The Avengers are assembling for the most ambitious crossover event in pop culture history. Avengers: Infinity War is on its way and will be bringing all of the Marvel heroes we've known and loved for the past decade. Star-Lord, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Captain America, are all here and ready for action.
Due to the success of the MCU, these heroes have garnered millions of new fans around the world. Many spend their days catching up on the timeline and buying all of the films so that they can see what the next chapter is for Marvel's film universe.
As the MCU has gained more popularity, the Internet has been all too willing to latch onto it and make jokes about it. Marvel's Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy have been seamlessly translated into the world of memes. You'll be hard-pressed to not see a few of them when a new Marvel trailer or film comes out.
In honor of the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War, we're looking back at 25 of the best Avengers memes in history. To celebrate the 10-year success of the MCU, you'll have to be a true fan to understand a lot of these jokes.
25 Engage All Defenses
One of the most exciting moments of the first Avengers: Infinity War trailer was when it was revealed that Thanos and the Outriders would be waging war on Wakanda. We then get a shot of Black Panther giving orders to evacuate the city, engage all defenses, and get Captain America a shield.
This meme takes it a step further.
Considering that Thor also lost his signature weapon the last time we saw him, Black Panther needs someone to give him a hammer as well. The last time we saw Ant-Man, however, he was begging for some orange slices after being knocked down in Captain America: Civil War. We'd bet that Wakanda has some serious high-tech oranges for Scott Lang to consume before battle.
24 It's Really Important
Marvel Phase 2 had a serious love letter to The Empire Strikes Back. In each movie, someone lost an arm in some way. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, we were shown Bucky as he was experimented on by HYDRA. However, he lost his arm in the process and was given a metal arm.
The joke with Rocket comes from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. While in prison, Rocket hatches a plan with Star-Lord, Gamora, and Groot, to get out. He gives them a list of supplies they need, including a prisoner's prosthetic leg. As it turns out, it was all for a cheap laugh. Nonetheless, it wouldn't be hard to imagine him trying to get Winter Soldier's arm after they met in Avengers: Infinity War.
23 He Doesn't Know The Meaning Of "Avenger"
Before Anthony Mackie joined the MCU as Falcon, he was an antagonistic rapper in the movie 8 Mile. Being racist against an upcoming white rapper, he was later challenged to a rap battle. In the opening minutes, the white rapper points out how Mackie's character doesn't know the meaning of toil and hardship, stating that his real name is Clarence to show his comfortable lifestyle. If you don't know the movie, then you won't really get the joke.
Of course, how could we expect someone named Clarence to be a real Avenger?
Someone who served in the war and fought against agents of HYDRA, as well as other (more powerful) superheroes, couldn't be named Clarence. Perhaps that's what Thanos will use to defeat him.
22 Watch Your Mouth
Avengers: Age of Ultron had a lot of quippy dialogue in it. The running gag for the movie was that Captain America corrected someone on their use of foul language while they were in the field, looking for Loki's scepter. From that point on, Tony Stark was sure to tell everyone else involved with the Avengers that Cap was being a bit of a boy scout (even Nick Fury got in on the joking).
While that thread likely won't be continued in Avengers: Infinity War, it might be painful for Steve to hear some of the words that came out of Scott Lang's mouth. The next time Ant-Man wants to approve anything, he'll need to be sure to keep it rated PG so that he doesn't get on Captain America's bad side.
21 When You're Left Out By Your Best Friend
The original Iron Man movie largely showed Tony becoming a hero in isolation. Yes, he talked about it to both Rhodey and Pepper, but he operated mostly on his own. When Iron Man 2 came around, he was no longer fighting by himself. This time around, his friend Rhodey became War Machine and fought at his side.
Since then, War Machine has been a recurring member of the MCU and the Avengers as a whole.
Rhodey was later called to fight in Iron Man 3, Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War. However, he wasn't asked to fight in The Avengers? Tony didn't think that Rhodey would be willing to help him fight Loki? To add to that, Tony didn't call Rhodey in Avengers: Age of Ultron. He came to Sokovia with Nick Fury.
20 There's Only One Path To Peace
Avengers: Age of Ultron was a bit too small for what Marvel was promising. Anyone who knows the story of Ultron in the comics knows that it took a while for the robot to gain autonomy and wage war on Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The movie didn't have that kind of time, so Ultron's development from artificial intelligence to insane robot was fairly quick.
