No, the Eye of Agamotto hasn’t gone haywire — it really is an entire decade since Tony Stark first stood in front of a press conference and declared: “I am Iron Man.” The intervening 10 years has seen Marvel Studios construct a cinematic first — a gigantic 19-episode blockbuster movie franchise with overlapping character arcs and spanning multiple genres, from political Earth-bound thrillers to intergalactic cosmic adventures. Ahead of Avengers: Infinity War, Team Empire assembled and duked it out in an attempt to define the 50 greatest Marvel Cinematic Universe moments so far — from Iron Man to Black Panther. We could do this all day.
50) Shawarma — Avengers Assemble
The Big Apple has been devastated. Iron Man has been almost turned into Dead Man. And the world’s faith in the Avengers has been shaken. The Battle of New York is one of the most solemn moments in MCU lore. So it was genius on Joss Whedon’s part to puncture the gloom by having the heroes all go off for a bite to eat — work colleagues letting off steam after a tough week.
49) Luis tells tales — Ant-Man
Making an impact as a supporting character in an MCU film is not an easy thing to do what with, you know, all those super-powered folk flying around and punching people really hard. But Michael Peña’s Luis is Ant-Man’s MVP. And his finest moments are his often off-topic “tip montages” that reveal his hidden depths, including a love of fine wines and Neo-cubism.
48) Thanos smiles at the camera — Avengers Assemble
Nowadays, the world and its wife knows who Thanos is but, judging by an overheard reaction Avengers Assemble’s post credits sting, that wasn’t the case back in 2012. (“Was that Hellboy?”) The Big Bad of the MCU is introduced right at the tail end of that movie, revealed as the organ grinder behind Loki’s attempts to rule mankind, smiling sinisterly whilst looking at the camera. Nobody else has broken the fourth wall in the MCU, before or since, and the message is clear: the Avengers had best watch out.
47) Monkeys in a barrel — Iron Man 3
One of the first action sequences Shane Black and Drew Pearce talked about when writing Iron Man 3, this scene in which Iron Man saves a group of White House staffers from falling to their doom is, as Tony Stark himself suggests, named after the famous toy where you interlink a group of toy monkeys. And it’s more fun than an actual barrel of monkeys.
46) Rocket Raccoon sheds a tear — Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
Make no bones about it — throughout Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, Rocket Raccoon acts like a total trash panda. He’s rude, insufferable, and seems determined to push away anyone who cared about him. It’s all a front, of course. Which is why James Gunn’s decision to end his movie on a close-up of Rocket, filled with a mixture of guilt and regret over the death of his friend Yondu, is so bold. As a single tear rolls down his furry cheek, it’s a sombre, heart-rending end to a film that trades for the most part in frenetic fun, and might — just might — signal a sea change for the Guardians’ gobbiest member.
45) “He’s a friend from work” — Thor: Ragnarok
Thor’s reaction when he’s faced with an armoured Hulk in the Grandmaster’s Contest of Champions (fun fact: that line came from a Make-A-Wish kid visiting the set) is emblematic of Taiki Waititi’s entire film. The crackling script punctures pomposity at every turn, while the stylish and colourful visuals are like a splash panel come to life.
44) Quicksilver’s death — Avengers: Age Of Ultron
“You didn’t see that coming…” One of the chief criticisms of the MCU has been the flippant way in which death is treated, with major characters dying and coming back to life, sometimes just minutes later (hello, Pepper Potts in Iron Man 3). That’s addressed, somewhat, in Age of Ultron, when Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s speed demon Quicksilver is riddled with bullets, never to return. It’s a deft piece of sleight of hand by Joss Whedon. All through Age Of Ultron, Whedon seems to be setting up Hawkeye for a fatal fall (we meet his wife, he talks incessantly of future plans), only to shift his focus onto the young Avenger at the last minute. We didn’t see that coming, indeed.
43) Peter Parker’s In Big Rubble — Spider-Man: Homecoming
Outsmarted by Adrian Toomes. Abandoned by Tony Stark. Trapped under a ton or two of collapsed rubble. This is where the boy Peter needs to become a man. As coming-of-age moments go, it’s not exactly subtle, but it’s true to one of the comic-book’s finest moments (from Amazing Spider-Man #33) and a rousing bit of weightlifting.
