8 Hugely Underrated Moments In The Marvel Cinematic Universe

It seems like just yesterday that the first Iron Man was released, exposing audiences to a superhero that wasn’t mainstream yet still more than worthy of joining the likes of Batman and Spider-Man. Nine years later and the Marvel Cinematic Universe stands as an iconic movie franchise, famous for bringing numerous characters to the forefront, whilst also revolutionizing the film industry. The likes of the DC Extended Universe, Universal's Dark Universe and Legendary’s MonsterVerse, among others, all owe their inception to Kevin Feige’s dream. And yet, within such a sprawling series are many moments that seem to be under-appreciated even by Marvel fans. That's not entirely unsurprising given that, as of September 2017, there are 16 films in the franchise, with an astonishing eight more already with a set with a release date. As such, we've decided to look through the entire MCU (on the big screen, at least) and find eight moments we feel are pretty underrated and don't get enough recognition. Enjoy! 1) Iron Man - Tony Stark Creating The Mark 1 As stated before, Iron Man was what really launched this franchise, and it would be a crime to ignore its contributions. Featuring stellar direction from Jon Favreau, who was a fan of the comics, alongside the perfect casting of Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man was an example of damn fine filmmaking merging with a genuine passion for the world being created. Nowadays, the character's become the de facto mascot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and has been appearing in a lot more films than just his own sub-series. Only, he's never really there: advances in digital technology have allowed near-perfect CGI models to take the place of an actual figure, meaning Downey Jr. honestly just has to show up for the Tony Stark scenes. That was not the case in the 2008 film, though, specifically the beginning where the self-described genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist was thrown into a cave with a box of scraps and told to make a jericho missile. With the help of his fellow captive Yinsen, Stark slowly began piecing together the pieces needed to create his first armor: the Mark I. Seeing Downey Jr. hammer the plates together, hot work the helmet, charge up the battery and ultimately kick ass was an invigorating experience to watch, as it showcased just how innovative the future superhero was without access to anything. And that's something that you unfortunately just don’t see anymore with the insta-suits. 2) The Incredible Hulk - Cave Bonding If there was ever an entire Marvel film that deserved to be labeled underrated, it would have to be The Incredible Hulk. Released little more than a month after the first Iron Man, this was Marvel’s reboot of Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk, focusing more on the character of the Hulk. Despite getting better reviews, the film ultimately underperformed at the box office. Combined with the fact that Bruce Banner star Ed Norton was unable to come to an agreement with Marvel about reprising his role in the rest of the series, and you have a movie that's like Terminator: Salvation - technically canon, but the studio would rather have you forget about its existence. And yet, an actual viewing of the film would reveal some of the most powerful character moments in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. One of these comes about halfway through when the Hulk has rescued former lover Betty Ross and taken her to a cave to hide. There, Hulk finds himself emotionally distraught from both the past fighting with the army and the ongoing thunderstorm. Desperate to calm him down, Ross takes his arm and guides him to a nearby rock to sit, where Peter Menzies Jr.'s' beautiful cinematography captures their serenity amidst the rain and lightning. 3) Captain America: The First Avenger - I Had A Date The first Captain America’s success was perhaps the earliest sign that the Marvel Cinematic Universe was bound to be something special. While Iron Man had recognizable actors and Thor has enough CGI spectacle to be a popcorn flick, Captain America was a harder sell for a couple of reasons. One, he was inherently meant to be a patriotic character, which did not flow well against the politically-divided climate of time, and two, his debut was to be a period piece set during World War II. In spite of these obstacles, Captain America: The First Avenger managed to win everyone over, establishing the older hero as a household name. The film’s plot dealt with the Nazis obtaining a galactic weapon known as the Tesseract, capable of providing an unlimited amount of energy for the fascists to utilize. In standard pulp fashion, supersoldier Steve Rogers is deployed to acquire this artifact from the Red Skull. The final act of the movie sees the narrative paced a little fast, as Rogers crashes the plane with the Tesseract into the Arctic waters, becoming frozen himself until he's thawed in the present day. An understandably frantic Rogers subsequently runs out onto the bustling metropolitan area of Times Square, where Nick Fury manages to arrive and ease him. To Fury’s explanations, Rogers only has one line to say: “I had a date,” referencing a promise he made in the past to Peggy Carter prior to embarking on his ill-fated mission. The simple quote showcases that, on top of the confusion and turmoil Rogers must be experiencing, the one thing that remains at the top of his mind is his love for Peggy, something that's partially resolved bittersweetly in The Winter Soldier. 4) The Avengers - Thor vs. Hulk There was a lot riding on the highly anticipated 2012 flick The Avengers. An inconceivable mash-up of all these superhero properties on the big screen being handled by comic book fanboy Joss Whedon? It all seemed too good to be true. Yet true it was, and there were so many moments to love! Many point to the iconic pan rotation of the team as they all join together to launch a final offensive on the Chitauri threat, or the scene where Stark promises to defend the Earth to Loki, or even the forest fight between Iron Man, Thor and Captain America. But there was one other brawl that doesn't seem to get much praise from the community, and that was the scuffle between the Thunder God and Green Brute in the Helicarrier. Tricked by Loki into wreaking havoc on the already unstable team, Hulk gives chase to an injured Black Widow before getting stopped by Thor, who proceeds to fight him. While many await the gladiator-style battle in the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok, one cannot forget just how amazing it was to see Thor club Hulk with his hammer or Hulk toss the Norse God through the metal walls. 