Summary
- Marvel movies excel at character introductions, setting up heroes and villains with engaging personality and backstory.
- MCU has mastered quick and captivating character setups, from lead roles to anticipated new additions.
- Strong introductions are vital for engaging superhero movies, and Marvel excels at crafting impactful first scenes for its characters.
Movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as earlier adaptations of Marvel comic books, have mastered the art of character introductions. It’s no secret that superhero movies live and die by the strength of their heroes and villains, with the personalities and backstories of these characters driving a huge margin of the interest in comic book films. From Marvel’s first movie adaptations to the expansive success of the MCU’s films, Marvel in particular has gotten extremely good at quickly selling audiences on a character.
Often, but not always, the starring lead will feature heavily in a superhero movie’s opening scene, immediately setting up their personality and heroic journey from the onset of the plot. Other times, packed crossover movies will introduce highly-anticipated new characters halfway through in a manner that’s threatening, exciting, or ominous, depending on the specific needs of the narrative. While every superhero series needs snappy, engaging introductory scenes for its characters, Marvel in particular has gotten quite proficient at them.
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10 Star-Lord Jams Out To Redbone
Guardians of the Galaxy
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Guardians of the Galaxy PG-13AdventureActionFantasySci-Fi
Director James Gunn Release Date July 30, 2014 Writers James Gunn , Nicole Perlman , Dan Abnett , Andy Lanning Runtime 122 Minutes
Going into their first film, the Guardians of the Galaxy were quite an obscure bunch of comic book characters to stake a Marvel release on. With so little audience familiarity to rely on, the MCU had to be especially careful to nail the introductory moments of all five original Guardians, especially their leader, Star-Lord. Luckily, James Gunn’s first entry in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise was able to effortlessly do so with (adult) Peter Quill’s first scene.
He gleefully trapses across an alien planet while singing Redbone’s Come and Get Your Love, the first of the series’ many iconic needle drops.
Star-Lord summarizes both his own personality and the general tone of the Guardians of the Galaxy films with his debut, in which he gleefully trapses across an alien planet while singing Redbone’s Come and Get Your Love, the first of the series’ many iconic needle drops. The scene is made even better when it shows up in the MCU again during the time-travel adventures of Avengers: Endgame, making for one of the best scenes of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy in general.
9 Spider-Man Meets Tony Stark
Captain America: Civil War
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Captain America: Civil War PG-13Sci-FiThrillerAction
Director Anthony Russo , Joe Russo Release Date May 6, 2016 Studio(s) Marvel Studios Distributor(s) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Writers Stephen McFeely , Christopher Markus Cast Martin Freeman , Daniel Brühl , Robert Downey Jr. , Sebastian Stan , Elizabeth Olsen , Chadwick Boseman , Chris Evans , Paul Rudd , Frank Grillo , Scarlett Johansson , William Hurt , Paul Bettany , Anthony Mackie , Emily VanCamp , Tom Holland Franchise(s) Marvel prequel(s) Captain America: The Winter Soldier , Captain America: The First Avenger Main Genre Action Expand
Captain America: Civil War had the difficult job of introducing two important new characters to the MCU while also balancing an expansive crossover story featuring plenty of familiar faces. Because of this, it was even more important for the film to nail both Spider-Man and Black Panther’s first scenes, with the former standing out as particularly well-done. In a single impressive tracking shot, the film follows just over Peter Parker’s shoulder as he makes his way back into his apartment, only to find Tony Stark waiting for him.
There’s an immediate chemistry in the first conversation between Holland’s Peter Parker and Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark.
This brief, easily-overlooked introduction works so well for a variety of reasons. It instantly conveys Parker’s values, world, and personality without directly explaining them, as he makes his way into a cramped Queens apartment while carrying old electronics to fiddle with in his spare time. There’s an immediate chemistry in the first conversation between Holland’s Peter Parker and Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, setting up a phenomenal mentor relationship that the films would later pay off.
8 Don Cheadle’s War Machine Takes Over
Iron Man 2
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Iron Man 2 PG-13Adventure Sci-FiAction
Director Jon Favreau Release Date May 7, 2010 Studio(s) Disney , Marvel Distributor(s) Disney , Marvel Writers Justin Theroux Cast Robert Downey Jr. , Mickey Rourke , Don Cheadle , Gwyneth Paltrow Runtime 124 minutes Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe , Iron Man Sequel(s) Iron Man 3 prequel(s) Iron Man Expand
It’s hard enough to introduce a new character, but re-introducing them with a new actor behind the wheel can be just as challenging. The MCU is no stranger to recasts, and one of their earliest and most prolific was the decision to replace Terrence Howard’s Colonel James Rhodes in Iron Man with Don Cheadle’s version in Iron Man 2. This new version of Rhodes, who finally becomes War Machine in the sequel, is first introduced during a courtroom hearing surrounding Tony Stark’s use of Iron Man armor.
