So I absolutely loved The Avengers! And I’m confident that anyone reading this blog loved it too. This is a glorious time to be a comic book geek. But let us never under-appreciate the miracle it was to get such a perfect superhero movie. Just think about the time and effort that went into this film: five other big budget Hollywood movies, all of which had to be successful and popular; half a dozen big name actors who were probably far more concerned about their jobs and their craft than in fulfilling our dreams; the cost of those actors’ salaries; finding a director who had a vision that matched our own, and much more.

Had The Avengers been made 10 years ago, it would have been licensed to some other studio like FOX, who would have probably hoped for the best with some crummy one-off movie. Need I remind you what someone thought a Justice League movie should be like in 1997?

Exactly as bad as it looks

Here’s part of the movie on Youtube, if you dare! But could you imagine getting an Avengers movie like that? Shudder to think. Fortunately for us all, Hollywood has recognized that the entire world loves superheroes as much as the rest of us! A $207 million opening weekend? More than $700 million around the world in two weeks? Those numbers are staggering! For an Avengers movie! But those numbers aren’t surprising when you remember how awesome that movie is!

And to geek out just a bit longer about The Avengers, here is a list of my 6 favorite moments from the film! And I hope you’ll share your favorite moments in the comments! Though be warned, we’re talking ***FULL SPOILERS*** for the movie.

6. Captain America punches a grenade

He practiced by punching Hitler

Kind of a small moment that comes out of nowhere, Captain America punching a grenade out of the air was like a jolt of pure energy as we watched him and Iron Man try to restart the broken engine on the Helicarrier. This whole scene was a blast, with Captain America leaping from walkway to walkway as he fought those possessed soldiers, knowing full well that one misstep and he’d fall a million feet down to the ground! It was a great display of his enhanced agility and general badassery. Punching that grenade was like hitting the ‘Go!’ button to begin racheting the excitement up to 11!

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5. Bickering aboard the Helicarrier

Everybody all up in everybody else’s faces

This scene was everything I wanted from The Avengers movie. Writer/Director Joss Whedon easily recognized that all of these superheroes can’t just get along like the Super Friends. There needed to be some fireworks, there needed to be some egos rubbing up against each other. And it all came out in a wicked confrontation with Nick Fury aboard the Helicarrier. None of the heroes were very happy with what secrets Fury was keeping from there, while at the same time they were butting heads with each other. Captain America didn’t like Tony Stark’s snarky attitude, Tony didn’t like Cap, Thor thought they were all so petty and silly and everybody in the room was worried about Bruce Banner getting angry and Hulking out. I loved how the scene just kept building the tension between all the parties before they all stepped back from Bruce, who’d somehow picked up Loki’s scepter. It wasn’t until the Helicarrier came under attack before everyone realized they needed to grow up and save the day.

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4. Tony Stark loses a soldier

No, not that soldier

Agent Coulson’s death was a particularly touching scene, and a little badass. But I wasn’t saddened by his death. He was a cool guy, and a great actor, but his death didn’t pack the emotional wallop on me that it did the Avengers themselves, particularly Tony Stark. I was far more moved by the quiet scene between Tony and Cap where the latter tries to help the billionaire cope with the the loss. Cap is used to losing friends (Bucky) and soldiers, (WWII), so losing Coulson is just part of the job. But then Cap asks, “Never lost a soldier?” or something to that effect, and Tony freaks out. That made me realize that, no, Tony Stark didn’t lose anybody in either Iron Man or Iron Man 2. Sure he faced hardships, and maybe his company took a blow, but all of Tony Stark’s friends and allies made it through his two movies unscathed. So yeah, this moment, with Tony on the verge of tears, is him dealing with the first real loss of his superhero career. It’s a wake up call to this character, who is arguably the star of the whole franchise, that being a superhero isn’t all fun and games. So while Coulson’s death was tragic, it was even more powerful in how it effected Iron Man. Talk about selfish.

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3. Hulk vs. Loki

Puny God

Funniest scene in the whole damn movie, and there were a lot of funny scenes. This was it, the big, climactic battle against the super-villain! All of the Avengers had already faced off with Loki, but he came away from each stronger than before. He’s a God, with fantastic magical powers, and you assume the fight is going to be epic. You also kind of assume that everybody’s going to team up as a group to take him down. But nope, it’s just the Hulk! And how is the Hulk going to beat the trickster God? Like a freakin’ ragdoll, that’s how! Whedon set this one up perfectly, with Loki at his largest, most powerful, giving the kind of speech that you expect a super-villain to give – only for Hulk to just interrupt by grabbing his leg and slamming him again and again into the floor. It just cut from big speech to big smashing, with the Hulk laying total waste to Loki in a matter of seconds. The audience was howling with laughter. And that it actually worked, that it actually laid Loki out for good, was just icing on the cake at that point.

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2. Iron Man in outer space

That would make a perfect title for the threequel

I made particular mention of this scene in my review as one of the most moving scenes in the entire film. The big portal into space was there for the entire climax, spewing out the Chitauri warriors and their giant Leviathan worms left and right. But never once did I even begin to consider what might be on the other side. I just figured it was more space. But then Iron Man makes the sacrificial play through the portal with the nuke. I thought he was just going to get rid of it safely – but I was utterly captivated by the sudden serenity and poetry of Iron Man piercing this veil. The music changed, the action slowed down, and we saw into the helmet to see the shock and awe on Tony’s face as he flew beyond the threshold of his known world.

Tony Stark is the futurist, he’s the guy who lives on the cutting edge. But now for the first time, he’s getting an actual glimpse at what lies beyond that cutting edge. He’s been fighting this alien army all afternoon, but now he gets a sudden, uncompromising view of what is actually out there waiting for the Avengers. There are worlds and forces that he couldn’t even begin to comprehend, and you can see the gears spinning in his head as he tries to make sense of how this completely changes his worldview. I think it’s an apt comparison to the scene in The Matrix: Revolutions when Trinity pilots her ship above the clouds and sees the sun and blue sky for the first time in her life. Both beautiful, powerful scenes. Only this one involved Iron Man!

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1. “I’m always angry.”

One Punch!

This moment, this was the moment. Everything the movie had been building with the Bruce Banner and the Hulk, everything they had been trying to establish about the Avengers kicking ass, all of it came to fruition with those words and the punch that followed. The big fight had already started, and would continue for at least half an hour afterwards, but this moment by actor Mark Ruffalo kicked off one of the most epic movie climaxes in all of Hollywood history. The Hulk punching that Leviathan in the face and taking it down in one swing nearly brought the audience in my theater to their feet. It was a stunning shot, the kind of thing Hollywood blockbusters are made for.

Bruce Banner and the Hulk were my favorite character in this movie, and I absolutely loved Ruffalo’s performance. He was squirrely, he was incredibly world-weary, and he was a man who had given up everything because of the ‘other guy’. A beautiful woman approaches him with an offer, genius billionaire Tony Stark tries to be his friend, and Banner can’t enjoy any of it because he’s got to keep himself in check. He’s asked several times how he manages to keep control of the Hulk, and I expected a variety of answers, most of them involving meditation or calming techniques.

But when they finally reveal the answer, I was absolutely floored.

Banner shows up late to the fight, then everyone sees the Levianthan coming towards them. World-weary Banner starts walking towards it, saddened by what he has to do while also knowing that it’s the only hope victory. Captain America watches puny Banner walking towards the monster and asks if it would be a good time to get angry, to let the Hulk do his thing.

Banner looks back over his shoulder with a sigh and finally reveals his secret to keeping the Hulk in check: “I’m always angry.”

You know what happens next.