42) Frigga’s funeral — Thor: The Dark World
Frigga’s heroic death in defence of Jane Foster and her people deserved recognition, so we got a Viking funeral worthy of Valhalla itself. She is sent over the edge of Asgard in a shower of golden sparks in one of the MCU’s most visually stunning moments, and one echoed when Odin says goodbye in Ragnarok.
41) The play — Thor: Ragnarok
In a parallel dimension, possibly accessed via the Devil’s Anus, the Thor movies starred Luke Hemsworth, not Chris, as the Norse god, plus Matt Damon as Loki and Sam Neill as Odin. Thor Ragnarok treated us to a hilarious glimpse of what that would have looked like via Asgardian am-dram put on by Loki — and given it’s hammy as hell, it’s probably for the best that we don’t dwell in that dimension.
40) Groundhog Day! — Doctor Strange
The climax of Doctor Strange sees Benedict Cumberbatch’s resourceful sorceror journey into another dimension to bargain with the dread Dormammu for the future of Earth. Dormammu kills Strange instantly… only for the master of the mystic arts to resurrect himself, again and again. And again and again, for good measure. Strange has imprisoned them both in a time loop that will only end if Dormammu agrees to said bargain. It’s possibly the most selfless act to date by a hero in the MCU. Some of those deaths (Impaled! Squashed! Burned!) look painful.
39) Thomas derailed — Ant-Man
An idea so good, it’s being re-used in Ant-Man And The Wasp, albeit with a giant Pez dispenser being the child’s toy that suddenly becomes dangerous with size-changing technology. But it’s the switch in perspectives — from us watching Thomas from the characters’ point of view to suddenly zooming out to see it how it really is — that sells the giddy ridiculousness of the scene.
38) The suitcase armour — Iron Man 2
A little-discussed theme in Iron Man’s film appearances has been Tony’s endless quest to make his armour easier to put on. He’s had robot valets, self-propelled rocket-crotches and bracelet-controlled dressing, but his first pret-a-porter effort remains his most stylish. The Bond-esque Mark V is gorgeous as well as powerful, and makes Tony’s the most desirable suitcase since Pulp Fiction.
37) Bucky grabs the bike as it’s moving — Captain America: Civil War
Some classic MCU moments reveal hidden character layers, or expand the universe in unexpected ways, or combine heroes that you didn’t expect to share screen time. Others just look ridiculously, undeniably, totally badass. Bucky’s slow-mo 180° bike flip halfway through Civil War’s epic highway chase is one of those.
36) Aunt May finds out — Spider-Man: Homecoming
It’s a final scene that wraps everything up neatly, until it doesn’t. Peter Parker, having defeated The Vulture and finally redeemed himself as a hero, returns to his Queens apartment to find Tony Stark has re-bestowed his souped-up Spider-Man suit. All is well. Then Aunt May appears in the frame, and the film abruptly ends — mid-curse. And suddenly, we can’t wait for the sequel.
35) “About damn time.” — Ant-Man
If you thought Ant-Man was just the origin story for Ant-Man, this mid-credits scene proved you wrong. After Hank Pym’s daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) spent the whole film wondering — like half the audience — why he wouldn’t entrust his nifty shrink-tech to her, he belatedly passes the torch, with a punch-the-air pay-off. Now that’s a sting.
34) Enter Nick Fury — Iron Man
The first post credits sting, and possibly still the best. Certainly, the most important. Kevin Feige made his intentions clear right from the start and (almost unbelievably where most shared cinematic universes stumble early) followed it through with style. And, Christ, didn’t it just have us all dying to see it all pay off? Smart move.
33) Okoye’s wig-fu — Black Panther
African hair is a political issue, one that is summed up when Okoye, shaven-headed by choice, throws her detested wig at an attacker mid-fight. It’s not a vibranium-laced, exploding wig, just your basic fake hair. But it creates a perfect distraction and allows Okoye to put social expectations to a useful end.
32) “I need a horse!” — Thor
The God of Thunder’s cinematic debut balances weighty Shakespearean struggles (thanks, Kenneth Branagh) with pitch-perfect fish out of water. The high-point? A straight-outta-Asgard Thor storming into Pet Palace to demand “a horse!” or a cat / dog / bird “large enough to ride!” Hemsworth’s deadly stern delivery sells it.
