Avengers: Endgame proved that the MCU can go to some pretty emotional places and make even the most hardened fans cry like babies. Of course these films have also constantly provided some great comedic moments as well. Along with the amazing action sequences, the MCU films can be relied on for many laugh out loud moments.
Given the connected nature of the cinematic universe, the MCU has the rare opportunity to have long recurring jokes. These memorable lines and character quirks can span various movies, getting funnier each time they come up. Here are the best recurring jokes in the MCU.
Stan Lee
There is one moment every fan waits for and knows is coming in a Marvel movie – the Stan Lee cameo. While Lee has been making small appearances in comic book movies for a long time, the MCU has always used these moments most effectively. Usually only getting one line, Lee would always get a laugh.
Sadly with Lee’s passing last year, Endgame will be the last time he makes one of these memorable and funny cameos. Hopefully they find a way to continue to honor him in future films as they just would not be the same without him.
Captain America’s PSAs
Spider-Man: Homecoming gave us a fun glimpse at what the world of the MCU looks like from the point of view of some kids in high school. This led to some really fun moments of referencing other heroes, and the funniest moments came from the corny PSAs meant to inspire the young students.
The gag appears several times in the movie, getting funnier every time Cap appears in that goofy Avengers costume. He offers his wholesome advice on the importance of fitness, puberty and detention. It all builds to a hilarious and frustrating post-credit scene where Cap talks about the importance of patience, even if it doesn’t lead to anything.
Tony’s “Dummy”
Some of the best scenes in the Iron Man films were just watches Tony design, build and test his new armor. These sequences were great displays of Tony’s immense intelligence and tech skills, as well as being hilarious when things went wrong. Some of the biggest laughs came from Tony’s “assistant” – a robot he nicknamed DUM-E.
DUM-E is seen to be a bit too slow for Tony’s high-speed work. It’s also trigger happy when it comes to using the fire extinguisher which annoys Tony a great deal. Despite saving Tony in Iron Man, DUM-E is seen in the sequels spouting a dunce cap and relegated to clean-up duty, remaining the butt of the joke.
Hot Aunt May
The casting of Marisa Tomei as the new Aunt May raised a few eyebrows. Tomei is an excellent actor and has been extremely charming in the role, but with Aunt May usually depicted as an older woman, fans were surprised such an attractive actress would take over the role.
The movies have not missed this opportunity as Peter is constantly harassed by hearing how good looking his aunt is. His first time meeting Tony, the billionaire is fliritng with her, and the suitors continue to come out of the woodwork in Spider-Man: Homecoming. It looks like Happy Hogan himself is the lucky man who apparently strikes up a relationship with her in Far From Home.
Really Old Movies
After securing the right to use Spider-Man in their films, Marvel wisely decided to show a new side of the cinematic Spider-Man by making him high school aged. This also meant that they could have some fun with a much younger hero interacting with the other Avengers.
During the airport fight in Captain America: Civil War, Peter devises a plan based off a really old movie he saw called The Empire Strikes Back. This obviously annoys the older heroes which makes it even funnier when Peter comes up with another plan based off another “old movie” called Alien. Way to make us all feel old, Parker!
What’s A Raccoon?
Rocket’s origins have yet to be fully explored in the MCU, but James Gunn has hinted that will be included in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. While it’s unclear how a talking raccoon came to be a bounty hunter in space, it is clear that Rocket has no idea what a raccoon is – which leads to all sorts of confusion.
Rocket insults him by calling him a trash panda, which Rocket isn’t even sure is better or worse than a raccoon. Drax mentions we used to eat animals that looked similar. Thor seems just as confused as Rocket, dubbing him a rabbit. It’s no wonder Rocket doesn’t understand what he is.
Scott Fanboys Over Cap
Captain America is an American hero, a beacon of good and a pretty good-looking guy. So you can’t really blame Scott Lang for being a bit smitten with the man.
When Scott meets Cap in Civil War he is immediately star struck. He flubs his words, shakes his hand way too long and can’t help but touch his massive biceps. His infatuation continues in Ant-Man and The Wasp when Hope mocks him for referring to his hero as “Cap”. Despite fighting alongside him on several occasions, Scott is still flustered every time he talks to him. Let’s not forget, he’s also the one who dubbed the famous “America’s ass”.
Kevin Bacon
So much of the fun of the Guardians movies comes from Peter Quill’s references to the earth pop culture of his childhood which is completely lost on his extraterrestrial friends. Because of this, Quill has made Kevin Bacon one of the greatest heroes.
Quill first introduces Bacon to the team when using the plot of Footloose to tell a story of a great hero. The others latch on to this idea, likening themselves to Bacon when they set out to save the day. The joke returns again when Thor tells the Guardians about the Avengers – Earth’s Mightiest Heroes – and Mantis assumes Kevin Bacon must be on the team. Here’s hoping the man himself will make an appearance some day.
Tony’s Nicknames
Tony Stark might single-handedly be responsible for bringing the particular brand of humor to the MCU. With the success of Iron Man and the particular love of Stark’s quippy hero persona, many of the subsequent heroes followed suit. But none could compete with the original.
Stark particularly enjoys poking fun at his fellow heroes, honoring them with some clever nicknames. Hawkeye was dubbed “Legolas”. Bucky became “Manchurian Candidate”. Quill was “Flash Gordon”. Peter was “Underoos”. Thor in particular has gotten a few, such as “Shakespeare in the park”, “Lebowski” and, of course, “Point Break”.
Rocket Stealing Limbs
Rocket Raccoon is a very damaged character with a lot of trust issues. Perhaps that helps to explain his rather odd sense of humor. He has a particular fascination with people with artificial body parts or cybernetic enhancements. He also thinks it’s hilarious to steal those parts from people.
We first see this in Guardians of the Galaxy when Rocket lies about needing a robotic leg for his escape plan just for a laugh, then again in Vol 2 with a stolen eye. The joke gets return once again in Infinity War when Rocket asks to buy Bucky’s arm, then muttering to himself “Oh, I’ll get that arm”. Maybe next time Rocket.
