10 Best Moments In Marvel And DC's 2016 Superhero Movies
We've taken a look at some of the worst moments in 2016's superhero movies, but which scenes stood out as being among the best? These are 10 examples of those, but which release came out on top?
2016 has been quite the year for superhero movies. We kicked things off with the R-Rated Deadpool (a movie no one expected to be as successful as it ultimately was), and followed that with two more critical and commercial hits from Marvel Studios in the form of Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange. Warner Bros. also kicked off their DC Films Universe, though their fortunes weren't as good!
This was supposed to be the start of great things for that brand, but while Suicide Squad performed a little better than expected at the box office, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice did not, and both received overwhelmingly negative reviews. X-Men: Apocalypse also underwhelmed, and what looked like it would be Fox first $1 billion Marvel movie could now lead to a complete franchise reboot.
Regardless of your feelings on all of the releases listed above, it's fair to say that each of these Marvel and DC movies had good and bad moments. What we're focusing on here though are the best ones!
10. Thor Pays A Visit To Doctor Strange
One of Marvel's best mid/after credits scenes to date, the first meeting between Doctor Strange and Thor is nothing short of excellent. Giving us a taste of what we should expect from Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok, there's a great sampling of humour here alongside some world building which helps bring the Sorcerer Supreme into the world of The Avengers.
After all, while Thanos will no doubt target Strange for the Time Stone, Thor having a mystical ally he can tell the rest of Earth's Mightiest Heroes about will almost certainly come into play in Infinity War. There's also a lot to love about this scene from a visual standpoint, including the God of Thunder's bottomless beer and the fact that Doctor Strange is actually wearing his yellow gloves from the Steve Ditko era comic books.
9. "I Don't Care"
A very small moment in a much larger sequence, I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that this scene went a long way in helping to establish Black Panther as a firm fan-favourite. T'Challa gets a lot of great moments in Captain America: Civil War, whether we're talking about him chasing down Captain America and The Winter Soldier in a thrilling chase sequence or confronting Zemo after learning that he's the one responsible for his father's death.
However, his exchange with Hawkeye during the aiport battle is brilliant. After Clint introduces himself to the Wakandan superhero, he dryly responds with, "I don't care." This is a great bit of humour which works really well, and helps further establish Black Panther as a badass who has no interest in being slowed down by the likes of Hawkeye (or anyone else for that matter).
8. The Death Of Superman
While there's no denying that Doomsday looked awful and that his battle with The Trinity relied way too much on special effects, Zack Snyder at least managed not to drop the ball with The Death of Superman. It's true that it wasn't handled perhaps quite as well as in the comic books, but it was still a shocking moment, and one which packed a powerful punch.
After spending the entire movie essentially being persecuted by humanity, the Man of Steel showing his love for the world was a great moment which simply helped to remind us what a true hero he is. The sight of him being impaled by Doomsday was tough to watch, but the fact that he knowingly makes his injury worse to stop the monster was even tougher. We know he's coming back, but that takes nothing from Superman's ultimate sacrifice here.
7. Apocalypse Addresses The World
A lot of fans really didn't like X-Men: Apocalypse or En Sabah Nur's appearance. Did Bryan Singer drop the ball when it comes to how he looked? Absolutely, but Oscar Isaac still delivered a powerful performance, and that was evident from the scene in which he addresses the world and takes away their nuclear weapons. Set perfectly to Beethoven's 7th Symphony, the Star Wars: The Force Awakens actor was in equal parts brilliant and terrifying here.
Lines like "No more superpowers!" worked surprisingly well, and in many ways, it's obviously a great shame that the movie failed to capitalise on this by making En Sabah Nur an even greater threat as the story progressed. Instead, he sort of just plateaued after this, but regardless of what you thought about the make-up and the movie, this is probably X-Men: Apocalypse's standout sequence. Of course, the Quicksilver and Weapon X scenes deserve at least an honourable mention!
6. Deadpool Montage
Expectations going into Deadpool were high, and while there's no getting around the fact that the movie delivered a pretty generic origin story, there was enough going on here to more than make up for that. Everything from the action and humour worked perfectly, but arguably one of the movie's best moments came in the montage (no, not the sex one, though that was also pretty good) featuring Wade Wilson's evolution into the Merc with the Mouth.
