Updated July 29, 2021 9.2K votes 1.9K voters 201.2K views
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Vote up the MCU moments where you wish you could reach into the screen and give the heroes a hug.
The most emotional scenes in the MCU aren't always the moments immediately following a character's end (although those always hit hard). Sometimes, the truly emotional scenes are the quiet ones where a character finally reveals their true selves to the audience - the scenes in which a prickly or defensive superhero finally lets their guard down, and the audience truly wishes they could step through the screen and offer them some small sense of comfort.
The MCU is filled to the brim with tragic moments and heroes - characters who put their lives on the line so others can have another chance at life. Most of the time, the Avengers and other MCU heavyweights are great at putting up a front of bravado and humor. However, there are certain scenes throughout the franchise where the bravado cracks just enough to see the broken hearts hiding inside them.
Happy Hogan stays by Tony's side from the very first days of the MCU. They have a genuine bond, which is why it's especially hard to watch Happy at Tony's funeral. Despite all the emotions at play, the way Happy handles his grief makes him all that more loveable as a character. Instead of spending time wallowing in his own sadness (which would have been perfectly acceptable), Happy decides to look out for those who needed him now that Tony was gone.
Specifically, Happy spends his time at the service comforting Tony's daughter and promising to get her "all the cheeseburgers" she wants. It'ss nice to watch Happy be there for someone else, but it definitely makes fans wish they could have been there for him.
In both Guardians movies, Drax reliably serves as comedic relief. Everyone remembers his jokes, but those same jokes can make it easy to forget how much pain is living inside him.
One of Drax's most heartfelt moments iswhen he opens up to his new friend Mantis. The conversation begins with typical Drax comedy when he innocently calls Mantis an ugly pet, but it quickly takes a dark turn. Drax tells Mantis how she reminds him of his daughter, and she reaches out a hand to comfort him. This touch causes her empathy powers to activate, and the pain inside Drax instantaneously makes Mantis weep.
Thor losing his nerve and hiding out to play video games in Endgame is no surprise after seeing the Norse god start to fray during Infinity War. Thor holds his head up high and trudges on for much of the film, but there is a deep sadness brewing underneath his muscles.
Rocket and Groot briefly glimpse Thor's simmering sadness while the trio are on their way to forge a weapon worthy of defeating Thanos. During the trip, Thor starts talking about everything and everyone he's lost. First, he speaks of losing his brother, then his father, his mother, and his best friend. Thor's a character known for his power, so it's hard to watch him in a state of despair like this. A hug at that moment may have prevented his backslide in Endgame, to be honest.
Photo: The Falcon And The Winter Soldier / Disney+
It's been a subject of debate - both in-universe and among fans - as to how responsible Bucky Barnes should feel about his transgressions as the Winter Soldier. While it's easy to say from the outside that Bucky Barnes was brainwashed and not in control of his actions, it's much harder to confront the human effects when emotions get involved. At the end of the day, Bucky Barnes has to live with the fact that it was his hand pulling the trigger so many times over the years, forcing innocent people's loved ones to live with the grief he caused.
In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes initially seems to find a friend in an elderly New Yorker who reminds him of his youth in the '40s. However, a dark shadow falls upon their relationship after the audience discovers that Bucky sought out the man because he felt guilty about killing his son as the Winter Soldier. Eventually, Bucky comes clean to his friend Yori and tells him about what happened to his son. It's a moment of truth for Bucky, but also a moment filled with sorrow, since Bucky knows he is both hurting and losing one of the few friends he has.
Up until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, it's easy to see Nebula as some cliche evil sister. While Gamora abandons Thanos to help the Guardians, Nebula stays behind (although she does try to help Ronan turn against Thanos).
Even though Gamora works to save Nebula in the sequel, Nebula still attempts to hunt her down. It isn't until Nebula finds Gamora on Ego's planet that the two finally have a heart-to-heart that explains just why Nebula is filled with such rage. Nebula desperately wants Gamora to love her like a sister. Nebula feels that Gamora was obsessed with beating her while they were growing up, and this led to Thanos's rage at Nebula and her constant chain of painful modifications.
As far as the original core Avengers go, Hawkeye is the most affected by the Snap. It's no surprise, considering he loses his wife and children in the blink of an eye. This sends Clint on a bloody path of vengeance across the world tracking down underworld players that survived the event, even though his innocent family didn't.
Eventually, the hope for a successful time heist causes Barton to link back up with the Avengers. Barton offers to test the time-travel device, and he happens to be sent back to his family farm, where he hears his wife and children once again. Barton desperately races over to see them, but audiences have to watch in pain as Barton calls out for his daughter, hoping to catch one glimpse of her before the test ends. Sadly, Barton is sucked back to the present before he can so much as see her face.
Returning to the present, Barton collapses onto the floor, filled with grief. His friend Natasha is there to pick him up, but any viewer with an ounce of empathy is left wishing there's something they could do to comfort this grieving Avenger.
