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That legendary post-credit shawarma moment unfurled by Disney+ has wrought a surge of Marvel vanity-and nostalgia for The Avengers. Together with this, it remains one of the most cherished moments in MCU history, wherein Earth’s Mightiest Heroes sit silently eating after saving New York. And what better marketing moment for the original 2012 superhero team-up pic on the streaming platform?
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Small moments yield great memories. That line would perfectly apply to this shadow of a moment that nearly might never have been.
The clip has Tony Stark suggesting the eating of shawarma as postscript of the Battle of New York. We then get to see the team in a busted-up restaurant still finding it difficult to come to terms with what had just gone on-and they just eat quietly. Captain America hasn’t even taken a bite and Thor simply seems lost in deep thought. Everybody just looks tired.
It’s special because the story behind it makes for great humor.
A fan said, “The fact that we got a whole post credit scene just because RDJ improvised that line is so funny to me.” During the climactic final battle scene, Downey Jr. ad-libbed that line about shawarma, and director Joss Whedon liked it so much that he decided to shoot the extra sequence after principal photography had wrapped.
The moment went on to affect culture as one witnessed expressed,”I loved being part of mass of people looking up shwarma after seeing the movie!! It became Squad goals soon after.” Suddenly everybody was trying to figure out this Middle Eastern cuisine they’d never heard of before.
The dialogues turned into a mixture of humor and warm nostalgia. Somebody looked at every hero’s expression: “Tony looks angry/annoyed, Thor looks into it, yet slightly bored. Nat looks like she’s sighing inwardly. Banner looks tiiiired… Steve looks bored and tired. Barton looks like he wants to fall asleep while eating.”
The associations with recent events soon arrived: “rip tony stark, you would’ve love charlie xcx,” tipped one fan, a heartfelt and random mix, fusing an homage with modern-pop-culture reference.
Even Italy has joined the party with the comment whose meaning would read as “@habibi_original_libanese you should have made it for them🔥” proving that the shawarma moment was a traveling one.
There, that unexpected Nikki moment, with the jokes, the politics, and the conversation; but really, it was about humanity. Those gods and super-soldiers and genius billionaires sitting together, too tired to talk, eating the same way ordinary people would on any other given day after an extraordinary day.
This moment connects with the viewers since it is a moment that the audience can relate to. Just as the heroes save the world, so also do they need to go to grab a bite. The best ideas usually come from these spontaneous moments that catch something real.
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Still there 13 years plus later, that quiet restaurant scene. Meaning in a world where there are infinity stones and invasions by aliens, the most recognizable human moments, like sitting down eating together after a hard day, are what link us to these characters. And to each other.