The 15 Best Fight Scenes In The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ranked

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, while far from perfect, has gotten a lot right over the years. The MCU has cast some amazing talent, from Chris Evans as Captain America to Chris Hemsworth as Thor, and catapulted them to superstardom. It’s also realized that you can get a lot of mileage out of films that have copious jokes and some awesome action sequences (as long as they don’t look like a CGI mess). 

Epic, world-ending fights are easier to pull off in comic books and cartoons. It’s another thing entirely to make audiences believe a real person is pulling off these amazing feats. The best MCU fight scenes are expertly choreographed or have something unique about them you can’t find in any other action flick. These are the fights that got us cheering in our seats. Just when you think the MCU is so over, these fights prove otherwise.

Look, I’m just going to say it: This movie gets far too much hate given how fun it is. Yes, “The Marvels” bombed at the box office, which probably makes people think it’s worse than it is, but it’s a perfectly satisfactory sci-fi action film. For evidence, you just need to see how fun the teleporting fight is when the Marvels all switch places at the start of the film.

Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) are caught up in a quantum entanglement, so when one uses her powers, she switches places with one of the others. This causes issues when Kree soldiers wind up at Kamala’s house, and a different person pops up periodically. The power mix-up turns what could’ve been a by-the-books fight into something really fun. With a character as powerful as Captain Marvel, you need a way to kneecap her a little so that she doesn’t annihilate everything, and this was a great plot device to bring the three central characters together.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is the end of an era. It feels like a farewell to some beloved Marvel cosmic heroes as well as James Gunn’s Marvel swan song before he went off to DC full-time. And the team went off in spectacular fashion with an amazing hallway fight scene that actually had Gunn nervous because of how complex it is. 

The whole fight is shot as a oner, with the Guardians moving into a hallway filled with the High Evolutionary’s (Chukwudi Iwuji) forces. And in true Gunn fashion, there’s a perfectly placed needle drop with the Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep Till Brooklyn.” Despite numerous characters and blasters going off everywhere, it’s surprisingly easy to follow. It’s like a really well-drawn comic book page where you know where all the Guardians are at all times. It goes by quickly, but Gunn knows when to slow things down so that everyone gets their big “hero” moment. 

The airport fight in “Captain America: Civil War” is the cinematic equivalent to smashing action figures together. It’s appropriate the fight was literally mapped out using action figures, but the result speaks for itself. Due to differing opinions on how much the Avengers should work with the United States government, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America lead their respective teams to an all-out brawl that makes for a great showcase of their powers. 

Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) turns into a giant, and perhaps most importantly, it’s the MCU’s debut of Spider-Man (Tom Holland). It was a risky move introducing Marvel’s most popular hero in another character’s movie, but Spidey holds his own against everyone else. Even though the fight can feel somewhat weightless (it’s not like these characters are trying to kill one another), reality sets in after Rhodey (Don Cheadle) suffers a debilitating injury, proving there are consequences to these friends not getting along. 

Everything about the elevator fight in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is fantastic. There’s the slow, steady build-up as more and more buff guys enter the elevator. Captain America sizes everyone up before saying, “Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?” And then all hell breaks loose, as a bunch of guys gang up on him. He’s severely limited in his movements due to the claustrophobic space, but that just leads to some creative decisions that make it one of the best MCU fights ever. 

/Film spoke with Chris Brewster, who choreographed the fight, and he said the biggest challenge was making sure all of Cap’s opponents had something to do. It was a challenge he overcame, as everyone really does have a move to make, whether it’s holding Cap in place or trying to strike him with a baton. It feels like something straight out of “The Raid,” and makes you wish more action movies would get creative with their fight scene locations. 

Ever since “Oldboy” did a hallway fight scene, it feels like every other action project has been trying to follow in its footsteps. Arguably, the moment that got closest to emulating how amazing that sequence is came in “Daredevil” season 1, episode 2. Daredevil (Charlie Cox) is battered from an earlier fight, so he’s most animalistic here as he mows through a Russian mob to try to retrieve a kidnapped child. 