31) Cap holds the helicopter — Captain America: Civil War
In a film of intensely giffable moments, this perhaps takes the biscuit: the moment when Steve Rogers, desperate to stop his frenemy Bucky Barnes (triggered into becoming the kill-crazy Winter Soldier) from escaping in a helicopter, grabs the chopper. Much is made about how Captain America has a heart so pure he can make Mjolnir wobble, but let’s not beat around the bush. This is entirely about Chris Evans’ rippling man-pecs. Gratuitous, really. Nurse, the screens!
30) Doctor Strange takes a trip — Doctor Strange
For all its conventional origin story trappings, Doctor Strange is perhaps Marvel’s most visually ambitious movie, and nowhere is that more obvious than the moment when Stephen Strange takes his first step into a larger world. Catapulted by The Ancient One into a tour of just some of the alternate dimensions bordering our own, it’s a mind-bending, deeply weird, very Jack Kirby-ian odyssey that opens not just Strange’s eyes, but the whole MCU to all sorts of possibilities.
29) Can You Dig It? — Iron Man 3
Iron Man 3 is Marvel’s loosest, most relaxed movie, with an ‘anything goes’ vibe that stretches all the way to the end credits, which sees Brian Tyler, an otherwise fairly forgettable musical contributor to the MCU, jazz up his Iron Man theme in a funky, horn-tastic, 60s-influenced style that lodges itself in your ear and refuses to leave long after the credits have rolled.
28) Peter’s Walkman tomb-raid — Guardians Of The Galaxy
James Gunn’s big opening statement of intent: yes, this is a big sci-fi adventure. Yes, its protagonist is an Indiana Jones-ish rogue, stalking ruins for a much-coveted MacGuffin. But, we’re not just getting ’80s style heroics here. We’re also getting a Mixtape. So, via Star-Lord’s Sony Walkman, the opening credits (the first-ever in an MCU movie) are danced through by Chris Pratt to Redbone’s Come And Get Your Love. Groovy.
27) The briefcase fight — Ant-Man
What’s cooler than two miniaturised foes battling inside a briefcase? That fight happening in mid-air, as the case plummets from a crashing helicopter. The gags are wonderful, too: Ant-Man has to dodge a giant pack of Lifesavers, while villain Yellowjacket’s threat, “I’m going to disintegrate you!” leads to Siri cueing up The Cure’s Disintegration on an iPhone. Thank you, Siri.
26) Fury is attacked — Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Nick Fury has a much-alluded military background, but in the MCU, he’s rarely given the opportunity to flex his badassery. The key exception is The Winter Soldier, in this frantic high-tech battle on the streets of DC. For all the whizz-bangery of the superpowered gang, it’s immensely satisfying to see ground-level action like this bring it back to the thrilling basics.
25) Everyone tries to lift Mjolnir — Avengers: Age Of Ultron
The calm before the Ultron-shaped storm. But this scene of superhero dick swinging isn’t just there for the laughs, it also perfectly shows how the Avengers have become more than just colleagues, they’ve now become friends. Which makes what comes next (and not just in Ultron, but as the team turn on each other in Civil War) all the more poignant and heart-breaking. Not bad for some drunken gestures of bravado.
24) Testing the suit — Black Panther
As well as being a tech genius who makes Elon Musk look like Fred Flintstone, Black Panther’s Shuri is a little sister. While Q merely waved deadly gadgets at Bond, Shuri figures that her brother can survive a little pummelling and goads him into acting the guinea pig to her latest take on his suit. It’s a perfect character beat.
23) “I could do this all day.” — Captain America: The First Avenger
Super soldier serum or no, Steve Rogers was always Captain America. Nowhere is that more evident than in this moment when a puny, pre-serum Steve takes on a bully. Having tried to fend off his larger foe with a bin lid-cum-shield, Rogers gets the stuffing knocked out of him, only to rise up for a second helping. “I can do this all day,” says the indefatigable little guy, heart as big as a house. And that one statement becomes the line that defines Captain America.
