Top 20 Most Emotional Moments in the MCU

Thunderbolts* (2025)


Although they come from different backgrounds, the central characters in Thunderbolts* all have PTSD in common. This overarching theme is cleverly visualized in the climax when Bob is overtaken by the Void, spreading trauma across New York. Running from the Void only prolongs the inevitable. The only way to combat it is by facing the Void head-on. The Void takes on many different forms, trapping people in personalized prisons where their worst memories are played on an endless loop. While some can escape this cycle on their own, others need a support group to bring them back. Bob is ultimately pulled from the brink of no return with the help of his new friends, allowing them all to heal as a team.

Agatha All Along (2024)
In this miniseries, we learn that Agatha Harkness had a son named Nicholas Scratch, whom shes destined to outlive. Desperately begging Death, Agatha buys her son time but the clock is ticking. Although this presents Agatha in a more sympathetic light, it doesnt make her less evil. In fact, Agatha involves Nicholas in her plans to murder other witches and steal their magic. Regardless, Agatha genuinely loves her son, proving she has a heart. In a way, that only makes Agatha more dangerous. When Death inevitably takes the one person she cared about, Agatha plunges deeper into darkness. As powerful as Agatha becomes, she remains haunted by Nicholas fate. Agatha doesnt fear Death so much as confronting her son in the great beyond.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
The moment that made us empathize with Thanos the most is also the one that garnered the most hatred toward the Mad Titan. To acquire the Soul Stone, Thanos must throw a loved one into the pit below. Gamora believes her adoptive father has been bested, as hes incapable of love or so she thinks. Despite being a less-than-ideal parent, Thanos truly views Gamora as his daughter. That doesnt mean hell put family before his mission. Josh Brolins performance and the emotive effects make us shed a tear with Thanos, even though hes the one causing this pain. Thanos ultimately succeeds in wiping out half of all life in the universe. Knowing the personal price, though, he struggles to celebrate.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Following the events of Avengers: Infinity War, the world undergoes a massive change after all, half of humanity is just gone! While Endgame features several scenes in this bleak new world, the one that hits home the most happens after Scott Lang, a.k.a. Ant-Man, returns from the Quantum Realm. Seeing him walk through the devastated and somber streets is rough, as is him seeing his own name on a list of the dead, but what really gets the waterworks going is when he reunites with his daughter Cassie, now five years older than when he left. Some of the tears are happy, but we can imagine how devastating it must be for him to overnight have lost so many years with his daughter.

Iron Man 2 (2010)
It was hardly surprising to anyone that the hard-drinking, womanizing Tony Stark had issues with his similar father, Howard. The elder Stark had difficulty expressing his emotions to his son, to the point where Tony doubts his own fathers love for him. However, an old film reel gives Tony another look at his dad. While looking into Howards research, Tony watches an old outtakes reel of Howard displaying a model. At the reels end, Howard speaks directly to Tony, telling his son that hes left a message in the model for him to discover, since hes limited by the technology of his time, and that of all his inventions, Tony is his greatest. While it isnt quite I love you, it still has us tearing up, especially in light of

Captain America: Civil War (2016)
As weve seen, Tony Stark did not have the best relationship with his father. This distant and complicated dynamic was further complicated by the fact that both his father and mother died fairly young, when Tony was 21. At the beginning of this film, we see a holographic recreation of Tonys final moments with them, and how he and his father argue. Although Tony is able to alter the memory to say how he really feels to his dad in the recording, he never got that chance in real lifeat least not then. This moment is made even more heartbreaking by the revelation of what happened to them later on in the movie.

Black Panther (2018)
Erik Killmonger is a complex villain. While the assassin turned challenger to the throne of Wakanda may be utterly ruthless and power hungry, his goal to free oppressed people of African descent is an admirable one. So when Killmonger is defeated in battle and heavily wounded, were still pretty sad that he chooses to die rather than live in imprisonment. Despite their different outlooks, its encouraging to see he and TChalla enjoy the sunset together, as well as the fact that TChalla took Killmongers message, if not his methods, to heart.