We get a quick scene where he is learning about the world and is talking with Jarvis. After a few minutes, he suddenly decides that humanity is a problem and believes that the only solution is to destroy it. The movie never gave us a chance to be invested in his development because he became evil so quickly. Then again, that's exactly the irrational thinking that Tony Stark would use.
19 What Happened That Day?
After Captain America: Civil War came out, Zemo became a meme due to how many times he asked for "Mission report: December 16, 1991." All sorts of jokes came out that would show his face and reference the date in question. There's no denying that if he were to talk to a certain character from Ant-Man, he would get his answer.
What if he happened to interrogate Luis from Ant-Man, though?
In that movie, Luis was known to be an eccentric and long-winded storyteller. When Scott would ask him questions, he would instantly go off on a long rabbit trail just to get to the point. At the very least, if he knew anything about December 16, 1991, he would be able to tell Zemo. It would just take several hours at the very least.
18 The Real Reason Daredevil Isn't An Avenger
Marvel played their hand at TV shortly after The Avengers came out with Agents of SHIELD. However, it wasn't long before they decided to try something a bit more ambitious and relevant to their fans in the forms of Daredevil on Netflix. Because this new hero was cleaning up New York on a much smaller scale after the Chitauri invasion, many were speculating if we would see Matt Murdock join the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War.
As we know, Marvel has reasoned to keep the movies and the Netflix shows separate, with each corner of the MCU having their own stories and crossovers. That said, we think we know the real reason Daredevil can't be an Avenger. We won't explain the pun, though. It's fairly obvious.
17 No, This Is Thanos
SpongeBob SquarePants will always have a picture that the Internet takes to become a meme for a few months. The latest one (as of this writing) is a picture of Patrick with a sinister-looking face. People have gone to liken it to maniacal jokes.
It has now bled over into the MCU.
With some expert artistry to make Patrick look more like the Mad Titan, we imagine that Thanos would have a similar expression now that he's coming to Earth for Avengers: Infinity War. He's had nothing but brief cameos and a few lines of dialogue since his debut during the post-credits scene of The Avengers. Now he'll be front in center as he wages war to deliver on a decade of buildup.
16 The "Age" Of Ultron
Avengers: Age of Ultron was criticized for being full of too many jokes. As a result, there are a lot of memes out there that either point these quips out or turn the entire movie into a joke. That said, this meme is so ridiculous that it's hard not to laugh at it.
The movie never presented us with the "Age" of Ultron. It was more like an inconvenient weekend of Ultron, then everything went back to the way it was. However, it's possible that Marvel never intended the "Age" of Ultron to be about how long the robot was terrorizing the globe. While this joke does fall a bit flat when you consider that we saw Ultron's birth and, therefore, know how old he is, it's still an entertaining pun nonetheless.
15 Do You Know Your History?
The Civil War was a cataclysmic event that changed the entire world as it went on. Friends, family, and allies, were put at opposite ends of the conflict, forced to fight for a cause that could be understood from both sides. Of course, we're talking about the Civil War that took place in the MCU (what did you think we were referring to?).
As many younger kids become Marvel fans, it's easy for them to become more enchanted with the stories of superheroes.
Many people, when they hear the term "Civil War" nowadays, are likely to think of Captain America: Civil War as opposed to the American Civil War. Both Civil Wars have interesting stories behind them as well as some epic battles, but only one made a bigger impact on pop culture.
14 Pitiful Morals
One of the weirdest jokes that Marvel has ever put out is what Thor was doing while Iron Man and Captain America were duking it out in Captain America: Civil War. There was that whole "Team Thor" short with Darryl the human. In actuality, Thor was hunting for the Infinity Stones and learning more about the impending doom coming to Earth.
If Thor were a fly on the wall during the Civil War, it's not hard to think that he'd have a similar reaction to the conflict he witnessed in The Avengers. At the sight of Cap and Iron Man fighting, he'd lament that mortals were so petty, then at the sight of Ant-Man, add that they were tiny as well. Thor has developed a lot since then, but it's still a neat reference to The Avengers.
13 An Intentional Trend, Perhaps?
Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Thor: Ragnarok have fundamentally similar trailers. They both tease events that are going to change their characters' worlds upside down. They introduce villains who have a personal connection to the hero.
Finally, they both have shots of those villains catching the heroes' trademark weapon.
