If you’ve been able to see Avengers: Endgame, good on ya. There will be a review post coming soon, I hope. There has been a lot going on on my end. Keeping with the spirit of commemorating the last eleven or so years of Marvel films, here is a walk down memory lane that shows you the funnier side of this universe.
The early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe were in the early days of the internet becoming a hub for social media and meme culture. Memes as a form of humor, to my recollection, exploded in 2012, around the time The Avengers came out. You could argue that Marvel fandom invented online fandom and memes. If not, you have to at least agree that this fandom and memes have more or less always gone hand in hand.
The MCU fandom has spawned billions of images with funny captions or screenshots of Twitter and Tumblr text posts. This saga, that many are now referring to as the Infinity Saga, is the story that the digital generation grew up with. They have celebrated it in countless ways: the examples below are just a few.
1. Iron Man Not Having a Superhero Identity Crisis
*mic drop*
2. “TELL ME!” (Thor, 2011)
The fandom pulled it completely out of context to express their desperation for…Budapest.
And BuckyNat.
3. “This drink, I like it! ANOTHER!” (2011)
Thor’s first visit to a Midgardian diner results in an unabashed display of his Asgardian table manners.
It became a universal way of expressing how much you like, well, anything.
Are you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Because you may like this meme.
Never mind that he’s been drinking coffee!
4. “Take Off the Suit, What Are You?” (The Avengers, 2012)
The original exchange went down like this:
The fandom saw more possibility:
Including a tribute to one of RDJ’s other roles:
5. “We Have a Hulk” (The Avengers, 2012)
SO MUCH of what went down in The Avengers (2012) has become iconic, including the exchange between Tony Stark and Loki in the tower. “We have a Hulk” is a very versatile meme. Consider this example:
It’s a great way to flash your secret weapon, whatever it is. Or your biggest disadvantage.
Or you can always just have Tony diss Loki.
I made this after Captain Marvel came out.
This line was used again in Infinity War, but in a very surprising way.
6. We’re Up All Night to Get Loki (Thor: The Dark World, 2013)
The song “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk debuted in 2013–around the same Thor: The Dark World did.
7. “On Your Left” (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 2014)
LITERALLY THE FIRST LINE OF THIS MOVIE.
It recently inspired me to write a short gag starring two of my favorite Jedi:
Poking fun at the superhero movie industry? No problem.
It’s a setup for some sweet revenge…
And of course, who doesn’t want to see Bucky get in on the action?
Also guess what? At FanX I took a photo with Clark Gregg. And Phil Coulson was ON MY LEFT!
I didn’t plan it…entirely…
(More FanX Spring to come!)
8. “Hail Hydra” (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 2014)
*broke the internet*
IT. GOT. EVERYWHERE.
NO CONVERSATION WAS INNOCENT.
BuzzFeed: Hail Hydra takes the Interwebs by Storm
9. Talking Raccoon Needs Prosthetics (Guardians of the Galaxy, 2014)
Rocket Raccoon pulls a seemingly harmless prank on Peter Quill by asking him to bring the prosthetic leg of another prisoner along with other resources they need for their escape from the Kyln.
The fandom thought it was hilarious.
Wait a second, didn’t we have a character with a prosthetic arm in this year’s other Marvel movie?
The payoff in Infinity War was HUGE!
10. Civil War (Pre-production)
Marvel announced its Phase 3 lineup at a press conference in the fall of 2014. First on the list was Captain America: Civil War. The fandom immediately went crazy.
“Take Off the Suit, What Are You?” became the template.
And then it became an iconic comic to caption.
It was a very flexible meme.
Anyone could get involved. Over anything.
And then the first trailer for the film made it heartbreaking again.
I am a co-admin for a Star Wars prequels fanpage, so I made this.
11. “You Step Out That Door” (Avengers: Age of Ultron 2015)
The line was originally spoken by Clint Barton to Wanda Maximoff during Age of Ultron.
The fandom took it and ran with it.
