While every project in theMarvel Cinematic Universeends in an epic battle between Marvel’s heroes and villains, some final battles are far more rewatchable than others. Since the very beginning of the MCU with 2008’sIron Man, Marvel Studios has pitted some ofMarvel’s most iconic superheroesfrom eight-decades worth of comic stories against their most powerful supervillains. This has often culminated in some of the most visually striking, game-changing and exhilarating final battles being featured in the live-action MCU.
It has been great to see final battles between the likes of Iron Man and Iron Monger, Captain America and the Red Skull, Doctor Strange and Dormammu and the Scarlet Witch and Agatha Harkness, among many others. However, there have been several other iconic final battles that have been much more of a spectacle, contributing to some of the most memorable andrewatchable moments in the MCU’s history.Hawkeye, Shang-Chi, Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy have been the subject of some of these scenes, and there are surely many more to come in the MCU’s future.
10Iron Man Vs. Aldrich Killian
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark has been involved in some of the most memorable and exciting battle scenes in the MCU, and while his spar with Obadiah Stane and his fight against Whiplash alongside Rhodey’s War Machine were great,Iron Man 3delivered his greatest solo final battle.Iron Man 3pitted Tony Stark againstAldrich Killian, the head of AIMand the man masquerading as the Mandarin, a powerful Chinese ruler of legend.Killian was nothing special aside from his Extremis enhancements and his superpowered army, which made his last stand much more exciting.
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Not only was it Tony Stark’s Iron Man taking on Aldrich Killian and his Extremis soldiers, but War Machine and all of Stark’s Iron Man suits or armor joined the battle. It was brilliant to see Stark put all his suits to use, but even better that the final blow was delivered by anExtremis-empowered Pepper Potts.The biggest crime of this ending was that Marvel Studios quickly undid it all, with Potts losing her power and Stark suiting up as Iron Man soon after, butIron Man 3’sfinal battle was explosive and complex.
9Hawkeye & Kate Bishop Vs. Kingpin & Tracksuit Mafia
Hawkeye (2021)
2021’sHawkeyeseries partnered up Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton with his new protégé, Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop, in a battle against the Tracksuit Mafia and their terrifying leader, Kingpin. Vincent D’Onofrio previously portrayedWilson Fisk’s Kingpin in Netflix’sDaredevilseries, and made his triumphant return to the MCU inHawkeye, setting up his bigger role inEchoandDaredevil: Born Again.It was great to see Kingpin harbor some newfound strength, but even better to see Kate Bishop use her wit and intelligence to take down the looming villain singlehandedly.
Neither Clint Barton nor Kate Bishop have been confirmed to be returning to the MCU, though Hailee Steinfeld did reprise her role at the end ofThe Marvels.
While Bishop fought Kingpin, Clint Barton took on the Tracksuit Mafia goons before being interrupted byFlorence Pugh’s Yelena Belova. Sent into Hawkeye’s path by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine inBlack Widow,Yelena set out to kill Barton as revenge for the demise of Natasha Romanoff, but a remarkably emotional scene saw Barton reveal the truth to Yelena and earn her forgiveness. This final battle put the connection between Barton and Bishop on display perfectly and packed an emotional punch for Yelena Belova, setting them up for an exciting future in the MCU.
8Ant-Man Vs. Yellowjacket
Ant-Man (2015)
While the MCU’sAnt-Manfranchise has recently been the subject of some criticism, 2015’s originalAnt-Manmovie marked a strong debut for Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang. The final scheme ofAnt-Mansaw Lang and his crew infiltrateDarren Cross' Yellowjacketoperation, destroying all evidence of the suit and particle being created, except for the suit that Corey Stoll’s villain sported in the final battle.These scenes showed off some of Marvel Studios' genius, as Ant-Man and Yellowjacket battled each other while changing their sizes, creating some hilarious moments.
2015
$519.3 million
Ant-Man and the Wasp
2018
$622.7 million
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
2023
$476.1 million
It was thrilling to see Ant-Man and Yellowjacket use a Thomas the Tank Engine toy-set as weaponry, while Scott Lang also employed his army of ants. To finish the battle, Lang went subatomic, shrinking and deforming Darren Cross enough for Kang to transform him into MODOK, while finding himself trapped inthe Quantum Realm, too.Ant-Man managed to make it back from his visually beautiful and trippy journey, however, providing hope for Janet Van Dyne’s return, which perfectly set up the storyline for 2018’sAnt-Man and the Wasp.
