The Plaid Press’ favorite Marvel moments
After all the delays due to the pandemic, Marvel fans are finally getting the entertainment they’ve been craving. Even though we’re still waiting on “Black Widow,” at least we have multiple series on Disney Plus. With the season finale of “WandaVision” last Friday, “The Falcon and Winter Soldier” premiering on March 19, and “Loki” coming out in June, the staff of the Plaid Press is geeking out over all of the upcoming action. And while we wait, we are also reminiscing and want to share our best-loved moments in the MCU. Let us know on social media what your favorites are.
“I had a date”
Seen in: “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011)
Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) wakes up to find himself in the present day, 70 years after he’d been frozen. After seeing the lengths S.H.I.E.L.D. goes through to lie to him, rushing around a new and chaotic New York City, and meeting Nick Fury (Sameul L. Jackson), Cap’s first thought is “I had a date.” Poor Steve never finds love. This scene is so great because it shows that Captain America isn’t a warrior, just a kid from Brooklyn who wants a dance with a pretty girl. Faced with aliens, time travel, and inescapable destruction, he’s always that innocent kid, even at the end.
“Don’t scare me like that, colonizer”
Seen in: “Black Panther” (2018)
T’Challa’s younger sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) nurses CIA agent Everett Ross (David Busch) back to health after being wounded by Killmonger. Shuri is the genius behind Wakanda’s groundbreaking technology. When Ross wakes up afterward, finding his wound completely healed, and walks up behind Shuri to ask her what happened, she startles from the gauntlets she was building and says, “Don’t scare me like that, colonizer.” This is a perfect one-liner given the circumstances and history behind Wakanda and the world at large.
“He’s adopted”
Seen in: “The Avengers” (2012)
Nick Fury imprisons Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in a cage on a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier where five of the six Avengers are on board having a meeting discussing Loki’s violent behavior. As Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) criticize the actions of Thor’s younger brother, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) becomes defensive and states, “Take care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard and he is my brother.” Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) comes in with the following blunt rebuttal: “He killed 80 people in 2 days.” Thor’s response is so perfect for his relationship with Loki and the comedy of his own series in the MCU. He quips, “He’s adopted.”
“World’s Greatest Grandma”
Seen in: “Ant-Man and the Wasp” (2018)
Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is Ant-Man. But perhaps more importantly, he’s also the World’s Greatest Grandma, according to the trophy gifted to him by his adorable daughter, Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson). The introduction of this trophy and title is in one of the opening scenes of the movie. The father-daughter duo are undertaking a cardboard maze obstacle course in Scott’s house in the final days of his house arrest. Crawling through the makeshift labyrinth, they cross paths with Anton the (Fake) Ant, red string lasers, and a paper plate retinal scan to finally reach the tiny trophy. Scott says it’s the best birthday present Cassie’s ever gotten him. Greatest Dad/Grandma ever.
Peggy’s reaction to Steve Rogers’ transformation
Seen in: “Captain America: First Avenger” (2011)
In an interview with Esquire, Hayley Atwell, who plays Peggy Carter, said, “When Chris Evans first took his shirt off on the set of Captain America, I just instinctively grabbed his man boob. They kept it in the film. So we did a couple of takes of me being really inappropriate with my hand on his pec for the duration of the scene.”
“America’s A**”
Seen in: “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
After traveling back to the Battle of New York to retrieve the time, mind, and space stones, Ant-Man and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) go to Stark Tower to carry out step one of their plan. As the 2012 Avengers group around Loki in the iconic end scene from the original Avengers movie (2012), Stark tells Captain America that his “suit did nothing for [his] a**.” Embarrassed, Rogers tells Stark to worry about the mission and not how his butt looks. In an attempt to make him feel better, Lang tells him that he thinks he looks great, and that “as far as [he’s] concerned, that’s America’s a**.”
“We have a Hulk”
Seen in: “The Avengers” (2012) and “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)
In the very first Avengers movie, the Avengers come together to defeat Loki, who has access to the Tesseract and is given unlimited power. During the film, Tony Stark and Loki engage in an argument over whose side is more powerful, in which Stark delivers his iconic “We have a Hulk” line which Loki, many years later, repeats to Thanos in the opening scene of “Avengers: Infinity War.” After saying this to Thanos (Josh Brolin), the Hulk barges in to fight Thanos, as Loki lunges forward to save his brother, Thor, who he originally fought against in “The Avengers.” The parallel between the deliverance of this line in the two movies is a true testament to Loki’s growth and character development, as the Avengers he once fought so hard to defeat, had become the people he sided with and protected.
