Well it has been a couple of weeks now since Avengers: Endgame came out, and we’re finally going to get back to the regular release of new movies. So what better time to reflect back on the many incredible moments that this brilliant, heartbreaking film gave us. If you want to see my review you can here, and my full spoiler review here. As always this list is just my opinion, and I would love to hear yours in the comments. Oh and if you’re wondering why this is a top 12… well that’s how many moments I wanted to talk about. So let’s get into my Top 12 Avengers: Endgame Moments.

12) Cap v Cap – There’s plenty of Captain America moments that make this list, because this is by far the best Cap has ever been in the MCU, and the first moment of his we come to is when Steve has to face off against his past self. It’s a fun fight with some great moments, particularly the moment when the past Cap delivers the classic “I could do this all day” line, only for the modern day Cap to roll his eyes as comments that he knows. It also has a nice call back to Scott Lang’s earlier “America’s Ass” line.

11) Nebula and Tony on the Milano – Nebula is a character who has endured so much. Tortured by Thanos all her life and always felt like second best, then right when she made a sisterly connection with Gamora, Gamora was lost to the Soul Stone and she was stranded alone with Tony Stark. The connect they make aboard the dead in air Milano is a really touching one, particularly the moment that she wins the game and is genuinely shocked because she has never won before is incredible, and this was just one moment of Karen Gillan’s superb performance throughout Endgame.

10) “Hail Hydra” – A callback to one of the best action scenes from the MCU, a great nod to one of the most famous and controversial moments of recent comic books, and a brilliant bit of comedy. As most of the soldiers who attempted to ambush Cap in the lift in The Winter Soldier are escorting the Sceptre out of Stark Tower, Cap enters the lift with them. The atmosphere in the scene is identical to The Winter Soldier, but Cap using his foreknowledge is able to gain the sceptre of them with two words. Hail Hydra.

9) Scott finds his Daughter – When I first saw the film I held it together until the scene when Scott and his daughter Cassie Lang are reunited after five years of Scott being trapped in the Quantum Realm. There are some heartbreaking moments in Endgame, but there are plenty of uplifting and heartwarming one, and this is the first of them. Paul Rudd shows he’s much more that just a comic performer, and delivers a seriously emotive and powerful performance in this moment.

8) Tony meets his father – Tony’s relationship with his father has been a big recurring theme in his films ever since the original Iron Man, so to see him finally getting a sense of closure as he meets Howard Stark in 1970 right before Tony himself is born was incredibly heartwarming. Robert Downey Jr and John Slattery’s performances are fantastic, and it beautifully mirror’s what we see of Tony as a father in the earlier parts of Endgame. As this film is a closing of both Tony and Steve’s arcs, this was a crucial part of Tony’s past that he had to reexamine, and it was done poignantly.

7) “You can rest now” – This one feels like a bit of cheat because it’s really two moments that work as a beautiful setup and payoff for one another. The first when Pepper astutely points out that Tony would be unable to stop working on the problem of Time Travel because he wouldn’t be able to rest is beautifully mirror as she comforts him after he is dying from using the Infinity Gauntlet. As she hold Tony she tells him that he “can rest now” prompting him to succumb to the damage done by the Infinity Gauntlet and us to burst back into tears.

6) Hawkeye in Tokyo – The moment on Vormir one of the few action sequences we got, but the moment between Natasha and Clint in Tokyo is one that I found even more affecting. After he mercilessly slaughters a group of Yakuza mobster Nat finds him to inform him of their time travel plan. In a heartbreaking moment He tells her ‘not to give him hope’ but her response that she’s ‘sorry she couldn’t give it sooner’ speaks perfectly to both their arcs in the film. He was the one who brought her into the Avengers and gave her a family, and she is trying to repay that favour to him. They are an incredible platonic relationship to show in this massive film.

5) Thor is still worthy – A lot has been said about the direction Thor was taken in Endgame, and I don’t want to erase how anyone felt watching, but for me his arc in the film is exceptionally well done. Whilst Hemsworth’s performance is hilarious, there is a great pain to it, and the moment in 2013 Asgard where Thor summons Mjolnir and discovers he is still worthy is exceptional. The message that someone suffering from the depression is still worthy of wielding Mjolnir, that it doesn’t make him any less, is one that is important to hear. Hemsworths’ performance in that moment is fantastic and continued proof of his talent as an actor.

4) Cap wields Mjolnir – I’ve never heard a cheer in the cinema like I have when Captain America wields Mjolnir in the fight against Thanos. It’s an epic, crowd pleasing moment, and a brilliant payoff for the after party scene in Age of Ultron. We all speculated that Cap was actually worthy to lift Mjolnir in Age of Ultron but now its been proved. Even though Cap isn’t ultimately able to death Thanos, it is a truly epic scene, and got a reaction from every crowd I watched the film with.

3) Women of the Avengers unite – The moment when Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, enters the atmosphere to distract the attention of Thanos’ guns is awesome, but nothing compared to the moment where she unites with so many of the other badass women in the MCU in order to get the gauntlet to Scott and the Quantum tunnel although all of Thanos’ armies stand between them. It is an epic and empowering moment during a battle full of epic and empowering moments, and one that young girls will be able to look up to for generations to come.

2) “I am Iron Man” – The moment that the Avengers finally manage to defeat Thanos, and it is Tony, who uses his nanotech armour to steal the stones from the infinity gauntlet that Tony made, who does it. In response to Thanos’ “I am inevitable” and failed snap Tony responds “I am Iron Man” before snapping Thanos’ army out of existence. With the call back to Tony’s final line at the end of Iron Man the first MCU film you can see just how much Tony has grown in the context of these two lines. No longer is he the arrogant carefree man from then, this is someone who is willing to sacrifice himself to save the world, even if it means leaving his family. It’s powerful and heartbreaking, and Downey Jr is exceptional.

1) Avengers Assemble – This may just be my favourite moment in all of cinematic history. As a battered Captain America stands alone, with Iron Man and Thor thrown aside by Thanos, Doctor Strange takes this moment to bring all of their allies into the battlegrounds at The Avengers Mansion. In my second and third viewings of the film this was the moment that still makes me emotional and caused me to tear up. It is uplifting, empowering, and the closest a single moment can get to encapsulating the culmination of the entire MCU. Alan Silvestri’s musical score is power and beautiful, and maybe my favourite piece of music from the series.