The superhero movies of the MCU, the DCU, and beyond occasionally feature moments so emotional that they aren’t easy to watch. After the movies of the MCU established the superhero genre as one of the biggest in modern cinema, it has become common knowledge that comic book movies often contain powerfully emotional moments. Shared cinematic universes allow for long story arcs that develop characters over several years, leading to payoffs that can be hugely rewarding, incredibly devastating, or anywhere in between.
Even before the MCU’s movie timeline began, the superhero genre had been delivering emotional moments. Comic book movies have long featured powerful scenes that are actually difficult to watch, sometimes even years after release. Making a scene so dramatic and touching that it’s hard to endure is something of an art, and it’s one that pops up surprisingly often in the superhero genre. With that in mind, here are 8 superhero movie moments that are still difficult to watch.
8
Alfred Crying At Bruce Wayne’s Funeral
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is known for its innovative approach to Batman’s story, but it also contains a number of powerful emotional moments. One of its most devastating came in the final scenes of The Dark Knight Rises, shortly after Batman appears to give his life in order to save the people of Gotham. Paying tribute to his young ward, Bruce Wayne’s former butler, Alfred, stands at his grave and weeps, not knowing that he actually survived the blast through careful prior planning.
Seeing Alfred crying over the death of Bruce Wayne is incredibly upsetting, especially after knowing that Bruce had actually faked his death. Not only was Alfred’s grief an outward sign of the fatherly love he felt for Bruce, but it was completely unnecessary, making it all the more emotional. All those factors combine to make the moment incredibly difficult to watch, as it stirs up multiple emotions.
7
Mysterio Conjures Iron Man’s Zombie
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Spider-Man: Far From Home had an unenviable task to complete: as the first MCU movie released after Avengers: Endgame, it had to follow up on one of the biggest cinematic occasions of all time. It did so reasonably well, exploring the implications of Endgame even while telling its own Spider-Man story. After learning of Mysterio’s deception, Spider-Man sets out to recover the powerful Stark technology the villain took from him, only to be tormented by haunting illusions, including the zombified corpse of Iron Man.
Seeing Mysterio taunt Spider-Man with the death of his mentor so soon after the conclusion of Iron Man’s MCU story was pretty devastating, especially as it was completely unexpected. Even watching the scene back now, it’s genuinely striking just how cruel Mysterio is, as the illusion is horrifyingly realistic. Taunting a grieving adolescent with his ᴅᴇᴀᴅ father figure is incredibly low, especially so soon after Stark’s heroic demise, and the scene is still hard to watch.
6
The Death Of Steve Trevor
Wonder Woman (2017)
Commonly considered one of the best movies in the DCEU, 2017’s Wonder Woman features a few powerful moments. Wonder Woman’s first solo cinematic outing in live-action introduced long-time love interest Steve Trevor, with the pair fighting to thwart the plans of both the villainous General Ludendorff and the god of war, Ares. The chemistry between Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor was one of the movie’s biggest positives, although it led to a devastating ending.
The climactic battle sees Steve Trevor bid an emotional – but unheard – farewell to Diana before commandeering the plane filled with experimental poison gas. Diana is helpless to watch as Steve makes the ultimate sacrifice, destroying the plane and himself to ensure the safety of innocent lives. It’s a heart-wrenching moment that remains every bit as devastating as it did upon release, and therefore remains difficult to watch.
5
Professor X Dies
Logan (2017)
Logan is undoubtedly the best movie in Fox’s X-Men movie franchise, and contains several of its most emotional moments. With an aging Logan caring for an elderly Charles Xavier in a world that has seen mutants driven to the brink of extinction, Logan’s setting was prime for upsetting emotional moments involving the two beloved characters. However, the death of Professor X remains one of the most upsetting scenes, and it’s not an easy one to endure.