Seeing Winter Soldier catch Captain America's shield and toss it back at him was a heart-stopping moment, as was the time when Hela caught Mjolnir and crushed it with her bare hands. That said, it's possible that their power and metal arms had nothing to do with being able to catch those items. Both of them wear extremely dark eyeshadow, and that could very well be where their strength comes from.
12 With Your Eyes, Drax
When we were first introduced to the Guardians of the Galaxy, Drax the Destroyer was a unique member of the team. Meeting him while in prison, it's not long before we realize that he doesn't quite understand sarcasm or metaphors. Rocket quickly tells Star-Lord that Drax's race is full of very literal people. Anything you say to them will likely go right over their heads (although, Drax would catch anything that tried to go over his head).
Now that he'll be in the same movie as Captain America, part of us wants this scene to take place. Cap says something about watching their language, to which Drax would ask him how it is possible to watch language at all. Oh, Drax, you metaphorically illiterate alien, you.
11 Want To Bet?
Superhero movies in the past have been bogged down by trying to thrust too many characters at the screen at once. It was why Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 were both critically panned. It was why Suicide Squad and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice didn't work as well as they could have. And it was why X-Men: Apocalypse lacked focus.
The list goes on.
With Marvel stating that Infinity War will have over 60 characters in it, the criticism of too many characters has gone their way several times. However, they seem determined to get Avengers: Infinity War right and have delivered trailers that have put those fears to rest. Seeing all of the Marvel heroes rushing toward Thanos is just plain awesome.
10 The Seasonal Soldier
We're not sure where the name "Winter Soldier" comes from, but it does have a nice ring to it. However, Bucky is going to have to have different personas for the other seasons. He can't be the Winter Soldier when it's summer, right? Before you start to comment about how stupid we are, remember that we're just playing up the joke.
Some fairly handsome pictures of Sebastian Stan grace us for the "Spring" and "Summer" Soldier shots. Where the meme really lands is in the "Fall" Soldier picture. Instead of having another graceful shot of Stan, we instead get the image of Bucky falling from the train to his supposed demise in Captain America: The First Avenger.
9 Which Is Which?
This one might take a minute to click. On that note, it's easy to see how the "Fast" part easily applies to Quicksilver. It might take a bit longer to see how the "Furious" part relates to the director of SHIELD until you remember that his name is Nick Fury. Fury. Furious.
Get it?
It's a fairly hollow joke that only has one punchline without much more meaning to it, but that's precisely what makes it memorable. A lot of memes don't have to be layered with references to other productions in the MCU. Some of the best ones tell a single joke and then move on (it makes them easier to follow that way). Whoever made this meme earns our eternal respect as well.
8 There It Is!
Want to hear a joke? The ball kept getting bigger and bigger. Then it hit me.
Playing with words like that it always fun, and it grants a slight chuckle to see how it can apply to the MCU. If ever Thor were to forget where he placed Mjolnir, it will come to him eventually- even if it has to fly across the galaxy to fit in his hand.
The sad part about this is that Mjolnir is no longer around. We know that Thor will be getting a new weapon in Avengers: Infinity War, but we're not sure that it will have any powers like his hammer. If it were some kind of axe that would fly into his hand, that would be kind of awesome.
7 What Did I Miss?
It's crazy to think that the last time Thor partnered with the Avengers was in Age of Ultron. Since then, we've been introduced to characters like Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and Spider-Man. We're all very acquainted with these characters and have been for a few years. But the only Avenger Thor has seen since he left Earth was the Hulk.
Coming back to Earth for the fight against Thanos, he'll likely be confused at the sight of the many newcomers.
On top of that, he also has no clue who the Winter Soldier is. This is since the Avengers only learned about him in Captain America: Civil War. It seems that the God of Thunder has really missed out on a lot.
6 The Ultimate Plan
The MCU is no stranger to finding creative ways of solving problems. We began to notice this in Thor, when the God of Thunder destroyed the Bifrost and his way of going back to Earth for the sake of defeating his brother. Since then, it's only gotten more interesting. Star-Lord challenged Ronan the Accuser to a dance-off near the end of the movie. Doctor Strange used the Time Gem to bargain with Dormammu. Thor pretended that Loki was injured to beat up bad guys. And Captain America was focused on language.
With all of these separate skills, it's clear that the Avengers are going to have to come up with a creative solution to beat Thanos. What better way to do it than by bargaining with him to get help in a dance-off with only clean language?