Madeline's MCU Experience
Jul 14, 2020
The moment my husband and I finished watching Endgame, we got the itch to re-watch the entire MCU from the beginning. But our lives were busy and we wanted to space out the viewings. So we hadn’t done it. But when we first started self-isolating this spring, we decided it was finally time to dive back in. This time we were going to include Madeline, our oldest, who had seen parts of a few during our initial watch (I say “our” but it was Josh’s. I had seen them several times), so she could experience the entire story.
As we began to watch, I pretty quickly realized that I needed to write down the things she was saying while watching. At first it was just for us to giggle about after each movie, but soon it was obvious that I needed to share with other Marvel fans.
The first couple movies I didn’t write much down as Maren, our youngest, was sick, and I was going through a rough bedtime routine with her while Madeline and her dad watched. So I missed those. But once that passed I started writing down as much as I could.
We watched one movie usually over the course of 2 or 3 days (due to bedtimes). Sometimes she’d be so excited about what was happening she would be really chatty about it, and other times she was so into it she barely talked at all.
We didn’t include the Spider-Man movies because she has watched the first one so many times already and the second we didn’t have a way to watch it.
Now, before we begin, remember, she just turned five, so sometimes her word choices were weird. But I kept it true to what she said.
WARNING: SPOILERS INCOMING
•••••••••••••••••
IRON MAN
“He’s Iron Man he’s gonna say it”
HULK
<missed this one due to sick baby>
IRON MAN 2
“Black Widow is the best of them. She is a genius! She’s just SO good!”
THOR
“He’s still Thor. Even without his hammer, because he’s still a superhero”
“He’s still strong. Stiiiiilll strooong.”
“Ha! Loki! Thor’s coming back!”
@Loki (with mjolnir on his chest) “That hammer’s too strong. Stay there forever!”
CAPTAIN AMERICA
“I don’t want to watch [him change]. I don’t want to be brave like Captain America. I’m a kid!”
“Once he finds the shield he’s gonna really win.”
“His name is not tinker bell. Why is everybody calling him that?”
“He does not know what he’s doing. He is gonna get killed”
“Does he always wear a mask so he’s not so scary? Wait, did he look in a mirror when he was a kid?! I’m gonna name him creepy red face.”
“Sometimes the bad guys win, sometimes the good guys win.”
“Red face doesn’t have any helpers. It means he’s not strong enough!”
“I love his shield.”
AVENGERS
“She’s so good even when she’s not in a real costume” (Black Widow)
“Whoa. That move was so cool she just banged his head on the pole!” (Black Widow)
“That’s even better than I thought it was gonna be! The suit just raced down and catched him!” (Iron Man)
“That’s his secret?! I never known he was always angry!”
(Maniacal laughter at hulk beating Loki up) “It’s just too funny! Rewind it! I really liked it!”
“Hulk’s better than all of em!”
IRON MAN 3
“I know what’s causing the glitch! It’s maybe Groot! Groot is on the plant.”
“Why does he just talk a few cents out of them and then leave?”
“Maybe he needs Hulk’s help? He just walks and walks and walks and never dies. And remember ‘I’m always angry’ that’s what he said.”
“Wow that one he made big so he could pick up ANYthing. Even the president.”
(@ Iron man fighting overheated Killian) “Spray water! Drop him in the water! Don’t fire MORE! The water! Water! ...he’s too hot.”
THOR 2
*gasp* “Loki can’t get out! That’s GREAT!”
“He fighted with him and saved him but then he couldn’t save himself” (Loki)
“Whoa! He picked up a car. He’s hulk.”
“Wait. Where’s the king? Loki!”
WINTER SOLDIER
“Whoa. Those two are VERY good at fighting. Look how cool he is! They are good at fighting”
“That is so duper cool”
“I didn’t know it had a secret gun! Oh! That car is driving itself!”
“Smart plan using a gun. But not smart enough!”
“I know what they’re after. They’re after his shield! His shield and the thing that looks like information.”
