The beauty of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that there’s absolutely no restriction on which characters can potentially interact onscreen, whether we’re talking about the more grounded street-level heroes or the cavalcade of cosmic creatures that live well beyond the stars.
Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame encapsulated the approach, throwing together a string of unexpected combinations that fans never thought they could even dream about seeing in live-action. The Winter Soldier teaming up with Rocket Racoon? Sure, why not. Thanos interacting with Red Skull? We’ll allow it. War Machine and Nebula? Spider-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy? And on it goes.
In a similar vein, MCU supporters on Reddit have been using that sentiment as a jumping-off point to determine which unlikely crossover holds a special place in their heart, and it’s no surprise to see the aforementioned double-pronged conclusion to the Infinity Saga dominating the discourse.
2012 and 2023 Steve Rogers in a battle of America’s Asses, Sam Raimi’s Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus sharing the screen in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Bruce Banner’s Hulk engaging the Ancient One in conversation during a time heist, the entirety of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ Illuminati, and longtime background players Darcy Lewis and Jimmy Woo joining forces to crack the mystery of WestView are all mind-blowing when you think about them in isolation, but it’s become par for the course as the MCU continues to expand, providing fan service on a continually unimaginable scale.
Long may it continue, then, because the Multiverse Saga has opened the doors like never before.
