The MCU’s Phase Four is set to commence next year with the Black Widow solo-movie but we still can’t quite digest how the last phase played out. It was a thrilling ride from start to finish, as the Avengers battled back from rock bottom to defeat Thanos and save half of the entire universe from certain doom.
But, since that happened, the MCU has changed. Iron Man is dead, Captain America is old and retired, while Spider-Man will no longer be rubbing shoulders with the rest of the gang following Disney’s failure to strike a deal with Sony. With all that in mind, here are 10 fights we won’t be seeing anytime in the near future.
Iron Man vs Bucky Barnes
It's established that Bucky, while under Hydra’s influence, murdered Tony Stark’s parents. And Iron Man, upon learning this information, then tries to kill him. They never had a chance to speak in either Avengers: Endgame or Infinity War, meaning we’ll get no rematch now with Stark gone.
Iron Man vs Captain America
You probably knew this one was coming. As mentioned above it wasn’t just Bucky Barnes that Iron Man fought during Civil War. Tony Stark also finds himself against a Captain America refusing to back down, willing to do anything for the greater good.
While Tony and Steve Rogers make up in order to save the world, had both survived the issue of Bucky could have arisen again. Both heroes are similarly stubborn and it’s hard not to see another brawl breaking out. However, Iron Man’s no longer around and Captain America is in no fighting shape anymore.
Spider-Man vs Vulture
Disney swore that they knew they would only have Spider-Man for just five movies, but holes can be found in that. Take Spider-Man: Homecoming, for example. Peter Parker defeats Vulture and brings him to justice but the post credits scene suggests Michael Keaton’s character would likely have returned at a later date.
Vulture would probably want revenge on Spidey, despite refusing to tell Scorpion the identity of the webslinger, and that would have meant another showdown. Now with both characters now back with Sony, that’s off the table.
Spider-Man vs Mysterio
Likewise, Mysterio. It was unknown whether or not the mysterious, magical villain survived the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home despite appearing to accidentally kill himself during the final showdown at London Bridge.
Given how popular the character was and how well the movie fared at the box office, it seems feasible his ‘death’ could have been just another one of his tricks. But now we’ll never know. Sony and Disney’s failure to come to an agreement also means we won’t see Spidey going up against another familiar foe as well.
Spider-Man vs Flash Thompson
Thompson clearly has family issues with Far From Home showing he’s not heard from his mother for quite some time. And with the reveal that Spider-Man, his hero, is his fierce enemy would have gotten him ridiculed. If that’s not motive for going after Peter then we don’t know what is.
Hulk vs Loki
One of the standout moments from the first Avengers was the sight of Hulk battering Loki to a pulp. The big, green, fighting machine contended with the villain ridiculing him and he snaps, turning Thor’s brother into a trembling, battered wreck.
But now they won’t ever get a chance to fight each other again. The damage Hulk sustained during Endgame means he’s in no condition to go head to head with anybody. And Loki opening up a new timeline means, well...we honestly don’t know. For now, the prospect of a rematch seems off the table.
Hulk vs Abomination
Somewhat surprisingly, Abomination is still very much alive in the MCU. He was last seen being carted off to a protective facility at the end of 2008’s The Incredible Hulk and has yet to appear in the 11 years since that movie was released.
But, once again, Hulk’s arm prevents a rematch from being possible. Bruce Banner’s physical attributes probably won’t be required anymore going forward, although his intelligence would still likely make him somebody of us. If they were to come to blows, we think it would be a foregone conclusion given Hulk’s physical state, .
Hulk vs Thanos
It was the rematch we really wanted to see in Avengers: Endgame. Hulk, having been absolutely hammered by Thanos during their fight in Avengers: Infinity War, should have been given a one-on-one rematch with Thanos to show what he’s really capable of when the Mad Titan doesn’t have any Infinity Stones in his possession.
However, we never got to see it. And with Thanos now a thing of the past, having been dusted by Tony Stark at the end of Endgame, it means we won’t get to see it in the future.
Captain America vs Red Skull
The first enemy Captain America went up against after being a super soldier thanks to the help of Peggy Carter was the Red Skull . Steve Rogers defeats him by taking the Tesseract and burying the ship, entombing it in the icy sea.
Yet we later learn that Red Skull (somewhat) survived their showdown and went on to become the guardian of the soul stone on Vormir. Given that Cap returned the stones, it would have been fascinating to see his reaction to crossing paths with his old enemy one final time. Sadly, it seems like that ship has sailed.
Thor vs Thor
Yep, you read that right. After Avengers: Endgame, it was revealed that we nearly got a present day version of Thor fighting his past self after travelling back in time. It was scrapped, though, with Captain America instead engaging himself in combat.