Top 20 Best MCU Fights
#20:Iron Man vs Obadiah Stane
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“Iron Man” (2008) With how far and how fast the MCU has expanded, it can be easy to forget its roots and the fact that in its very first film, it offered up this excellent final fight. Obadiah Stane, Tony Stark’s former mentor, essentially goes mad with power after developing his own mammoth version of Tony’s initial Iron Man suit. Outgunned and running low on power, Tony uses his intelligence and experience with the suits’ shortcomings to gain advantages on Stane, all while trying to protect civilians from getting killed. Filled with everything from vehicles being used as melee weapons to the now seemingly mandatory sky beam, Iron Man’s fight against Iron Monger is a truly great one.
#19: Peggy & Jarvis vs SSR
“Agent Carter” (2015-16) While stopping for a bite to eat, Agent Peggy Carter and Edwin Jarvis are surprised by several Strategic Scientific Reserve agents, who believe them to be helping America’s enemies. Carter dispatches the agents with her excellent and characteristic skill, while Jarvis holds off their back up at the doors. Not to underplay Jarvis’ handiwork, he does get a good hit or two in by the end of it. The fight utilizes its environment well and is set to the song“It’s a Good Day” by Peggy Lee, making for a light and breezy scuffle that’s a short but sweet treat to watch.
#18: Black Widow Hallway Fight
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“Iron Man 2” (2010) Pursuing Ivan Vanko, a.k.a. Whiplash, at a Hammer facility, Black Widow, accompanied by Tony Stark’s driver Happy Hogan, fights her way through a security team. Romanoff makes efficient work of a dozen men using gadgets and quick, unorthodox moves like her signature scissor flip, which is contrasted nicely with Happy, who struggles to beat even one guy. Although Black Widow’s introductory fight in “The Avengers” against Russian thugs was also quite well done, we ultimately decided on this one, both due to its greater length and its impact on establishing her fighting style. It was just a warm up for many fantastic scraps to come.
#17: Ant-Man vs Yellow Jacket
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“Ant-Man” (2015) When it comes to great fight scenes, size doesn’t matter. Scott Lang first confronts Darren Cross in a helicopter. Their miniaturizing battle leads them to the ground and eventually to the toy filled bedroom of Cassie Lang. With his daughter in danger, Scott does his best to protect her, while keeping Cross on his toes with everything in the room. But it isn’t all small stakes. During the battle, ordinary objects are enlarged to enormous size. The contrast of big and small scenery made this fight feel unique among the rest of the MCU’s brawls. And Scott going subatomic to defeat his foe helps set up future plots while making for an intense and dramatic finish.
#16: Melinda May vs Agent 33
“Agents of SHIELD” (2013-20) This supremely underrated show has a ton of great fights, but out of all of them, Agent Melinda May’s fight with Agent 33 still sticks out in our minds. After escaping captivity, the SHIELD Agent confronts a villain who’s using a holographic disguise to look like the heroine. Their brutal fight is hilariously set in a fancy hotel room. And since the agent and her brainwashed doppelganger are a solid challenge for each other, the winner isn’t immediately clear. Although 33 arms herself with knives, May still manages to take her down. This “mirror match” is executed wonderfully and features a final “shocking” attack from the heroine. Double the Ming-Na Wen is never a bad thing!
#15: Thor vs Iron Man & Captain America
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“The Avengers” (2012) After Iron Man and Captain America have captured Loki, Thor shows up and abducts him, keen on having Loki face his own people’s justice. However, Iron Man goes after him and the two hot-headed guys clash in a fantastic fight that utilizes their respective abilities in fun and creative ways. Captain America intervenes to put an end to the conflict and manages to do so, while dramatically flattening a chunk of forest around them in the process. Full of humor and inventive choreography, this fight is just the first of the MCU’s many hero vs hero fights to make our list.
#14: The Guardians vs. High Evolutionary Guards
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“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (2023) If you’re looking for the perfect combination of music and action, look no further than this threequel scene. Shortly after the guardians reaassemble, the team risks everything to save innocent lives on the High Evolutionary’s ship. Their clash with the villain’s guards is brilliantly underscored by the Beastie Boys “No Sleep Till Brookyn”. Instead of traditional cuts, the camera appears to fluidly move between the Guardians. This makes it feel like the action never stops. The sequence also gives each hero a chance to shine and show off their skills. While it is a brief scene, the sheer style on display here more than makes up for a short runtime.
