If you didn’t squeal with delight during the climactic finale of Avengers: Endgame, then I challenge you to a CAPTCHA test, because you’re definitely sounding like an Android.

Falcon’s call of “on your left” followed by Alan Silvestri’s already legendary “Portals” score, which served to punctuate the return of our previously snapped heroes, built to being one of the best moments I’ve ever experienced in a cinema.

Actually, let’s put all the chips down – it was THE BEST scene I’ve witnessed on the big screen.

But the story and score were not the only factors in play. This scene opened with what I present to you as the single greatest shot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain America climbs to his feet having been royally trounced in combat by a Thanos putting the Mad back into Titan, and faces the astonishing might of the Black Order ready to reign fire on Earth.

Defiant in the face of adversity as ever, Cap stands all alone on scorched ground not willing to concede defeat despite facing impossible odds. He still hopes he can do this all day – we know he can’t.

Darkness has descended on what remains of the Avengers compound. Light breaks through the clouds to illuminate Cap and the enormity of the task he faces as Thanos’ army dominates the picture.

Even his ship, Sanctuary 2, has opted for intimidation tactics and is positioned in a way that it appears to be directly looking at Cap. That’s a staring contest with only one winner.

Good cinematography is magic to me, as someone with no technical expertise and who struggles to frame a good home movie. But when a shot works, it’s obvious to even the untrained eye and there is so much to love about Trent Opaloch achieved with the frame.

It’s the type of image that is made for a cinema screen. Each time I watched Endgame in theatres I looked forward to the shot, picking out details I had previously missed. Walking out on launch night, it was the frame I remembered most. Perhaps because of it’s sheer scale and complexity, but probably more because of what it said about the characters.

Thanos is the strongest villain we have ever seen in the MCU, even before he picked up the gauntlet and collectively through 21 movies, he has been the central antagonist. A villain capable of beating invincible superheroes and a powerful and devoted army at his command.

Cap, the formerly-wiry kid from Brooklyn who doesn’t like bullies, stands up against impossible odds in what appears to be his final act. This is Captain America – it is why fans love the character and what he stands for. He will not go quietly into the night and is the glimmer of light in a frame otherwise dominated by darkness.

As with movie criticism in general, this is a game of perception and several other magnificent MCU shots rival this one. Doctor Strange alone has plenty of awe-inspiring visuals, while the Guardians of the Galaxy movies use colours like no other film – well, apart from maybe Thor: Ragnarok.

But, for me, if I was picking one frame of an MCU film to print and put on my wall, it would be this one. Inspiring and a courage against adversity message that tells you so much about the characters in just one beautiful frame.