Top 10 best “moments” in 2014

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I live for the climax and crescendo for all of my entertainment. Those memorable moments that define a character or a series really make all of the suspense building up into something really special. For my top ten of 2014 I’m going with my favorite moments of the year.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Joined against the Accuser

We all enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy for it’s mix of comedy and sci-fi action. It was hard to choose between several of the scenes, but “Pelvic Sorcery” just wasn’t as powerful as the climax of the movie. All of the Guardians but Groot joined hands and control an infinite stone. It was the first Marvel Cinematic moment that screamed that this is a team. They stood against the power of this cosmic artifact together and bent it to their will. I get shivers just thinking about it.

Inhuman #10: “Bad Hair Day”

This moment was late in coming, actually came from the December issue of Inhuman from Marvel. Medusa, the leader of the inhumans has become evil and is threatening the UN. In the middle of her speech, right before she attacks the humans, Spiderman showed up to distract her. In this moment, he says something so quintessentially Spiderman that it immediately endeared me to the issue. Looking down at Medusa, his first statement is “Hey. Bad hair day?” A pun so catastrophically on point is the very spirit of Spiderman’s personality that it just made my year.

Flash: Arrow and Flash fight.

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One of the truly amazing potentials of different television shows in the same universe is the sought after cross over. It happened way sooner than I expected, but I was hoping for a versus episode between Flash and Arrow. In Flash, I was not disappointed. Flash was made enraged by a meta human, and Arrow had to stop him. This fight was highly entertaining, showcasing the forethought and skill of Arrow, and the Super Speed abilities of Barry Allen. I was really captivated by Flash vibrating a tranquilizer out of his blood stream. Did not disappoint!

Superior Iron Man #2: Gift to the Devil

Here is another comic moment that has only just recently came out, but as a reader, I viewed it as a perfect master stroke. Superior Iron Man is about an evil Iron Man. While most evil characters hash these hyper villainous plots, Tony Stark’s narcissism sets him apart. He wants to be a savior and make money hand over fist. The only super hero standing against him currently is Daredevil. The master stroke was at the end of issue #2, when Tony defeats Matt by bestowing upon him the gift of sight. The concept of returning sight to Daredevil as a means of defeating him, in essence taking away his super powers, is just so perfect that I couldn’t help but read the issue a second time. Just excellent.

Captain America Winter Soldier: the first hand to hand fight between cap and bucky.

To date, the second Captain America movie was my favorite of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The entire movie had the suspense and intrigue of a top rate spy thriller as well as all of the action we expect to see from a comic movie. At no point did I find myself closer to the edge of my seat than the moment Cap and Bucky throw down in close quarters for the first time. This scene was jaw droppingly well done and choreographed; it really got the blood pumping.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splinter fighting Shredder

Say what you want about the new Ninja Turtles. People hated the new look. They complained about the Turtles having super strength and being partially bulletproof, despite it balancing particularly well with Shredder’s superior martial arts skills and his new Iron Man suit. I actually thought the climax of this movie was pretty weak, but there was one fight that really had me excited. Splinter taking on Iron Shredder was incredibly entertaining and much closer to the kind of clash you’d expect from such a kung fu heavy serial.

Iron Fist #1: Warrior Poet

In the early parts of 2014, Iron Fist started a new series that has, since then, been an exercise I depression, so much so that I’ve considered dropping the title despite my love for the character. The first issue started out pretty despondent, but once the action started both the prose and the art became unto poetry, just like Rand’s fist becomes unto iron. I may not suggest you read the entire series unless you enjoy a complete lack of happy endings, but that first issue has a beauty all of it’s own.

Omega Hulk: MODOK puppet show.

For those of you who aren’t terribly up to date with what is going on in Hulk’s world, it’s gotten pretty interesting. After getting brain damage, Bruce Banner was fixed with the Extremis Virus and now the Hulk is a super scientist on top of everything else. There is a lot of interesting things happening, chief of which is Hulk’s desire to “cure” all other gamma monsters. My favorite moment hasn’t been a fight, a trick, or any particular character, but an ultimatum that Hulk, or Doctor Green as he prefers to be called now, gives to SHIELD. He actually uses MODOK as a kind of puppet and makes a joke at the end, even getting a little indignant when no one laughs. If you haven’t checked out this title, I’d suggest it for all the right reasons.

Hannibal: season 2 finale

If you haven’t seen the television show Hannibal you are missing out. It has all the intrigues you’d expect from a show built around the harrowing character from the Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Red Dragon. To my surprise, the show that focuses on serial killers and psychology has some impressive action climax. The first season had a clash between a string instrument based serial killer and Hannibal. This was topped however by the explosive finale of the second season. I haven’t embedded a video because it is literally the entire last episode that runs with high tension, but it is worth the time. Watch it all, because Hannibal is a masterpiece of the small screen.

Penny Dreadful: Caliban’s return

If you loved the idea of Once Upon a Time, but you’re more of a fan of the horror genre, then you should be watching the Showtime series Penny Dreadful. The characters are drawn from common horror titles such as Frankenstein and the Mask of Dorian Gray, while having a particularly original storyline and a few likeable characters and an all-star cast. I don’t feel that the climax was terribly poignant, but the end of the second episode had the introduction of Caliban, the first creation of Dr. Frankenstein. This was shocking, freightening, and a perfect reflection of the monster’s roots from the novel from Mary Shelly. You should check it out.