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Cheadle quickly sells returning audiences on the recast by addressing his presence with a line that all but breaks the fourth wall to acknowledge the change, saying “Look it’s me, I’m here, deal with it. Let’s move on.” In the following scene that plays out in the high-strung courtroom, Cheadle quickly proves himself as having more chemistry with Robert Downey Jr. than Howard ever did, making for a more than worthy War Machine replacement. To this day, War Machine is one of the most active heroes in the MCU.
7 Ultron Comes Online
Avengers: Age of Ultron
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Avengers: Age of Ultron PG-13ActionSci-FiSuperhero
Director Joss Whedon Release Date May 1, 2015 Studio(s) Marvel Studios Distributor(s) Disney Writers Joss Whedon Runtime 141 minutes prequel(s) The Avengers Expand
It isn’t just heroes that need great introductory scenes in comic book movies. While the MCU has historically struggled to craft engaging villains, Avengers: Age of Ultron saw one of the series’ best villainous entrances with the activation of the titular robotic antagonist. When Ultron is activated, the movie shifts into a strange, meta-physical digital space to play out Ultron’s conversation with J.A.R.V.I.S., the near-sentient A.I. that later becomes the hero Vision.
James Spader’s buttery smooth voice work keeps him threatening even as a disembodied program.
There’s something inherently comedic about Ultron immediately becoming bent on the extinction of humanity after spending five minutes on the internet, but James Spader’s buttery smooth voice work keeps him threatening even as a disembodied program. The abstract way he “kills” and absorbs J.A.R.V.I.S., who had been with Tony Stark for several movies now, quickly sold the threat of Ultron. Even if the rest of the film couldn’t maintain the hype of Ultron’s introduction, there’s no denying it was a powerful way to debut him.
6 Killmonger’s Museum Heist
Black Panther
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Black Panther PG-13 Sci-FiDramaActionSuperhero
Director Ryan Coogler Release Date February 16, 2018 Studio(s) Marvel Studios Distributor(s) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Writers Joe Robert Cole , Ryan Coogler Runtime 134 Minutes Franchise(s) Marvel , Marvel Cinematic Universe Sequel(s) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Expand
One of the most beloved villains ever in the MCU, Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger had a fittingly hype-worthy introduction in his first appearance. In Black Panther, Killmonger first appears as a simple museum guest, admiring the artifacts of an African tribe at a stuffy museum. When his presence attracts the attention of a curator, he quickly reveals his true intentions, taking off his social mask to don a literal one while stealing a valuable Vibranium weapon.
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Killmonger is one of the best Marvel villains in recent years, partially because he’s easy to sympathize with. However, that doesn’t mean his ideas and plans are right. While he made T’Challa and others change their problematic isolation policies, Killmonger was an imperialist who wanted to create a Wakandan Empire that likely would have achieved power through violent means. I think although Killmonger was right about some things, he was definitely a villain with dangerous plans that ultimately made him wrong.
Killmonger’s speech about the theft of his culture’s priceless history hits quite close to home in this scene, and easily establishes him as a Marvel villain that’s technically in the right. Nevermind Jordan’s amazing performance as the bloodthirsty Wakandan usurper, which only gets stronger as the film progresses. Intense, chaotic, and making a good point, Killmonger’s museum heist is hard to beat in terms of strong first scenes for Marvel villains throughout the MCU.
5 Spider-Man 2099 Takes On The Vulture
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse PGSuperheroAnimationActionAdventure
Director Joaquim Dos Santos , Kemp Powers , Justin K. Thompson Release Date June 2, 2023 Studio(s) Sony , Marvel , Columbia Pictures Distributor(s) Sony Writers Dave Callaham , Phil Lord , Christopher Miller Runtime 140 Minutes prequel(s) Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse Cast Shameik Moore , Hailee Steinfeld , Oscar Isaac , Jake Johnson Franchise(s) Spider-Verse , Spider-Man Sequel(s) Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse Main Genre Animation Expand
Miguel O’Hara serves as an antagonist, mentor, tragic hero and deuteragonist in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. His first true appearance in the film somehow manages to encompass all of these fronts at once, being threatening, somber, and heroic all at the same time. A powerful variant of Spider-Man from a futuristic dimension, Miguel O’Hara became the first Spider-Man to reach out to other dimensions and establish a multiversal network of web-slinging heroes.
When a renaissance-era version of the Vulture wreaks havoc on Gwen Stacy’s world, Spider-Man 2099 shows up to take down the dimension-hopping error, appearing in a dramatic burst through one of his signature web-portals. As his eerie techno theme plays, Spider-Man 2099 makes for an ominous figure as the rain pours down around him, unfazed by Gwen’s quips regarding his appearance. His subsequent beatdown on the Leonardo DaVinci-esque Vulture says more than enough.
