The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been going strong for over a decade, and it's showing no signs of slowing down. Fans who have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order have seen our heroes in all sorts of battles, some of which they might have lost. And while fans are anticipating upcoming Marvel movies, there are at least 32 times where MCU heroes got beat up on screen... both in film and TV.
Fans love ranking the Marvel movies, and the way action sequences are put together often weigh heavily into that process. While the Good Guys usually win, they often take some licks before eventually overcoming in the final battle. In no particular order, here are 32 examples of heroes (and antiheroes) getting beat up. Spoiler alert for those who aren't hardcore MCU fans.
The Guardians vs Adam Warlock, The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
The opening battle of Guardians 3 is a brutal one. Adam Warlock comes to Knowhere, and quickly puts the beat down on the group of cosmic heroes. While no one actually died by the end of Guardians 3, this first battle saw Groot (briefly) beheaded, Nebula getting her arm broken, and both Drax and Nebula getting seriously beaten up.
Captain America vs Thanos, Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame was jam-packed full of action, especially the final battle against Thanos. Before that iconic portals scene, Captain America took on the Mad Titan in a 1:1 fight, and took a beating. Luckily, the cavalry came just in time.
Iron Man vs Cap and Bucky, Captain America: Civil War
While Captain America: Civil War's tarmac battle is truly iconic, there are plenty of other epic fights throughout its runtime. That includes Bucky and Cap uniting in a two-on-one fight against Tony Stark, eventually laying the beatdown on RDJ's character.
Hulk vs Hulkbuster, Avengers: Age Of Ultron
Wanda Maximoff is introduced to the MCU in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the titular villain tasks her with breaking the minds of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. After trapping many of them in a prison of their own minds, she manages to get Hulk into a rage. Luckily, Tony thought about this, and uses the Hulkbuster armor to punch him in the face until the green guy lost consciousness.
Yelena Vs. Kate, Hawkeye
Hawkeye featured Florence Pugh's first return to the MCU as Yelena (prior to joining the Thunderbolts* cast). Despite her mission to kill Clint Barton, she and Kate Bishop ended up having a delightful friendship. Although they do eventually come to blows, and beat each other up in the process.
Ant-Man vs Kang, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
Prior to Jonathan Majors' firing as Kang, his villain was being set up as the next Thanos-level threat to the MCU. After being introduced in Loki, we met one of the many villainous variants of the antagonist in Ant-Man 3. Towards the end of the movie Scott Lang takes him on in a fight alone, and gets pretty trashed in the process.
Thor vs Hulk, Thor: Ragnarok
Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok is largely considered the best installment of Chris Hemsworth's franchise, and there are lots of iconic moments throughout its runtime. That includes Thor and Hulk being reunited in a colosseum on Sakaar. Unfortunately for the God of Thunder, he ends up the clear loser after Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster shocks him in the middle of the fight.
Iron Man vs Thanos, Avengers: Infinity War
Thanos is arguably the most powerful villain from the MCU, so he appears a number of times on this list, usually kicking some hero butt in the process. During Infinity War, the heroes are split into two battles, one of which was on the antagonist's old home on Titan. But, everyone fails, and Tony ends up getting stabbed when trying to take him on by himself.
Hawkeye vs Black Widow, The Avengers
Throughout the first half of The Avengers, Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye is under a mind-control spell by Loki. Eventually this results in him fighting his best friend/partner Black Widow. The two non-powered heroes come to blows, with Clint Barton ultimately losing the fight.
Captain America vs Captain America, Avengers: Endgame
The Time Heist is one of the best parts of Avengers: Endgame, and included some truly iconic moments. Case in point: when Captain America accidentally runs into the 2012 version of himself, and the two face off. Eventually the Cap we know and love wins, beating the crap out of himself (before admiring his own butt).
Thanos vs Everyone, Avengers: Infinity War
Thanos faces off against just about every hero of the MCU during Avengers: Infinity War, to disastrous results for the good guys. That includes both the battle on Titan and the battle of Wakanda, where he's able to fight off the heroes easily before getting to Vision and Wanda.
Wanda vs Vision, Captain America: Civil War
After a mission gone wrong in the movie's opening sequence, Wanda spends much of Captain America: Civil War cooped up in the Avengers Compound. When Hawkeye shows up to break her out, she's forced to use her Chaos Magic to put Vision into the ground, literally.
Iron Man vs Rhodey, Iron Man 2
During Iron Man 2, Don Cheadle replaced Terrence Howard, and Rhodey became the War Machine. But his first time suiting up in one of Tony's suits came at a party, where the two besties came to blows. And surprisingly, Rhodey totally won that fight.
Matt Murdock's prison fight, Daredevil
During its three seasons on the air, Daredevil was known for having dizzying and thrilling fight sequences. Season 1's hallway fight might be its most famous, but Matt Murdock took a serious beating when Kingpin turned a prison against him.
Doctor Strange vs Kaecilius, Doctor Strange
During the first Doctor Strange movie, Benedict Cumberbatch's title character was shown struggling to master the mystical arts. When trying to face off against Mads Mikkelsen's villain Kaecilius, Stephen gets his butt kicked and ends up in the hospital with Christine.
