The Biggest Marvel Moments of 2022

The Marvel Multiverse loves to keep fans on its toes. In 2022, we saw the MCU’s super hero roster expand and diversify. This year was also Stan Lee’s centennial, as well as a time when historic Marvel characters like Namor received groundbreaking on-screen updates. As it turned out, 2022 was an excellent time to shake things up in Marvel media.

From shocking reveals and moving tributes to a touch of the supernatural and a few horrific murders, let’s look back at the best and biggest moments from Marvel in 2022.

Spoilers ahead for MCU Phase 4 and AXE: Judgment Day comics!

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Celebrating Chadwick Boseman & T’Challa

Chadwick Boseman’s passing hit the world hard. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, however, reminds us not to hide from our grief. The movie honors both Chadwick and his character T’Challa, with the story’s first segment entirely devoted to his legacy. Even the starting credits, usually boisterous and colorful, are silent, drenched in monochromatic purple, and set to a montage of the Black Panther’s scenes within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Although the king’s death occurs off screen, his presence is felt through every moment of the movie. At the start, a joyous celebration of his life, tinged with the royal family’s grief, explodes through the street of Wakanda’s capital. Shuri, Ramonda, and Nakia’s journey of grieving is powerful to witness and allows the audience to process along with them. The film celebrates Chadwick and T’Challa thoroughly, completely, and beautifully from beginning to end. We could not have asked for better care or consideration in handling such a monumental loss.

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Ms. Marvel and That X-Men Theme Song

Since all the rights transferred back to Disney/Marvel, fans have been wondering: When will the X-Men make their MCU debut? There have been a few hints sprinkled throughout the universe. The most significant, though, was a musical nod in the Ms. Marvel series.

Right after the “M word” gets dropped — mutant! — we hear a familiar tune. The ’90s X-Men television series theme song plays! This confirms less than we’d like, of course, probably increasing all the buzz and speculation. But it also gives us a resounding yes that the X-Men are coming (eventually) to a television screen or theater near you.

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Resurrecting a Non-Mutant on Krakoa

The island nation of Krakoa was at first a paradise. But as the major X-Men comics event evolved, Krakoa became an international dilemma as well as a political mess among the mutants. Most notably, the mutants developed the ability to resurrect themselves using the combined powers of a group called The Five. While convenient for the X-Men, the rest of the world reacted in typical fear, jealousy, and anger that mutants could now cheat death.

Once Destiny was finally brought back after 30 years, she joined Krakoa’s governing body, the Quiet Council. She revealed with her precognition that a great war would consume the planet. That war was the crossover event AXE: Judgment Day, which caused the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Eternals to unite against a rogue Celestial. During this war, Krakoan law had to be upturned. For the first time ever, a non-mutant was resurrected: Captain America was brought back after his death. The mutants have vowed to share this new technology with the rest of the world. Only time will tell if that was the right decision for mutantkind.

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She-Hulk Smashes into Her Writers’ Offices

Before She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premiered, fans wondered whether the Jade Giantess would stay true to her comic books persona and break the fourth wall in the MCU. After all, She-Hulk made it cool before Deadpool. Right away, the MCU’s Jen Walters addressed the audience directly, talking to us as if we were always in on the joke with her. It was a refreshing change of pace for MCU narration.

Perhaps the biggest fourth wall breakdown occurred in episode 9, “Whose Show Is This?” When Abomination, Intelligencia, and Titania all barged into Jen’s retreat, she decided she’d had enough. Jen Hulked out and walked into the offices of the TV show’s writers, taking her grievances all the way to K.E.V.I.N. She talked to this omniscient AI and demanded a re-write. If anybody could stand up to the MCU powers that be, it’s Jen Walters — the best super hero attorney in the Multiverse.

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Scarlet Witch’s Murder Spree in MoM

We’ve come to expect high-profile cameos and surprise reveals from MCU movies, but super hero deaths still arrive as a bit of a shock. This was proven true once again during Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The title, of course, promises plenty of multiversal mayhem but few were prepared for Scarlet Witch’s murder spree.

Ahead of the film, we knew the Illuminati would make an appearance yet Wanda’s villainous transformation cut their screen time abruptly short. In her rage, she made quick work of each and every member, even overpowering Maria Rambeau’s Captain Marvel and Professor X. For horror fans, and those familiar with director Sam Raimi’s signature style, Wanda’s descent into madness was lots of fun. For others, her chaotic actions were the stuff of nightmares.

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Werewolf By Night Shifts the MCU Tone

While we love the MCU, it was pretty much stuck inside that action-adventure box, with the occasional sprinkle of humor to defuse tension. The plots, fight sequences, lighting, and even characters screamed “BAM! POW! We’re in a comic book!” Again, there’s nothing wrong with that. But with the spooky season release of Werewolf By Night, we saw the potential for something more.

Werewolf By Night leans heavily into the horror of yesteryear, evoking classic monster movies and fright night specials. Most notably, however, almost the entire film is black and white. It also follows two atypical protagonists: a gruff, female antihero and a sweet-as-can-be creature of the night. We’re excited to see the future of Marvel movies as inspired by this major tonal/genre shift for the MCU. Watch out for those shadows — who knows what lurks just out of sight!

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What was your favorite Marvel moment in 2022? Share your thoughts with other fans at side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!