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The Avengers movie - ever heard of it?

Sure you have. It helped solidify the MCU as not just a weird experiment but as a box office force to be reckoned with. But the epic movie (including that memorable post-credits shawarma scene) hides a bit more to it than you know. I'm not talking about Easter eggs in the film but rather a scene that didn't make the final edit. This Avengers deleted scene perfectly encapsulates Chris Evans' Steve Rogers (aka Captain America) as he began to grapple with being frozen for 70 years and trying to process how the world (and his life) moved on without him.

In this week's weekly Popverse series Marvel-ous where we revel in our favorite Marvel memories, I'm digging into a discarded scene from 2012's Avengers that found its home in my heart - and is arguably some of the best acting Chris Evans has ever done.

The Avengers movie is 2 hours and 23 minutes of heroics, villainy, and quips galore - but I'm here to say it should've been three minutes longer. Or something should have been cut by three minutes to squeeze in a deleted scene. Every movie big or small has deleted scenes, but one in Avengers in particular - later called the 'Man Out of Time' scene by Marvel Studios - has lived on in the 12 years since it was released from the vaults to be as quintessential to me watching the Avengers team-ups (or the Captain America movies) as the movies themselves.

You can find the scene on the Avengers Blu-Ray (or perhaps YouTube if you know where to look), and it is a stunning character piece for Chris Evans' Steve Rogers - fresh off the 2011 Captain America movie and dovetailing him directly into 2012's Avengers. Sure, there's the punching bag scene at the gym you all remember, but this scene - taking place before the gym scene - is a bit of film-making Evans and everyone involved should be proud of.

There are no superhero costumes, villains, or punching to be found. Instead, it's a look at an earnest 1940s young man dealing with being transplanted into the 2010s. In it he poignantly (and silently) grapples with the deaths of his World War 2 allies, the unresolved relationship with Peggy Carter, and even sets up Rogers' eventual meeting (and prickly disposition) when it comes to Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark. 

Wait, did I mention it's not just one scene? It's actually three, with the second taking place just outside Stark Towers where we see Chris Evans-as-Steve Rogers sketching (remember, he's an artist), meeting Ashley Johnson (who has gone on to be the star of Critical Role we know and love) as the waitress who was mysteriously prominent in the finale of the Battle of New York scenes later in the movie.

Did I mention there's also a surprise Stan Lee cameo, giving a quip that, for me, beats out the 'Tony Stank' joke from Captain America: Civil War? I won't spoil it here, you should check it out because it is perfect.

This scene encapsulates everything that makes Steve Rogers a great, and tragic, hero. If you want some somber Steve Rogers, a wordless scene G.I. Joe's Larry Hama would be proud of, an answer to the question of why Ashley Johnson's waitress was so prominent in the Avengers finale, and even more Stan Lee, this is the deleted scene for you.

It was - and still is - for me, at least.

Check out our list of all of Stan Lee's movie & TV cameos ever, and a thorough look back at the evolution of Stan Lee's cameos back in comics.