#13: Scarlet Witch vs the Illuminati
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“Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness” (2022) Villains defeating the heroes is disheartening. But straight-up killing them? Well that’s just terrifying! After Wanda Maximoff possessed a version of herself in another universe, she stops at nothing to get her hands on the multiverse hopping America Chavez. When the heroic Illuminati alliance stands in her way, she decides to remove them as an obstacle. The Scarlet Witch kills this Earth’s mightiest heroes in increasingly grisly ways. Although the last ones standing put up more of a fight, Wanda is far too powerful for any of them to handle. She proves to be a frightening opponent for these newly introduced heroes. Their brief battle is one we often relive in both our memories and our nightmares!
#12: Punisher vs Cell Block
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“Daredevil” (2015-) After the Kingpin puts him up to killing a mutual enemy, Frank Castle a.k.a. the Punisher finds himself locked in a cell block with a dozen criminals - which is just what the bald crime lord wanted. The group of inmates are all armed with a variety of shivs and improvised weapons, but Castle manages to turn these tools against his enemies, brutally killing or injuring all of them - taking a decent and satisfyingly realistic beating himself. The fight is easily one of the most violent in the whole MCU and it really proves that while the Punisher may be known for his deadliness with guns, he’s just as lethal on his own.
#11: Star-Lord vs Ego
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“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017) Since Peter Quill can be quite a goober, no one was expecting for him to briefly become one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy. Star-Lord was able to use his newly awakened Celestial powers to keep up with his bad dad Ego. While Peter’s friends enacted a plan to kill Peter’s monstrous father, the hero held down the fort. It was fun to watch the dad and son rocket around the core of Ego’s rocky body by using their fists and the environment in their titanic clash. The Pac-Man shoutout was particularly fun. Although a bomb ultimately put an end to Ego, they wouldn’t have had a chance if Star-Lord didn’t put his celestial powers on the line.
#10: Hulk vs Thor
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“Thor Ragnarok” (2017) Easily among the two heaviest hitters among the Avengers, Thor and Hulk have clashed several times - notably in the first “Avengers” film. But their fight in “Thor Ragnarok” was truly next level. Forced to do battle in an arena, Thor is at first happy to see the Hulk, but the green guy is more interested in fighting. Both combatants get in some big hits, and the use of weapons adds a different dynamic to Hulk’s fighting style. Thor’s lightning powers seem to give him an edge though, prompting the Grandmaster to stun him rather than see the Hulk lose.Too bad… had it been allowed to play out to the end, this might have ranked even higher.
#9: T’Challa vs Killmonger, Round 1
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“Black Panther” (2018) When Erik Killmonger arrives in Wakanda, he challenges his cousin T’Challa for rulership of the hidden African nation. Their duel atop a waterfall sees a depowered Black Panther and his estranged family member battle with nothing but their own strength and traditional weaponry. While T’Challa gives a good account of himself, Killmonger’s gradual cuts make it clear that the killer is more skilled. Even an interruption by Zuri isn’t enough to save Black Panther from a crushing loss. Although the hero may lose the fight, the evocative setting, charged emotions, and the fact that every slash cuts deep made this duel unforgettable.
#8: Hulk vs Hulkbuster
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“Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015) Speaking of the Hulk, our current favorite brawl featuring the Incredible Avenger is this one. After becoming entranced by Scarlet Witch, the Hulk goes wild, rampaging through a city. Iron Man calls down a package from a satellite, which turns out to be a set of armor designed with the Hulk in mind, which he uses to battle the green rage monster through the streets, and buildings. The fight is chock full of cool tech, funny moments, and some of the biggest impacts in any fight on our list, like the climactic destruction of an entire building.
#7: Shang-Chi vs. Wenwu
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“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (2021) When the misguided Mandarin entrusts an evil force to bring his wife back to life, his son tries to knock some sense back into him. Unfortunately, Shang-Chi’s skills and staff can’t match his father Wenwu’s powerful rings. Their tightly choreographed and thrilling fight seemed to be over when the hero got knocked into a lake. But round 2 truly begins after Shang-Chi gets a lift from a dragon. Not only is the fighting incredible, but seeing the hero use both his mom’s techniques and his father’s rings was poetic. The fact that Wenwu and Shang Chi use the rings creatively was icing on the cake. While this martial arts movie is full of great action sequences, this generational battle was the most satisfying.
