The Best GIFs from Each Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie Trailer

Whatever comes from this week’s Avengers: Infinity War, whoever lives or dies or is molded into the Soul Stone or anything else, the marketing campaign has already been a massive one. With so many characters to show off, so much story to tell, so many expectations to set, that’s not at all surprising.

While two hours and 24 minutes of the movie’s two hour and 29 minute runtime have yet to be seen, the campaign – specifically the two trailers – have already provided us with two of my favorite moments from the 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

#1: Black Panther – “…and get this man a shield.” I still get chills, though I know this scene will play out differently than what’s shown here.

#2: Captain America holding back Thanos, which I wrote about previously.

 So, because a good list never went wrong on the internet, here are my favorite scenes in GIF form from the trailers for all 18 MCU movies to date.

Iron Man (2008)

Iron Man dodges the missile, because it was just kind of badass and showed how very much a comic book come to life this was going to be.

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

That first good look at the Hulk, which was under such scrutiny since it was rebooting a character just five years after the original was criticized so heavily for the visuals.

Iron Man 2 (2010)

When Pepper kisses Tony’s helmet, because it continued their flirtatious relationship and was just fun, even if it didn’t make it into the movie.

Thor (2011)

Coulson’s interrogation and his characterization of Thor’s actions, because as much as the trailer is selling us the hero and story, Clark Gregg was the heart and soul of MCU Phase 1. It’s also because Coulson is so stoic but also so protective of his people.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Cap throwing his shield because that’s what the whole damn thing is all about.

The Avengers (2012)

We only get a little taste of it, but Black Widow’s opening scene here is one of the best in an excellent movie.

Iron Man 3 (2013)

The reality of how The Mandarin was translated on-screen has been one of the bigger controversies/points of debate in the MCU, but the trailer made it seem very cool.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Jane hitting Loki “for New York” proves that sometimes the smallest moments are the most memorable.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

There were 17 choices I considered for this one, but again, it’s hard to not put a Cap/shield moment at the top of the list because damn.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Have to go with Rocket and Groot going all out during the prison escape because it came to symbolize everything going on with this movie and what a risk Marvel Studios was taking branching out like this.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Setting up Ultron as the villain was the biggest point of this campaign and no moment symbolized that like the “…strings” line.

Ant-Man (2015)

After all the pre-production drama around this movie, this was the first and best hint that it was going to let Paul Rudd still be funny and retain as whole a sense of humor.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Oh like there was any other choice but the introduction of Spider-Man into the MCU, though Cap’s “I could do this all day” reprise and the first look at Black Panther were strong contenders.

Doctor Strange (2016)

It’s a gag line but Chiwetel Ejiofor delivers it perfectly.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

The whole campaign was about reminding the audience how much it loved Groot and this is one of my favorite of those moments.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

I know I was supposed to be focused on the hero, but I was more interested in Michael Keaton’s remarkably dramatic and subdued turn as the villain.

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

For as much fun as this movie was, the introduction of Valkyrie is one of the highlights and was a great moment in the trailer.

Black Panther (2018)

Another small character moment that meant a lot and was more interesting than all the action sequences.

Chris Thilk is a freelance writer and content strategist who lives in the Chicago suburbs.