The MCU didn’t just take over the movie industry but took over the world at one point. Took over the passions of people all over the world. The movies themselves, the actors filling out those roles, and the incarnations of the characters will live on as long as passion for Marvel exists. So, everything that is Marvel will live long like the Celestials. Every fan has their favorite movie and their favorite character. Their favorite hero, their favorite villain. What made those movies, were the moments that built them. The very first “I am Iron Man” to the very last one will be held in fan’s hearts. Seeing all three Spider-Men together was childhood fulfilled. Thor’s entrance to Wakanda was epic! And of course, The Snap left everyone speechless. Yet, there is one scene that leaps past all of them, this particular scene was filled with emotion, action, nods to the books, great dialogue, great setup, layers, and great writing. All of that, adds to the best scene in the MCU which was Captain America and Winter Soldier vs Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War.
The first thing that made that scene great was succeeding in doing something that Marvel films still struggle with today. A common complaint that Marvel still hears is their lack of quality in villains. Sure, they have villains that have been successful like Thanos, Kilmonger, Loki, and Green Goblin but in the early days, their villains dropped in quality. So, when the final fight between the hero and villain came at the end of the movie, it felt hollow, pure spectacle, but lacking substance. The fight between Captain America & Winter Soldier vs Iron Man did a few things differently to add substance to the spectacle. First off, even though Captain America: Civil War did have Zemo, the antagonist was Iron Man. Instead of a hero fighting a villain, it was a hero fighting a hero. Not only just any two heroes but the universe’s two BIGGEST heroes. By doing that, Marvel was able to completely bypass the villain’s shortcomings. Heroes often fight but this was the first fight in the MCU between heroes that felt genuine, filled with animosity, and bitter instead of a little scrap. So, witnessing two heroic characters going after each other like any other hero and villain would, was drastically and obviously different. The two opposing sides were fleshed out and had genuine motives which added to the fight. Because the titular hero needs to have their arc advanced, the villain’s arc in the film is reduced which results in a final fight that feels right but not impactful. That was not the case in Captain America & Winter Soldier vs Iron Man. When it comes to Cap and Stark, their characters were greatly fleshed out. Audiences not only knew them well but felt an attachment to them. had an emotional bond with them. They felt real, obviously due to the many movies but in those movies, Cap and Stark did bicker, disagreed, and stood up to each other. Those scenes were breadcrumbs, foreshadowing. So when it came time for them to fight, the tension between them was already there. That tension was flammable fumes that were just waiting for a spark. Relying on a rivalry between two heroes made that scene really great.
This fight was an ally fighting an ally at the very least or a friend fighting a friend at the most. Stark and Cap are great leaders in their own rights, each leading the Avengers in different ways. It’s those differences that put them at odds at some moments. Those differences are put aside though in order to lead the Avengers in the most positive way to get the job done. So, to see that resolve finally break was heavy but at the same time, relieving. The writing was on the wall for both of them. The tension was already there. It was only a matter of time before it snapped, but it was going to happen. Perhaps those, hidden negative feelings they had toward one another, added power to each hit. Something silent, but felt. In fact, if it didn’t happen it would have been more of a letdown instead of the monumental moment it turned out to be.
Cap and Stark are intertwined. Cap worked with Howard Stark and obviously worked alongside Tony. Stark heard about Cap from a personal account and heard about him throughout his upbringing. So, Captain America was around Tony even without physically being there. Peggy Carter could have actually held and taken care of a baby Tony Stark. And with Bucky in there too, he worked with Howard and Peggy and of course, later on, killed Stark’s parents. So, their fates were crossed, destined to have a collision course. That adds to the emotion that was at the core of their fight.
Speaking of emotion, that is what made and strengthened the match between Stark and Cap & Bucky. It wasn’t a fight that started because someone got in the way of the other’s plan. It wasn’t about conquering or about any further plans to kill. It wasn’t about collecting an all-powerful relic, this fight was grounded, personal, and smaller scope. It was a fight that was built on true and through personal means. Stark wasn’t attacking an enemy to stop them from taking over the government, he was avenging his parents’ deaths. Cap wasn’t attacking an enemy to prevent them from collecting sensitive intel, he was protecting a friend. And Bucky wasn’t attacking an enemy because that was his target, he was defending himself. Everyone in that fight had the right reasoning to do what they were doing, there was nothing wrong here and that added to conflicting emotions. Emotions were high in this scene. Guilt, shame, anger, frustration, betrayal, pain, sadness, and love were all in play in this scene. All that added weight and power. There wasn’t anything vivid and colorful, explosive, or external in this one. It was all about emotions and up-close, personal, physical attacks.
The writing was great in it too. There wasn’t much said in the fight but each line of dialogue was so strong. It all began with the venom Stark spat out when he asked if Cap knew that Bucky killed his parents. The delay Cap had before answering felt tense and the low but deep voice he had when he answered “no” embodied the shame and concern he had. Then, it led to Cap pleading to Stark to stop by assuring him that Bucky wasn’t in control. The anger and pain Stark had in his voice when he said “I don’t care, he killed my mom,” revealed he was absolutely ready to kill with no hesitation. And showed the type of relationship he had with his mom. The movies put more light on the relationship between him and his father but rarely with his mom. That line revealed he favored his mom much more. When Stark asked if Bucky remembered killing them, he responded with “I remember all of them,” which means, Bucky was a prisoner in his own mind. He was able to see but unable to stop what he was doing. That flowed into Stark warning Cap to stay down for good. Cap also warned he could do it all day, suggesting both men are willing to go to the end to stand with their decision. Then it got even tougher Cap told Stark “Sorry, he’s my friend,” which maybe suggests that Cap never saw Stark as a friend. To which, Stark responded by saying “so was I,” hinting that perhaps did see Cap as a friend and this is the last straw. And finally, “that shield doesn’t belong to you”. That reveals Stark has some respect left for his father to keep his father’s creation close to the family name to which Cap gave it up without a fight. Each of those lines, adds more stakes and tension to an already tense fight.
Plus, the famous cover for the Civil War storyline was beautifully put in there without feeling forced. It felt natural and powerful.
Since the MCU is superheroes, of course, there are going to be fights. But most of them are just there for spectacles. There’s not much more than that. There’s little, genuine connection between hero and villain. But the final fight in Civil War was filled with many layers. Perhaps the most personal and emotional fight in the MCU. It completely went against the grain and pulled it off. A lot of things happened at once to make this scene what it is. Instead of those elements competing against each other, they complimented each other. Many other great MCU moments had a mixture of these aspects but not all once and not at the level that this fight had. The Snap does come close, really close, but because the fight had all those layers without being on a universal scale, it rises as the best scene in the MCU.