7Shang-Chi Vs. Xu Wenwu & Dweller-in-Darkness
Shang-Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021)
Destin Daniel Cretton’sShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringspersists as one of the most popular movies in the MCU’s Phase 4, thanks in part to its beautiful and cinematic ending. Ta Lo was the battleground for the final fight between Shang-Chi and his corrupted father,Xu Wenwu, the MCU’s true Mandarin. Wenwu sought to free the Dweller-in-Darkness, who had been masquerading as his deceased wife, but he was opposed by his children and the residents of Ta Lo, including the dragon-like Great Protector.
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After releasing the Dweller-in-Darkness, Wenwu realized the error of his ways and gifted his son themystical and powerful ten rings. This gave Shang-Chi the power to kill the Dweller-in-Darkness and save the world, setting him up to be a huge piece of the MCU puzzle going forward.Paying homage to Chinese culture and martial arts movies of the past, the final battle ofShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringswas a monumental endeavor for Marvel Studios, and it helped to make the movie one of the franchise’s most beloved installments.
6Thor, Valkyrie, Hulk & Loki Vs. Hela
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Similarly to Iron Man, Thor’s third solo adventure in the MCU featured his most entertaining and intense final battle, pitting him and his new team, comprising himself, Loki, the Hulk and Valkyrie, againstHela, the Goddess of Death.Thor: Ragnaroksaw Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder tap into his true potential, with the power of lightning flooding through his veins without Mjolnir to channel it. This made it fairly easy for Thor to take down Hela’s forces, thoughthe Goddess herself was only defeated after Surtur unleashed the prophesied Ragnarok on Asgard.
While Thor, Loki and Hela are all part of the same family, none of them are 100% blood related. Hela, Odin’s firstborn, was not Frigga’s child, while Odin and Frigga were Thor’s parents. Loki, on the other hand, was adopted by Odin and Frigga after being found and taken by the former on the battlefield on Jotunheim, while he is in fact the child of Laufey, King of the Frost Giants.
Taika Waititi’s style inThor: Ragnarokwas heavily praised, most notably his use of classic rock music, in the style of theGuardians of the Galaxyfranchise, and his bright, vivid and playful use of color and action.It’s a shame this couldn’t be replicated as successfully inThor: Love and Thunder, butThor: Ragnarokand its final battle will go down in history as one of the MCU’s most incredible additions. The power, transformation, intensity and optimism of this final fight was brilliant, and theending ofThor: Ragnarokperfectly set up the events ofAvengers: Infinity War.
5Eternals Vs. Ikaris
Eternals (2021)
While 2021’sEternalsreceived a huge amount of criticism from nit-picking “fans,” the movie has earned some retrospective acclaim in the years since, and this is in part due to the exhilarating final battle.Eternalssaw the titular team try to stop theemergence of the Celestial Tiamutfrom inside the Earth, which threatened humankind, thoughthey were opposed by Richard Madden’s Ikaris, who wanted the emergence to happen. Watching Ikaris battle the other Eternals was truly fantastic, as all their supreme powers were put on display.
Don Lee
Strength
It was great to see Lauren Ridloff’s Makkari’s speed in action, Angelina Jolie’s Thena put her weapon creation skills to the test, and Brian Tyree Henry’s Phastos use his incredible intelligence. This was all an attempt to restrain Ikaris, who wanted to stop Gemma Chan’s Sersi from thwarting the emergence.This entire sequence was one of the most cinematic and thought-provoking moments Marvel Studios has ever produced, so it’s a shame that asequel toEternals hasn’t yet been confirmed, and doesn’t actually seem that likely.
