History Awesome / TwentyFour

* David Palmer walking into CTU [[MemeticMutation LIKE A BOSS]] [[hottip:*:(as in, he really ''does'' own the place)]], without any kind of foreshadowing beforehand.

* David Palmer walking into CTU like he owns the place [[hottip:*:(oh snap, technically he ''does'')]], without any kind of foreshadowing beforehand.

* Later in that same episode, Cole Ortiz becomes probably the only person to ever knock Jack Bauer on his ass and live.

-->'''Jack:''' [{{Beat}}] "We'll make sure he [[FalseReassuranceReply doesn't turn the gun on himself]]."

* Although he's mentioned very little, President David Palmer's son, Keith Palmer gets a huge [=CMoA=] when he turns the tables on the people blackmailing his father and winds up effortlessly getting the fools to '''record a confession on tape'''. The professional espionage agents on the shows have strained to do better.

** The final shootout deserves more elaboration. To lure Jack in, the bad guys have their mole tell him that Kim has been killed. "[[FamousLastWords He'll be here]]," [[TemptingFate one says]]. He immediately busts in, GunsAkimbo, and just starts emptying magazines. This place is ''filled'' with the dudes behind the ''real'' conspiracy that was behind what we ''thought'' was the conspiracy, and they'd been downright scary {{Out Gambit}}ting {{Badass}}es who'd driven the tensest, most suspenseful action series you'd ever seen, holding all the cards ever since they were revealed. Then PapaBear lost his Kimmy, [[OrIsIt or so he thinks]]. The result is him going through like a machine, making every terrorist and {{Mook}} eat lead. Five minutes of {{Terminator}} action later, a completely one-sided fight in which Jack mechanically, wordlessly kills whatever moves no matter ''what'' they try against him ends with him as the only living human being on the compound. All year, these guys were so unstoppable, so scary, so in control of the entire chessboard. Then one day they screwed with PapaWolf. '''Then they died.'''

* The 2-3 PM ending. Everyone thought Jack would try to kill Subarov at the press conference. Instead he uses Logan to lure Subarov into his office so he can kill them both. His smile at the end was icing to the cake.

* Earlier that same episode, Jack Bauer marches down a tunnel full of cars in New York City, armed with an assault rifle and a full body suit (with a blast shield face mask and kevlar). Bauer unleashes suppressing fire on the cars, forcing every vehicle to stop, including the motorcade Charles Logan is inside. Logan, after hearing what happened to the guy Bauer tortured in the previous episode, gets completely scared and screams for his men to save him. Of course, this doesn't work; after nonchalantly shrugging off several gunshots and dispatching all opposition, Jack gets on the hood of Logan's limo, fires a few shots at the bulletproof windshield to crack it, kicks a hole in it, and puts a tear gas grenade in the hole, forcing Logan out of the car. Jack drags Logan into a different area and interrogates him, frightening a crucial confession out of Logan in seconds, making their previous stare down in the season five finale look tame in comparison. What makes all this even better is that it PALES in comparison to the off-screen massacre Jack does to the Russians twenty minutes later. AND throughout the whole thing, Jack only shot to wound, whereas Logan's men were shooting to kill. '''AND''', Jack placed a listening device on Logan's collar to acquire even more information from him later in the episode. This entire sequence is EPIC in its badassery. Damn, [[StarWars Darth]] [[FanNickname Jack]]. [[HolyShitQuotient DAYUM]].

* After being totally kidnapped by the baddies, Michelle fakes a nose bleed so that she can try to escape and call CTU, by tricking her guard into thinking she has the Cordilla Virus. The plan itself was a fail, but the mere idea of it is awesome.

* Despite being a bit part, Bruce Foxton became a legend among fans for his brief appearance in Season 3. Assisting Wayne with the break-in to [[ManipulativeBastard Sherry Palmer's]] house, they were caught red-handed in their plan. Upon being questioned, Foxton promptly intervened by punching her out cold.

* The way Curtis Manning relieves Lynn McGill of duty. Not only was it legal by way of CTU protocol, but Curtis even threatened to pull a gun out in front of ARMED guards. And the best part? The guards surrounding them totally agreed with Curtis and took the guy into custody. Epic way to get rid of the annoying, incompetent leader.

* Jack escapes from captivity by a cell of terrorists by ''biting out a guard's throat.''

* Jack reducing Logan to tears... by staring at him.

