- 18/05/2025
"And the smartest man alive... Reed Richards."
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00:00Comic book movies have always played up to the fan service angle, offering something to audiences for
00:04the sheer benefit of putting a smile on their faces. These things don't necessarily impact the
00:08movie. They aren't always integral to the story, but they are often a cheap way of trying to win
00:13the audience around. Sometimes this works a lot better than others. And so with that in mind,
00:17I'm Ellie with WhatCulture here with the 10 biggest fan service moments in comic book movies.
00:23Number 10, the classic theme in Spider-Man Homecoming.
00:26Is there any superhero across any comic book brand or property that can compete with Spider-Man for
00:31sheer popularity? The character's longevity and continued success with kids and adults alike
00:35suggest that there isn't. Even after both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield brought Peter Parker
00:40to life in five movies over 12 years, Spidey's introduction to the MCU left audiences with the
00:45kind of excitement few others could generate. He broke the internet when he appeared in the trailer
00:49for Civil War, and in 2017, finally headlined his own MCU movie. Anticipation for Spider-Man Homecoming
00:55was already through the roof, and audiences flocked to cinemas to see Tom Holland in action.
01:00There wasn't much director John Watts could have done to get fans any more pumped, but he managed
01:04it before the movie ever properly began. Instead of the typical Marvel fanfare, over the opening
01:09montage played an orchestral version of the classic Spider-Man theme song that would be recognized by
01:14anyone, anywhere. Did it improve the movie at all? Not really, but was there anyone watching who
01:18didn't get goosebumps from the score? Absolutely not.
01:20Number 9. The Joker in Zack Snyder's Justice League
01:24Batman's rogues gallery is as impressive as any other superhero in comic book history,
01:28and can really only be rivalled by Spider-Man. However, in spite of names like The Riddler,
01:32Two-Face, Bane, and many more, The Joker will always be his greatest ever rival. As such,
01:37there was excitement and intrigue surrounding Jared Leto's turn as the Clown Prince of Crime in 2016's
01:43Suicide Squad. As we now know, the less said about it, the better. Leto barely had any screen time,
01:48and what he did have, he didn't exactly set the world alight, until Zack Snyder gave the
01:52character a second chance. In the Snyder Cut, after the Justice League defeated Steppenwolf
01:56and Darkseid, there was a bizarre apocalyptic future dream sequence. Along with Cyborg,
02:01The Flash, Deathstroke, and Mirror, Batman sought to take down Superman. There was one more member
02:06of this random team, namely, The Joker. This version was much darker, the aesthetic was
02:10immediately stronger, and even through incredibly jarring dialogue, he managed to convince many fans
02:15watching that he could have been something better if used properly. This scene ultimately led nowhere,
02:20and the movie wouldn't have suffered for The Joker's admission. He was literally just included
02:23for the fans.
02:24Number 8. Logan's Facial Hair in Logan
02:27For the most part, James Mangold's Logan managed to avoid the kind of fan service you might expect
02:32to see in a movie based around such a popular character, particularly one who was supposed to
02:36be giving his final performance, though at the time there was no way of knowing about Deadpool 3's
02:40plans. Instead of cheap callbacks and references, Wolverine's third solo movie was a powerful,
02:44character-driven piece that served as a truly epic send-off. That being said, even a movie such as
02:49this wasn't immune to bowing to fan service completely. If there was to be one critique
02:53of Wolverine as a character throughout the Fox movies, it's that his appearance was never strictly
02:57comic-accurate. Hugh Jackman was too tall compared to his comic counterpart, and though it was teased,
03:02there was never the classic comic-accurate X-Men suit. In Logan, however, Mangold threw fans a bone
03:07with the character's facial hair. While asleep at Eden, the kids decided to shave Logan's beard into the
03:12iconic look from the comics. This was, of course, something that infuriated Logan within the realms
03:16of the story, but put smiles on the faces of comic book fans in cinemas everywhere.
03:21Number 7. Wolverine's cameos in X-Men First Class and X-Men Apocalypse.
03:26After the poorly received X-Men The Last Stand, Fox gave its superhero franchise a soft reboot.
03:31Turning to younger versions of Professor X and Magneto had the desired refreshing effect,
03:34and while the focus stayed on two of the central characters, it strayed from its best.