(cap flips the machine gun guy) “That was cool. Really really way cool.”
“He can fight Captain America. He has his own arm to protect him”(Bucky)
“Once his face thing was off, Captain America remembered him!”
“Stan Lee! Stan Lee! Oh I’m so fired”
“Whoa she’s a good fighter! What’s her name? ...Black Widow! I knew I knew her! Go back to her when she tricked him I liked it!” (Black Widow in disguise as one of the committee members)
“Glad he had a parachute! If he hadn’t had a parachute he would be a flat sandwich. He’d be smashed.” (Falcon)
“He’s starting to remember” *wink*(Bucky)
“Yep. You’ll know where to find her when danger is near. Cuz she’s Black Widow.”
“Where’s his friend? Where did he go?!” (About Bucky)
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
“Rocket squirrel!”
(Spaceship) “What. is. That? Now where is he?!”
(opening titles)”Now there the boy is! Red eyes. Creepy face is what I’m gonna call him.”
“I guess those little alien rats are his only friends”
“He doesn’t know about Star Lord haha”
“I can’t believe he escaped from Jurassic park!” (About Star Lord)
“It’s Stan Lee it’s Stan Lee! And Rocket! And Groot!!”
“He’s not a raccoon. But he is a raccoon. His name is Rocket.”
“Groot does not need any clothes on. Because he’s a plant”
*giggling* “Groot’s SO helpful!”
(Quill fumbles and drops the orb) “Ha! He used it as a bouncy ball on accident”
“That man with that little hood on? He’s goood.”
(While Yondu is threatening to kill Quill) “Maybe he will tell him that he went to Jurassic park and teached a dinosaur.”
{Maren is hollering “I love groooot!” On repeat until the crash scene and then: “oh no! Groot fall off! Bye bye!”}
“Where’s Groot?” (I tell her he died) *giant frowny face, takes a sip of her drink and looks at her sister* “Maren, Groot died.”
“What’s he doing? He’s trying to distract him.” (Quill)
“Why did he grab it?! Why did he use it?!”(Quill)
“Why are they doing that?! Oh they’re stronger together. That’s even stronger than him if he used it on his own.”
(They hand off the orb) “Now the stone won’t cause ANY more trouble.”
“If he brought his player in there, everybody would dance”
“Look, Groot’s teensy now!”
AGE OF ULTRON
“Hulk and Thor are really really really really strong. Both strong. The same strong. Not as strong as a dinosaur.”
“I know that Hawkeye’s arrows are magic.”
“They both know technology and they both know how to build but Hulk’s kinda different when he changes.”
“Oh no he found another infinity stone”
“Did you know we just saw that thing crack open and it’s all the infinity stones except the last one. It’s green.”
“Whoa he’s super fast how does he do that is that his superpower? I think he’s gonna be Flash.”
“Hulk and Iron Man are good together and Thor and Hulk are also good together.”
“Hm. Who’s he? He looks...red.” (Vision)
“Wait. I think I know what’s in his head. One infinity stone.”
“If that happened to me I would be so scared.” (Waking up in a strange new body like Vision did)
“Fury? He came to help? That’s so sweet!”
“What’s he doing?” (I tell her Banner thinks he’s too dangerous when he’s the Hulk) “...but he’s still a hero.”
“Oh NO. Those are the places for the gems! Maybe he’s not gonna come for the people, he’s gonna come for the infinity stones!!” (Thanos & the gauntlet)
ANT-MAN
“It can’t do lambs, humans, or anything!”
“I KNEW he was gonna get in it.” (The suit)
“How’s he gonna get back to Cassie?!
He’s doing it! He’s gonna get back to Cassie!!”
CIVIL WAR
“That’s that book that he found. He made up a code and then opened that book. That happened.”
*gasp* “I bet his wings are fixed.” (Falcon)
“But they shouldn’t be fighting each other, they’re superheroes!!”
“What are those guys after? I think they know who’s driving that team. It’s THANOS.”
