There have been many huge moments in the history of theMarvel Cinematic Universethat have dramatically changed characters' lives forever. Over the last 16 years, Marvel Studios has adapted dozens of complex and believable characters from Marvel Comics into live-action, and audiences have watched many of them grow and develop over several projects spanning years.This means there have been some major moments of character development in many of these characters' lives, changing them forever, but often for the better.
There are simply too many of these transformative moments to list, but some stick in the mind for months or even years after watching.These scenes are often poignant, and mark huge changes in these characters' lives and journeys in the MCU. Often, these moments make heroes even stronger, more resilient and more self-assured, though some are simply incredible moments in which they show off some of thebest powers in the MCU. The likes of Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor and the Scarlet Witch have been through these changes, and many more will surely follow in the MCU’s future.
12Peter Parker Frees Himself From Beneath Rubble Without His Suit
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Following his debut inCaptain America: Civil War, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker embarked on his first solo mission as Spider-Man in 2017’sSpider-Man: Homecoming. This pitted him againstAdrian Toomes' Vulture, though he was urged by Tony Stark not to go after the villain. When he ignored Stark’s advice and nearly caused a disaster,Parker was relieved of his Stark-designed Spider-Man suit, but went after the Vulture anyway in his original, casual costume. Caught under rubble after an attack by the Vulture, all hope seemed lost for the suitless Spider-Man.
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In an act of sheer strength, Peter Parker lifted the rubble off himself and got free, allowing him to go after the Vulture and stop him from stealing the equipment on the plane leaving theformer Avengers Tower.This was a cathartic moment for Parker, proving that he indeed was something without the suit, and helping Tony Stark to see the value in mentoring Parker more directly, leading to his offer to officially join the Avengers. Parker’s growth inHomecomingwas monumental, and led to him being a better hero later on.
11Gamora & Nebula Finally Hug Each Other
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2was a very emotional and intense journey for the whole Guardians team, who had inadvertently brought then-villain Nebula along for the ride after they crash-landed on Berhert. After being taken in by Ego,Gamora and Nebulafought each other on his planet, butthis battle ended with Nebula claiming that, while Gamora only ever wanted to win, Nebula just wanted to have a sister. This declaration began to soften them both, and led to a beautiful moment where they hug after Yondu’s funeral.
Karen Gillan has been rumored to be returning as Nebula in Phase 6’sAvengers: DoomsdayandSecret Wars, while Zoe Saldaña has stated that she is done as Gamora, but would love to see the character continue in the MCU without her somehow.
Nebula is obviously resistant to this hug at first, as she hadn’t been raised in an affectionate environment, under the thumb of Thanos. However,this hug marked the start of a very close relationship between Gamora and Nebula, which would lead to Nebula joining the Avengers afterGamora’s death inInfinity War, and would eventually culminate in Nebula becoming close with Gamora’s variant, despite her not rejoining the Guardians of the Galaxy. Their hug inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2was perhaps the biggest moment in either characters' life.
10Steven Grant Learns About His Origins As Marc Spector’s Alter
Moon Knight (2022)
When first introduced inMoon Knighton Disney+, Steven Grant thought he was going insane when Marc Spector, his alter, began to speak to him. However,Moon Knightepisode 5, “Asylum”, revealed thatSpector wasn’t the alter at all, but that Steven Grant had actually been created by Marc. Steven learned this while watching back key moments in Marc Spector’s childhood: the death of his brother, Randall, his mother’s torment and abuse, and lonely birthday parties, before the Steven Grant alter emerged as a coping mechanism.
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This shocked Steven, realizing that he wasn’t the original inhabitant of his own body. However, this enabled Steven to take more risks, and fostered a more caring attitude towards Marc Spector, his original form, which culminated in Steven sacrificing himself to the Duat to save Marc Spector and get him into the Field of Reeds.After Marc went back to save Steven, the pair had a much more symbiotic and understanding relationship, making them better fighters and tactical thinkers, which would be great to see continued in a possibleMoon Knightseason 2.
9Hawkeye Gives Wanda Maximoff A Pep Talk During The Battle Of Sokovia
Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)
Avengers: Age of Ultronmarked a tumultuous journey for Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, as they began as HYDRA experiment subjects, went on to become villains alongside Ultron, and later turned into heroes fighting with the Avengers against the tyrannical robot and his army.The intense Battle of Sokovia ended up being too much for Wanda, who wasn’t sure what course of action to take next. However, a stern but caring pep talk byClint Barton’s Hawkeyegave her a clearer mind, and led to her eventually joining the Avengers officially.
It’s been fantastic to see the close friendship betweenClint Barton and Wanda Maximoffcontinue in subsequent projects, as Barton freed her from Avengers HQ inCaptain America: Civil Warand the pair mourned together inAvengers: Endgame. This all started inAge of Ultron, the movie which saw audiences begin to fall in love with Hawkeye after considering him irrelevant in 2012’sThe Avengers.This pep talk sealed the deal, ensuring Wanda that if she joined in the fight against Ultron, she would be an Avenger, and join in she did.
8Maya Lopez Defeated Kingpin With A Memory
Echo (2024)
Although there were some unfounded and ridiculous concerns about how necessaryEcho, the MCU’s first Marvel Spotlight series, actually was, the five-part series was actually a wonderful character study of Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez. As she learned of her ancestral heritage as part of the Choctaw Nation,Maya Lopez realized more supernatural abilities, which eventually helped her defeat Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin. As her father figure, Maya didn’t want to harm Kingpin, so defeated him with a childhood memory instead.
