Steve Rogers summed up his ethos early on in Captain America: The First Avenger. He didn’t want to fight in the Second World War so he could kill people or even necessarily so he could serve his country. Why did he want to fight? “I don’t like bullies.” He continued to live up to this credo for the rest of his MCU tenure.
Whether the world was threatened by a cybernetic bully bent on human extinction or a purple alien bully bent on wiping out half of all life, he did whatever he could to stop them. So, bearing in mind that he could do this all day, here are Captain America’s 10 best scenes with villains, ranked.
Stopping Loki from killing a man (The Avengers)
Back in the first Avengers movie, before the titular team had been fully assembled, Captain America was brought in to acquire the Tesseract from Loki. Loki was forcing a crowd of people to bow before him in Germany when one old man stood up to him, because there are “always men like you.”
Just as Loki was about to zap the guy into oblivion to teach the others a lesson, Cap jumped in the way to block the blast with his shield. Then, he marched towards Loki, telling him, “You know, the last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing.” Classic Whedon quip.
Finding Arnim Zola’s consciousness in a S.H.I.E.L.D. supercomputer (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
In directing Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the Russo brothers were inspired by the paranoid post-Watergate political thrillers that had their heyday in the ‘70s. In all of those movies, an unsuspecting character – usually played by Robert Redford, who plays the villain here – stumbles upon a far-reaching conspiracy that threatens their way of life.
When Cap and Black Widow discover the consciousness of Arnim Zola living in a supercomputer at an old S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, they come to the startling realization that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been secretly controlled by Hydra since World War II. There’s a reason why screenplays need to have midpoints.
Attacking Thanos with Mjolnir (Avengers: Endgame)
It’s rare in the MCU that the filmmakers can convince the audience that a character might actually die, because there are usually sequels on the way that prove otherwise. However, in the final battle of Avengers: Endgame, it was anybody’s guess what was going to happen. The actors’ contracts were up and no further movies had been announced.
When Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor went head-to-head with Thanos, the Mad Titan could’ve killed any of them. He seemed to be about to kill Thor when Cap suddenly summoned Mjolnir to save him. It brought the house down when Cap attacked Thanos with Thor’s hammer.
Catching Proxima Midnight’s spear and emerging from the shadows (Avengers: Infinity War)
Between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, Steve Rogers had been branded a war criminal and gone on the run from the law. Along with Black Widow and the Falcon, he’d been completing missions under the Secret Avengers name. When we first see his new grizzled look in Infinity War, he’s just shown up to save Scarlet Witch and the Vision from Proxima Midnight’s attack.
Proxima launches her spear at him and he catches it, then emerges from the shadows, eliciting cheers from the audience. After that, his fellow Secret Avengers come out to join the fight. It’s pretty awesome.
“Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?” (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
During the first act of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Brock Rumlow and these S.H.I.E.L.D. guys had been framed as heroes. However, as it slowly dawned on Cap that they were evil, they all entered an elevator with him. He saw a couple of them reaching for their weapons and said, “Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?”
It’s a badass moment that showed Rumlow and his team that Cap was one step ahead of them. And then he proceeded to fight all of them, and despite their combined forces, he managed to take out every single one of them.
The Red Skull reveal (Captain America: The First Avenger)
Red Skull is the quintessential Captain America villain, so it was a no-brainer to include him in Cap’s first solo movie, Captain America: The First Avenger. Ideologically, Cap and Red Skull are polar opposites, which makes them interesting adversaries. The First Avenger didn’t exactly explore that in any depth, but the Red Skull reveal on the bridge was really cool.
Joe Johnston’s bold choice to use a comics-accurate design for Red Skull helped to set the tone for the whole MCU. It would’ve been easy to chicken out and settle for a more “realistic” look like Fant4stic’s abysmal portrayal of Doctor Doom.
Fighting Ultron alone (Avengers: Age of Ultron)
The moments that perfectly encapsulate who Captain America is are the ones where he’s unfazed by being totally outmatched and is still willing to put up a fight. A prime example of this comes about halfway through Avengers: Age of Ultron, when Cap fights the titular android on the roof of a truck.
He knows he’s no match for Ultron, but he’s taking him on anyway, because at the very least, he’ll be able to slow him down. Hawkeye even tells him, “You’re not a match for him, Cap,” and Cap dryly replies, “Thanks, Barton,” then gets on with it.
Singlehandedly trying to remove the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos’ hand (Avengers: Infinity War)
In the final moments of Avengers: Infinity War, it becomes ominously clear to Earth’s mightiest heroes that they’re not going to beat Thanos. The Mad Titan has come to the Wakandan battlefield, acquired all of the Infinity Stones, and now, nothing is standing in his way – except for Steve Rogers.
When all else fails, Cap jumps into action, grabbing the Infinity Gauntlet in Thanos’ hand, and desperately trying to yank it off. Thanos ends up knocking Steve to the ground, but he’s initially surprised by his strength, and there’s even a look of respect in his eye before punching Steve in the face.
Preparing to take on Thanos and his armies alone (Avengers: Endgame)
Right before the final battle of Avengers: Endgame, our main three heroes – Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor – face Thanos alone. Everyone else is either stuck under the rubble of Avengers HQ or being gathered via intergalactic portals by Doctor Strange. When Thanos incapacitates Iron Man and Thor, Cap is left to face him alone. The Mad Titan beams down hundreds of his soldiers and brings in a legion of warships.
Cap is completely on his own and hopelessly outgunned, but rather than surrender or accept defeat, he tightens the strap on what’s left of his shield and prepares the take on Thanos and his armies with no backup. And then, backup arrives.
Refusing to fight Bucky (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
When critics and fans alike accuse the MCU of having a “villain problem,” they’re likely referring to the fact that MCU villains rarely have much of an impact on the heroes. Thor doesn’t have a personal connection to Malekith. Aldrich Killian doesn’t force Tony Stark to confront any shocking truths about himself. But that’s what makes Bucky such a great villain in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
This is our hero’s best friend, who he thought had died 70 years earlier, and he’d been brainwashed to kill him. In the end, Cap refuses to fight Bucky, poignantly telling him, “I’m with you ‘til the end of the line.”