“He just cracked him by the shield he didn’t know he was so strong”
“It’s black widowwwwwoooor someone else”
(Fake flashback of Tony as a kid) “Who’s that? It doesn’t look like Iron Man. He’s just dressed like Iron Man and then looks at himself and he’s Iron Man”
“Black Panther! Now they have to fight two persons!”
“Now Ant-Man and Black Panther can be together with the Avengers if they start practicing together!”
(Talking about fighting Bucky) “Hulk would do way better. He’d just throw him out of the building into the water.”
“Those guys are good at acting. But how do they make the Hulk guy go green?” (To ease her mind about the violence in the early movies we explained how movies are made and it’s all acting so every once in a while she acknowledges that conversation when she’s talking about stuff)
“That guy is a good hider.”
“There’s only three of them. They need all of them to make it work.” (She wants the Avengers all together)
“He’s sad he killed his parents and now they’re fighting cuz he’s really really really mad.”
“He’s got robot legs” (Rhodes)
DOCTOR STRANGE
*opening titles* “I love this”
“Whoa. He can’t move his hands much. He’s trying to wash his hands.” (Idea hits her) “He can go to the dentist a little bit so they can brush his teeth for him.”
“Why won’t she teach him? He’s not a jerk.”
“That jacket saved him! It was just a regular jacket and then it was on him and now it’s a super jacket and he’s a superhero!” (It’s a cape, kid. A cape).
*gasp* “He got his own self hurt and now he’s a ghost and he’s gotta get his body back”
“Wait. Pause it, pause it. When he opened the eye it flashed green and I think I know what it was. An infinity stone! Cuz there are two missing that are yellow and green”
“Again...???” (@Strange during the time loop)
“I love how he kept turning on his arm and going back and back and back and” *mimes being impaled*
GUARDIANS VOL 2
“He’s dancin’ but not paying attention to nothin’” (Baby Groot)
“Haha! He did not do it. SHE did!” (Drax)
“Look at that ice face guy. If he got fired he’d be melted”
“Wait. He designed that whole planet?” (Ego)
“They’re trying to scare him! Why are they trying to scare Groot?!”
“Oh no! That guy! He went out without his suit”
(Regarding Nebula) “If she pretended to be an Avenger then she would be on their side but she would trick them.” (I swear she had not seen Endgame yet)
“He made his own ball. Now he can play with his friends” (Quill)
“Haha! Rocket was the funniest. He had his mouth open and this one really big eye!” (The too many hyper jumps part)
“He’s gonna hit the explode button! I really think he is!” (Groot)
“Why did he DO that?” (Yondu. I tell her he saved Quill) “But now he’s dead!”
“Look momma! Fireworks!”
“Rocket is really sad.”
RAGNOROK
“I know that planet. But I don’t remember the name.” (Asgard)
“What is she DOING?! She’s freed from her cage.” (Hela)
“I bet that wolf is really scary—how’d Loki get in there?!”
“Did you see those three headed guys? There was one body and three heads!”
“Why’s he so grumpy? He has to turn back soon.” (Thor)
“I like it when he had hair. I liked his long hair better he looks more like Thor.”
(Referring to Stan Lee) “He wasn’t a creepy old man he’s just an old man.”
*laughs when she sees Hulk* “Ha! He’s never gonna hurt him. They’re friends, I didn’t know he was coming out. I thought it was just that big wolf”
“No, Hulk won. Why did Thor say that?”
“They’re partnering up!”
“They do know each other they just don’t know it” (Banner & Valkyrie)
“He knows the code! That’s great!” (Loki)
“Did you see that? That’s fake! That’s fake of him. Well that’s the real brother he just zapped!” (Loki)
“I have a good idea! They could just put that little zappy thing on her and zap her!” (Hela)
“He’s good even without a sword and shield. He’s still got some strength in there.” (Thor)
BLACK PANTHER
“The bad guy is right by Stan Lee! If he kills Stan Lee I won’t get to see him in any more of the movies!”
“Whoa. I didn’t know she had a wig on! I thought she just had hair.” (Okoye)
“I like the one with the big circle lip!”