Spider-Man vs Vulture, Spider-Man: Homecoming
Spider-Man: Homecoming was Tom Holland's first solo movie in the MCU, and showed Peter Parker struggling to be a teenage superhero. When he came to confront Michael Keaton's Vulture, he ended up seriously beaten after being trapped under the rubble of a building.
John Walker vs The Dora Milaje, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
In The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, John Walker is hired as the new Captain America. But, he has some big shoes to fill, and makes some major missteps. That includes trying to take on the Dora Milaje and taking a beating in the process.
Vision Accidentally Hits War Machine, Captain America: Civil War
Captain America: Civil War's tarmac battle is truly iconic, and it was thrilling to see Earth's Mightiest Heroes battle it out in a relatively safe manner. Unfortunately things got out of hand when Vision attempted to shoot a blast at The Falcon, and ended up accidentally hitting War Machine, resulting in a major injury.
Doctor Strange vs Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Wanda Maximoff returned to her villain roots in Doctor Strange 2, largely thanks to the corruption of her mind by the Darkhold. During this movie she thoroughly kicks Stephen Strange's butt multiple times, including when he's in the form of a zombie.
T'Challa vs Killmonger, Black Panther
Much of the plot of Black Panther revolves around seeing who will rule Wakanda after the death of King T'Chaka. While T'Challa beats M'Baku, eventually Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger shows up. And, without the power of the heart-shaped herb, T'Challa loses and seemingly dies after being thrown over a waterfall.
White Vision vs Vision, WandaVision
When Paul Bettany's Vision is introduced in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, he's seemingly one of the most powerful Avengers. After that, though, he never got to really show off his strength much. He held back during Civil War's tarmac battle, was injured early in Infinity War, and was dead throughout Endgame. That's why it as fun to watch him face off against White Vision in the finale of WandaVision, including taking a bit of a beating.
Captain Marvel vs Thanos, Avengers: Endgame
Brie Larson's Captain Marvel got to have her first big crossover moment in Avengers: Endgame, going toe to toe with Thanos two different times. During the final battle she looked like he had the upper hand, until the Mad Titan used the Power Stone to send her flying.
Hawkeye vs Yelena, Hawkeye
Florence Pugh returned as Black Widow's Yelena in Hawkeye, sent on a mission to kill Clint after her sister Natasha's death. They finally have a fight in the finale, where Yelena gives him a bit of a whopping before they finally settle their beef.
Shang-Chi vs Xialing, Shang-Chi
Shang-Chi brought Simu Liu into the MCU, and had some outstanding fight choreography throughout its runtime. In one of these thrilling fights, the title character reunites with his sister, Xu Xialing, in the arena, and she totally beats him up.
Falcon vs Ant-Man, Ant-Man
The first Ant-Man movie largely put Paul Rudd's character in a contained story, but we got a fun crossover when he had to pull a heist on the Avengers compound, and ended up in a fight with Falcon. Somehow, he managed to get the upper hand on the flying Avenger.
Logan vs Wade, Deadpool & Wolverine
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman's faux feud was on display for Deadpool & Wolverine, and the chemistry was off the charts. The two of them came to blows a few times throughout the movie, including that wildly gory fight in a car.
Loki vs Hulk, The Avengers
While Loki started off as a villain, he's become a bit of a hero thanks to his series on Disney+. And, he got his most iconic L when Hulk tossed him around like a rag doll in The Avengers.
Bucky vs Everyone, Captain America: Civil War
A third of the way through Captain America: Civil War, Helmut Zemo activates the Winter Soldier by saying Bucky's trigger words. A wild battle ensues, where he successfully takes on an unarmed Tony, Natasha, T'Challa, and Sharon Carter. Obviously this fight might have changed if these characters had their signature gear, but it's thrilling to watch them all try and fail to stop Bucky Barnes.
The Illumanati vs Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Fan favorite character Wanda Maximoff goes on a bit of a rampage throughout Doctor Strange 2, racking up a startling body count. She's at her most deadly when facing off against The Illumanti, who were killed by the Scarlet Witch in quick succession. Reed Richards was turned into spaghetti, Black Bolt's powers were used against him, Wanda killed Captain Carter with her own shield, and then fought off that universe's Captain Marvel.
The Prison Fight, The Punisher
Netflix's MCU shows were pretty brutal at points, especially Daredevil and The Punisher. The latter starred John Bernthal as Frank Castle, and the title character took a serious beating in a prison fight where he singlehandedly took out a ton of enemies without any gear. It's a bloody and thrilling affair, bringing the Daredevil sense of action to The Punisher.
Valkyrie vs Gorr, Thor: Love And Thunder
The final battle of Thor: Love and Thunder is visually striking, as our three heroes take on Christian Bale's Gorr in black and white. He easily takes on all three, and poor Valkyrie ends up getting stabbed in the process. Luckily, the King of New Asgard wasn't killed after all, and even got to pop up in a cameo during The Marvels.
Carol Danvers vs Yon-Rogg, Captain Marvel
In the first Captain Marvel movie, we went back in time to see Carol Danvers' origin story as a superhero. Brie Larson's character starts out confused about her past, as well as her mysterious abilities. While sparring with her mentor Yon-Rogg (played by Jude Law), she ends up losing that fight pretty quickly. Of course, the ending of Captain Marvel saw her easily blasting him away.
If anything, this list proves that everyone takes an L sometimes.