* In the two short hours that made up ''24: Redemption'', we had time to both be introduced to Benton and witness his CrowningMomentOfAwesome. He saves a wandering child from stepping on a landmine, but ends up stepping on it himself. If he lifts his foot off of it, it will explode. Benton tells Jack and the kids to leave him behind because it would take Jack too long to defuse the landmine. When the pursuing enemy soldiers come near Benton's position, he flags them down to get their attention, takes a few shots from their guns, draws them closer by pretending that he's trying to tell them Jack's location but is too hurt to speak loudly, and then says "Go to Hell" and lets the mine blow up.

** Agent Walker should also get one for, in the same scene, [[WhatTheHellHero questioning Jack's humanity]], as well as for [[ArmorPiercingSlap bitch slapping him]] '''twice''

* While the President's daughter Olivia has proven herself to be an unrepentant bitch, you almost felt bad for her when she gets suckered into sleeping with a reporter who then goes back on his word to run a story. I say "almost felt bad" not because she got what she deserved, but because it turns out ''she turns the tables'' on him by revealing she taped their sex and threatening to show everyone including his wife unless he packed up and left Washington immediately. You hate the bitch but you ADORE her gangsta. That, my friends, is what TVTropes calls a [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent Bitch]]!

** Also, give it up for Jibraan's kid brother Hamid. After being chloroformed, having guns pulled on him, and suffering the trauma of his brother telling him he's a terrorist, the kid '''still''' has enough balls and reflex that with a split-second distraction he busts a mirror, grabs a piece, and stabs the punk terrorist guarding right in the throat. If CTU is ever back up and running they should seriously hire him.
* From the same episode: Once again [[ReplacementScrappy Janice]] starts complaining when the FBI starts looking for all Muslims in Washington, as she feels it's racial profiling. Jack Bauer, who already served her once, gets back in her face. But this time... Jack calmly tells her that he's just as pained as she that they have to racially profile all Muslims, but he's trying to save lives and he'll gladly do it another way if there is one. Janice backs down without another peep. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Jack is so Bad Ass, he doesn't have to kick your ass to kick your ass.
* Everyone groans as Kim is put in danger to blackmail Jack yet again. However, this time she stabs one of her captors (with a ''pen'') just in time to get away from the shots the other one fires, then follows the man and lets the cavalry know his location. After his car flips over, she goes into the burning vehicle to get a key piece of evidence and manages to fight off his last desperate attack, severely burning her arm but getting away with the bad guys' location. She's officially {{The Kimberly}} no more.

* Although it in itself is a bittersweet moment, Renee's final scene in the Season 7 finale is her Crowning Moment of Awesome. Having captured the mastermind behind the tragedies in the day, Renee, having undergone twenty-four hours of BreakTheCutie, spaces out angrily and alone as she looks at the captured Alan Wilson. Janis comes in to inform Renee that Alan's to be transferred out, but Renee, having come to a decision, tells Janis to get out. When Janis, knowing Renee probably wants revenge, refuses, Renee destroys the lock mechanism on the door and forces Janis to handcuff herself to a pole so no one can interfere, then walks calmly and silently into the interrogation room where Alan awaits. It isn't shown on screen, but it's heavily implied Renee decides that she's going to torture Alan to force him to give up information on the conspiracy. Although it's supposed to be a tragic moment - Renee's heart-wrenching and inevitable descent from LawfulGood to ChaoticGood - the fact that she's going along the exact same route as Jack's IDidWhatIHadToDo mentality gives fans a lot to look forward to.

* Jack quickly runs out of bullets while running from two hitmen with automatic weapons. His response: take them both out with a fire ax.
* Held at gunpoint by a Russian hitman, Cole refuses to comply with his demands to get him out safely and gives their position away. And this wasn't part of any plan; he was fully prepared to die to help the other CTU agents catch the hitman, and would have if Jack hadn't shown up.

* Cole takes "TakingTheBullet" to the next level by blocking a bomb blast with his car.

* After the mother of a would-be suicide bomber fails to talk him out of it, Jack goes from [[GoodCopBadCop good cop to bad cop]] in record time, promising the bomber that if he doesn't turn himself in, Jack will personally see to it that his mother is at the blast site when the BigBad's nuclear bomb goes off. But first, he will make the bomber's mother clean up his exploded remains.

* Rebooting a fried CTU at gunpoint after no one lets her do it the easy way.

