1. The Snap – Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
When it comes to movie franchises, none are bigger than the MCU. Helpfully (for the purposes of this list , at least), when it comes to moments that changed their franchise, there’s none as obvious as the MCU, either. We’re talking, of course, about Thanos’ Snap in Avengers: Infinity War.
Gathering the all-powerful Infinity Stones, Thanos snaps his fingers and instantly wipes out half of all life in the universe. There’s probably no movie moment quite as big, and almost none with such far-reaching implications. Every single piece of media set in the MCU since has had to address it in some way, such was the impact of the Snap.
The most obvious consequence was the Avengers’ plan to bring everyone back, ending with their success and the death of Iron Man. Those returning after a 5-year absence referred to it as “the Blip”, with half of the Earth’s population having aged those 5 years and the other half having not. Since Infinity War, every aspect of the franchise has dealt with the Snap and the Blip, even if only with a passing reference. Basically, it changed the MCU’s entire future, and shaped practically every subsequent story by causing Iron Man’s death.
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