FanSided 250: The 10 biggest Marvel fandom moments of 2019

Marvel experienced a transformative year in 2019. We take a look at some of the best, and worst, moments of Marvel’s fandom this year.

With Avengers: Endgame bringing an end to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 3 — and its current iteration of the Avengers — 2019 was undoubtedly a big year for the franchise. Not only did it see endings in both Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home, but the franchise also began working toward new beginnings with its new Disney Plus series, which are set to start dropping next year.

And with so much going on, it’s no surprise that Marvel fans ranked number one on this year’s FanSided 250. After all, they’ve had plenty to be excited about over the past 12 months — and there’s still more to come.

Here are 10 of the biggest Marvel fandom moments of 2019.

The Eternals are coming

Following the devastation that was Avengers: Endgame, Marvel made it very clear that there would be a serious cooling-down period for Earth’s mightiest heroes. But that doesn’t mean that the MCU will be slowing down anytime soon. During the summer, Marvel announced plans for the next super-team franchise in the form of Eternals, a film about a group of immortal super-powered beings.

While it’s an odd choice as a follow-up to the Avengers, especially given the comic book source material, the star-studded cast of Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Jemma Chan, Richard Madden, and Kit Harrington instantly commanded everyone’s attention — and showed that Marvel is serious about its commitment to this new franchise.

The end of the Marvel/Netflix lovefest

This year saw the conclusion of the Marvel/Netflix partnership with the release of the third and final season of Jessica Jones. It was often the most celebrated Marvel/Netflix series, so it’s apropos that it be the one to have the final goodbye. Like many good finales, things weren’t all wrapped up in a tidy bow. Instead it gave us a look at life in the Marvel/Netflix universe continuing (along with a possible rekindling of Jessica and Luke Cage’s relationship).

With news of the official dissolution of Marvel’s television division, fans are hoping that the Netflix characters will reappear somewhere down the line in the MCU.

A-Force comes together (albeit briefly)

While there were plenty of sad moments in this year’s Avengers: Endgame (still not over Natasha’s death), there were also many moments that made audiences cheer. One in particular is a scene shot during the final battle of the movie, as the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and all of their allies face-off against Thanos and his army.

In an effort to help the newly arrived Captain Marvel get across the battlefield, the female members of the MCU band together in one glorious shot to give her back-up. While it was an all-too-brief moment, it filled audiences with excitement and hope that one day there will be an A-Force movie.

The X-Men’s Renaissance

No, we’re talking about Fox’s X-Men movies, which ended with a whimper in 2019’s Dark Phoenix. We’re talking about the X-Men in the Marvel Comics’ universe. After years of being treated like Marvel’s red-headed stepchild, primarily because Fox still retained live-action and animated rights to the characters, the X-Men have returned in full force this year. With the debut of multiple X-Men related titles including X-Force, Excalibur, The Marauders, and The New Mutants, we haven’t seen this many mutant titles since the X-Men’s 90s heyday. The majority of these books have received positive reviews thus far, marking the end of the X-Men drought in Marvel Comics.

Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk and Moon Knight

While MCU fans were psyched enough with the announcement of a group of Disney+ series that will feature fan-favorite characters like Falcon, Winter Soldier, and Scarlet Witch, the hype reached a fever pitch following the announcement of a new set of heroes.

At the end of the summer, Marvel announced plans to bring Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk and Moon Knight to life with brand-new shows planned for each of them to debut in 2021 on Disney+. Casting news it still scarce, but we do know that Ms. Marvel will feature the Inhuman royal family (recasted from the previous hot-mess Inhumans series) and that Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner will potentially appear in She-Hulk.

Captain Marvel breaks box office records

The MCU was a little — OK, a lot — slow in delivering the first solo movie to feature a female superhero. The DCEU had already beaten them to the punch with Wonder Woman and set the bar extremely high. Would Captain Marvel be able to reach it?

That depends on who you ask. The movie, however, went on to make record numbers at the box office, making Brie Larson a household name. The ’90s vibe added an extra layer of awesomeness to the tale of a lost female fighter pilot from Earth who gains superpowers while finding herself again after being brainwashed by an alien race. Love it or hate it, you can’t deny the inspirational impact the movie has had on little girls and grown women who see themselves in Carol Danvers.

Baby Yoda takes over the internet

While The Mandalorian, Disney Plus’ new series set in the Star Wars universe, was meant to be a story of a warrior following in the footsteps of Boba Fett, there is one character who repeatedly steals the spotlight and the hearts of the world.

Baby Yoda makes his appearance as “The Child” in the premiere episode, a captive Pedro Pascal’s Mandalorian chooses to rescue from other bounty hunters. With his adorable face and child-like mannerisms, Baby Yoda became an instant sensation with various memes of him being passed around the internet every single day. The character made such an impact, that he’s even getting his own Funko Pop made after him.

Disney Plus resurrects childhood favorites

We all knew it was coming: everybody and their mama was coming out with a streaming service. DC, Apple, and even CBS were doing it, so it was inevitable that Disney and, by extension, Marvel would jump on the bandwagon.

The streaming service Disney Plus debuted in November, bringing with it a masterful catalog of old and new television series, movies and animated series. Adults who grew up on X-Men: The Animated Series and the Spider-Man animated series rejoiced, while newly released movies like Avengers: Endgame and Captain Marvel were readily available to stream. The service is only going to get bigger, with the addition of several upcoming live-action Marvel shows including Hawkeye, set to debut Kate Bishop, WandaVision, and Loki.

“Avengers…ASSEMBLE!”

While there were several fan-favorite moments in Avengers: Endgame, including the previously mentioned A-Force shot and Cap finally lifting Mjolnir and using it against Thanos, the ultimate scene had to be toward the end of the movie.

The newly resurrected heroes who were lost in The Snap teleport to Captain America’s side as he stands alone against Thanos’ massive army. Not only are the resurrected heroes back, but all of their allies including Valkyrie, Wong, and Okoye join in on the fight. With everyone all lined up against Thanos and his brood, Cap utters the battlecry fans have been waiting to hear for almost a decade: “Avengers…ASSEMBLE!”

Disney and Fox make up

Following decades of having their superhero universes separated, Disney and Fox finally decided to play nice, with Fox selling the rights to the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and all their related characters back to Marvel. Essentially, the whole Fox catalog would be wiped from existence, for better or worse (mostly for the better). While we had been exposed to multiple unworthy movies for both the X-Men and Fantastic Four, with the characters back in Marvel’s hands, we can wait to see these heroes make their debut in the MCU.

What was your favorite Marvel fandom moment of 2019?