Every feature movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe features an intense, exciting comic book-style action scene. These typically involve laser guns, martial arts, magic powers, and armored suits. Some of these fights are easy for the MCU's heroes or villains, such as blowing up cop cars or wiping out squads of alien minions, but other times, it's a painfully close fight.

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Many MCU movies keep viewers on the edge of their seats with tense battles where each side is evenly matched. The smallest mistake or slip may spell disaster for either side and when a winner is declared, they are scarred and bruised from the experience. Win or lose, the Avengers have survived some incredibly close fights where victory was never a guarantee.

Update March 27th, 2023 by Louis Kemner: the MCU's fifth phase has now begun, ushering in yet another exciting era of costumed superheroes fighting to the death against terrifying villains straight from Marvel's best comic storylines. Of course, it's never easy for the heroes to win the day, even for powerhouses like Thor or Doctor Strange, and the Avengers' best victories come at a steep cost. Only with sheer tenacity, grit, and ingenuity can Earth's mightiest heroes triumph against the odds and win the day.

15 Ant-Man Vs Kang The Conqueror (Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania)

Jonathan Majors looking ominous as Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

The MCU's fifth phase began with Ant-Man's third solo movie, with him and a few friends ending up in the bizarre quantum realm. Down there, Ant-Man met his most fearsome enemy yet, the powerhouse Kang the Conqueror who had been put in the quantum realm as a prisoner of sorts.

Ant-Man tried to appease Kang at first, but then he and Kang came to blows in the movie's finale. At one point, Ant-Man had to face Kang alone, but Ant-Man was in over his head, and he only barely survived because the Wasp returned to help him win and escape at last.

14 Iron Man Vs Thor Odinson (The Avengers)

captain america, thor, and iron man in the avengers 2012

In 2012's The Avengers, the first few Avengers didn't entirely get along, and they came to blows over it. The mighty Thor Odinson took back Loki by force, then fought Iron Man in a forest at night. The two heroes traded blows evenly, with neither one gaining a serious advantage.

That was when Captain America stepped in and blocked a heavy swing from Thor, discouraging the god of thunder from attacking again. This dead-even fight ended when the three of them cooled their heads realizing that fighting each other was foolish.

13 Thor Odinson Vs Gorr The God Butcher (Thor: Love & Thunder)

thor fighting gorr the god butcher with zeus' lightning bolt

Thor: Love & Thunder introduced a creepy but sympathetic villain in Gorr the God Butcher, who made it his mission to avenge his daughter's death and kill all god and deities. Gorr and the Asgardians clashed a few times until the final duel took place between Thor and his nemesis.

Even with Stormbreaker, Thor had a tough time facing Gorr, who had the Necrosword on his side, so Thor used Zeus' stolen thunderbolt to even the odds. It was still a tough fight, and Thor very nearly died until he destroyed the Necrosword and rendered Gorr defenseless.

12 Ant-Man Vs Yellowjacket (Ant-Man)

Yellowjacket vs. Ant-Man in the first ant-man movie

The MCU's second phase introduced the shrinking hero Ant-Man, a reformed burglar who was given Hank Pym's shrinking technology and ants to command in battle. Ant-Man fought off Falcon in a battle at the Avengers' compound, but then he faced his first true nemesis in Darren Cross.

Ant-Man was still figuring things out at this point and he was fresh off a training montage with Hank and Hope. When Darren Cross donned the Yellowjacket suit, he instantly became Ant-Man's true equal in microscopic battle, and Ant-Man needed every trick he could think of to win this tense fight.

11 Shang-Chi Vs Xu Wenwu (Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings)

Shang-Chi and Wenwu fight each other using the Ten Rings in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

The MCU's fourth phase introduced the real Mandarin, an ancient warlord named Xu Wenwu who wielded the alien artifacts called the Ten Rings in battle. He had centuries of experience backing him up, making him a formidable threat to even his well-trained son, Shang-Chi.

In the realm of Ta Lo, Shang-Chi and his allies faced Xu's army, and Shang-Chi personally battled his father for control of the Ten Rings. It was a tense and difficult fight. At one point, the father and son split the rings between them, making them perfectly matched. Slowly but surely, though, Shang-Chi gained the upper hand and triumphed.

10 Iron Man Vs Iron Monger (Iron Man)

Obadiah Stane firing weapons from his Iron Monger suit in Iron Man movie

2008's Iron Man established the MCU trope where heroes fight evil versions of themselves. In this case, Iron Man went up against Obadiah Stane's purloined Iron Monger suit, loaded with weapons and rocket boosters.

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Iron Monger put up a great fight despite his lack of experience or training with the difficult Stark technology, and he took Tony Stark's suit apart piece by piece. However, Iron Man weakened Iron Monger and stalled just long enough for Pepper to deal the final blow by detonating Stark Enterprise's arc reactor.

9 The Avengers Vs Loki's Chitauri Army (The Avengers)

Avengers looking at the Chitauri and defending the earth from the first Avengers movie

In 2012's The Avengers, the finale to Phase 1, the newly assembled Avengers gathered in New York City to face their first true test, the Chitauri army that Loki had assembled on Thanos' orders. No single Chitauri could defeat an Avenger, but the aliens had overwhelming numbers, monstrous steeds, and powerful technology on their side.

This was a tough battle for all six Avengers, and even the Hulk took a beating from the endless waves of Chitauri and laser fire. The battle was only won when the World Security Council launched a nuclear missile. At the risk of his own life, Iron Man guided the missile into the portal to take out the remaining Chitauri in space.