Daredevil: Born Again (2025-)
Picking up not long after the Netflix series, Born Again quickly establishes itll be just as hard-hitting as its predecessor. At the same time, the opening sequence distinguishes how this continuation will be different. Namely, Matt Murdock will be down one friend. Benjamin Poindexter interrupts what was supposed to be a night of celebration, putting a bullet in Foggy Nelson. Never looking redder, Daredevil fights Bullseye while internally battling his desire to break the sixth commandment. As a bleeding Foggy takes his last breath on the pavement below, an enraged Daredevil sends his enemy to join him. Dex survives, but Murdock was fully prepared to commit murder. In a sense, Daredevil also dies that night, but a resurrection awaits the vigilante.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Wiping out entire civilizations is one thing, but animal cruelty? This is why the High Evolutionary doesnt deserve a face. Of course, were getting ahead of ourselves. Before Rocket teamed with the Guardians, he was incarcerated and tortured. Friendship provided a glimmer of hope in the bleakest of places. Just when freedom appears within reach, Rocket watches Lylla[a] die in front of him. Sent on a rampage, Rocket finds that Teefs and Floor have also died in the chaos, leaving him with little purpose. Caught between life and death, Rocket is eventually reunited with his friends. Having found another family, though, Lana encourages him to keep fighting for the ones he loves. A shout-out to the animation on Rocket, which has never contained more humanity.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)
To acquire the Soul Stone before Thanos, Natasha and Clint know what must be done. Neither is thinking the same thing, however. Having endured so much grief, Clint is ready to put himself out of his misery. Assuming the time heist works, though, Natasha is hellbent on ensuring Clint sees his family again. The two keep one-upping each other until Nat is left hanging, giving Clint no choice but to let go. Natasha reunites Clint with his family, but shes forced to leave hers behind. As Yelena later visits her sisters grave, we feel her sadness and desire for vengeance. Despite blaming Clint for Natashas death, Yelena ultimately finds closure in an unexpected place. Each emotional beat hits its target.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter have to be one of the most star-crossed couples in the MCU! Following their heartbreaking separation (more on that later!), Steve returns many years later, only for Peggy not to even recognize him, due to old age, and she then passes away. As tragic as that is, what made us cry more is when they finally got their second chance! At the end of Endgame, we see that after Cap traveled back in time to restore all the Infinity Stones, he remained there, as Bucky and Sam meet an elderly version of him. The films closing moments reveal that Steve finally got that long-awaited dance with Peggy. It was certainly worth the wait and had us crying tears of joy.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Peter Quill didnt exactly have the most traditional upbringing. Kidnapped by the Ravagers with the intent to deliver him to his Celestial father, Ego, Yondu decided to raise Quill as his own once he found out Ego was killing his offspring. After Quill and the Guardians succeed in killing Ego, with the planet collapsing around them, Yondu manages to rescue Quill, but with only one rocket pack and one air shield, he gives the air to Quill; sacrificing his own life for his adopted son, and proving to be a far-from-perfect, though still worthy daddy after all. Even Rocket manages to get choked up at his funeral, and were crying right along with him.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Captain Americas first time saving the world, or at least his country, occurs back in 1945. With Red Skull flying a plane full of deadly weapons towards the USA, Cap manages to board it and battle his foe. Although Red Skull is neutralized, the plane isnt safe to land, so Steve decides to crash it in the water. His last conversation with Peggy Carter over the radio as they make plans for a date they both know will not happen is absolutely heartbreaking. Weve already discussed Steve Rogers and Peggy Carters ill-fated romance, but this moment, when it seems to end before it begins, still makes us tear up the most.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
The first Guardians of the Galaxy film has its share of sad moments heck, it starts off with the gut punch of watching Peter Quills mother die of cancer! But theres a death that happens later in the film that hits even harder. During the final battle over Xandar, the Guardians find themselves struggling against the villain Ronan, but they manage to damage his ship enough that it crashes unfortunately with them inside it. To protect his friends from the impact, Groot grows his plant-like limbs to shield them, at the cost of his own life. We never thought a talking tree and raccoon could make us bawl our eyes out, but this movie proved us wrong!