Set perfectly to TEAMHEADKICK's Deadpool rap from the character's video game, the whole thing just worked really well and offered up some awesome shots of the reluctant hero in action. After the character's last big screen appearance so badly botched Wade becoming Deadpool, you have to give it to this movie for achieving that so seamlessly and stylishly.
5. Spider-Man Joins The Avengers
This is a moment most of us never thought would happen, but Spider-Man's Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Captain America: Civil War is every bit as spectacular as well all hoped. Yes, the CGI on the costume is sometimes a little distracting, but that can probably be blamed on how late in the game he was added to the movie (though it will be interesting to see if it's an issue which carries over to Spider-Man: Homecoming).
Despite that, seeing the wall-crawler standing alongside the likes of Iron Man and Black Widow was mind-blowing, while his confrontations with Captain America, Giant-Man, and Falcon and The Winter Soldier were nothing short of excellent. The Russo Brothers delivered a perfect introduction for this new take on the hero, and as a result, this is a moment we'll no doubt be talking about for a long time to come.
4. Harley Quinn's Jester Outfit
I'll be honest, finding a best moment in the jumbled Suicide Squad movie wasn't easy, but this does pretty much fit the bill! Eagle eyed fans spotted Harley Quinn's jester outfit in one of the trailers for Suicide Squad as it could be seen among the gear she was rooting through that had been returned to her and the rest of Task Force X before their first mission.
However, it's fair to say that none of us expected to see the character actually wearing this iconic costume, making it all the more surprising when Margot Robbie dons it in order to share a dance with The Joker. This scene pays homage not only to Harley's first appearance, but the now famous Alex Ross illustrated cover of Paul Dini's Batman: Harley Quinn. With the Extended Edition now availaible on Digital HD, expect this to live on forever in gif form.
3. Doctor Strange's Trip Through Reality
The visuals in Doctor Strange are amazing from start to finish, and while those battles in New York and Hong Kong were extraordinary, it's Stephen's first trip through reality which is arguably this movie's greatest achievement. As The Ancient One looks to humble the arrogant surgeon who views her as a fraud, she sends him hurtling through all manner of amazing places, and the imagery delivered here by director Scott Derrickson makes that IMAX 3D ticket worth every penny.
It's both brilliant and completely barmy, but perhaps most importantly, it does a wonderful job of paying homage to the work of Steve Ditko. What lengths Marvel (and hopefully Derrickson) will go to in the sequel to top this remains to be seen, but we've now been introduced to the world of Doctor Strange, and that's very exciting indeed.
2. Batman v Superman
Regardless of the many other issues you might have had with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (including the reason this fight ended), there's no denying that Zack Snyder delivered a pretty incredible battle sequence between the Caped Crusader and Man of Steel. Despite the movie making it clear that Batman is the superior fighter, Superman got a chance to shine as well, and while it probably wouldn't have hurt for this to be a little longer, it made for gripping viewing, especially on IMAX screens.
Scenes like this are where Snyder really shines as a filmmaker, and he most certainly didn't disappoint when it came to delivering the brawl promised by the title. The warehouse fight between Batman and Lex Luthor's thugs obviously also deserves an honourable mention, but more credit goes to Snyder for giving us a truly great battle between these two DC Comics icons.
1. The Airport Battle
I've mentioned a few couple of different individual moments from this sequence throughout this feature, but as a whole, the airport battle was without a doubt the best thing about any 2016 superhero movie (though it only narrowly tops the final battle between Captain America and Iron Man). Shot on IMAX cameras, the fight between The Avengers may have been much smaller in scale than what Mark Millar and Steve McNiven delivered in their 2006 comic book series, but that made this no less epic.
Featuring lots of unique battles as we saw friends become enemies, and with some big (pun most definitely intended) surprises like Giant-Man showing up, this is a battle that every Marvel movie - and specifically Infinity War - is going to struggle to top moving forward. This is one of those things you could easily watch again and again, and there's so much happening here that you'll likely see something new each time you do!
Do you agree that these were the best moments in 2016's Marvel and DC superhero movies? Do you have any of your own suggestions? Share your thoughts in the usual place.