4Agatha Harkness & Wiccan Vs. Death
Agatha All Along (2024)
Marvel Television’sAgatha All Alongseries caught up with Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness three years after her debut inWandaVision, expanding on her story as she set out on the Witches' Road with a new coven. This coven included Joe Locke’s “Teen,” who was soon outed as the reincarnation ofBilly Maximoff, the son of the Scarlet Witch. Along the way,Agatha’s connection to Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal was developed before Rio was revealed to actually be the personification of Death, and this culminated in an epic battle between the three powerful MCU characters.
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The final battle between Agatha Harkness, Billy Maximoff’s Wiccan and Death inAgatha All Alongepisode 8, “Follow Me My Friend/To Glory at the End,” was a sight to behold. Agatha was repowered by Wiccan, allowing her to stand her ground against Death, while the powerful entity also put her formidable abilities on display.This all culminated in Agatha Harkness sacrificing herself for Billy Maixmoff with a passionate kiss of Death, delivering a cathartic, satisfying and oddly beautifulending forAgatha All Along, which teed up new stories for the MCU’s future.
3Guardians Of The Galaxy Vs. Ronan The Accuser
Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
All three of the Guardians of the Galaxy’s final battles have been incredible to watch unfold in the MCU.Vol. 2saw the expanded team battle the Celestial Ego in a thrilling and drawn-out battle, andVol. 3ended with the cathartic defeat of the High Evolutionaryafter a fantastic one-shot hallway fight between the Guardians and the High Evolutionary’s Hell Spawn. However, 2014’sGuardians of the Galaxyended with one of themost memorable Guardians of the Galaxy moments, as Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord, engaged Ronan the Accuser in a dance-off for the fate of Xandar.
Peter Quill danced off with Ronan the Accuser to the tune of 1970’s “O-o-h Child” by The Five Stairsteps.
Of course,this was just a ploy to distract Ronan long enough for Rocket to create a weapon capable of destroying the Kree’s Universal Weapon and releasing the Power Stone. This allowed Peter Quill to grab the Stone, share its power with the other Guardians and defeat Lee Pace’s Ronan once and for all. Combining comedy, action and visual spectacle,Guardians of the Galaxy’sfinal battlewas a powerful and emotional moment that forged the Guardians as a true team and family in the MCU, which are themes that continued throughout their entire franchise.
2Captain America & Bucky Barnes Vs. Iron Man
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
One of the most intense and emotional scenes in the MCU’s history was delivered towards the end of 2016’sCaptain America: Civil War. This saw Tony Stark learn thatBucky Barnes, as the Winter Soldier, had killed his parents, and that Steve Rogers had known about this for the last few years, but refused to reveal the truth.This led to a huge three-way fight between Iron Man, Captain America and the Winter Soldier, which many theorized would end in either Stark or Rogers' demise, but instead marked the official disbanding of the Avengers team.
Scott Lang’s Ant-Man
Peter Parker’s Spider-Man
The sheer brutality of Iron Man, Captain America and the Winter Soldier’s fight was exciting.Each movement and moment was thought-out and perfectly choreographed, with each character getting the chance to show off some of their amazing powerswhile Daniel Brühl’s Baron Zemo reveled in his success, only to be spared from suicide by Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa, a.k.a. the Black Panther.Captain America: Civil Warended in tragedy, but this was a truly powerful moment that won’t be forgotten as the MCU continues to develop.
1Avengers Vs. Thanos
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
The third act of the Russo brothers’Avengers: Endgamedetailed the Avengers' last stand against the Mad Titan, Thanos, and his armies, who attacked Avengers HQ after traveling from the past during the Time Heist.Thanos threatened all existence, introducing the highest stakes the Avengers have ever fought for, meaning every hero was willing to put their lives on the line to save the day. The feeling of watchingAvengers: Endgame’sfinal battlefor the first time is almost hard to describe and even harder for Marvel Studios to replicate.
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Avengers: Endgamewas the conclusion of over a decade of stories in the MCU, and the Battle of Earth included many moments that paid off huge loose ends and packed great emotional punches. Captain America wielding Mjolnir, the Scarlet Witch facing Thanos alone and Spider-Man protecting the Infinity Gauntlet are just a few of this battle’s best scenes, whileIron Man’s sacrificewill forever be one of the most powerful moments in the history of theMarvel Cinematic Universe. Many considerEndgameto be Marvel Studios' peak, but the future is now looking very bright.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
