing in the puddles? On top of that, why does America Chavez stop to look into one of those puddles when she's fully aware of the danger they present? That's the type of shit that upsets me in horror type movies. Characters acting stupid isn't realistic. Survival instinct is stronger than that.

Regardless, I still fucking love this movie.

And I love Scarlet Witch. She was just alright before, but WandaVision and MoM cemented my adoration.

I have a thing for bad girls... but with a heart of gold underneath all the bullshit. And there's a lot of crap that she needs to work through sure, but as I said before, she'll be back for a redemption.

As for the scene in particular, aside from the stupidity on display, the effects are enough to distract from all that at least. The mirror dimension was always cool, but it's amazing how they continue to iterate on it in newer creative ways. Especially with how they subvert it. Decent example of how to turn a hero's own weapon into a disadvantage.

• Rating - I should really just start the rankings now/10

<LOKI SMASHED> - No doubt there are many people on this planet who would love to have a smash sesh with Loki. Er I so uh

So while I was first watching Avengers in theaters, and Loki decided to non-wisely yell and flaunt his arrogance toward the Hulk, I knew there was only one direction for events to take after that.

Hulk would never stand for such a display of disrespect.

And once my expectations were met - even better than I could have anticipated - I was needless to say on the floor. Well not really because the movie theater floors are disgusting. But figuratively I was for sure dying of laughter. Both because the scene gave me what I wanted while somehow simultaneously delivering something unexpected. I knew Hulk would body Loki, but I didn't predict it would be done in such an incredibly iconic way.

• Rating - Hulk's Hulkiest Smash/10

<AVENGERS... Assemble> - Realistically, is there anyone who doesn't enjoy this? I will admit that I wish Cap shouted "ASSEMBLE" because it'd honestly be more appropriate and impactful. But at least he said it! After being teased about it for so long I don't think I'd even have cared if he just whispered it to himself I only wanted him to say the damn words already.

And yes, I cheered in the theater when he said it. I'm not even ashamed.

Besides that's a nitpick and not even all that important compared to the pure spectacle we are presented with that follows. Easily my favorite "going to war" scene in all of cinematic history. LotR wished it could be this epic. I admit that I'm fully biased on account of my preference for superheroes.

Shoutout to Pepper Potts getting a bit of spotlight, a character who I cared very little for until she showed some actual humanity as Rescue. Also can't leave this write-up without mentioning the heartwarming hug between Pete and Tony -- nerds can bitch all they want, replacing uncle Ben with Tony Stark was a genius move.

• Rating - ASSEMBLE! Say it with HEART/10

bryans7 posted...

I had to double check, I thought you were right at first. But Animal Man #26 came out in 1990, while Sensational She-Hulk #1 was 1989. Take that, Grant Morrison!

...Oops! My bad.

Can I still say that Animal Man did it better?

CassandraCain posted...

Frigga is essentially the only mother figure in the entirely of the MCU

https://imgur.com/dMkOC8g

Frigga is the only sane mother figure*

with actual kids*

CassandraCain posted...

...Oops! My bad.

Can I still say that Animal Man did it better?

Fair, it was just used for jokes in the old comic. Animal Man was more of a mind fuck.