22) Loki kills Coulson — Avengers Assemble
The event that truly brought the Avengers together. Earth-invasion aside Loki’s most truly villainous move is murdering S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Agent Coulson, the man behind the Avengers Initiative. The upside is that his death sparks the gang into action, while the character secretly got to live on after being revived in TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nobody tell Cap.
21) “I’m Mary Poppins, y’all!” — Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
Among the zillion quips in the Guardians sequel, one stood out: the moment in which sapphire-skinned alien Yondu (Michael Rooker) excitedly tells the rest of the gang, “I’m Mary Poppins, y’all!”, under the false impression that Poppins is some sort of badass dude. It’s daft, sweet and has inspired enough memes and T-shirts to fill a very large umbrella.
20) Bruce Banner bites the Bifrost — Thor: Ragnarok
Taika Waititi’s movie is (Ragna)chock-full of cliché-undercutting, LOLZ-worthy moments, but Mark Ruffalo gets arguably the biggest one of all. Realising it’s time to green up and tackle a giant undead wolf rampaging on the Bifrost, Ruffalo’s Banner leaps heroically into battle… And splats ineffectually onto its rainbow-y surface, noticeably non-Hulked-out. It’s shocking. It’s daft. It’s pure Waititi.
19) Killmonger takes down T’Challa — Black Panther
The big showdown between King T’Challa and the pretender to the throne, Killmonger, was never going to end well for the greatest warrior in Wakanda. Ryan Coogler stages the action so that T’Challa seems like a boy next to the sheer brawn of Killmonger, as soon as it becomes clear how much blood Killmonger has on his hands: a scar for each life he’s taken. And he has a whole lotta scars...
18) Star Spangled Man — Captain America: The First Avenger
Due to the arcane chicanery of Oscar voting, Best Original Song at the 2012 Academy Awards had just two contenders: Man Or Muppet (which won), from The Muppets, and Real In Rio, from Rio. Neither can hold a candle to Star Spangled Man, a glorious parody of George M. Cohan’s patriotic numbers, which plays out over a montage of Captain America making personal appearances across the country, becoming a huge star, and punching ‘Hitler’. A lot. Frankly, it was robbed.
17) Tony Stark dons the Mark I — Iron Man
Everyone knew it was coming — except his captors — but when Tony Stark finally dons his unwieldy, roughly welded iron armour it’s still a thrill. Shot from inside the suit’s helmet, Tony’s perspective is hampered by the narrow eye-holes and his own sweaty panic, but he still blows his terrorist captors away. Next stop: unstoppable.
16) Hulk revealed — Avengers Assemble
The Hulk has always been about control, an eternal game of chess between Bruce Banner and his not-so-jolly green pal. “Now would be a good time to get angry,” advises Captain America as a giant Chitauri snake-thing bears down on the Avengers. “That’s my secret, Captain,” replies Banner, nonchalantly walking towards danger. “I’m always angry.” And then — ta-daaa! — he transforms into the Hulk, and proceeds to walk off with the last thirty minutes of the film.
15) The Avengers 360-degree shot — Avengers Assemble
Behold: the culmination of the entire franchise (at that point), boiled down to a ten-second shot of the entire six-member Avengers team, assembled in a neat circle for the first time. As the centrepiece of the film’s Super Bowl trailer, it was a money shot seemingly able to print money at will.
14) Hulk vs Hulk-Buster — Avengers: Age Of Ultron
Sometimes, you don’t want nuance. Sometimes, you want to see eight-foot superheroes beat the shit out of each other. Having come down with a serious case of the Scarlet Witch-itis, Hulk is angry — even more so than usual — and it takes Tony Stark’s Hulk-Buster suit (“Veronica”, as he christens her) to hydraulic-drill-punch him back to reality.
13) “Hail Hydra!” — Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Possibly the moment when it became clear that the MCU was beginning to penetrate the zeitgeist, and all it took was a fleeting hug between treacherous S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jasper Sitwell and Senator Stern. “Hail HYDRA”, they whisper to each other, revealing the full extent to which those evil goons have infiltrated America’s power structure. Following The Winter Soldier’s release, you couldn’t move for pictures of people hugging with the caption “Hail HYDRA”.
