The Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the greatest things known to man! Well, for me and for superhero fans. The heroes are compelling, the stakes are high, and continuity is top-notch, but one thing that is often overlooked is the music that is in these films. The music is great and in some cases really captures the tone of the scene or the whole movie. Here are some awesome examples of times in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where music totally nailed the scene.
1. "Back in Black" in "Iron Man"
The very first scene in the very first Marvel Cinematic Universe film features the song "Back in Black" playing as military vehicles drive down a desert street. One of those vehicles is carrying Tony Stark, who is playing the song on the radio in the vehicle. The music sets up that Tony is a smartass by having him play the song in a quiet military vehicle, but it also in a way establishes that the movie will be a rocking action film because the song itself is a rock song. Additionally, starting the Marvel Cinematic Universe off with the song "Back in Black" is just flat out amazing.
2. "Shoot to Thrill" in "Iron Man 2" and "The Avengers"
When Tony Stark is introduced in "Iron Man 2," the song "Shoot to Thrill" plays as Tony flies his Iron Man suit onto a concert stage where thousands of people are in attendance. The song reminds the audience that Tony is a wild superhero and that the movie itself will be a fun action flick. This is reinforced in "The Avengers" as well. When Captain America is about to get defeated by Loki, Iron Man blasts the song from the S.H.I.E.L.D. stereos, distracting both Loki and Captain America as Iron Man flies down, shoots Loki, and captures him. Not only is the scene funny, but again reminds us the movie itself will be light-hearted at times and that Iron Man is a light-hearted character.
3. "Come and Get Your Love" in "Guardians of the Galaxy"
"Guardians of the Galaxy" is known to be a fun, musical movie, but most people didn't know about its awesome soundtrack, or as fans know it, the "Awesome Mix Tape Volume 1," until they saw the movie. After watching Peter Quill's mother die in a sad opening scene, we cut to many years in the future where Quill is walking around in essentially a space dump. He enters a cave of sorts, puts his walkman on, and the upbeat "Come and Get Your Love" starts to play as the title card appears above Quill. We see Quill dancing and lip-syncing to the song as he makes his way over to his treasure. The song sets up the tone of the movie and shows us that Quill is a relaxed, easy-going dude.
4. "I Want You Back" in "Guardians of the Galaxy"
Of course I had to include the infamous dancing baby Groot scene where our favorite superhero tree thing dances to "I Want You Back" secretly as Drax the destroyer cleans his knife. It's not only a satisfying end to the movie, but has actually inspired a number of baby Groot toys including ones that dance just like he did in the movie.
