For the Fanboys and FanaticsLists of the best (and worst) times superheroes and villains took their fights off the pages of comic books and onto the big screen.
Who doesn't enjoy a fantastic superhero movie flex? You know, the moment where a hero lets the audience know they are not someone to be messed with? We're not talking about the show-stopping heroics that movie trailers are built on. Superman catching a crashing plane may sell a lot of theater tickets, but it isn't exactly a "low-key power move." No, a low-key flex is something that kicks butt a little more subtly.
Like Selina Kyle going back to work the day after she was murdered by Max Shreck in Batman Returns. Or Iron Man saving Spider-Man from drowning while he is at a wedding halfway across the globe in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Or Captain America repeatedly lapping Sam Wilson while jogging around Washington, DC, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Scroll on down and vote up the low-key heroic flexes you can't help but love.
Few moments encapsulate Tony Stark in the MCU more succinctly than the first time he pulls Peter Parker's butt out of the fire in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Perhaps the "genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" line from The Avengers or either of the "I am Iron Man" moments from Iron Man and Avengers: Endgame sum up Stark's brand identity better, but it's close.
When Peter decides it's a good idea to extend himself outside of his normal purview of being a "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" and take on the Vulture, Stark has to save the young Spidey from drowning. Well, an Iron Man suit saves Peter from meeting a watery end. Stark isn't actually there, as he's attending a wedding somewhere in India. So... Tony Stark did a better job of being a superhero on his off-time halfway around the world than Peter did while trying his best!
You know how teenagers are. Raging hormones, petulant attitudes, and rash decisions all around. Yeah, that's more than a little bit of an oversimplification, but we're talking about comic book movies here... nuance isn't really something that's in the cards. That's especially true in the early-2000s days of superhero filmmaking.
So when both Pyro and Iceman reveal themselves as mutants in the middle of a museum near the beginning of X2: X-Men United, it isn't all that surprising. It also gives Charles Xavier a chance to show off just a fraction of his Omega Level mutant abilities. Professor X freezes the entire museum's worth of humans in their tracks as if he were swatting a fly. Because Professor X doesn't mess around.
If we're ranking the power level of various Avengers, Thor is probably in the top three somewhere with Captain Marvel and the Hulk. Combining his power set with the might of either Mjolnir or Stormbreaker makes for quite a strong combatant. Alas, this is just measuring pure might, and if Thor is out of his depth, as he is in the Sanctum Sanctorum, things can get hairy for the God of Thunder.
Doctor Strange is the kind of guy who usually asserts his magical dominance over others in subtle ways. For example, giving Thor an endless mug of beer that refills itself is quite the low-key power move. Teleporting him around the Sanctum against his will over and over is pretty good, too, but the refilling mug is a kind way of letting Thor know he's in the presence of someone who just might kick his butt if need be.
"You know nothing will stop Mjolnir as it returns to my hand. Not even your face." The God of Thunder may not be the brightest hero around, but he certainly is not an idiot, either. And when he makes a threat, he definitely means it. Loki is the one with the silver tongue, after all - not Thor.
Speaking of the God of Mischief, Thor immediately knows something is up when he returns to Asgard in Thor: Ragnarok and finds his father mourning the demise of Loki. Odin and Loki never really had the greatest relationship, making the All-Father's outward affection seem more than a bit off. As such, Thor sees through Loki's ruse and immediately threatens him with bodily harm! Aren't families fun?
After a lifetime of having all the answers, Stephen Strange finds himself on the receiving end of a problem with no solution in Doctor Strange: How do you repair a set of shattered hands? When the Ancient One offers him a gateway to finding a new way to live his life, Stephen basically laughs in her face. In response, she sends him on one heck of a trip.
To convince a non-believer like Stephen Strange that there is a mystical world beyond his own eyes and knowledge, you kind of just have to throw him in the deep end. Boy, oh boy, does the Ancient One do that. Out of nowhere, she throws Strange's astral form from his body and sends him hurtling through various dimensions. It's both powerful and pretty funny to behold.
It is pretty much widely accepted that there are two standout scenes in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The first is the incredible Avengers party scene where most of Earth's Mightiest Heroes do their damnedest to lift Mjolnir. It is a lighthearted moment of fantastic chemistry and character work by Marvel's beloved stable of actors.
The second scene is the payoff to the first, where the newly created Vision lifts Mjolnir like it's a paperweight. Without even knowing he has done so, Paul Bettany's vibranium synthezoid immediately endears himself to the superteam by lifting the hammer. When it's all said and done, it's an accidental power move that turns Vision into Age of Ultron's scene-stealing character.
