Cake’s Top Ten Little Moments in the MCU
For @alphaflyer, who suggested the little MCU moments in which “ordinary people (like us) confront and comment on that super-ness.” .Thanks for the idea! This was a lot of fun.
10. “Can we get a selfie?” – Thor: Ragnarok
Let’s face it; who wouldn’t want to get a selfie with a superhero, especially one as hot as Thor? But beyond that, this scene shows the way normal humans would acclimate to the Avengers, accepting their presence the same way we deal with stars and royalty. We’d take selfies, post on social media, and overall be excited that our paths crossed with someone so amazing, even if only tangentially.
Plus, Loki’s eye roll is absolutely fabulous.
9. “Why the hell should I take orders from you?” – NYPD officer in The Avengers
It’s a funny scene that highlights the difference between the police and Captain America. But it also shows the very human reaction of disbelief (the officer has no clue who this guy in a spangled suit is), mistrust (what does he know?) and basic skepticism superheroes would be met with by most people. Only once the officer sees Cap at work, how quickly he neutralizes the threat, does he accept Steve’s orders and begin issuing them himself. Like Doubting Thomas, he needs visual evidence and actions before he can come to terms with what’s happening.
8. “I’m in the system?” – Luis in Antman
Sidekicks are the best and Luis is the pinnacle of perfection. Think about it; he befriends Scott Lang in prison, helps him through his time behind bars. He’s there when Scott gets out, gives him a place to live, lets him borrow his car. When they rob Hank Pym’s house, he’s in the get-away van; when Scott decides to turn hero, Luis dons his uniform and plays his part, even going back to rescue the guard he’d knocked out. It’s Luis who knows a guy who knows a girl who heard about the Avengers’ compound and the part they need. He always has Scott’s back, accepting the wacky hijinks with a smile and a long-winded story. We would all be lucky to be as exemplary a sidekick as Luis.
7. “We are vegetarians” – M’Baku in Black Panther
He’s the leader of the J’Bari, a mighty warrior, a keeper of tradition, and entirely human. M’Baku has no time for royalty or superheroes. What he wants is to be respected and to keep Wakanda and his people safe and free … even if that means turning down the heart-shaped flower and saving his rival T’Challa. This scene sums up M’Baku in an ad-libbed line that cracks me up every time I watch it. M’Baku is a fully realized character who isn’t impressed with all the posturing that happens in a world of superheroes; he makes a joke out of it instead.
Plus, this scene, like so much of Black Panther, is layered with the history of colonialism and racism; M’Baku barking at the CIA representative is more than funny, it’s a reclaiming of self-agency.
6. Peggy almost touches Steve – Captain America: The First Avenger
Another unplanned moment, the furtive hand movement from Peggy Carter as Steve emerges from the pod is sweet, funny, and so very poignant. Peggy is a woman in a man’s world; she knows her value, is ready to punch her way out of situations and has battled to be where she is. It’s such a telling slip, reaching out to see if he’s real, if he’s okay, if he’s still Steve. All the yearning pent up in one action, the knowledge that the young man she’s grown fond of is now changed forever. You can see it in the way she heaves a breath in the second gif, like she’s been through the process herself. This is the moment, with the others celebrating the scientific breakthrough, where Peggy realizes just how screwed she is to be falling in love with a superhero.
5. “Yes, I did” – Darcy Lewis in Thor
There are so many Darcy moments to choose from. “Still muscly.” “I’m not dying for three college credits.” “Give me your shoe.” But this moment, when she proudly admits she tasered Thor, the guy who fell from the sky, is when we knew Darcy Lewis was a ‘take-no-shit’ type of person who will deal with what’s happening and worry about it later. She’s not impressed by superheroes, but, unlike M’Baku, she’s a small woman who relies upon her wits, her smart mouth, and pure luck. She’s not a genius like Jane Foster, not a fighter like Peggy Carter, she’s just plain Darcy and that’s what makes her strength of will so damn amazing in the MCU.
4. “No” – Sam Wilson in Captain America: Civil War
From the moment Sam jogs his way, slowly but steadily, into the MCU, he never doubts that his job is to skewer the egos of all these super-powered people, make sure they never forget their goal is to help others. From his invitation to eat breakfast “if you people do things like that” to making Natasha thank Redwing to asking T’challa if he likes cats to the fabulous fight scene at the airport with quips flying between him and Bucky, Sam is on equal footing from day one. Of all the scenes, this one in the car, when he’s literally inches in front of the Winter Soldier, a brainwashed assassin whose already tried to kill him twice, really shows just how confident Sam is of his own abilities, both as Falcon, but also as a caring person who’s trying to help Steve get Bucky back.
3. “For Wakanda? Without question” – Okoye in Black Panther
Okoye knows superheroes. She is the Captain of the Guard of the Dorae Milaje and her job is to protect the King of Wakanda, the Black Panther. She could have been rigid, unyielding, a follower of the rule of law … and she is all those things, but she’s also very human, a woman who had to choose between the man she loves and the King she serves. She’s funny, loyal, unfazed by super soldiers and magic-wielding witches. She side-eyes Bruce Banner when he trips in the Hulkbuster armor, fights flawlessly in an evening gown, and stays true to her convictions even in the face of King Killmonger’s reign. To Okoye, those with superpowers have a great responsibility to protect others and she’s not afraid to call them on the carpet if need be.
This scene is revolutionary because of the idea of a woman who doesn’t put romantic entanglements first, who, like male heroes, is willing to sacrifice everything for what she believes in.
2. “Don’t waste your life” – Yinsen in Iron Man
God, I teared up just looking at these gifs. Ho Yinsen, a scientist, husband, father, man who just wanted to do some good in the world. Caught in the midst of such violence and faced with the man whose company built the weapons that killed his family, the man who once ignored him and his ideas. This moment. This fucking moment when he’s dying, has always known that he would die, understood just how small a part he was going to play in the larger-than-life story of Tony Stark. How do I get to be this type of person who not only accepts who he is and what he’s not, but uses his precious few seconds on the world’s stage to change the future? Make no mistake, it’s because of Yinsen that Iron Man exists, that Tony builds the arc reactor, saves himself, saves New York, saves the whole world, saves the fucking universe. One regular human guy who saw the potential in Tony and made the ultimate sacrifice.
1. “Captain’s Orders” – Cameron Klein in Captain America: Winter Soldier
Of all the moments in the MCU, it’s this one where I see myself the most, the little peon at their computer who suddenly is thrust into the middle of a superpowered battle and has to make a choice between life and death. He knows, knows that he’s dead, that Rumlow will shoot him and push the button anyway. Look, I’m not a brilliant scientist or a warrior or a military officer; I’m not going to be the one fighting beside Steve or laughing at T’Challa or tasing Thor; I’m Cameron Klein and I hope to God that if that moment ever comes where there’s a gun to my head that I can say “Captain’s orders” and refuse. He’s one of the many faceless S.H.I.E.L.D. employees who work at a desk or cafeteria or mailroom, doing their jobs, only to be injured, have their lives destroyed or die when the Triskelion falls or when Hawkeye attacks the Helicarrier or when their names are revealed on the internet.
Cameron is #1 because he’s me, the small cog in the wheel that got caught when the machine gave way. He said no without having the power to fight back or to change anything … but he did it anyway.
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