The 10 Best Moments From 2015’s Comic Book Movies

2015 has been a pretty quiet year for comic book movies. We kicked things off with Kingsman: The Secret Service, and that was followed by two Marvel Studios movies - Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man - before the summer blockbuster season wrapped up with the disappointing Fantastic Four reboot. Four very different movies which serve very much as the calm before the storm that is going to be the jam packed 2016. However, these were all still significant releases for very different reasons, and each of them (yes, even Fantastic Four) had some pretty great moments. I'm talking about the scenes you'll watch again and again on Blu-ray and those that are inevitably going to live on forever on YouTube. These are the moments which stand out as being something truly special, and it just so happens that there were an awful lot of them in this year's comic book adaptations. As a result, it's not easy to narrow all of those down to just ten of the very best, but that's what you'll find here. So, what made the cut and which of your favourite moments may have been overlooked? Click on through for the answers... 10) Spider-Man Reference (Ant-Man) Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures made the deal to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe when Ant-Man was in the very late stages of production, so while the prospect of there being some sort of Easter Egg or cameo for the wall-crawler was an exciting one, it ultimately seemed rather unlikely. That's what made the blink and you'll miss it mention of a hero who swings through the sky and sticks to walls such an awesome surprise in the final few moments of the movie. This is one of those Easter Eggs which even went over the heads of some comic book readers (it's a pretty vague description of the character after all), but as these types of thing tend to go, there's no denying that this was an a real fan pleasing moment and a nice way to announce the long anticipated arrival of Spider-Man into the world of Ant-Man and The Avengers. 9) The Vision Bids Ultron Farewell (Avengers: Age Of Ultron) The final act of Avengers: Age of Ultron was full of action, with cities falling from the sky and an epic battle which saw Earth's Mightiest Heroes go to war with Ultron's army. While the villain's end could have easily come when Iron Man, Thor, and The Vision teamed up to take him down, it was a far more interesting move by Joss Whedon to have Ultron's downfall come in a far quieter scene which took place between him and The Vision in the forest. After a meaningful exchange between the two characters - who are essentially father and son - we get some of that trademark Whedon humour ("Well, I was only born yesterday...") before a flash of light signals the end of the villain once and for all. Marvel too frequently kill their bad guys in these movies, but this at least stands out as one of the more touching and well done instances of that. 8) The Team's Transformation (Fantastic Four) Some would argue that Fantastic Four coming to an end was the best thing about the abysmal reboot, but the 90 minute mess of a movie did at least have one good scene. That came when Reed, Ben, and Johnny returned from Planet Zero and Reed wakes up to witness the devastation caused by their drunken trip between dimensions. Johnny is on fire, and Ben is trapped within a mound of rocks pleading with his friend to help him. As Reed crawls across the floor, he looks back to discover that his legs are actually trapped and his body has stretched across the entire length of the room. Long before reports surfaced about those now well publicized behind the scenes issues, Josh Trank talked a lot about the body horror aspects he wanted to bring to Fantastic Four; it's just a shame that they ultimately only end up factoring into this one effective scene! 7) Hulk Vs. Hulkbuster (Avengers: Age Of Ultron) It's fair to say that most of us would have happily sat through twenty or thirty minutes of The Hulk and Iron Man's Hulkbuster fighting each other, and while their clash in Avengers: Age of Ultron was fairly brief, it was long enough to be satisfying for fans who have spent their lives dreaming of seeing a sequence like this brought to life on the big screen. There are some great moments of humour in there ("Go to sleep, go to sleep...") and some truly awe inspiring moments as Iron Man and The Hulk waged war throughout the city, using cars, elevators, and even skyscrapers as weapons. It's the comics brought to life, basically. The ending is also particularly funny, with Iron Man knocking out The Hulk in a similarly surprising way to when the Green Goliath decided to take out the God of Thunder during the Battle of New York in the first Avengers. 