An emotional Xavier remembering his remorse over the death of the X-Men believes he’s speaking with Logan, only to be alerted to the intruder’s idenтιтy as X-24 when he’s killed by the villainous clone. The scene gives Xavier an emotional and unexpected ending, bringing about his death at the hands of someone he thought he trusted. Patrick Stewart’s performance only makes the scene seem all the more poignant, right up to its devastating payoff.
4
Spider-Man Can’t Save Gwen Stacy
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is often considered a general disappointment, with issues with its script and elements of its production design cited as major problems with the sequel. However, it also delivers some heavy-hitting emotional drama, with Peter Parker’s double life haunting him in a way that he couldn’t have foreseen. After Harry Osborn transforms himself into the Green Goblin, he targets Gwen Stacy, and for all of Spider-Man’s efforts, he can’t quite save her.
The construction of the scene seems to set up Gwen being saved by Spider-Man, only to have her neck break at the final crucial moment. Spider-Man’s heartbreak and guilt are communicated all too keenly by Andrew Garfield’s powerful performance, making the scene even harder to watch, especially after it was briefly revisited in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The brutality of the moment, combined with the haunting emotional fallout, makes it a consistently upsetting moment in the history of superhero movies.
3
Billy Batson Meets His Biological Mother
Shazam! (2019)
Though 2019’s Shazam! might not feature any particularly critical moments in the DCEU’s movie timeline, it does stand out as one of the franchise’s most entertaining movies. One of the DCEU’s most genuinely comedic efforts, Shazam! explores the story of Billy Batson, a young boy living in a foster home who is gifted magical superpowers by the wizard Shazam. Interestingly, it’s actually the more human element of Billy’s story that makes for the movie’s most memorably emotional moment.
Having been established as still searching for the biological mother that he believed had lost him in a crowd, Billy is able to track her down. After locating her, Billy learns that she actually chose not to look for him, and isn’t interested in being a part of his life at all. It’s a gut-wrenching moment for the character as his innocence is ripped away from him, and it remains a hugely difficult moment to watch as a result, made far worse by Billy’s status as a child superhero.
2
The Death Of Uncle Ben
Spider-Man (2002)
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy remains a seminal part of the superhero genre, with its first movie, 2002’s Spider-Man, establishing a winning formula for how modern blockbusters should approach superhero origin stories. Its adaptation of Peter Parker’s transformation into the hero Spider-Man was incredible, delivering multiple emotional beats as well as pulse-pounding action. It also helped to bring a key moment in Spider-Man’s story to life in a way that few fans will ever be able to forget, and it remains difficult to endure even more than two decades later.
The death of Uncle Ben has always been a key part of Spider-Man’s traditional origin story, and the 2002 movie’s handling of the plot point was especially emotional. From Peter’s heated final exchange with his Uncle Ben to his inaction when faced with the man who went on to kill him, the guilt felt by the character is translated emphatically by the scene. It’s one of the most upsetting moments in the history of superhero movies, as it carries such powerful emotional significance for both the characters involved and the audience.
1
The Death Of Rocket’s Friends
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
After Rocket was introduced as an abrasive, violent, and incredibly brilliant member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, his dark backstory was hinted at. However, it wasn’t until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 that it was actually explored in real depth, with the 2023 movie detailing Rocket’s origins in haunting detail. The product of an experiment by the High Evolutionary, a young Rocket is imprisoned alongside a small group of other animal experiments, where he is occasionally exploited for his remarkable intelligence.
Seeing the ultimate fate of Rocket’s friends at the hands of the High Evolutionary is a tough watch, especially as it shows the moment that Rocket’s innocence and kindness was stripped away. The fact that the characters in question are incredibly sweet animals makes it even more devastating, with Rocket’s heartbroken reaction and violent outburst punctuating the scene perfectly. It’s more than just a tough scene to watch: it’s actually perhaps the most consistently upsetting scene in the history of the MCU, the DCU, and the wider superhero genre.
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Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
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DC Universe
The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.
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