5) Iron Man 3 - The First Half Iron Man 3 is one of those films that tends to get written off by people, and you can't exactly blame them. While the movie did earn positive reviews and grossed over $1 billion worldwide, the plot twist involving Iron Man’s arch-enemy the Mandarin being a drunk British actor named Trevor earned scorn from fans and audience members, prompting Marvel Studios to release a retcon in the form of All Hail the King in 2014. But upon rewatching the film, it stands to note that a good chunk of the movie is not only watchable, but actually really enjoyable. Writer-director Shane Black has always had a knack for balancing dark and comedic elements in his work, and we see that in the first half of Iron Man 3, as Tony Stark tries to balance maintaining his social life whilst hastily creating new suits for protection, all while dealing with the ever-looming threat of the Mandarin. Portrayed with menacing quality by Sir Ben Kingsley, the Mandarin’s terrorist videos hearken back to the War on Terror, with some brilliant sociopolitical commentary by Black interweaved into the plot. 6) Guardians Of The Galaxy - First Encounter Creativity If Captain America: The First Avenger proved the Marvel brand was capable, Guardians of the Galaxy proved that it was sustainable. It was one thing to actually approve a $200 million plus budget for a sci-fi comedy featuring a talking tree and raccoon, it was another to successfully market it to the masses to the point where it's become one of Marvel’s top grossing series. A good chunk of that success can be attributed to writer-director James Gunn. Gunn's had a very mixed career, penning the awful live-action Scooby-Doo films, but also being the creative mind behind Slither and Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake. Thus, Guardians of the Galaxy came as a surprise, showcasing the depths to which Gunn’s imagination could go when conceiving this brand new extension of the Marvel Universe. And imagination there was! Guardians of the Galaxy gets a lot of praise for the lovable characters and integration of popular music, but not enough praise is given to the visuals, which, in our honest opinion, are up there with the original Star Wars in terms of creativity. We see this best on Xandar during the first encounter between most of the would-be members of the team. Not only is all the weaponry utilized by Star-Lord and Rocket unique, but the entire mise en scène is just filled to the brim with artistry: alien residents each have a different look to them courtesy of the amazing make-up team, the architecture in the background looks like something out of a Flash Gordon comic, and the bright blue sky makes sure everything is seen in daylight. Simply beautiful. 7) Avengers: Age Of Ultron - Tony And Nick Fury Have A Chat Avengers: Age of Ultron didn’t quite earn the same praise its predecessor did. While some cheered for its action set pieces and smart dialogue, people noted that it felt more like a film setting up future Marvel Cinematic Universe installments than the culmination of events like the first Avengers. Nonetheless, one of the most understated aspects about the movie was it furthering the development of its characters. These scenes primarily took place during the part where the Avengers are forced to retreat to Hawkeye’s House in order to escape public scrutiny. When it comes to this place, most people only remember the ill-conceived Black Widow/Bruce Banner romance and the conversation between Stark and Steve Rogers that laid the seeds for 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. But there was another thing worth taking note of, and it occurred shortly after Stark’s argument with Rogers where he’s called to the barn and meets former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury. In two wonderful performances from Samuel L. Jackson and Downey Jr., Stark ends up confessing all the dark feelings he's been having since arguably the end of The Avengers, and how he was just trying to make the world a safer place for everyone. The saddest part comes at the end where Fury successfully guesses that the worst part about all this wasn’t that Stark saw his friends die: it was that he was the only survivor. 8) Spider-Man: Homecoming - Vulture’s Smile Spider-Man: Homecoming came as a real shock to filmgoers. Not only was it the second Spider-Man reboot within a 10-year time span, but it also retreaded the origin roots by taking the character back to high school. By all accounts, it should have been yet another lackluster entry in the Spider-Man franchise, however, that wasn’t to be the case. Spider-Man: Homecoming breathed new life into the series, not only re-popularizing Spider-Man after 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 underperformed, but also presenting a new take on the character that fitted naturally within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One of the bigger reasons why the film succeeded was because of the villain Adrian Toomes/Vulture, portrayed with sneering glee by Michael Keaton. As many people may be aware, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has not had the best track record when it comes to their supervillains as of late, so the fact that significant effort was put into making The Vulture a menacing threat to Spidey was unexpected. Keaton gets a lot of credit for that. He managed to make Toomes sympathetic, yet scary. He cared about his family above all else, and was willing to do whatever it took to ensure their safety, including challenging Spider-Man. During the cruise ship part, Spider-Man attempts to stop an arms deal between Toomes and a new buyer. While successful in apprehending his henchmen, there's a small scene where Spidey and Toomes look at each other as the latter is attempting to gain access to his Vulture gear. In that scene, viewers see Toomes give a small smile, and it's with that grin that Keaton conveys an inherent sadism in the character that shows how much he honestly loves his criminal job. If you ever get around to rewatching the movie, be sure to look out for that part.