Superhero tales are usually all about righteousness, hope, and optimism, and that very principle has made its way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We've seen Spider-Man give directions to an old lady on the street, Captain America willing to single-handedly fight against Thanos and the villain's entire army, and Tony Stark sacrifice himself to give life a chance at prospering. But as heroic as these moments have been, not everything can be perfect, and sometimes you need a bit of darkness to balance things out.
The MCU is filled with no shortage of unsettling moments that have made us want to cover our eyes. They might not be necessarily scary or insanely violent, but there's something about them that just feels... off. They are devoid of any hope or brightness and serve to make audiences know that something has gone horribly wrong for the heroes they know and love. With that in mind, it's time to rank the five most unsettling MCU moments so far, and explain what exactly makes them so effective.
5. Marvel zombies come to life - Spider-Man: Far From Home
For better or worse, things in the MCU were never quite the same after Iron Man sacrificed himself to put an end to Thanos and his forces. For a long time, audiences missed the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and they weren't the only ones to do so. One of the major driving forces behind Spider-Man: Far From Home was Tony Stark's death, his legacy, and how it all affected Peter Parker. Granted, this narrative proved to be divisive among fans, but there's one thing that can't be denied: It made up for one of the coolest (and creepiest) MCU moments as a whole.
Mysterio's illusion sequences were one of the absolute highlights of Spider-Man: Far From Home. They felt ripped straight from comic book pages, and it truly felt like anything could happen within them. But even then, few could've seen coming that Quentin Beck would pull such a low move as making Tony's dead body rise from his grave while still wearing a decayed Iron Man armor just to scare the good old web-head.
It might've been a quick moment, but it's perhaps the closest we'll ever get to a live-action adaptation of Marvel Zombies. As if Peter hadn't had enough trouble already dealing with the death of his mentor, this illusion surely didn't help at all. Perhaps this moment wasn't as dark, violent, or creepy as others we'll discuss further down the list, but it's still a highlight among the most unsettling sequences in the MCU.
4. Whatever it takes to survive - Moon Knight
Marc Spector's origin story in the MCU is nothing short of dark and, quite honestly, a bit depressing. As a kid, he was accidentally responsible for the death of his brother, who helplessly drowned in a cave. Since that very moment, something snapped within Marc's mom, and she was never the same with her son again. She even went as far as thinking that the whole incident was premeditated, and what happened afterwards was nothing short of brutal.
We all know one of Moon Knight's defining factors is that he has multiple personalities living within him. That's why it was heartbreaking to learn that Steven Grant—the most innocent personality of them all—was created as a coping mechanism. That way, Marc would be the one to endure his mother's physical and verbal abuse, while Steven tried to live his life the best way possible, not knowing what was going on behind the curtains.
Witnessing Steven learn the truth behind his childhood and mom during the events of Moon Knight was dark and unsettling. We know that heroes usually live through a big, personal trauma that molds them into something greater. However, we can't help but feel like Marc's particular story was a bit more traumatic than usual.
3. The Snap - Avengers: Infinity War
You know how superhero tales usually go. The bad guys get the upper hand, and just when everything seems lost, the good guy manages to turn things around and save the day. We even watched two complete Avengers movies where Earth's Mightiest Heroes fought against all odds and eventually managed to come out victorious. That's why it was such a shocking moment to see them lose for the very first time in their career.
Going into Avengers: Infinity War, we all knew deep down in our minds that Thanos was likely to snap his fingers and kill half of the life in the universe. After all, that's exactly what happened in the source material. However, witnessing such hopeless scenes with our own eyes was nothing short of heartbreaking. There was no hope nor saving grace. Fan-favorites such as Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff simply vanished into the air in what's one of the most unsettling MCU scenes to this very day.
Of course, we know how the story goes. Earth's Mightiest Heroes assembled one last time to restore half of the life in the universe, and everything was right once again. However, I still remember coming out of the movie theater after watching Avengers: Infinity War for the very first time and thinking: "Do I really have to wait a year to see how it all unfolds?". The uncertainty back then was unlike anything any superhero project had made us feel before, and for that reason, the snap scene will always be iconic.
2. Mayor Fisk takes matters into his own hands - Daredevil: Born Again
During most of my first time watching Daredevil: Born Again, I wanted to see the devil himself make a comeback... and no, I'm not talking about Matt Murdock. The MCU show kicked things off with Wilson Fisk attempting to leave his life as a criminal behind to do good for New York's citizens. We had little glimpses here and there that hinted that his violent nature was still present, but through that time, I wanted to see him be his true self. Well, you know what they say: Be careful what you wish for.
The finale of Daredevil: Born Again didn't hold back in the slightest. Fisk finally let everyone know that he's willing to do anything to stay in his position of power. But as if sending the complete city into a blackout wasn't enough, the beloved Mayor tore the jaw off of a police commissioner with his own bare hands in what's perhaps the most violent moment in the MCU as a whole. It's impossible not to look at this scene for the very first time and feel the need to look away, which speaks volumes as to how effective the sequence is.
The Netflix Daredevil series was filled with unsettling moments that were—for the most part—missing in the MCU adaptation. Kingpin decapitated a man using a car's door, Benjamin Poindexter carried the deceased body of a woman he fell in love with in his car, and Ray Nadeem was shot point-blank in the head at his own home. However, none of that compares to watching New York's Mayor be set completely loose after many years, and the wait was definitely worth it.
1. Visions of the dead - WandaVision
To be completely honest, this list could've been filled just with WandaVision moments. Who can forget when a radio briefly intercepted S.W.O.R.D.'s communications, and Wanda received a strange message that implied someone was doing something horrible to her. Another honorable mention is when Mr. Hart was choking while having dinner with Wanda and Vision, while his wife, Mrs. Hart, couldn't stop laughing. However, the absolute worst moment came when audiences realized... Vision was truly no more.
A little glitch in Wanda's dream world was all that was needed to send a shiver down audiences' spines. The beauty of WandaVision is that it does a flawless job of disguising itself as a harmless sitcom that would seem to be all about the whimsical moments that come with becoming a parent. We're so invested in this cheerful, almost too perfect world that whenever we had a glimpse behind the curtain, it was truly terrifying.
H.P. Lovecraft once said that the strongest kind of fear is the fear of the unknown, and that's why WandaVision worked so well. Nobody knew what was going on, and fans theorized week after week about the true meaning of it all. To make matters worse, we had that one scene of dead Vision talking to Wanda for a split second, which made us all think: "Wait, has the iconic hero been dead this whole time?". It also helped that the sequence was very unexpected, taking anyone who watched it by surprise.
This scene will forever be iconic for all the wrong reasons, and WandaVision as a whole is certainly the best MCU project for a Halloween rewatch.