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
When Tom Hollands Peter Parker joined the MCU, we had already watched Uncle Ben die on the big screen twice. While itd be repetitive to do this a third time, loss is an important part of Peters journey. No Way Home finally delivered this essential turning point, but in an unexpected way. After the Green Goblin reveals his true colors, Peter finds Aunt May in the rubble. It appears everything might be okay until May imparts a few familiar words of wisdom to Peter: With great power comes great responsibility. This is the exact moment that we knew May wouldnt be leaving alive. Despite his aunts dying words, Peter has never felt more powerless or alone. Two others know what hes going through, however.

WandaVision (2021)
Few Avengers have suffered more grief than Wanda Maximoff. After losing her parents at a young age, a grown Wanda watches her brother die. Amid this loss, a romance blossoms between Wanda and Vision. He may be an android whos still coming to understand human emotion, but Vision has a profound perspective on love, grief, and how they connect. Visions words not only help Wanda to start the healing process, but also spoke to many audiences following the COVID-19 pandemic. Wanda is given a new outlook on life, building one with Vision. Unfortunately, Thanos snatches that life away. Watching her love die not once, but twice, Wanda faces her darkest hour yet. No amount of binge-watching can ease the pain.

Loki (2021-23)
Watching Thanos choke the life out of him, it appeared Loki had pulled off his last trick. While there are no resurrections for this God of Mischief, Loki lives on in another timeline. Escaping following his battle with the Avengers, this Loki continues his pursuit of a glorious purpose. He finds it in an unlikely place. Running out of options, Loki finds a way to save the dying timelines and the friends hes made along the way. With the Loom destroyed, Loki finds his throne at the End of Time where hell remain, watching over the branches of the multiverse. Weve seen Loki undergo redemption arcs before, but this bittersweet act finally sees him become a god worthy of praise.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
There are a number of sad moments in this massive Avengers movie and most of them are because of Thanos. The purple conquerors quest to wipe out half of life in the universe is shockingly successful, and with a snap of his fingers, tons of our favorite characters are dissolved into dust. Arguably the most tear-inducing though, is that of Peter Parker. The youngest and most innocent Avenger can feel whats happening to him, and his panicked pleas to Tony Stark that he doesnt want to die are absolutely gut-wrenching, for Tony and for the audience.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
With the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman, we knew the Black Panther sequel would be an emotional powerhouse. Wakanda Forever made us cry at least three times. The first comes with the death of the king, leading to a funeral that makes us feel the scale of Wakanda and the gaping hole T'Challa has left in the heart of every Wakandan. This wave of tears is immediately followed by another as our memories of T'Challa wash over the Marvel logo in a moment of silence. We cried once more during the mid-credits, although this scene brings tears of joy. Coming to terms with the loss of her brother, Shuri is introduced to Nakias son, who shares the same name as his father: T'Challa.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)
The sequel to Infinity War raised the emotional stakes to new heights, and the MCU hit peak sad with this moment. In the final battle against Thanos, Tony Stark manages to get the Infinity Stones away from Thanos, delivering a snap of his own; while reaffirming his identity. And IamIron Man! While hes able to destroy Thanos and his armies, the strain of using the stones is too much for Tony, and he dies, with Pepper, Peter, and Rhodey bidding him farewell. While the funeral paying tribute to Tony also got us teary eyed, there isnt a dry eye to be found during the moment of Tonys death.


Which MCU moment gave you the feels? Let us know in the comments.


[a]https://youtu.be/ueUlqzRcZrw?si=3pJgfe3vygZyqzlH&t=16