It’s one of those pop culture debates that will never be settled: who is Marvel’s best Chris? They have three guys named Chris in prominent roles in their line-up: Chris Evans playing Captain America, Chris Hemsworth playing Thor, and Chris Pratt playing Star-Lord. The only missing Chris is Chris Pine, and he’s been poached by the DCEU.
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Hollywood’s other Chrises all star in the MCU. So, naturally, the fan base has drawn parallels between the three Chrises and become divided on the issue of who’s best. Ryan Reynolds once entered the debate and opined that we don’t need to choose sides: “When ordering ice cream, I like to get all three scoops.” So, to settle it once and for all, here are 3 Reasons Why Each Is Marvel’s Best Chris.
Pratt: He brought humor into the MCU
Everyone likes Thor a lot more now that he’s the funny guy, but that recharacterization would never have happened without the success of Chris Pratt’s comedic performance in Guardians of the Galaxy. He transitioned from being the well-meaning schlub on Parks and Rec to starring in big-budget blockbusters seamlessly, and the MCU was never the same again.
Prior to Guardians of the Galaxy, there was humor in the MCU, sure, but after that movie, they practically became full-on comedies: Ant-Man, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok – the focus is squarely on the humor, and that’s all thanks to Chris Pratt.
Hemsworth: He has great chemistry with everyone
There’s hardly an actor in the MCU cast who doesn’t have fantastic chemistry with Chris Hemsworth. And Thor: Ragnarok established him as the guy who has weird sidekicks. It paired him up with the Hulk, and when that worked out hilariously, he was paired up with Rocket and Groot in Avengers: Infinity War.
It can’t be easy to develop a rapport with a CGI character when they’re not really there, and somehow Hemsworth manages it. He also plays excellently alongside femme fatales like Valkyrie, and we have to mention the complicated and real relationship he’s developed with Tom Hiddleston’s Loki over the years.
Evans: He has the best solo movies
While Thor’s solo movies didn’t become truly great until the third entry and Star-Lord doesn’t even technically have any solo movies, Captain America has enjoyed a fantastic solo trilogy. His original WWII adventure is one of the most rewatchable origin story movies ever made.
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The second one raised the stakes in an interesting way by having Cap enter the modern world as a man out of his time and face his brainwashed childhood best friend. The third one, Civil War, is often jokingly called Avengers 2.5 due to its large ensemble cast, but it still completed the journey Steve Rogers began in his origin story.
Pratt: He became beloved the quickest
It would take some time and a couple of Avengers movies before Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth were truly accepted as pop culture icons, but Chris Pratt established himself as a movie star right out of the gate.
He became a beloved member of the MCU cast the quickest and he had three fewer years than Evans and Hemsworth to do it. A lot of it is down to Pratt’s charm, as he brings humanity and lovability to a character who describes himself as “an a*****e, but not 100% a d**k.”
Hemsworth: He owned Infinity War
Despite the giant cast of Avengers: Infinity War, it’s Chris Hemsworth who is arguably the star of the movie, if there is one. Thor has the most defined arc of the movie, as he loses everything at the hands of Thanos, meets new friends as he floats through space, and then returns to Earth triumphantly with his newly forged Stormbreaker axe in hand.
With its enormous cast featuring pretty much everyone on the A-list, Infinity War wasn’t an easy movie to steal, but Hemsworth stole it. That was partly due to the story arc he was given, but mostly due to Hemsworth’s performance connecting the most.
Evans: He’s the highest grossing Chris
It’s a close one, and all three Chrises are right next to each other on the highest grossing actor rankings, but Evans just about clinches it. Hemsworth is the lowest grossing Chris with a lifetime box office total of $3.06 billion, Pratt is a close second with $3.14 billion, and Evans takes the gold with $3.15 billion.
These numbers are, of course, subject to change, because all three Chrises have a lot of upcoming movies that could push them into the top spot, but as it stands, Chris Evans has beaten out the other Chrises at the box office.
Pratt: He makes the best non-MCU movies
None of the Chrises have made particularly great movies outside the MCU, although Evans has signed on to some promising projects to follow Avengers: Endgame. Hemsworth’s Rush was terrific, but Blackhat and In the Heart of the Sea both flopped. Evans’ turn in Snowpiercer was a surprising gem, but his filmography is mostly tripe like Not Another Teen Movie and Cellular.
Chris Pratt is arguably the only Chris who has established himself as a fully certified movie star outside the MCU, with starring roles in such acclaimed blockbusters as Jurassic World and The LEGO Movie. Sure, he’s had his own share of duds, like Passengers, but on the whole, he’s the Chris with the best non-MCU movies.
Hemsworth: He has the most heroic look
All three Chrises suit the part of a hero. They all look like the classic Hollywood image of a heroic figure. But it could be argued that Hemsworth has the most heroic look. Pratt still looks like a thinner version of the childlike goofball that made him famous, while Evans’ physique places him in a close second.
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With his incredible jawbone, monstrous height, and muscular frame with virtually zilch body fat, Hemsworth actually does look like a god. He has even made fun of his staggering physique in movies like Vacation and Ghostbusters.
Evans: His MCU role is a sort of redemption
Chris Evans gets points for using the MCU to redeem himself. While Chrises Hemsworth and Pratt used their MCU roles to become stars, Evans had already been given his shot at stardom years before in the Fantastic Four movies. Those movies were a bitter disappointment to millions of comic book fans across the globe. Okay, it’s not his fault they had cheesy scripts and suffered from studio meddling.
But either way, it almost cost Evans his career – or at least his credibility. So, the role of Captain America was his chance at redemption – and he nailed it! He’s fully redeemed in the eyes of Marvel fans, playing Cap faithful to the comics as a chiseled, handsome, all-American hero.