6) The Wasp Revealed (Ant-Man) There were actually two great Wasp moments in Ant-Man. The first came when we got a glimpse of Janet Van Dyne in the suit as she and the original Ant-Man struggled to bring down a missile, but as cool as it was to get to see the character in action (even though it was only for a matter of seconds), it was that mid-credits tease which is ultimately the most fan-pleasing moment of the two. As Hank Pym presents his daughter Hope with a prototype Wasp suit - which looks awesome - it instantly becomes clear that Evangeline Lilly will indeed be suiting up as The Wasp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that's something well worth getting excited over. That smile from Hope and her line about it being about time is a cool way to set up her future and signals the arrival of another much needed female superhero in this world. 5) Exploding Heads (Kingsman: The Secret Service) It may not be a superhero movie, but Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman: The Secret Service is indeed based on a comic book by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. It's a fairly loose adaptation (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), and the director delivers an incredible final act with some stellar action sequences. When Merlin manages to hack the villainous Valentine's systems and sets off the explosives implanted in the heads of everyone involved with his nefarious scheme to cull the world's population, their heads explode in a beautifully shot sequence. Vaughn could have easily gone down the blood and guts route, but his decision to opt for this visually unique and colourful sequence just highlights what a creative genius the man is, and while it could be called a little far-fetched, it's great fun and extremely memorable (wait, was that Obama?!). 4) Thanos Gets His Act Together (Avengers: Age Of Ultron) If we're supposed to take Thanos seriously, he really needs to start getting proactive. He's yet to make Loki pay for failing him in The Avengers and lost another of his Infinity Stones in Guardians of the Galaxy thanks to a second incompetent underling. Thankfully, Avengers: Age of Ultron's brief mid-credits scene featured The Mad Titan deciding to finally make a move as we saw him don The Infinity Gauntlet and make it clear that he's going to get the Stones himself. At last! It's not clear when and where Thanos will make his presence felt (you have to believe it will be before Avengers: Infinity War), but just seeing the iconic villain don that weapon and decide to finally take action against the Avengers is the kind of scene which you can guarantee will be played again and again when the DVD and Blu-ray of the sequel hits shelves. 3) Ant-Man Vs. Yellowjacket (Ant-Man) We'll never know what Edgar Wright's Ant-Man would have looked like, but his fingerprints could definitely be felt throughout the movie. That's not taking anything away from Peyton Reed, of course, and regardless of who conceived that final battle between Ant-Man and Yellowjacket, it was downright amazing. So many of Marvel's movies end with big battles where the world is on the line, so it was refreshing to see Scott Lang simply fighting to save his daughter, and the clever visuals used as they fought in their tiny forms were inventive and unlike anything we've ever seen in one of these movies. The Thomas the Tank Engine gag was particularly clever and credit goes to Reed for finding the right balance of humour and drama as moviegoers were able to laugh while simultaneously fretting about Scott's chances of stopping the villain. 2) Church Scene (Kingsman: The Secret Service) This time last year, who would have ever guessed that Oscar winning actor Colin Firth would star in one of the year's best action scenes? That's exactly what happens in Kingsman: The Secret Service though, and the scene in the church - set perfectly to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" - isn't just a great comic book movie action sequence, but a million times better than what you see in pretty much any and every action movie. Violent, stylized, and no doubt more than a little over the top, there's something both disturbing and oddly satisfying about seeing Harry dispatching of a church full of vile bigots. The mind boggles at the thought of what Vaughn could do with a huge comic book property based on this gloriously inventive scene, and in a year with movies like Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man, this managed to top them all. 1) The Vision Lifts Mjolnir (Avengers: Age Of Ultron) Before Avengers: Age of Ultron was released, Marvel made the smart decision to keep The Vision under wraps. There was a poster and some promo art, but he had a very minimal (almost non-existent) presence in the trailers and TV spots. That made him something of a mystery going into this sequel, and the scene in which he's created was fascinating to watch play out. However, it's the fact that it ends with The Vision lifting Mjolnir which is sure to leave the jaw of any comic book fan on the floor. It's a shocking and surprising moment, and one which hasn't come without at least some controversy. Of all the Avengers, does the android really deserve to be the one deemed worthy to lift the hammer? Seeing as it establishes him as a hero from the off, yes, and it also serves both the story and the development of his character.