12. “You Didn’t See That Coming?” (Avengers: Age of Ultron 2015)
Ah, MCU!Quicksilver, how briefly we knew thee!
But fortunately, fans celebrated his life with his most iconic line.
This started as a response to a midterms meme on BYU Memes. Then they asked me to post it separate. Because college.
13. Sam and Bucky Running (CACW Filming)
A set photo of Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie on the set of Captain America: Civil War was released during filming.
It immediately went viral.
And it broke dimensional barriers.
Forrest Gump got nothing on these two.
Their burning desire? To be ‘official’ Avengers. And they’re in a hurry to prove it.
14. December 16, 1991 (Captain America: Civil War, 2016)
Helmut Zemo only needed one mission report. One date. And he let EVERYONE know it.
In spite of how serious it was, the fandom couldn’t take it seriously.
His most formidable opponent? Possibly Luis from Ant-Man (2015).
Captain America: Civil War has been described as “an okay movie that yielded spectacular memes.”
16. “Dormammu, I’ve Come to Bargain!” (Doctor Strange, 2016)
If you want something done right, bargain for it in the most possibly annoying way.
And then this crossover happens:
17. “You Feel Love for Her”/Drax Laughing (GOTG Vol. 2, 2017)
The scene with Mantis initially reading Star-Lord’s emotions debuted in the second trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Drax had the following reaction:
The fandom decided that Mantis’ abilities as an empath could be useful for a number of needs. And Drax was pretty handy, too.
It put a hilarious spin on Rey prying into Kylo Ren’s mind in The Force Awakens (2015).
Obviously, this meme is a great way to promote your ship.
18. “Don’t Make Me Come Down There, You Punk!” (Spider-man: Homecoming, 2017)
This was Stan Lee’s cameo scene in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Stan Lee looks out an apartment window and reprimands Spidey for his shenanigans.
After Stan Lee passed, the fandom photoshopped him into Heaven—because of course he is watching over us.
19. Loki the Snake/”Mblergh! It’s Me!” (Thor: Ragnarok, 2017)
It was a hilarious story that made Thor and Loki’s relationship even more endearing.
It later made us question how Thor would deal with Loki’s death (?) in Infinity War.
In fact, it sounded like a great way to defeat Thanos.
Good times all around, for the family of any loving snek.
20. “Why is Gamora?” (Avengers: Infinity War, 2018)
Word on the street is, this line was improvised.
Ouch, fam.
Know Your Meme
21. The Dust Settles (Avengers: Infinity War 2018)
I actually hate this meme a lot.
“Hate” as in I HATE BEING REMINDED OF HOW THANOS TURNED ALL MY FAVES THAT WEREN’T THE ORIGINAL SIX AVENGERS INTO DUST.
Especially every time I see the words “I don’t feel so good.”
But there was one that I saw once where someone had commented that Peter Parker would want to be remembered as an iconic meme, and that made me feel better. Slightly. Sadly wasn’t able to find it.
22. Ant-man and the Wasp versus Mid-credit Scene (Ant-Man & the Wasp, 2018)
Ant-Man and the Wasp was a great comedy to lift our spirits after Infinity War…but then…
Technically Scott wasn’t on House arrest anymore—if only they had been watching the news…
LEAVE MY ANT-FAM ALONE, YOU BIG PRUNE.
23. How Fury Lost His Eye (spoilers) (Captain Marvel, 2019)
The entire fandom predicted it—and I bet against it.
No, seriously, someone made this post when the second trailer dropped and we had the stinger scene with Nick fawning over the cat:
I seriously didn’t think they would go there—and then they did.
Underwhelming? Yes. A good warning against how to not handle a cat? Also yes.
However, the fact that Nick Fury used to like cats makes him more endearing.
I wonder if he still does?
Coming soon (hopefully):
-
an Endgame Review of some kind
-
and that time I met Clark Gregg
Read More
Polygon’s selection of MCU memes
The Apprentice Chronicles 
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