12) “We are Groot” — Guardians Of The Galaxy
The Guardian with the biggest heart is the one without any organs. Branching out for the first time from his three-word vocabulary, tree-man Groot employs the first person plural by way of explaining his gang-protecting act of sacrifice as the Dark Aster goes down. “We were all weeping,” remembers Zoe Saldana of shooting the scene. “Groot is so unconditional, we just felt in awe to be in his presence.” So he’s the biggest heart-breaker, too.
11) “I am Iron Man” — Iron Man
Before Iron Man, cinematic superheroes only ever existed in the shadows — all secret identities and hidden lairs. It was a call made late in the day, but the decision to have Tony Stark throw caution to the wind changed everything, and has given untold benefits to the MCU — from touching moments with Peter Parker and Harley Keener (the Iron Man 3 kid), to the location of Avengers Tower in central Manhattan.
10) Baby Groot says ELO — Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
The Guardians Of The Galaxy movies play by a different rulebook to the rest of the MCU. Without straying into Deadpool territory, they’re a little more irreverent, a little more knowing, and a little more free to take creative risks — hence Vol. 2 starting with a small talking tree dancing to ELO. Visually, the whole thing is one great, big glorious gag about the excess of sequels, as the Guardians fight a battle against a space monster in the background while Groot gets his groove on in the fore. “In any other action film, what you would focus on would be the battle with the creature,” Gunn, who supplied the motion-capture moves for Baby Groot, tells Empire. “And I love giant monsters and space creatures with tentacles. But I also love Baby Groot dancing.” No contest, really.
9) Peter Parker meets Tony Stark — Captain America: Civil War
The introduction of Peter Parker to the MCU is as amusing as it is touching — Tom Holland’s endearing take on the character proving the ideal counterpart to the always quip-ready Tony — and this scene plays to their strengths effortlessly. But when you stop to consider exactly what it took to get here, then it really thrills. Spider-Man is perhaps Marvel’s best known (and best loved?) character, but the MCU was already 12 films old by the time he was added to the fold. Whatever deal was struck between the top bods at Sony and Disney for them to agree to share the character, it was worth it. For both parties, as it turned out — Sony’s Spider-Man: Homecoming easily being the character’s best standalone film in over a decade. (Although not that the competition was all that strong.)
8) “Before we get started, would anyone like to get out?” — Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Before The Winter Soldier, you could count the number of great MCU action sequences on the fingers of one Infinity Gauntlet. The Nick Fury car chase sequence is at number 26 in this list, but the capper — excuse the pun — comes when Steve Rogers, full of doubts about S.H.I.E.L.D., climbs into an elevator, and finds himself faced with a bunch of burly guys. Sizing up the situation quickly, Steve issues a very gentle warning: “Before we get started, would anyone like to get out?” And that’s the trigger for a bout of claustrophobic mayhem as Steve royally rogers S.H.I.E.L.D. — sorry, HYDRA’s — finest guys. A mini-masterclass of tension and fight choreography, it gives the whole film a lift.
7) Meet Dad — Spider-Man: Homecoming
It’s very hard to pull off a twist in a blockbuster, especially one that takes its inspiration from famous source material. But from the off, it’s been quite clear the MCU isn’t a series of direct adaptations. Civil War the movie bears basically no resemblance to Civil War the comic, for example. And this commitment to forging new stories allows for moments like the jawdropper in Spider-Man: Homecoming when Peter Parker (Tom Holland) swings by to pick up his prom date, Liz. He rings the doorbell. He waits. A figure comes to answer the door. The door opens. And everyone loses their shit. For it turns out that Liz’s dad is Adrian Toomes, aka The Vulture, the flying supervillain who’s been a thorn in Spider-Man’s side. Spider-can open, spider-worms everywhere.
6) Vision lifts Mjolnir — Avengers: Age Of Ultron
Bloody Vision. What a chancer. Most Avengers actors can be in four, five, even six MCU movies and not get a moment like this one. Yet Paul Bettany’s android rocks up about two-thirds of the way into Avengers: Age Of Ultron, and waltzes off with the movie’s best bit, in which he immediately proves himself worthier than most by lifting Thor’s magic hammer, Mjolnir. Much to the astonishment of everyone in the room who, lest we forget, spent an entire sequence earlier in the film trying to lift it to no avail. “It came from, ‘You know what would be cool?’” laughs Joss Whedon. “But I needed them [the Avengers] to take this guy with them, and I needed something to say, ‘We’re off.’” Beautifully played by Bettany, Hemsworth et al, it’s a joyously funny pay-off to the idea that only Thor can wield his mighty tool, established way back in 2011’s Thor.