One-take hallway fight scenes would become a signature move throughout the “Daredevil” series, and the first one set the template. It let the audience know that while “Daredevil” is a Marvel show, the fights aren’t all high-wire acts. Sometimes, they require the actors to get down and dirty, which is probably why the season 1 fight scene was a hard sell to Marvel execs. Thankfully, the creatives stuck to their guns and allowed us to see what a proficient fighter Matt Murdock can be. 

It’s tough to balance action with comedy. You don’t want jokes to take the power out of any of the punches, yet “Thor: Ragnarok” managed to strike a perfect balance when Thor took on Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) in the gladiator arena. It helps that Thor doesn’t want to fight at first, and instead, he tries to get the big green guy to remember who he is, resulting in Hulk tossing him around like a ragdoll (similar to how he treated Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in “The Avengers,” which Loki is more than happy to point out). 

Thor and Hulk are the two strongest original Avengers, but when it comes to a lot of their fights, they can’t help but feel nerfed to a degree. Each one of them could single-handedly take out armies, but they have to pull back, otherwise the movie would be over in five minutes. With the gladiator battle, they can each let loose, making fans’ dreams come true as they brawl at their most powerful. 

There’s a lot of talk of “aura farming” these days — moments when a character does something incredible that’s a total vibe and shows how effortlessly amazing they are. The battle of Wakanda in “Avengers: Infinity War” has plenty of these moments, from Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Captain America running to the front of the pack to take on Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) army to Thor materializing in the middle of the battlefield to yell “Bring me Thanos!”

There’s a lot happening during this fight, including a nice reunion between Cap and Thor where they chat about facial hair. From jokes to pivotal moments turning the tide of the fight, it’s a lot to keep track of, but each character gets their moment to shine. You never lose sight of where the key players are, and it’s a fun moment before the Avengers’ downfall when Thanos succeeds…

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” went to great lengths to mislead audiences even though we all knew Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were probably going to return as their individual Spider-Men, given the whole movie’s about the multiverse. There’s also the fact the villains were featured prominently in marketing materials. But none of that made the film’s final fight at the Statue of Liberty any less thrilling. 

It had been years since we’ve seen Maguire and Garfield suit up, and there are so many instantly iconic moments fulfilling fans’ wishes, like Garfield’s Spider-Man jumping down to save MJ (Zendaya) to mirror how he tried to do the same thing with his universe’s Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). Then there’s Maguire’s Peter Parker chatting with Doctor Octavius (Alfred Molina) about the idea of responsibility. The fight ties up so many loose ends and brings closure to characters who seemingly missed out on that chance years ago. 

If there was any doubt Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) would get neutered upon entering the MCU, they were dashed upon seeing the stellar fight sequence that opens “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Wade Wilson desecrates Wolverine’s (Hugh Jackman) grave from “Logan” and proceeds to use his metallic, skeletal remains to take out TVA agents, all set to *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye.” It was so well done that even the co-writer of “Logan” thought it was a compliment to his work. 

It’s a blast to see all of the creative ways Deadpool massacres the TVA. He smashes their heads in with Wolverine’s spine and even fogs up the camera to reveal a credit, which also showed how the film wouldn’t try to veer away from the character’s fourth-wall-breaking nature. The cutaways to Deadpool popping and locking are great, too, and that’s actually Nick Pauley with the moves as opposed to Reynolds. “Deadpool & Wolverine” was simply a fun time at the movies, nothing more and nothing less, and that’s what the opening’s fight/dance signaled to everyone watching. 

If you ever wondered what a Jackie Chan-inspired fight in the MCU would look like, look no further than the bus sequence in “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” It’s like the natural evolution of the elevator fight in “Winter Soldier,” with the hero, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), in another tight environment with his assailants. Only this time, there’s the added pressure of knowing there are innocent civilians also onboard trying to stay out of the way of high-flying kicks and glowing hand swords. 

The fight itself is great, but then there’s the added pressure of the bus losing its brakes and careening out of control. Now, Shang-Chi needs to fend off bad guys while maneuvering a bus to avoid disaster. The choreography is amazing, especially seeing Shang-Chi use the bus movements to his advantage to throw off his opponents. It’s the kind of fight the MCU needs more of, where there’s an emphasis on long takes and actually seeing the performers pulling off their stunts. 