03:38The story of how Charles and Eric met, and the inception of the X-Men, was a phenomenal story,
03:43but had no place for Wolverine. However, the creators did manage to cram everyone's favourite
03:48mutant into the movie, with one of the greatest Marvel cameos of all time. I mean, who doesn't
03:52love seeing Logan tell Charles and Eric to go f*** themselves? Fast forward five years,
03:56and the X-Men franchise was a tired one, and had more than outstayed its welcome. Apocalypse
03:59was supposed to compete with both Civil War and Dawn of Justice in 2016, but instead disappointed
04:04on every level, even the Wolverine cameo. While in First Class, Hugh Jackman's appearance had been
04:09a joyous moment, seeing those famous claws in Apocalypse felt a little more transparent. There
04:13was literally no reason to bring him in other than fanservice, and this wasn't just one scene,
04:18it was an entire sequence seemingly put together just to shoehorn him in. These are two very
04:22different ends of the spectrum of how well fanservice can be received.
04:26Number 6. The A-Force in Avengers Endgame.
04:30The Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown to be so extensive that there are superheroes inhabiting the
04:34franchise that have never crossed paths. However, plenty have been thrown together to face a common
04:38enemy, never on a bigger scale than Avengers Endgame. This was the conclusion of the Infinity
04:43Saga, and almost every live hero was on the battlefield. This allowed for team-ups and
04:48crossovers like never before. One such idea that the Russo brothers implemented was that of an MCU
04:52A-Force, namely taking every female hero and putting them into the same scene, whether it made sense or
04:58not. The idea of the coming together on paper was excellent, and had it been executed better could have
05:03been one of the greatest moments of the entire movie. Instead, bringing them all together seemingly
05:07just because, was supposed to be a great bit of fanservice, but instead came off more as pandering.
05:12It took far too long for the MCU to boast a female-led movie, and the complaints were loud
05:16and numerous. Unfortunately, instead of genuinely compelling stories with female characters at the
05:21forefront, this seemed like a quick fix that for most fans missed the mark. Hopefully the team can be
05:25brought together properly in the future.
05:27Number 5. A live-action Spider-Verse in Spider-Man No Way Home.
05:31As we mentioned earlier, Spider-Man is arguably the most popular superhero of all time. Even within
05:36the realms of the MCU, after the two previous iterations didn't exactly end as planned, Tom
05:41Holland's Warcrawler has enjoyed huge success under the Marvel Studios banner. Both Homecoming and Far
05:45From Home were critical and box office successes, and naturally the third in the trilogy was highly
05:50anticipated. However, nothing could have possibly beaten bringing both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield
05:55back into what was essentially a live-action Spider-Verse. Into the Spider-Verse is one of the best
05:59Spider-Man movies ever, and No Way Home took that and brought it to life with all three live-action
06:04Spider-Men. This was the kind of thing comic book and mainstream movie fans dreamed of. It almost
06:09didn't matter what the story was when Tobey and Andrew stepped through Ned's portals. Needless to
06:12say, the movie was a huge success, because why wouldn't it be? It could have been underwhelming in
06:17literally every other department, but with the three Spider-Men on screen together at last, not too long
06:21after it seemed that even one appearing in the MCU was impossible. It was guaranteed success. If we're being
06:27totally honest, this entire premise was one big load of fan service, and it worked.
06:32Number 4, The X-Men in Deadpool 2. Everyone knows Deadpool's schtick by now. Until Jennifer
06:38Walters burst onto the MCU scene, he was the only comic book character who could truly get away with
06:42breaking the fourth wall. And the Merc with the Mouth certainly pushed these boundaries. He actively
06:47asked which version of Professor X Colossus was taking him to, whether it was McAvoy or Stewart,
06:52as the timelines were too confusing. He spoke to the audience whenever possible, and made multiple jokes
06:56about why there were never any other X-Men on the screen. This last one, after in the first movie
07:01Deadpool suggested the studio wouldn't pay for any more characters to appear, enjoyed a huge payoff
07:05in the sequel. With Wade rolling around the mansion in Xavier's wheelchair, berating both Colossus and
07:10the studio for not giving the movie even one other member of the team, they all appeared in the
07:15background for a matter of two seconds. Professor X, Beast, Quicksilver, Nightcrawler, Storm, and Cyclops
07:20showed their faces in a scene that in the timeline made absolutely no sense, and realistically had no place
07:25there, but was one of the best cameos in comic book movie history.