(T’Challa defeated, disappears over the side of the cliff) *Visibly sad, closest to tears she has been yet* “but. But... now there will be no more Black Panther!”
*So much wordless happiness at seeing him alive.*
INFINITY WAR
“Lokiiiiiiii”
“Oh no. He got one” (infinity stone in the gauntlet)
“They’re both the same strong!” (Thanos & Hulk)
“That’s a GREAT distraction” (Spider Man on bus)
“Oh no Thanos is after the thing in the green eye”
“They’re going away from earth?!”
“What are those dead people doing there? Thor!!”
“Ha! He’s not a rabbit”
“Oh no! They’re trying to get the stone out of his head!”
“She doesn’t need a suit. She only has her powers.” (Scarlet Witch)
“Black widow! Her hair’s white!”
“Captain America will be happy to see his friend again!”
“Those are sewing things. Sewing spikes”
“So sometimes they come save people but sometimes they destroy the planet” (explaining Thanos’ manifesto)
“What is that eye doing? It’s supposed to be dark. What does that creepy eye do?”
“Oh! Armor against armor!” (Iron Man vs Thanos)
“Only one? Which one?” (@Doctor Strange’s calculations)
“If they went to a volcano and got a whole bucket of lava they could pour it on Thanos and that would work!”
“That’s red face! I remembered him because he had a red face.”
“Only two people against.... a LOT more”
“That’s... his LAST STONE. Oh. I forgot about that last stone”
“I like when they say AH! Ooo! Ooo!” (Wakandans)
“Thanos. It’s THANOS! I knew it. He poofed in”
“When he went through that was so cool” (Thanos manipulating the stones against the Avengers)
“He’s rechanging the time!”
“He’s stronger than Thanos! Well his hammer is”
“Uh oh. He snapped his fingers.”
“Oh there might be a price.”
“Uh oh he transported hisself out”
“Not the Avengers! ...oh, Thor’s still alive!”
“Not Black Panther he’s my favorite!”
“One Avenger might be okay. Hawkeye! He might be okay!”
*very big puppy dog eyes watching Spider-Man dust out*
*gasp at seeing the logo on the beeper* “cap...Captain Marvel! I’ve gotta put my Captain Marvel suit on now!”
“I know what they do, they pull out some leaves or some feathers when they’re pretending to die. And then they just pull them off stage” (the concept of CGI is lost on her. Low budget remake potential here tho)
ANT MAN & WASP
“What is that they’re trying to make? Is that a portal shrinky?”
“I like Polly Pocket and Ant-Man because they both shrink down!”
“Maybe he had ants in his mouth and they pulled the cards down”
“She has a... shrinkmobile?!”
“He didn’t let him have the mint because it wasn’t mints!”
CAPTAIN MARVEL
“I didn’t know they were disguised! She knows but I didn’t know.” (Skrulls)
“I knew he was pretending!”
“Well I didn’t see THAT coming” (Colson not being Colson)
“Ugggh why are they digging in his tummy?!”
“It’s her. She was the pilot. She crashed”
“I’m sad about him. Those skrulls are gonna be sad about their friend”
“She’s gonna blast that ship!”
“She’s gonna PUNCH him”
“Did you see that symbol on that thing?! It was Captain Marvel. They didn’t even see it” (the beeper)
“She’s gonna join the Avengers but she’s gonna be the best one. She’s gonna help them so much”
ENDGAME
“Captain Marvel!”
“Rocket is sad about Groot”
“I KNEW it was Ant-Man’s car! Why was he in there for so long?”
(Ant-Man) “He can join the Avengers. They have two more extras! That’s good! Really good. Ant-Man and Captain Marvel!”
“Whoa Cassie’s older!”
“He’s Hulk without even being angry anymore!”
“He misses his friend Spider-Man” (Iron Man)
“He gave him tacos! That’s so sweet!”