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This memory is one audiences will know fromNetflix’sDaredevilseries, as Wilson Fisk witnessed abuse from his father as a child, which led to him murdering his own father in cold blood.It was great to see this harked back to inEcho, establishing Kingpin’s origin story in the MCU’s canon to be one we’re familiar with. This was also a fantastic display of Maya Lopez’s new powers, and demonstrated that it was possible to shake Kingpin to his core, which could be important in upcoming projects such asDaredevil: Born Again.
7Thor Realizes He Is Still Worthy
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Avengers: Endgamewas so jam-packed full of game-changing scenes and huge moments of character development that it’s hard to whittle down only a couple. One of the most satisfying andemotional moments inEndgame, however, was delivered by Chris Hemsworth’s Thor during the Time Heist, which saw Thor and Rocket travel to Asgard in 2013 to acquire the Reality Stone from Jane Foster.Thor conversed with his mother, only hours before Malekith’s attack on Asgard and her death, and then learned that, despite his troubles, he is still worthy.
Thor acquired Mjolnir from Asgard in 2013 during the Time Heist, and the hammer was later returned by Steve Rogers' Captain America when he also took the Infinity Stones back to their own universes, before retiring with Peggy Carter.
Thor had fallen into an intense depressive state after failing to stopThanos from snapping his fingers inAvengers: Infinity War, ridding the universe of half its population. Weight gain and alcoholism had led to Thor becoming something of a liability, but he became much more energetic and motivated after Mjolnir found its way to his hand.This proved that Thor was still worthy, as despite feeling that he’d failed, Mjolnir had a different impression. Of course, Thor collecting Mjolnir from 2013 also allowed Captain America to wield it during the Battle of Earth, which was another huge moment.
6Captain Marvel Unleashes Her Full Power
Captain Marvel (2019)
Brie Larson was an inspired casting choice forCarol Danvers in 2019’sCaptain Marvel, as she was able to deliver the more vulnerable moments of the character, as well as some of her more badass and impressive feats.The most impressive came towards the end of the Phase 3 movie, however, as Carol Danvers realized her true strength after being captured by the Kree and brought before the Supreme Intelligence. Danvers broke free of the Supreme Intelligence’s control and unleashed her full Tesseract-fueled power on her captors.
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Captain Marvel showing off her insane gifts was enough to strike fear into the heart of Kree warrior Ronan, and enough to easily defeat Yon-Rogg without a second thought. Danvers later went on to obliterate the Supreme Intelligence itself, which had a damning impact on Hala, the Kree homeworld, and led toDar-Benn’s rampage inThe Marvels. However, it was still powerful to see Danvers access her incredible strength and cosmic abilities, proving just how limited she’d been by her Kree guardians.
5Doctor Strange Goes On A Journey
Doctor Strange (2016)
As a man of science and medicine, it was always going to be a hard sell trying to get Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange to believe in the Mystic Arts. However, the Ancient One seemed to find this relatively easy, asshe just sent Doctor Strange on a journey across universes, dimensions and planes of existence, contributing to one of the MCU’s most cinematic, beautiful and memorable scenes. Strange experienced space, spaghettification, turning into hands, and meeting Dormammu before being thrust back to Earth.
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While he didn’t believe the Ancient One before, after this journey, he begged her to train him in the Mystic Arts, hoping that this would allow him to heal his hands.As he trained, however, Strange forgot about the limits that his hands may have presented, and set out to learn all he could about magic andsorcery, eventually becoming one of the mostpowerful sorcerers in the MCU’s history. This all started with his trippy journey in 2016’sDoctor Strange, so this is perhaps one of the MCU’s most transformative and important moments.
4Scarlet Witch Frightens Her Variant’s Children On Earth-838
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)
While 2016’sDoctor Strangeincluded a massive character development moment for Strange himself, its 2022 sequel,Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, marked a transformative journey for Wanda Maximoff’s Scarlet Witch. Throughout the movie, the Scarlet Witch chased Strange and multiversal travelerXochitl Gomez’s America Chavez, hoping to steal the latter’s power to reunite with her sons afterWandaVision. To defeat her, however,Chavez gave Wanda exactly what she wanted, opening a portal to a universe where her sons were alive.
WandaVision’supcoming spinoff,Agatha All Along, is expected to continue the Scarlet Witch’s story. Although Elizabeth Olsen isn’t expected to appear inAgatha All Along, she has been heavily rumored to be returning to the MCU, despite the Scarlet Witch’s demise.
Of course, Billy and Tommy Maximoff were terrified of the Scarlet Witch, as she had become a monster due to the Darkhold’s corruption and her own desperation. She was unrecognizable, and hardly a good mother figure, though was comforted by her variant from Earth-838, who she’d possessed earlier. Wanda learned the error of her ways, and instead of continuing with her quest,she instead decided to destroy Mount Wundagore and every copy of the Darkhold across the multiverse, and take herself with it, sacrificing herself in an act of redemption.
3Tony Stark Meets His Father In 1970
Thor wasn’t the only recipient of a huge character development moment inAvengers: Endgame, asRobert Downey Jr.’s Tony Starkalso got one, moments before his sacrifice to save the universe. During the Time Heist, Stark and Steve Rogers traveled to Camp Lehigh in 1970 to acquire more Pym Particles and the Tesseract simultaneously. There,Stark crossed paths with SHIELD founder and his father, Howard Stark, and the pair exchanged a beautiful conversation about fatherhood, as Howard was expecting baby Tony, while Stark himself thought of his daughter, Morgan.
Tony Stark had never felt loved by his father, but seeing the worry that Howard had about becoming a father reassured Stark that his dad actually had cared about him this whole time.Tony Stark’s parents were killed by the Winter Soldier in 1991, 21 years after this encounter, so they never saw the strong hero that their son grew up to be. Meeting his father in 1970 helped Stark come to peace with laying down his own life to defeat Thanos and save the universe, as he was doing for his daughter what his father had done for him.
