The MCU's Most Visually Stunning Moments Of 2022

2022 has been an eventful year for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There was plenty to live up to after 2021, which featured some of Marvel's biggest projects like "WandaVision" and "Eternals," as well as films that have been decades in the making like "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Nevertheless, 2022 has had some of the most unique TV projects in the MCU with its Disney+ lineup, as well as some of its most ambitious works on the big screen. 

Of course, this ambition also translates to some of the MCU's most visually-stunning projects to date. Films like "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" signaled Sam Raimi's return to superhero movies, while Taika Waititi and Ryan Coogler did what they do best in "Thor: Love & Thunder" and "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," respectively. On the TV side, fans were introduced to the cinematic language of Kamala Khan in "Ms. Marvel," hot off the heels of Oscar Isaac's gripping portrayal of dissociative identity disorder in "Moon Knight."

It has been one of Marvel's most chaotic years, visually speaking, and predictably things will only get more chaotic as the studio gears up for "Avengers: Secret Wars." For now, let's take a look back at some of the most memorable visual moments of the MCU in 2022, which blur the line between incredibly special effects and truly marvelous production design. 

By the third episode of "Moon Knight," viewers have learned a little more about Steven Grant's predicament. His alter-ego, Marc Spector, has suffered from dissociative identity disorder as a child, with its most recent flare forcing him to remain primarily as Steven. Unbeknownst to him, as well as his wife Layla (May Calamawy), Marc swore an oath to the Egyptian moon God Khonshu to become his sworn fist and is now being called by the God to stop Arthur Harrow from resurrecting the vengeful god Ammit. 

Despite the world-ending consequences, Steven and Marc struggle to get along within the same body, especially once Marc regains control at the end of Episode 2. In Episode 3, he resists letting Steven take control until Layla insists they need the brainy museum worker's help finding the coordinate to Ammit's tomb before Arthur's cult does. After Steven patches together the map of the stars, Layla realizes it depicts the night sky millions of years ago, rendering it useless. That is until Khonshu comes to the rescue.

Guiding Steven in his Mr. Knight form, Khonshu reverses the night sky back to the way it looked millions of years ago. It's a beautiful sequence, as the stars spin backward around the globe. It's particularly noticeable to the people of Earth, especially the other Egyptian Gods, who imprison Khonshu for this action. However, it makes for a pretty striking halfway point in the show's first season. 

For a movie centered on Cumberbatch's Stephen Strange, it's almost a guarantee that fans will get to see some pretty crazy fight sequences utilizing the mystic arts. Fortunately, Sam Raimi did not disappoint during Strange's confrontation with himself toward the end of the film. Sent by Wanda to a universe collapsing in on itself from an incursion, Strange finds "Sinister Strange" at the Sanctum Sanctorum, who has, like Wanda, fallen victim to the Darkhold. Earth-616's Strange requests to borrow it, but Sinister Strange offers to trade it for Christine, the woman he destroyed his own universe trying to be with.

What follows is perhaps one of the more surprising fight sequences in the MCU. As they duel with their different-colored magic, Strange utilizes sheet music to attack Sinister Strange with floating notes. Sinister Strange counters by creating a bar, which allows for the notes to be played. As 616 Strange musically recreates the work of Johann Sebastian Bach with his attacks, Sinister Strange defends himself with the music of Ludwig van Beethoven. 

Not only is the scene a visual masterpiece thanks to Raimi's direction, but it's also a perfect opportunity for the filmmaker to flex his soundtrack, composed by Danny Elfman. The iconic composer weaves Bach and Beethoven's work together during this sequence, which ends with our Strange sending Sinister Strange out of a window, where he falls to his death. 

The later episodes of "Ms. Marvel" are a stark contrast to the show's bright, animated, glowing beginning. As Kamala seeks answers for what the bangle is through her family history, she finds herself at odds with the Clandestines, a group of Djinns trying to return to their original dimension and in need of Kamala's help. During a confrontation in Episode 5, Kamala is sent back in time to the Partition of India and Pakistan, finding herself on top of a train overlooking a crowded platform. 

There, Kamala runs into her great-grandmother, Aisha (Mehwish Hayat), who is attacked by one of the Clandestines during the chaos. Encouraged by Aisha to protect her grandmother, who is a child here, Kamala guides her to reunite with her great-grandfather. This hectic, dimly-lit series of events causes Kamala to realize that she was always a part of her family narrative, recalling how her grandmother was allegedly guided by stars back to her father. However, the set piece also plays an important role in depicting Pakistani history.

Following Episode 5's premiere, critics lauded "Ms. Marvel" for portraying the devastating and traumatic events of the Partition. Despite being one of the MCU's more colorful and vibrant shows — especially in 2022 — showing the Partition in this down-to-earth, realistic light was a bold choice by the "Ms. Marvel" creative team and it paid off.

