The Marvel Cinematic Universe is full of satisfying pay-offs to things that were teased years prior, from romances to plot developments to characters.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is famous for hiding small Easter eggs and teasers within each of their projects that tie into the longer narrative, just begging to re-explore old plot points. Sometimes these payoffs take a very long time to come to fruition, making it all the sweeter when the series does finally acknowledge them. One of the benefits of each of Marvel’s movies sharing a continuity is the ability to plant small seeds early on that eventually bloom into incredible results, even if it takes years, being more satisfying the longer they take.

With the addition of Marvel’s Disney+ streaming series, the franchise now has even more opportunities to build upon its ever-interweaving narrative. Sometimes, cliffhangers and post-credits scenes can admittedly take a long time to finally be addressed in a new project later on. While some obvious set-ups to unacknowledged plot points have yet to be resolved, the outcome of some of the MCU’s longest-anticipated payoffs assure that they’ll be well-worth the wait.

10. The Brazier Of Bom’Galiath

Doctor Strange didn’t know how to use it, but Christina Palmer figured it out

All the way back in 2016’s Doctor Strange, the titular magician’s tense fight with Kaecilius was briefly interrupted when Strange leveled the Brazier of Bom’Galiath at him, giving the villain pause. The chase resumed after Kaecilius realized Strange didn’t know what the artifact was, cutting off the audience’s chance to find out what it did. It wouldn’t be until six years later in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness that fans would get to find out the Brazier’s true purpose — Incinerating damned souls like a magical flamethrower.

9. The Return Of Red Skull

Few Marvel fans expected to see the head of HYDRA ever again

One of the earliest, yet most terrifying Marvel villains was Hugo Weaving’s Red Skull, the World-War-II-era head of HYDRA and Captain America’s first villain. After he vanished in a blinding ray of light upon attempting to use the Tesseract, the assumption was made that the Red Skull had been either vaporized or sent hurtling through space, never to be seen again. It would take seven years for Johann Schmidt to get another surprise appearance as the guardian of the Soul Stone, forever cursed to guide others to a treasure he couldn’t possess.

Hugo Weaving did not return to play Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War, the character isntead being portrayed by Moss Marquand.

8. The Real Mandarin Appears

From joke villain to ancient warlord

As early as 2008’s Iron Man, his classic jeweled villain from the comics, The Mandarin, was teased for the MCU, the Ten Rings terrorist organization being a clear homage to the character. Later, in Iron Man 3, a pretender Mandarin would be used to falsely inspire fear by Aldrich Killian, played by in-universe actor Trevor Slattery. Finally, in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the real Mandarin, Xu Wenwu, made his dramatic appearance, an introduction 13 years in the making.

7. Adam Warlock Finally Shows Up

The sovereign’s ultimate weapon took a while to arrive

The post-credits scene of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 teased the arrival of artificial superhero Adam Warlock, though his birthing pod appeared even earlier in Thor: The Dark World. Since Adam Warlock featured heavily in The Infinity Gauntlet, which Avengers: Infinity War was based off of, it was assumed that this tease would be paid off quickly. However, it wouldn’t be until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 that Warlock made his debut in full, a whopping 10 years after his birthing pod appeared in Thor: The Dark World.

6. The Audience Understands Groot’s Language

James Gunn finally let audiences in on the walking tree’s unique speech patterns

Ever since his introduction in the first Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot has become famous for his odd manner of speech, only ever saying “I am Groot“, or, on rare occasions, “We are Groot“. As the rest of the Guardians quickly grew accustomed to this bizarre language, viewers remained in the dark as to what Groot was actually saying. Eventually, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 pulled back the curtain on Groot’s language, translating his dialogue for audiences for the first time as Groot says “I love you guys“, shockingly forming a sentence without his own name.

5. Abomination Comes Back After 13 Years

Emil Blonsky’s re-appearance was a welcome surprise

Despite being the second-ever MCU movie, The Incredible Hulk has been widely forgotten by the series as a whole, due in no small part to Marvel’s re-casting of Bruce Banner and Lieutenant General Thaddeus Ross. This made it all the more of a surprise when the film’s villain, the notorious Abomination, returned for a brief cameo in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Not only that, but Blonsky went on to be a supporting character in the She-Hulk series, with Jen Walters’ first major case revolving around the reformed criminal.

4. Steve And Peggy Finally Get Their Date

One of the most heartwarming moments in the entire series had a long run-up

Romance sub-plots can be one of the most engaging narrative elements for any series to pay off after a long time, and the MCU certainly earned their tug on the heartstrings with Steve and Peggy’s final dance. The tragedy of being sent decades into the future wasn’t lost on Steve Rogers, having to adjust to not only life in the modern age, but life without Peggy, his first words upon realizing he was in the future being “I had a date…” Luckily, Steve and Peggy finally get their chance, dancing towards the end of Avengers: Endgame.

3. The Ending Of Loki Season 2 Homages Thor 1

The unmistakable parallels between the two have to be seen to be believed

Another early Marvel film that quickly fell out of public consciousness as the series’ phases marched on, the first Thor wasn’t particularly fresh in the memory of most viewers going in to season 2 of Loki. However, Loki’s finale paid homage to the first Thor in a breathtaking way that seemed to have been planned from the start, resulting in one of the most impressive payoffs in the entire series. From the echoed dialogue to the similar visual language, the influence of Thor was unmistakable even 12 years later.

2. Captain America Lifting Mjölnir

It was only a matter of time before Cap wielded the infamous weapon

One of the best scenes in Avengers: Age of Ultron was the simple moments of the Avengers playfully interacting, especially Thor allowing each of his co-workers to take a crack at hoisting Mjölnir. The only one to get it to budge at all was Steve Rogers, eliciting a visible reaction from Thor upon hearing his hammer squeak on the glass table. Eventually, Captain America wielding the hammer in the climax of Avengers: Endgame was one of the most cheer-worthy moments in the entire franchise, confirming that Rogers could have lifted the hammer all along.

1. Captain America Finally Says “Avengers Assemble”

The long-teased line was finally heard at the perfect moment

As if finally lifting Mjölnir wasn’t enough of an amazing payoff for Captain America to wield in Avengers: Endgame, this feat was soon followed by the mostly hotly-anticipated line in all of the MCU. After Rogers was cut off by the credits from saying Captain America’s iconic line from the comics, “Avengers, assemble!“, Marvel Studios needed to find the perfect moment to finally allow the patriotic leader to finish his famous sentence. Luckily, the MCU didn’t write itself into a corner, finding the perfect spot for Rogers to say the line in Avengers: Endgame‘s final battle.