2023 has been a pretty hit-and-miss year for Marvel movies. Marvel Studios suffered its first major box office disappointments with the underperformance of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels, and the trailers for Sony’s Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter haven’t inspired a lot of hope for Marvel’s on-screen future. But there were a couple of diamonds in the rough; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse have been hailed as two of the greatest comic book movies ever made, and even Marvel’s disappointments had their share of memorable moments.

The Probability Storm (Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania)

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is available to stream on Disney+

There aren’t a lot of great, or even memorable, moments in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – on the whole, it’s one of the MCU’s worst entries – but it does have one scene that’s both touching and mind-blowing. When Kang sends Scott Lang to collect his multiversal power core in the Quantum Realm, threatening to kill his daughter Cassie if he doesn’t comply, Scott finds himself in a “probability storm.” This is one of the trippiest sequences in the MCU, and almost certainly the brainchild of Rick and Morty writer Jeff Loveness. Every time Scott is torn between two choices or considers a hypothetical, he splits into two possible Scotts. Before too long, the scene is populated by a few dozen Scott clones (one of whom is still a Baskin-Robbins employee). This is the most visually inventive sequence in the movie, and it’s a joy to see Paul Rudd playing off a bunch of different versions of himself, but the scene has an emotional core, too. All the Ant-Mans are galvanized by their shared love of Cassie. As soon as they realize the original Scott needs to help Cassie, all the Scott variants come together to lift him up on a real-life anthill.

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Rocket Frees The Baby Raccoons (Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is available to stream on Disney+

The climactic battle of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is an all-out action extravaganza. The Guardians shoot their way through an alien army, then fight their way through a hallway, then destroy the High Evolutionary’s entire mothership. But the most captivating moment in the set-piece is when Rocket finds a cage full of babies of his own species. As he frees them, he sees a label telling him what that species is: raccoon. This beautiful scene is a subversively quiet moment of emotional catharsis in the midst of a high-octane battle sequence as Rocket realizes what he is and owns it.

The Flerkens Gobble Up The S.A.B.E.R. Crew (The Marvels)

The Marvels has been criticized for its tonal inconsistency and rushed finale, but it’s a fun and entertaining comic book movie, thanks in no small part to some of the wackiest set-pieces in the MCU’s history. There’s an extravagant musical number on a planet where the language is song and the plot hook of the three heroes switching places every time they use their powers makes the fight scenes wonderfully unique. But the best scene in the movie is the delightfully zany sequence in which Nick Fury solves his shortage of escape pods on the S.A.B.E.R. station by allowing a pack of Flerkens to gobble up the crew and store them in their pocket dimensions. This absurd and anarchic set-piece is paired perfectly with Barbra Streisand’s cover of “Memory” from the Broadway musical Cats, making for arguably the funniest needle-drop in the MCU.

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse's Cliffhanger Ending

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is available to stream on Netflix

There are plenty of unforgettable moments in the dazzling multiversal extravaganza that is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Each alternate reality is more eye-popping than the last, a spider-powered T. rex makes a brief appearance, and Miles fights the villainous Miguel O’Hara on the roof of a skybound futuristic train. But arguably the most memorable moment in the movie is its cliffhanger ending. Initially, a lot of audiences were incensed by the “To be continued...” ending of Across the Spider-Verse, but that just shows how much they got wrapped up in this story. The revelation of an evil alternate Miles who became the Prowler in a universe with no Spider-Man (on top of the already unsettling revelations that Miles is stranded in the wrong universe and his dad is dead) makes for a shocking twist ending setting up what will surely be a thrilling third movie. And it’s not all doom and gloom; it has that Empire Strikes Back sense of optimism with Gwen assembling a Spider-Avengers team to save Miles.

Dog Days Are Over (Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3)

In the build-up to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, when the threequel was being touted as the definitive ending of the Guardians’ story, it seemed likely that one of them would die – especially Rocket, who the movie was focusing on. The deaths of Iron Man, Black Widow, and Wolverine would suggest that death is the only way to end a superhero’s on-screen journey. The dark tone of the movie seemed to support the theory that Rocket would meet a tragic end in Vol. 3. But, lo and behold, Gunn subverted expectations by giving the character a happy ending. After everything he went through, both in the present and in the past, Rocket deserved a happy ending, and that happiness is perfectly encapsulated in the closing dance sequence set to Florence + the Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over.”

MORE: Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Shows There's More Than One Way To End A Character's Journey