#6: The Hallway Fight
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“Daredevil” (2015-) Matt Murdock, still in the early days of vigilante career, goes to rescue a kidnapped boy from a group of criminals. The camera follows the action along a hallway in one continuous shot as the fledgling Daredevil faces a number of adversaries. The way in which this action moves in and out of rooms makes for a particularly dynamic sequence. The choreography is intense, with characters getting winded or recovering to come back for more, making the scene reminiscent of a similar hallway battle from the film “Oldboy.” Overall, this fight is arguably the grittiest and most realistic fight in the MCU.
#5: Iron Man, Thor, & Captain America vs Thanos
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“Avengers: Endgame” (2019) The big three finally reunited against a common foe! When a past version of Thanos arrives in the present, Iron Man, Thor and Cap face him in the wreckage of their headquarters. Individually, each Avenger gives Thanos a challenge. And their team-up attacks are incredible and flashy. Unfortunately, Thanos himself is an absolutely relentless warrior throughout the entire fight. After Thor and Iron Man are knocked down, Cap had to go one on one with the mad titan. But that fortunately led to the unprecedented and hype scene where Cap picked up Mjolnir! Did we expect a formerly skinny kid from Brooklyn standing up to a galactic conqueror? No, but neither that fact or this battle will ever get old.
#4: Spider-Men vs Their Villains
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“Spider-Man: No Way Home” (2021) What’s better than Spider-Man fighting Doctor Strange? (xref) How about three times the Spider-Men fighting villains at the Statue of Liberty? Although the trio of Peter Parkers decide to cure a group of superpowered foes, the antagonists aren’t that willing to accept help. The resulting melee is full of great banter and callbacks. Additionally, the web slinging action and the unique locale made for a thrilling fight scene. Outside of the combat, the emotional moments really elevate the fight. Seeing Peter-Three rescue MJ brought tears to our eyes. And the final confrontation between Peter-One and the Green Goblin left us breathless to the end.
#3: The Highway Fight
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“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014) The elevator fight from this spy themed Marvel film was extremely tempting to highlight. [xref] However, the second confrontation between Cap and the Winter Soldier arguably topped the close quarters brawl. It starts when Hydra’s brainwashed assassin attacks Cap, Black Widow, and the Falcon on the highway. Their battle soon spills onto a neighboring street below. From the fight in the car itself to the Winter Soldier stalking Black Widow, this fight’s full of great thrills. But it all builds up to the quick flurry of blows between Cap and the Winter Soldier. The rapid-fire hand-to-hand combat is among the best in all the MCU. And it's all underscored with the Winter Soldier’s eerie unnerving theme music before crescendoing with a wild reveal.
#2: Titan Fight
“Avengers: Infinity War” (2018) It’s fitting this fight takes place on Titan, since it’s absolutely “titanic!” Most of the Guardians of the Galaxy and a few Avengers come together with the aim of defeating Thanos. While their initial salvo is effective, Star-Lord upsets the momentum. Fortunately, the fight restarts again when the remaining protagonists face off against an Infinity stone powered Thanos. Seeing the heroes keep up with cosmic level attacks made for exciting and epic conflict. Doctor Strange and Iron Man’s individual duels with the madman from Titan were especially fantastic. Despite not featuring a ton of combatants, the battle on Titan felt gigantic.
#1: Captain America & The Winter Soldier vs Iron Man
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“Captain America: Civil War” (2016) After learning the Winter Soldier killed his parents, Iron Man goes after Bucky, forcing a conflicted Captain America to protect his childhood friend. Sure enough, all three of them wind up duking it out. While there’s a ton of great moves and choreography, the real meat of this fight is the emotional turmoil at the heart of it, both for the characters and for the audience - it’s heart-wrenching to see old wounds opened up and close allies turned against each other. We did consider choosing the incredibly varied and spectacle-filled airport fight from the same film. However, the fight’s high emotional stakes took it all the way to the top.
