History Heartwarming / TopGun

** At the graduation ceremony, Maverick is one of several graduates who's called to enter real combat the next day due to a crisis situation. Viper tells Mav he'll get a RIO when he gets to the ship, but if he doesn't, "give me a call, I'll fly with you." Some interpret this as Viper offering to be Maverick's RIO, which is comical for several reasons; really, Viper is saying that if Maverick doesn't find that connection and partnership with another RIO, then he's invited back to TOPGUN as an instructor. (They fly single-seat F4s and A5s.) Nevertheless, Viper showing Maverick such high regard and respect clearly means a great deal to Maverick, who's still somewhat mourning the loss of his friend and RIO and probably harboring some doubts in the back of his mind.

** First, when Maverick visits him, he finally discloses the details of how Maverick's father died, and reassures Mav that his old man died honorably in combat.

** An underplayed but notable one, at least in context, is that while Cougar is having his massive panic attack, the movie shows that even attempting to go in the direction of forcefully getting Cougar's head back in the game was not working at all, but when Maverick comes up alongside Cougar and is gentle, reassuring, and encouraging, Cougar manages to pull it together enough to come back and perform a successful carrier landing in one attempt. It's a very marked difference from the attitude often held in WW1 and sometimes [=WW2=] where soldiers suffering from panic attacks and PTSD were told to man up (or were outright assaulted), only making things worse. In flying, it's a well-known and proven strategy to help pilots in trouble by being reassuring, calm, and encouraging to help them not succumb to panic; when people inside and outside the plane all work together to help a pilot in need, their chances of survival increase dramatically. That a movie BackedByThePentagon shows all of this so explicitly and sympathetically is heartwarming in itself.

** An underplayed but notable one, at least in context, is that while Cougar is having his massive panic attack, the movie shows that even attempting to go in the direction of forcefully getting Cougar's head back in the game was not working at all, but when Maverick comes up alongside Cougar and is gentle, reassuring, and encouraging, Cougar manages to pull it together enough to come back and perform a successful carrier landing in one attempt. It's a very marked difference from the attitude often held in WW1 and sometimes WW2 where soldiers suffering from panic attacks and PTSD were told to man up (or were outright assaulted), only making things worse. In flying, it's a well-known and proven strategy to help pilots in trouble by being reassuring, calm, and encouraging to help them not succumb to panic; when people inside and outside the plane all work together to help a pilot in need, their chances of survival increase dramatically. That a movie BackedByThePentagon shows all of this so explicitly and sympathetically is heartwarming in itself.

** There's a small extra moment where, just before Stinger (Maverick's CO) starts to chew them out, he softly tells him he did "An incredibly brave thing." He has to chew them out, and they ''should'' be chewed out, but he's willing to give them that little "attaboy for doing the moral thing to help a friend".
** Stinger's also very patient and understanding with Cougar, trying to convince him (after saying Cougar should be in sickbay) that he's going to be okay and what happened doesn't diminish him as a pilot.

** At the graduation ceremony, Maverick is one of several graduates who's called to enter real combat the next day due to a crisis situation. Viper tells Mav he'll get a RIO when he gets to the ship, but if he doesn't, "give me a call, I'll fly with you." Some interpret this as Viper offering to be Maverick's RIO, which is comical for several reasons; really, Viper is saying that if Maverick doesn't find that connection and partnership with another RIO, then he's invited back to TOPGUN as an instructor. (They fly single-seat F4s and A5s.)

* After the engagement with the two [=MiGs=] at the start of the movie, Cougar suffers a panic attack and is unable to land his plane, ''and'' he's low on fuel. [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight Maverick aborts his landing despite being low on fuel himself to fly back up and coach Cougar to a safe landing.]] He gets chewed out for it by his superiors[[note]]"Gentlemen, you just did a very brave thing. ''[[SuddenlySHOUTING What you should've done was land your plane!]]''"[[/note]], but at least Cougar gets to resign and go home to the family who nearly lost their father, including his son who he hasn't met yet.

* Despite their animosity, Iceman offered Maverick his sincere condolences for Goose's death.

** At the graduation ceremony, Maverick is one of several graduates who's called to enter real combat the next day due to a crisis situation. Viper tells Mav he'll get a RIO when he gets to the ship, but if he doesn't "give me a call, I'll fly with you." Some interpret this as Viper offering to be Maverick's RIO, which is risible for several reasons; really Viper is saying that if Maverick doesn't find that connection and partnership with another RIO, then he's invited back to TOPGUN as an instructor. (Who fly single-seat F4s and A5s.)
* "You! You are still dangerous. (Beat) You can be my wingman anytime." "Bullshit, you can be mine." Cue ManHug from Maverick and Iceman.

* "You! You are still dangerous. (Beat) You can be my wingman anytime." "Bullshit, you can be mine." Cue ManHug from Maverick and Iceman.

** At the graduation ceremony, Mav is one of several graduates who's called to enter real combat the next day due to a crisis situation. Viper tells Mav he'll find out who his RIO is when he gets there, and that if he doesn't get one (likely possibility at the time given his reputation with his peers), Mav can have him as his RIO. Mav ends up getting paired up after all (with Merlin, Cougar's previous RIO), but it's the thought that counts.
* "You can be my wingman anytime." "Bullshit, you can be mine." Cue ManHug from Maverick and Iceman.

* Despite their animosity, Iceman offered Maverick his sincere condolences for Gooses death.

** At the graduation ceremony, Mav is one of several graduates who's called to enter real combat the next day due to a crisis situation. Viper tells Mav he'll find out who his RIO is when he gets there, and that if he doesn't get one (likely possibility at the time given his reputation with his peers), Mav can have him as his RIO. Mav ends up getting paired up after all (with Merlin), but it's the thought that counts.

** At the graduation ceremony, Mav is one of several graduates who's called to enter real combat the next day due to a crisis situation. Viper tells Mav he'll find out who his wingman is when he gets there, and that if he doesn't get one (likely possiblity at the time given his reputation with his peers), Mav can have him as his wingman. Mav ends up getting paired up after all (with Merlin), but it's the thought that counts.

** At the graduation ceremony, Mav is one of several graduates who's called to enter real combat the next day due to a crisis situation. Viper tells Mav he'll find out who his wingman is when he gets there, and that if he doesn't get one (likely possiblity at the time given his reputation with his peers), Mav can have him as his wingman. Mav ends up getting paired up after all anyway (with Merlin), but it's the thought that counts.

** At the graduation ceremony, Mav is one of several graduates who's called to enter real combat the next day due to a crisis situation. Viper tells Mav he'll find out who his wingman is when he gets there, and that if he doesn't get one (likely possiblity given the reputation with his peers), Mav can have him as his wingman. Mav ends up getting paired up after all anyway (with Merlin), but it's the thought that counts.

* After [[spoiler: Goose's death]], Maverick has to deliver his late [=RIO=]'s personal effects to his widow, and you can tell he's torn up with guilt over taking her husband away from her and uncertain what to say. As soon as he approaches, she hugs ''him'' and offers him reassurance to return to flying for his own good.

* "You can be my wingman anytime. Bullshit, you can be mine." Cue ManHug from Maverick and Iceman.

* After Goose's death, Maverick has to deliver his late [=RIO=]'s personal effects to his widow, and you can tell he's torn up with guilt over taking her husband away from her and uncertain what to say. As soon as he approaches, she hugs ''him'' and offers him reassurance to return to flying for his own good.