“It’s been a long, long time”
Seen in: “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
Right before flying a plane filled with bombs that could level New York City, Steve Rogers promised Peggy Carter that he’d save her a dance once he returned. What he didn’t expect was that he’d have to wait 74 years to be able to fulfill that promise. Even after seven years of trying to re-assimilate into modern society, Rogers still held on to his old life. So, when given the chance to put the Infinity Stones back in their proper places, he seized the opportunity to put himself back in the right time period as well. Feeling like he had saved the world enough, Rogers returned to a post-war era and lived up to the promise he made so many years before. Finally, he was able to play something slow, and dance with his “best girl.”
“On your left”
Seen in: “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014)
Steve Rogers runs around the National Mall and politely tells other joggers, “on your left” so that he can pass. While some simply step aside so that the famous super-soldier can pass, former United States Air Force pararescue airman, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), takes Rogers repeatedly passing him to heart and futilely attempts to race him towards the end. After exchanging pleasantries after their runs, Wilson tells Cap to add listening to Marvin Gaye’s “Troubleman” soundtrack to the list of things he needs to do to catch up with modern times. Waiting for Rogers to wake up in the hospital, Wilson played the album, only to be able to say “on your left” when Rogers began to regain consciousness.
“Why was she up there all this time?”
Seen in: “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)
As Black Widow and Okoye (Danai Gurira) square off against masses of Outriders in the Battle of Wakanda, it becomes evident that they could use some backup, particularly when a wave of those gigantic Threshers comes racing to crush them. And what better backup than the Scarlet Witch, herself? Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) appears to drop in out of nowhere, coming just in time to take control and telekinetically direct the Threshers to wipe out countless Outriders near the three women. Black Widow and Okoye are noticeably unharmed despite the utter destruction of the aliens around them. Wanda has exhibited an iconic and awesome show of her tremendous power. And Okoye then perfects the moment with her humorous one-liner: “Why was she up there all this time?”
“Dance off, bro”
Seen in: “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014)
After Ronan (Lee Pace) crashes onto Xandar in his ship, it seems that all hope may be lost. Ronan has the Power Stone, and he’s about to destroy Xandarian life as they know it. Suddenly, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) starts to awkwardly create one of the best distractions in the MCU: a dance off. Even after refusal from both Ronan and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to sing along to The Five Stairsteps’ “O-O-H Child,” Quill is still able to buy enough time for Drax (Dave Bautista) and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) are to shoot the Infinity Stone with a blaster, albeit leading to a whole new set of problems for the Guardians of the Galaxy.
“I’m with you ‘til the end of the line”
Seen in: “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014)
After finding out that his best friend, James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes (Sebastian Stan) had not died in Germany during the war, Steve Rogers became determined to revive their friendship in this new era, even if that meant having to fight him to as the Winter Soldier, a highly trained super soldier and assassin whose mission was to take down Captain America and his team as they tried to save S.H.I.E.L.D from Hydra’s takeover. Desperate to get his best friend back, Cap attempts to restore Bucky’s memory as he is beaten within an inch of his life. Hesitating to complete his mission, Rogers utters the words: “Then finish it. Cause I’m with you ‘til the end of the line.” Suddenly, forgotten memories flood Bucky’s brain as Cap free falls from the Helicarrier. Even after years of estrangement, pain, and brainwashing, their unbreakable bond was able to reign true.
The Avengers vs. Guardians of the Galaxy
Seen in: “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
After managing to get Thanos’ dominions off of the alien ship, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) desperately tries to use an “Alien” reference to tell Tony that the fight isn’t over yet. Suddenly, the Guardians of the Galaxy invade the ship, and the two teams go at each other, believing that they both work for Thanos. However, after figuring out that no one knows who, where, or why Gamora is, Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) asks Peter Quill, “What master do you serve?” to which he replies, “What am I supposed to say, Jesus?” Once the group realizes they all came to kill Thanos, and Stark snarkily reminds Quill that Missouri is, indeed, on Earth, the two teams put down their guns and begin one of the greatest team ups in MCU history.
Hammer scene
Seen in: “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015)
After a fun party with other S.H.I.E.L.D agents, military personnel, veterans, and more of Tony Stark’s friends, the Avengers relax around a table. Multiple drinks and insults later, Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) claims that Thor having the sole power to lift Mjolnir, solely based on the fact that he’s the only one who’s worthy, is a trick. Knowing that this assertion was wrong, the God of Thunder challenges Hawkeye to test his theory and lift the hammer. After his embarrassing failure, Tony, Rhodey (Don Cheadle), and Bruce Banner all had their turns trying to see if they were worthy. Even with the help of the Iron Man suits, the three came to the same conclusion. Finally, approaching the hammer, the honorable Steve Rogers gripped the handle and pulled. The room went quiet as the corner of the hammer lifted off the table for just a second. Awestruck and afraid, Thor let out a big belly laugh after Cap gave up, picked up the hammer with ease, and told them all that they simply are not worthy.
The Plaid Press 