* Earlier that same episode, Jack Bauer marches down a tunnel full of cars in New York City, armed with an assault rifle and a full body suit (with a blast shield face mask and kevlar). Bauer unleashes suppressing fire on the cars, forcing every vehicle to stop, including the motorcade Charles Logan is inside. Logan, after hearing what happened to the guy Bauer tortured in the previous episode, gets completely scared and screams for his men to save him. Of course, this doesn't work; after nonchalantly shrugging off several gunshots and dispatching all opposition, Jack gets on the hood of Logan's limo, fires a few shots at the bulletproof windshield to crack it, kicks a hole in it, and puts a tear gas grenade in the hole, forcing Logan out of the car. Jack drags Logan into a different area and interrogates him, frightening a crucial confession out of Logan in seconds, making their previous stare down in the season five finale look tame in comparison. What makes all this even better is that it PALES in comparison to the off-screen massacre Jack does to the Russians twenty minutes later. AND throughout the whole thing, Jack only shot to wound, whereas Logan's men were shooting to kill. '''AND''', Jack placed a listening device on Logan's collar to acquire even more information from him later in the episode. This entire sequence is EPIC in its badassery.

** The final shootout deserves more elaboration. To lure Jack in, the bad guys have their mole tell him that Kim has been killed. "[[FamousLastWords He'll be here]]," [[TemptingFate one says]]. He immediately busts in, GunsAkimbo, and just starts emptying magazines. This place is ''filled'' with the dudes behind the ''real'' conspiracy that was behind what we ''thought'' was the conspiracy, and they'd been downright scary {{OutGambit}}ing {{Badass}}es who'd driven the tensest, most suspenseful action series you'd ever seen, holding all the cards ever since they were revealed. Then PapaBear lost his Kimmy, or so he thinks. The result is him going through like a machine, making every terrorist and {{Mook}} eat lead. Five minutes of {{Terminator}} action later, a completely one-sided fight in which Jack mechanically, wordlessly kills whatever moves no matter ''what'' they try against him ends with him as the only living human being on the compound. All year, these guys were so unstoppable, so scary, so in control of the entire chessboard. Then one day they screwed with PapaWolf. '''Then they died.'''

** The final shootout deserves more elaboration. To lure Jack in, the bad guys have their mole tell him that Kim has been killed. "[[FamousLastWords He'll be here]]," [[TemptingFate one says]]. He immediately busts in, GunsAkimbo, and just starts emptying magazines. This place is ''filled'' with the dudes behind the ''real'' conspiracy that was behind what we ''thought'' was the conspiracy, and they'd been downright scary {{Xanatos Gambit}}ting {{Badass}}es who'd driven the tensest, most suspenseful action series you'd ever seen, holding all the cards ever since they were revealed. Then PapaBear lost his Kimmy, or so he thinks. The result is him going through like a machine, making every terrorist and {{Mook}} eat lead. Five minutes of {{Terminator}} action later, a completely one-sided fight in which Jack mechanically, wordlessly kills whatever moves no matter ''what'' they try against him ends with him as the only living human being on the compound. All year, these guys were so unstoppable, so scary, so in control of the entire chessboard. Then one day they screwed with PapaWolf. '''Then they died.'''

-->'''Krugman''': You have the right to remain silent... (cops crash the house)

* Check Chappele's face when he learns of the SeventhEpisodeTwist.

* Check Chappele's face when he learns of the 7thEpisodeTwist.

* Jack is forcing Nina to talk to the terrorists she is working with about the nuke they are going to detonate. Keep in mind that Jack is still hurting over Nina murdering his wife, and he had drugged guards, shot at her head and nearly beat her to death, so he is not messing around. Nina is decomposed and terrified of Jack but still says she's a dead woman by going in, which leads to this exchange.
-->'''Nina:''' "He is going to put a bullet in my head before I can say hello and then turn the gun on himself."
-->'''Jack:''' [{{Beat}}] "We'll make sure he [[FalseReassuranceReply doesn't turn the gun on himself]]."

* Jack reducing Logan to tears... by staring at him.

'''[++[[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/CrowningMomentOfAwesome/24 This page has been put to crowner]]++]'''

So go to the crowner and submit and vote for the moment that won the character labelled ''your'' eternal loyalty as a fan. Remember, it's a subjective matter. People have different levels for why they will attach to a character, for what they consider impressive and for how that scene impressed on them. You're looking for that one moment for each character where the ''start'' of a beautiful fandom began.