“Thor? Thor! He’s naked. He looks... different. If he mowed his beard it would be way better”
“His belly looks way chubbier. He’s been drinking a lot of that beer”
“Why is he trying to kill the old guy?” (Hawkeye)
“Ow that would hurt. All the air would come out of his neck. Oh he stabbed him. I feel sad for him he’s dead now” (the guy Hawkeye kills)
“Did you see Thor’s belly? He’s bigger! Better!”
“It’s Hulk! He’s just the same! But he’s way angrier than him!”
“It’s Thor’s home! His family. He wants to go see his mother before she dies”
“Who’s ‘the chick with the antenna’?”
“Loki took the teckarest and they didn’t even know!”
“He can touch it because he’s strongest. But if he was a man it would hurt so bad. Like that girl that touched it and went zzzzzzap and then the other guy held it and then Groot died? That was so sad when Groot died”
“Why are they gonna scam the duplios memberies?” (She means duplicate Nebula)
“He got his hammer back! Wheeeee!”
(Quill dancing) “I like this part”
*1970* “Whoa that’s waaaay back in time”
“I know that’s cap even when he says his name wrong”
“If she sees him that’d be great! But she doesn’t even see him and he’s sad about it. I think he wants to stay there for her. But I thought she died.” (Agent Carter)
“Iron Man saw a person that he loved and Cap saw a person that he loved. I’m happy about that for them.”
“Red face! He’s the one who leaded Thanos to the infinity stone so he’s gonna help them.”
“Whatever you love you have to give away”
“It would be Black Widow because he misses his family too much.”
“Why did she have to kill herself?” *starts sobbing*
(We paused the movie to calm her down. The most upset I’ve ever seen her over a movie ever. Cried so hard she started up a nosebleed she had stopped earlier).
*gathered herself together, stopped the nosebleed again, and said we could unpause the movie* “Sometimes when a movie has emotions I have those emotions too”
“She was better than anyone. Even I loved her”
“But that’s too small of a glove” (for Hulk)
“Ugh what are those rawr things?” (Alien monster dogs)
“Yikes. That’s a big sword.”
“Whoa. I like it when Thor didn’t have any hair.” (Not a fan of the braided beard)
“How’d he do that?! Maybe the hammer decided on HIM!” (Cap wields mjolnir)
“His shield! Oh no!”
“Why’s all the Avengers dying?!”
“There’s only three friendly strong ones”
“If Hulk comes he’ll be a big helper”
“He’s beating the Avengers! Actually no one is beating the Avengers!”
“He didn’t get snapped! *gasp at every new appearance* Black Panther! The Hawkeye! (She meant Falcon) Doctor Strange! OOO Spider-Man! Now there’s a bunch of people against a bunch of people— of bad guys! I KNEW Ant Man was coming ba—aahhh now there’s a bunch of heroes and a bunch of bad guys but the Avengers are good together! Ahhhh Ant Man’s A Giant!”
(Iron Man hugs Spider-Man) “He’s happy! I knew he was gonna be happy!”
“Oh, No. Not another one! Wait. Who. Is. That?” *gasp* “Captain Marvel! She’s the sist!” (aka assist)
“She’s better than him.”
“Hurt him! He has to take it off.”
“He gonna snaaa—that’s a fake one! I knew it.”
“That’s cool. What did he do? *gasp* Thanos is gone!”
“Oh, no. His suit. Oh, no.”
*she yawns at this moment and realizes how late it is and starts telling me about how great she is at staying up late, so the impact of the moment is a little lost here. But honestly, after seeing her break down over Black Widow, I’m okay with this. She was sad, but not as broken up by it as earlier*
“Hawkeye gets to see his family again!”
“Anytime she wants to see her dad she can just see his recording! Oh, but she can’t talk with him.” *sad face*
“I’m sad about Black Widow. And Iron Man. They’re sad about their friends. All his friends are sad about him.”
“When he gets his cast off he can be back to being Hulk. Angry Hulk OR sweet Hulk.”
“Why is Cap old?!”
*Cap dancing with Agent Carter*
“I KNEW that would happen!”