8 Ultron Vs The Avengers (Avengers: Age Of Ultron)

The full cast of heroes in the MCU's Avengers: Age Of Ultron, including Hulk, Thor, Captain America, and Hawkeye

In 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, the robotic villain Ultron rose to power and built an entire army of killer robots to fight by his side. Ultron aimed to destroy all of humanity, and he fought off the Avengers each time they tried to stop his grand plan.

The Avengers assembled and even had Wanda and Pietro Maximoff to help them fight Ultron in Sokovia's capital, but it was a real struggle. Ultron's robot army slowly ground the Avengers down, and only prevented Ultron from dropping the capital and causing worldwide disaster at the last second.

7 Steve Rogers Vs Bucky Barnes (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier in the MCU

In 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America's old friend Bucky Barnes returned as the Winter Soldier, complete with elite skills, deadly weapons, and a vibranium prosthetic arm to counter Cap's indestructible shield. Cap and the Winter Soldier clashed a few times before their showdown aboard an Insight Helicarrier.

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Captain America was very reluctant to hurt or kill his old friend, so he held back during their fierce melee battle aboard that ship. It was a close and bloody fight between friends, and for a moment, all seemed lost. Only a last-minute face turn from Bucky enabled Cap to scrape together a win and defeat Hydra.

6 Captain America & Bucky Vs Iron Man (Captain America: Civil War)

Captain America vs Iron Man with the Winter Soldier

The MCU's third phase made things personal when Baron Zemo manipulated the Avengers into fighting one another in Captain America: Civil War. The two groups of heroes fought at the Leipzig airport, where Iron Man, Captain America, and Bucky ended up facing off in an old, abandoned base.

This tense fight was dramatic, brutal, and very close. Cap and Iron Man proved their strength and skill, essentially canceling each other out throughout the fight. Iron Man nearly put Cap down here but, with Bucky's help, Cap was able to disarm Iron Man's power source, disarming and pacifying him.

5 Black Panther Vs Erik Killmonger (Black Panther)

Black Panther fights Killmonger

T'Challa rose to the Wakandan throne in 2018's Black Panther, but he had some competition. The villainous Erik Killmonger arrived with bold new ideas for Wakanda, and he wanted to usurp T'Challa as the nation's leader by force.

Killmonger defeated T'Challa in a ritual battle at the top of a waterfall, handily defeating the African monarch. However, when the two warriors faced each other in their vibranium Black Panther armor, it was a much more even battle. Each man was fueled by the superhuman power the heart-shaped herb granted them. T'Challa had to turn his foe's own weapons against him to win the day here.

4 Thor Odinson's Team Vs Hela (Thor: Ragnarok)

Hela makes war on Asgard

Thor's villainous sister Hela appeared only seconds after Odin's death, and at first, Thor and his foster brother Loki didn't stand a chance against her. Then Thor ended up on Sakaar, where he met and recruited the wayward Hulk and the bitter Valkyrie to his team and face Hela again. Loki also joined the party as a recently redeemed villain.

Thor's team faced Hela and her giant wolf on the rainbow bridge, though they had no real hope of winning. Still, the evacuation of Asgard was a success, and Thor was spared certain doom when Surtur returned and wreaked havoc, which demanded Hela's immediate attention.

3 Ego Vs The Guardians Of The Galaxy (Guardians Of The Galaxy: Volume 2)

The Guardians Of The Galaxy fighting Ego in Vol. 2

In Guardians 2, the rogue hero Star-Lord learned his father's identity, both to his joy and horror. Ego was an ancient Celestial with incredible powers. When the truth of Ego's dark side emerged, Peter turned on his father. However, Peter knew that killing the living planet would be a monumental task.

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The assembled Guardians needed Mantis's and Yondu's help here, and even then, fighting Ego and the Sovereign was tough. Ego was one of the universe's greatest powers, and Star-Lord was barely able to counter his father's energy manipulation with his own Celestial abilities. The Guardians destroyed Ego's brain and escaped, but it cost Yondu his life.

2 The Avengers Vs Thanos' Ultimate Army (The Avengers: Endgame)

MCU heroes attack Thanos in Endgame

In 2019's The Avengers: Endgame, the surviving Avengers collected the six Infinity Stones via a time heist, then Smart Hulk performed a Snap to revive all the fallen. The Avengers' victory wasn't yet complete, though, since Thanos arrived with his massive army to retake those Stones.

An enormous battle took place, pitting every Avenger and their various allies against Thanos and his own army of monsters. It was a bloody, bitter, and hard-fought battle, but no one paid a steeper price than Iron Man, who gave his life to snap away Thanos and his army for good.

1 Iron Man's Avengers Vs Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War)

Thanos and Iron Man staring each other down in Infinity War

In 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, Iron Man's motley team faced Thanos on Titan with what felt like a solid plan. Avengers and Guardians like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and Star-Lord overwhelmed Thanos with their speed and disorienting power, allowing Mantis to pacify the powerful Titan's mind. However, Star-Lord's rage overwhelmed him, and he broke Mantis's spell by striking the helpless Titan.

Thanos and Iron Man's team fought ferociously, using every weapon imaginable, from sorcery to Infinity Stones. Ultimately, Doctor Strange used the Time Stone to find the only path forward and handed over his Infinity Stone to save the team's life in the present and ensure Thanos's defeat in another timeline. Thanos left them alive and headed to Wakanda for the Mind Stone, leaving Iron Man's team battered and barely alive.

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