07:29Number 3. Cap lifting Mjolnir in Avengers Endgame
07:32Not only did Avengers Endgame bring together the Infinity Saga that stretched forward previous 22
07:37movies, it was also the end of the road in the franchise for several major characters. One of
07:41the biggest, most important, and most popular characters in the history of the MCU is Captain
07:45America. There were some truly epic Cap moments in the movie, from standing as a one-man army against
07:50Thanos' entire forces, to finally uttering Avengers Assemble after so long. The latter could arguably
07:56have made it into this list on its own merit, but it just can't beat Steve Rogers proving himself
08:01worthy. As Thanos was kicking Thor all over the battlefield, about to pierce the God of Thunder's
08:05chest with Stormbreaker, Mjolnir began to move, cracking the Mad Titan on the jaw before zipping into
08:10Captain America's hand. The reaction of audiences across the world shows just how much this meant to
08:15fans of the franchise. Way back in Avengers Age of Ultron, Steve was able to make Mjolnir budge just a
08:20fraction of an inch, to the surprise of Thor. For the next four years, fans were convinced that he
08:24was worthy, and this moment proved it. It was a huge exclamation point on Cap's story, but it was as
08:30much for the fans as it was for the Star-Spangled Man. Number two, Superman's black suit in Zack
08:35Snyder's Justice League. Let's kick off this entry with a statement any comic book movie fan knows all
08:40too well. Justice League, plain and simply, missed the mark. This was supposed to be DC's Avengers moment,
08:45but too many issues to go through here led to its ultimately disappointing failure. Four years
08:49later, the lobbying of Zack Snyder's fans paid off, as the Snyder Cut was released in all of its
08:54four-hour-long glory. Inherently an improvement on the theatrical version, though still severely
08:58flawed, the movie was received far better by audiences. In short, Snyder gave the fans what they
09:03wanted. In one particular scene, this revolved around Superman's appearance after his resurrection.
09:07The black suit was rumored and subsequently omitted from Joss Whedon's Justice League, but in the
09:12Snyder Cut, it was there for fans to rejoice at. In the comics, Superman wore the black suit to
09:16maximize regenerating his powers after coming back to her life, and it signified something of a new
09:20beginning for the character. In the movie, none of this was truly ever explored, and no explanation
09:25for the changing clothes was given. Instead, Clark Kent donned the black suit seemingly just to give
09:29those fans loyal to the director a kick. Number one, John Krasinski as Reed Richards in Doctor Strange
09:35in the Multiverse of Madness. In a conversation about fan service in comic book movies, there simply
09:40can't be any other place for Reed Richards' appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse
09:44of Madness than at the very top. Kevin Feige himself admitted that this was done purely for
09:48the fans. The inclusion of the Illuminati and of Professor X was needlessly spoiled in the trailers
09:53for the Doctor Strange sequel, but the biggest reveal of them all was still kept quiet. After
09:57years of fan casting, John Krasinski finally brought to life Reed Richards, making MCU fans' dreams come
10:03true. This was easily the greatest moment in what was a disappointing movie, though actually seems 10 times
10:08better by comparison after seeing Thor Love and Thunder. It was, however, a fleeting glimpse of Krasinski in the
10:13role every single Marvel fan wanted to see him in, as he was killed after only a few minutes of
10:17screen time, with the rumours being that he won't portray the Earth-616 version of Richards in the
10:22upcoming Fantastic Four movie. Instead of Krasinski, Adam Driver's name is the latest to have been
10:26floated for the role, but no matter who brings Mr. Fantastic to life going forward, we'll always have
10:31those several minutes. And that concludes our list. If you think we missed any, then do let us know in
10:35the comments below, and while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe, and tap that
10:38notification bell. Also head over to Twitter and follow us there, and I can be found across various
10:42social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild. I've been Ellie with WhatCulture, I hope you have
10:46a magical day, and I'll see you real soon.
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