We already saw how powerful Thanos was when he beat Hulk easily at the start of “Avengers: Infinity War.” Therefore, when Iron Man, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Spider-Man, and the Guardians of the Galaxy plot to fight him on Titan later in the film, we know they have their work cut out for them. Fortunately, they’ve learned to work together as a team in the short time they’ve known each other, leading to some creative moves where they try to outwit Thanos rather than tackle him with brute force alone.

Like the Battle for Wakanda, the fight feels like a culmination of everything the MCU has been leading toward. We finally see the Guardians of the Galaxy alongside the Avengers, and Thanos gets some good licks in, too (he throws a moon at his enemies!). It’s among the most comic book-y fights the MCU has ever achieved, and each character has a chance to show off their powers. 

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” can truly be considered Marvel’s first masterwork. It critiques the United States’ increasing reliance on having a surveillance state and truly upends the franchise’s status quo by revealing how Hydra has infiltrated the highest reaches of the government. Plus, it has some of the most brutal, impressive fight choreography that has rarely been topped to this day. 

Nowhere is that better seen than Captain America’s street fight with Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). The knife work alone is enough to make this a top five MCU fight scene. There’s also the fact these are just two dudes at the end of the day, even with super soldier serum. When they dent a car, you feel the visceral impact. And it helps push the story forward when Steve realizes the Winter Soldier is actually his old buddy Bucky Barnes. It’s not just a fight scene for the sake of a fight scene, but makes Steve question everything about what’s transpiring around him and makes the Winter Soldier a more formidable opponent later. 

The final fight between Black Panther and Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) in “Black Panther,” when they’re both wearing nanotech suits and fighting among vibranium mining carts, is fine if not a little empty. It’s the standard CGI spectacle these types of movies often get criticized for. But it doesn’t hold a candle to their earlier fight when the two fight by the waterfalls. 

T’Challa gets depowered, so it’s a completely fair fight. There’s no wonder or awe, just two men who believe they know what’s best for Wakanda fighting for the soul of the country. It’s also one of the few times the villain wins in a fair one-on-one fight. All T’Challa’s family can do is watch as they accept their fate, meaning Killmonger gets to rule Wakanda (albeit briefly). It’s a tragic “all is lost” moment that cements Killmonger’s status as one of the best MCU villains.

The airport battle in “Captain America: Civil War” has cheerworthy moments, but there’s nothing to applaud in the film’s final fight. Iron Man has tracked down Captain America and Bucky, the latter of which is revealed to have killed Tony Stark’s parents. Despite Cap’s pleas that Bucky was brainwashed and didn’t know what he was doing, Iron Man doesn’t care. 

Their fight is underscored with Zemo’s (Daniel Brühl) monologue of how he sought to destroy the Avengers due to their failure to save his family in Sokovia during the events of “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Like Killmonger, it’s the rare case of a villain winning, and Zemo didn’t even have to throw a punch. Captain America beating Iron Man in the end isn’t a triumphant moment; you’re witnessing the downfall of the Avengers that’s going to have serious repercussions going into “Avengers: Infinity War,” making it one of the most pivotal fights in the franchise’s history. 

Few theatrical moments have been as memorable as being in a packed crowd during opening weekend for “Avengers: Endgame” when Captain America stands alone to confront Thanos’ army. It’s the perfect distillation of what makes him a great character. But just when things seem dire, portals open behind him to reveal all of the other Avengers and a spate of other heroes (who have been re-snapped back into existence) are behind him, ready to fight alongside him. The score, the slow reveal, Cap finally saying “Avengers assemble” … everything just works so perfectly.

It’s everything the MCU has been building toward. It’s the franchise looking back on its history and saying, “Look at what we’ve accomplished.” The ensuing battle is nothing short of epic, with the major players all getting their time to shine. Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) nearly takes out Thanos all on her own. Spider-Man soars through the air after webbing Mjölnir. And, of course, Iron Man takes out Thanos’ army once and for all by using the Infinity Gauntlet, sacrificing his own life in the process. (If you liked this scene, be sure to check out our in-depth oral history about it, the most detailed breakdown from the filmmakers you’ll find on the internet.)

The MCU would continue after this, but it really does feel like a finale of sorts. Marvel took its victory lap with aplomb, excelling where every other cinematic universe has faltered. More “Avengers” movies will come, but it’s hard to imagine something getting audience members out of their seats like this fight scene did.