There have been many iconic training montage sequences in all of movie history: from Rocky Balboa running with the support of his entire town in Rocky to Maverick flying upside down over Rooster while trying to teach the new generation of pilots in Top Gun: Maverick. The training montage is a way to establish a character’s (or group of characters’) growth with fun, sometimes comedy, and heart. It’s a staple in many film genres, from sports to even superhero movies.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is no stranger to pumping up its fans. From incredible suit-up scenes to some of the best battle sequences in modern cinema, you can mesh together the movies and the audience will feel motivated to accomplish anything. Nowadays, though, we have had a lot of MCU films that take place after the initial christening moment when the hero is given that power or becomes that superhero. So, the training montages have been replaced with epic suit-up scenes. Nonetheless, here are some of the best training montage sequences of the franchise.
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7 The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
Marvel Studios
In the Disney+ series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson become unlikely friends after their mutual partner Steve Rogers gives away his shield. Sam is the receiver of that shield, but doesn’t know if he can accept the role of Captain America. Eventually, he comes into his own and becomes his version of Captain America, solidifying that choice with an epic training scene as he learns how to use the shield, proving to himself that he is, in fact, the right choice for the next Captain America. Complete with some epic slow-motion shots, running, sweating, and destroying trees, this is one of the best montage training scenes in the MCU.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
6 Captain Marvel
In the first woman-led MCU movie Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers sets out to discover who she truly is and how she came about her magnitude of power. In this classic hand-to-hand combat training sequence with Kree alien Commander Yon-Rogg, Captain Marvel not only shows her powers, determination, and strength, but also her talent for quick-witted comebacks and sarcasm. It is a great establishment of character and shows how powerful Carol can be.
5 Doctor Strange
In the origin film Doctor Strange, MCU fans were introduced for the first time in-depth the concept of magic. Stephen’s training montage in Kamar-Taj, in particular, provided some of the most stunning visual effects of the franchise at that point. In this sequence, The Ancient One separates his body from his soul, and sends him on a journey through the multiple dimensions, and, after, Strange begs her to teach him. After initially refusing, Strange persists, and this leads to a long training sequence full of hand-to-hand combat, magic, incredible visuals, and, of course, a dash of MCU wit.
4 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings centers around Shang-Chi, the former assassin turned runaway desperately trying to find his sister and save his father from himself. Playing on old Marvel villains and new characters, Shang-Chi is a stand-out film, especially due to the fight scenes. With martial arts-style choreography and cinematography pulling from classic martial arts movies, the fight scenes are epic. Another special thing about this movie is that Shang-Chi was a brand-new character to MCU audiences, so we were given a backstory and a corollary training montage. Focusing on young Shang-Chi growing up among his fathers’ collection of assassins, we see his talent grow through the stages of his life as he becomes stronger, faster, and more powerful. Also, bonus points for giving the audience another training montage for Xialing and her fearsome-looking weapon.
3 Black Widow
Though the long anticipated solo Black Widow movie had a plethora of intense action scenes, explosions, cool weapons, and all-around badass-ery, there was really only one glimpse of a training montage, if you are not counting the chilling opening credits. And that is the quick scene of all the Widow agents training in the actual red room, where they move as one, seemingly live a hive mind. It is mere seconds long, but significantly highlights an adverse perspective on the notion of gaining “powers.” Whereas the training montage sequences in other MCU movies and series indicate a hero’s rise or coming into their own, for the Black Widows, their becoming assassins was entirely against their will and for evil purposes.
2 Ant-Man
One of the most unjustly underrated MCU movies has one of the best training sequence in the franchise: Ant-Man. It is a true training montage that shows Scott Lang stepping into his hero role from beginning to end. Scott learns how to use his super suit, designed by the one and only Hank Pym, and learns how to fight. He learns that, at ant-size, he’ll have the strength of a bullet, and fights with Hope Pym, learning how to actually fist fight, not just prison fight. Filled with humor and cool tech, this is one of the best MCU training montage sequences.
1 Captain America: The First Avenger
One of the MCU franchise’s first epics, Captain America: The First Avenger has some of the best training scenes. It is a military-based film after all. We follow Steve Rogers as he comes into his own, fully embodying the role of Captain America, and becoming the First Avenger, saving the day countless times through many battles. But, one of the franchise’s most defining training montage sequences happens before all that — when he is pre-serum Steve Rogers. He trains with the other soldiers, day in and day out, proving that he has the heart behind the armor. He triumphs in multiple ways, demonstrating exactly why he was chosen to receive the Super Soldier Serum, from capturing the flag with intelligence to diving for the grenade (not knowing it was fake) in order to save everyone else.
