Movie openings have an important job of setting up the story, explaining who’s who and providing enough entertainment to keep moviegoers in their seats.
With large ensemble casts, it could easily prove difficult to lay the groundwork, but Marvel has done so pretty smoothly, even in the pre-Marvel Cinematic Universe films and television shows. Among all the great films and TV shows, there are some that stand out right from their opening moments.
There was a recent discussion about the best Marvel openings and whether any could touch the perfect opening sequence that was 1998’s Blade. The dark, gritty superhero that is the daywalker they call Blade shows right from his entrance that he means business.
Can any other Marvel film or TV show top Blade? Here are some worthy contenders, so you be the judge.
Daredevil
The Daredevil TV series tugged at the heartstrings right from its opening scene, where Jack Murdock (John Patrick Hayden) comes upon an accident scene, only to find his son Matt (Skylar Gaertner) covered in a liquid chemical after saving a man’s life. The two actors who portray Jack and young Matt did a wonderful job displaying the emotions, leaving viewers a little teary-eyed before switching gears and showing a now adult Matt (Charlie Cox) in a church confessional.
The simple scene quickly brings the audience up to date, while also setting the stage for Matt’s vigilante alter-ego reveal.
“I’m not seeking penance for what I’ve done, father. I’m asking forgiveness … for what I’m about to do.”
Iron Man
Iron Man wastes no time jumping right into the action. It quickly sets up everything people now know about Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) – he’s smart, wealthy, charismatic, funny and quite the ladies man. In the midst of the humorous opening scene, a blast rocks the military HUMVEE he’s riding in. As he watches all the troops around him die, one of his rockets lands nearby, injuring him and knocking him unconscious. He awakens to the terrorist organization called the Ten Rings holding him captive.
The opening scene really set things off in the right direction, laying the groundwork for Phase 1 of the MCU as it is known today. The film garnered more than $585 million in sales and made RDJ one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
The sequel to first Guardians of the Galaxy movie set the stage for what was to come, with a flashback of Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) parents in Missouri, revealing Kurt Russell looking every bit as young as he did in the early 80s.
The movie quickly shoots across the galaxy to see the Guardians doing what they do best – being hilarious and saving the day. The baby Groot (Vin Diesel) dance sequence to Electric Light Orchestra’s Mr. Blue Sky. The iconic song, adorable Marvel character and all the fighting going on in the background definitely made this one of Marvel’s best movie intros.
Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Infinity War’s intro is so shocking and unbelievably gut-wrenching that let viewers know right from the start that this was going to be brutal. While it wasn’t viewers’ first time seeing Thanos (Josh Brolin) in all his glory, it was the first time seeing him so unbelievably powerful.
The intro picks up right after the events of Thor: Ragnarok, with the Asgardians fleeing to Earth after the destruction of their world. After watching the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) get utterly destroyed by Thanos in a one-on-one fight, Thanos forces Thor to watch as he murders both Heimdall (Idris Elba) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston). From that moment on, viewers realized that nobody was safe from Thanos’ wrath, and was merely a taste of what would come at the end of the film.
Avengers: Endgame
While Infinity War was devastating, it showed the Avengers lose people on the battlefield, but the loss of lives was spotlighted in the beginning of Avengers: Endgame. The devastation of the snap was felt by the arrow-wielding Hawkeye, who watches in horror as his entire family disappears in the middle of a family picnic.
In a world of superheroes, it would be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture, but the Avengers: Endgame into showed large-scale repercussions of the snap on regular, every day humans.
WandaVision
From the moment Vision and Wanda Maximoff drove into the picturesque town of Westview, New Jersey, viewers around the world began checking the color settings on their TVs. The black and white Marvel series took viewers back in time through the power of magic and immediately solidified its place as one of the MCUs best TV shows.
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange opened he world of magic as never seen before in its opening moments, with The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) facing off with Kaecilius and the Zealots in a magical battle through the streets of New York. The reality-bending scene is a great way to kick off the events and show viewers that the MCU they know is only the tip of the iceberg.
Black Panther
Even though viewers were already introduced to King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and the Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War, the world of Wakanda was truly opened up in Black Panther. The opening sequence, told through a story the former King T’Chaka (Bonisile John Kani) was telling then-Prince-T’Challa, was a unique way to quickly explain how vibranium arrived on Earth, how it affected plant life in the region, which led to the heart-shaped herb. It also set up how the first Black Panther was created – all within the first two minutes of the film, before panning to Oakland, California, setting up how King T’Chaka killed his brother, Prince N’Jobu (Sterling K. Brown) in 1992.
The first part of the introduction was done through the use of visuals that resembled sand-like bodies and shapes to tell the story quickly and interestingly. With so much background story to cover, the introduction was done perfectly to quickly sum up so much information, which is why it is on this list as one of the best MCU openings.