5) “I had a date” — Captain America: The First Avenger
Marvel has acquired a rep for knowing how to construct an ending. Some are funny — Luis blinking furiously in Ant-Man. Some are cliffhangers — Loki revealing himself (steady) in Thor: The Dark World. But none are as poignant as the end of Captain America: The First Avenger, when Steve Rogers awakens after 70 years. As far as he’s concerned, he was piloting a ship into an ice floe just minutes earlier. As he bursts past S.H.I.E.L.D. security into a very different Times Square to the one he knew, it takes a moment before he realises that he’s not going to meet Peggy Carter for that dance. “You gonna be okay?” asks Sam Jackson’s Nick Fury. “Yeah,” replies a forlorn Steve. “It’s just… I had a date.” It neatly sets up Rogers as a man out of time, marooned in a world he has no emotional connection to, and it’s a bravely sombre way to end a film.
4) Meet Trevor Slattery — Iron Man 3
We need to talk about The Mandarin. In the comics, he’s Iron Man’s ultimate foe, but he’s also a giant racial stereotype — a conniving, Fu Manchu-esque Chinese character that, Kevin Feige admitted to Empire, “we weren’t going to touch with a ten-foot pole”. But when The Mandarin was finally called upon for Iron Man 3, it’s as part of one of the most audacious twists in modern cinema. The Mandarin, as played by Ben Kingsley, isn’t the Mandarin at all — he’s a front. He is a drug-addled actor by the name of Trevor Slattery. Brave and bonkers the reveal may have been, but fan reaction at the time was mixed so Marvel walked it back slightly in the One-Shot short film Hail To The King, which implies the real Mandarin is out there and is none too happy about his name being used. Still, the impact of that initial reveal hasn’t dulled.
3) “Did you know?” — Captain America: Civil War
The glory of a multi-film narrative is the way it can dig deep into the characters, and pay off plot strands that were set in motion a long time before. The raw hurt and betrayal in Tony Stark’s eyes as he asks Steve Rogers, his fellow Avenger and friend, if he’d known Bucky had murdered his parents is a million miles from the glib showman we met at the beginning of Iron Man. And here’s where a kids’ film, a mere blockbuster bauble, would have pulled a last-minute swerve away from the emotionally uncomfortable. Instead, what Joe and Anthony Russo, the movie’s directors, do is have Steve Rogers, the MCU’s pillar of truth, look his friend in the eye and tell him the hardest truth of all. “Yes.” Emotionally, it’s a high point of the series, but it’s these characters at their lowest.
2) Hulk smashes Loki — Avengers Assemble
Joss Whedon went out of his way to make sure every Avenger has a scene with Tom Hiddleston’s Loki in Avengers Assemble. Most of them are quite involved dialogue scenes. But when it came to Hulk, that wouldn’t fly. The Hulk doesn’t riff. He doesn’t banter. What he does is smash. All the way through Avengers Assemble, there’s a subtle emasculation of Loki. For all his attempts to be a menacing villain, he’s undercut at every turn. And when he finally comes face-to-face with the Hulk, he’s had enough. “I am a god, you dull creature!” he rants. “And I will not—” But he doesn’t get to finish the sentence, what with being grabbed by the Hulk and then smashed, unceremoniously, into the ground. Several times. Nobody has treated the God Of Mischief with such indignity, before or since. It’s the funniest moment in the MCU.
1) The airport fight — Captain America: Civil War
Less a single moment than a series of jaw-droppers, Civil War’s airport fight truly delivers on the MCU’s promise: an all-out no-holds-barred multi-character comic book rumble. There’s spectacle galore — Ant-Man goes Giant-Man! Scarlet Witch rains cars on Iron Man! Spider-Man takes on the Winter Soldier! — with sparkling interplay between characters that would have been unthinkable even just a few years previously. And then there’s the emotion — the rift between Team Cap and Team Tony deepening, Nat’s decision to let Steve escape, War Machine getting caught in the crossfire. Thrilling, joyous, and packed with proper character moments — and isn’t that the MCU in a nutshell?