4 Tony Stark Goes For A Ride In Afghanistan
Iron Man
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Iron Man PG-13 Sci-FiActionAdventure
Director Jon Favreau Release Date May 2, 2008 Studio(s) Marvel Studios Distributor(s) Paramount Pictures Writers Matt Holloway , Art Marcum , Hawk Ostby , Mark Fergus Runtime 126 minutes Cast Robert Downey Jr. , Jeff Bridges , Gwyneth Paltrow , Terrence Howard , Leslie Bibb , Shaun Toub , Clark Gregg , Paul Bettany Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe , Iron Man Sequel(s) Iron Man 2 , Iron Man 3 Main Genre Superhero Expand
The film that started it all, Iron Man had the very first hero introduction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and to this day, manages to be one of its strongest. While on his way to a demonstration of his latest weapon in war-torn Afghanistan, Tony Stark is crammed into a tiny Humvee alongside some U.S. soldiers. Before this attack that changes his life forever occurs, Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark quickly conveys exactly who he is with just a few short lines.
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The scene reveals the extent of Tony’s fame by having one of the soldiers ask for a picture with him, which he agrees to on the condition that it doesn’t appear on a “MySpace” page. It also demonstrates his vices, such as alcoholism and misogyny, all to the tune of AC/DC’s Back in Black, setting the tone for Iron Man’s hard rock soundtrack going forward. This scene alone just might make the MCU debut film the strongest of the Iron Man movies.
3 Nick Fury Opens Up The Marvel Universe
Iron Man
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Speaking of the first Iron Man, the titular superhero wasn’t the only important Marvel Cinematic Universe character to be introduced for the first time in the film. In a post-credits scene, Iron Man also teased the formation of the Avengers, as well as the MCU as a whole, with the introduction of Nick Fury. While returning home to his penthouse, Tony Stark finds a mysterious new visitor waiting for him, none other than Nick Fury.
Here, Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury tells Tony that he’s “become part of a bigger universe“, hinting at the years of cinema to come with Iron Man as a foundation. Not only does this scene expertly show off what Nick Fury can do, disabling J.A.R.V.I.S. and sneaking into the home of someone as high-profile as Tony Stark, but it also chillingly predicts the series that would define a generation of pop culture for years to come. 16 years later, Samuel L. Jackson is just as convincing as Nick Fury now as he was back in 2008.
2 Wolverine’s Cage Match
X-Men
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X-Men PG-13ActionAdventure Sci-FiSuperhero
Director Bryan Singer Release Date July 14, 2000 Studio(s) Marvel Distributor(s) 20th Century Writers Tom DeSanto , Bryan Singer , David Hayter Runtime 104 Minutes Franchise(s) Marvel , X-Men Expand
It’s important to pay respects to the efforts of Marvel movies prior to the MCU. On the topic of superhero introductions, few of these earlier superhero films showed off their flagship character quite like the original X-Men. Kickstarting the Fox X-Men movie universe, the film introduced audiences to a whole host of mutants, including Hugh Jackman’s iconic Wolverine. The first glimpses the film reveals of Wolverine are in the throes of a brutal underground cage match.
A fight scene is a fitting way to debut the feral character, even if he does refrain from using his claws. That’s not to say that his powers don’t give him an advantage here, with Logan’s adamantium skeleton making his fists sound like an aluminum baseball bat against the skull of his opponent. Perfectly encapsulating his powers, toughness, and fearsome attitude, this opening cage match tells the viewer nearly everything they need to know about the one and only Wolverine.
1 Blade Shuts Down A Vampire Rave
Blade
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Blade (1998) RActionHorrorSci-Fi
Director Stephen Norrington Release Date August 21, 1998 Studio(s) New Line Cinema , Marvel Enterprises , Amen Ra Films , Imaginary Forces Distributor(s) New Line Cinema Writers David S. Goyer Runtime 120 Minutes Franchise(s) Blade Sequel(s) Blade II , Blade: Trinity Main Genre Action Expand
Both the first scene of the film and the first scene to feature its titlar character, Wesley Snipes’ very first moments on-screen in Blade are a true visual marvel. At first, the scene follows a clueless partygoer who joins some women on the dance floor, only to be horrified when the sprinkler system douses the vampiric crowd in blood. Just before he can become a snack, the daywalker Blade wordlessly appears, instantly terrifying the entire crowd of undead bloodsuckers.
Blade proceeds to slay every single last one of the clubgoing vampires, all to the sound of a driving techno beat. Wesley Snipes’ impressive martial arts skills and hilarious touches of physical comedy send what would otherwise be a visually-interesting introductory action scene into one of the most iconic opening acts of all time. Blade’s first moments on-screen easily make for one of the best Marvel films to precede the MCU.
Upcoming MCU Movies
- Captain America: Brave New World
Release Date February 14, 2025
- Thunderbolts*
Release Date May 2, 2025
- The Fantastic Four (2025)
Release Date July 25, 2025
- Blade (2025)
Release Date November 7, 2025
- Avengers: Doomsday
Release Date May 1, 2026
- Avengers: Secret Wars
Release Date May 7, 2027