The newfound connection between Thor and Jane is tested as the Asgardians arrive in the Shadow Realm, seeking out Gorr. This gorgeous sequence immediately takes on a different tone from the rest of the movie, as the film's color fades away into black and white. Realizing that Gorr wants Thor's weapon, Stormbreaker, in order to use the Bifrost to access the gates of Eternity, a confrontation occurs, pitting Gorr and his shadow demons against Thor, Jane, and Valkyrie.

The fight that ensues is one of the most visually stunning in Marvel's entire filmography, particularly for how much it invokes comic book art. The entire film pays tribute to comic book writer Jason Aaron's run of "Thor" from 2012, but this scene especially captures the hyper-ness and flashy visuals of that series. It's especially remarkable when Thor and Valkyrie utilize the power of lightning, which offers a subtle glow of color into the scene. 

Ultimately, the fight with Gorr doesn't go as planned, as Jane and Valkyrie end up injured and Thor helps them escape with the Bifrost, but not before Gorr snatches Stormbreaker from the God of thunder. By the time they return to New Asgard, the Shadow Realm fight has ultimately been a loss, but for the audience, it likely remains the most memorable sequence in the entire film. Fortunately, it wouldn't be Marvel's only foray into stylized black-and-white filmmaking in 2022, but we'll get to that later. 

Of course, "She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law" wasn't going to bring hulking out to the small screen without paying homage to the hero's television origins. The Season 1 finale opens on a shot-for-shot recreation of the 1977 "The Incredible Hulk" intro, with Tatiana Maslany taking the place of Bill Bixby's David Banner. Mark Ruffalo also cameos in the sequence during a moment where Maslany mimes the iconic catchphrase: "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." 

This sequence, while also being a visually impressive re-imagining of the iconic television opening, also holds special meaning for the show's creative team. Showrunner Jessica Gao credited the episode's directors for making it look so accurate, while Maslany herself relished in how it fits into the series' meta humor, telling TV Line, "It was such a fun sequence to play, and of course when you're pulling from something directly, you can lean into that style in such a way."

The original show, which starred Lou Ferrigno, is also important for the history of She-Hulk. Stan Lee created the character after it was rumored that the series was planning on introducing its own female Hulk, therefore making the origin of Jennifer Walters a business move so that Marvel would retain the rights to the character. While the tribute to the 1977 series makes for a fun visual gag, it also reminds comic book fans of the hero's real origin and the business practices that eventually led to this awfully meta season of television. 

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" was one of the most highly-anticipated MCU projects of Phase 4, capping off the previous two years of film and TV with a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. The film also has its own high-stakes story to tell, with the nation of Wakanda's safety threatened by the discovery of Talokan, an underwater kingdom ruled by the arrogant King Namor (Tenoch Huerta). Desperate to conceal his people's existence from the greedy western world, Namor kidnaps princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) of Wakanda. 

As a prisoner of Namor, the king of Talokan is eager to show Wakanda's premier scientist all that his nation has to offer. Suiting her up in an underwater scuba suit, Namor takes Shuri to the depths of his nation, allowing director Ryan Coogler to really stun audiences with an intimate view of this civilization. Even Shuri is awestruck by the cinematic beauty of Talokan, which is simultaneously vibrant while also dimly lit and mysterious. Though it was a challenging sequence to shoot (per Marvel.com), it certainly paid off in endearing the nation to viewers. 

Suffice it to say, the nation of Talokan is so extraordinary that we want to see King Namor return in a future film. While it may continue to be a grueling setting to reproduce on screen, it will almost always be worth it to give audiences another look at the beauty that Coogler has imbued with this still-anonymous underwater kingdom. 

After the gut-wrenching blockbuster that is "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," Phase 4 came to a close in November 2022 with the release of "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" on Disney+. This is a much lighter affair than the previous film, though according to director James Gunn it's also setting up for a devastating send-off to this Guardians team in 2023's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3."

Following the events of "Infinity War" and "Endgame," the special finds the Guardians on the planet Knowhere, around the time of Christmas on Peter Quill's (Chris Pratt) home planet of Earth. Wanting to cheer up a heartbroken Quill who is missing Gamora, Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista) come up with the idea to get him a present: Kevin Bacon. They kidnap the Hollywood actor on Earth and bring him to Knowhere, where they surprise Quill with holiday decorations. It's a beautiful sequence as Quill walks through the town square of Knowhere, admiring Christmas lights, fake snow, inflatable Santa decorations, and his friends all wishing him a Merry Christmas.

The winter wonderland is subsequently interrupted by Kevin Bacon's introduction, which frustrates Quill and he admonishes Mantis and Drax for human trafficking. Though the surprise doesn't necessarily go according to plan, it's a cozy send-off from Marvel Studios to 2022, a year where they've explored some dark and horrific avenues of its universe.