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The Avengers is probably the most well-known group of superheroes across the world. Their fame can be attributed to how relatable and well-liked they are among the people they protect on-screen and the audience in real life.
Another major reason is how they kick ass and look good doing it. If you ever wondered about how The Avengers go about deconstructing a baddie - here is a list of Avengers and their fight styles :
Marvel's Avengers Fight Styles: 1. Natalya Romanov (Black Widow)
Natalya was a ruthless KGB agent trained as a living weapon before she joined SHIELD as an agent. Therefore she is a formidable fighter with advanced combat training.
Romanov's combat technique involves using the weight and strength of the opponent against themselves. She also looks to finish off her opponent before they have time to land a blow.
One popular move is to climb onto the shoulders of the other person, lock onto their head using your thighs, and throw them to the ground using your torso and thigh as a counterweight.
She also uses Stark-sponsored tech such as electric Taser pulses, flashbang grenades, and other gizmos. Iron Man 2 shows off all this in the Hammer Industries fight scene. Also popular is Nat taking on Bucky in Captain America: Civil War.
2. Shang-Chi
Played flawlessly by Simu Liu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Shang-Chi is a really interesting character in the MCU.
Shang uses Kung-fu to battle his enemies and is shown beautifully in the bus fight scene where he takes on the Ten Rings. Shang is a master of bare-handed combat and commands Chi (Universal energy) to focus his attacks and keep calm.
As shown in the Shang Chi trailer he is trained by assassins for endurance, perseverance, and sheer power. He is also proficient in swords, staves, nunchaku, and shuriken which is unmatched across the MCU.
Marvel's Moon Knight at first glance does not seem to have a fighting style at all except throwing himself at the enemy until the combatant is destroyed. But beyond the unhinged rage, there is a method to the madness applying the Krav Maga used by the Israeli army.
There's also a mix of savage Jujitsu and boxing that knocks enemies on their butt. Another reason why the fighting style might be unrecognizable is the ancient Moon Spirit Khonshu that possesses him - the fighting style might now be extinct. There's also his Dissociative Personality Disorder that gets thrown into the mix every time he gets into a brawl which it always looks like.
Nothing shows the mix of factors that affect Moonknight's fighting style better than the one where his alter ego asks him to "give control."
4. Ayo (Dora Milaje)
Ayo is the number two in Wakanda's Dora Milaje with Okoye being the general.
You get a glimpse of Ayo's fighting abilities in Black Panther (RIP Chadwick Boseman) when battling Killmonger's allies after he takes over the throne.
Next, a fight almost breaks out in Civil War when Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow blocks the entry to TChala's car. A visibly calm Ayo then says "Move...or you will be moved."
You see what Ayo is really capable of when she takes on (Pre-Serum) John Walker and his partner Battlestar. Walker is thrown around like a rag doll just before Bucky saves Walker from being killed in under a minute by the warrior Ayo.
Ayo is a skilled warrior who moves through the air like a gazelle and hammers her opponents using her body weight. She uses a Vibranium spear as her weapon of choice and improvises several martial arts with a Wakandan flavor.
The "man out of time", Steve Rogers, has an incredible set of fight moves - what being the commander of the Avengers and all. Captain America has a metabolism that's 3x that of an average man. This includes physical strength and intelligence as well ( courtesy - Super Soldier Serum ). Coincidentally, Asgardians have similar levels of strength and endurance.
Coming to fighting style, Captain America uses his own body weight to hammer his opponents. This is probably partly why he chooses a shield as his physical weapon of choice. Winter Soldier has this amazing fight scene with Batroc that almost looks like a dance. He throws powerful punches and spin kicks while using his Vibranium shield as a mace almost.
His signature move is his somersault kick - there's a major one in every movie - Age of Ultron has this scene where all the Avengers are fighting back to back and Captain America is doing his somersault kick thing.
He only has one weapon - the Vibranium shield and uses it with a lot of style. This is seen whenever he retrieves his fallen shield by stepping on it and catching it real fast. *Metallic clang sound*
Genius, philanthropist, and playboy Tony Stark is an almost a self-trained and self-taught hand-to-hand combat expert. He is average in terms of physique but is great at improvising with existing fight techniques. His weapon of choice is his mind and of course, the zillion pieces of tech he owns and creates himself, apart from the Iron Man suit.
His ingenuity is seen in every one of his fight scenes. The most popular and recent has to be his fight with... Wait for it...THANOS! I mean he was the only one able to draw blood from the Mad Titan himself!
He is seen adapting his fight moves and tech in tandem, so quickly and so unpredictably that Thanos himself is left guessing what will come next. And it's another thing altogether that his tech actually withstood a significant energy blast from the Power Stone itself on Titan.
You get a preview of this in Civil War where he outsmarts Bucky and prevents a bullet while dissembling his gun, but is quickly out-muscled by Bucky. Iron Man 3 also sees Tony blow up Aldrich Killian aka the Mandarin by attaching one of his suits instantly to the villain.
7. James Rhodes (Iron Patriot)
Rhodey is Iron Man's wingman in more ways than one. Being from the US Army, he is battle-tested and has great strength physical and emotional strength that can come only from discipline.
His strength is seen in Iron Man 3 where he jumps out of his War Machine suit in a flying punch composed of just raw power. This is the scene where Rhodey is captured by Extremis thugs and held at the Mandarin's layer.
He is also a great marksman who can take out a light bulb at 100 yards (IM3). He is great at combat improvisation along with short and long-term battle strategies.
8. Clint Barton (Hawkeye)
Despite being the Avengers member who is the butt of most jokes due to his lack of superpowers, Hawkeye is an amazing fighter. His strength lies in improvising as he fights, using whatever he can get his hands on. Also since he is highly skilled as an archer he makes sure that he has his trusty bow by his side.
The martial art that is most in line with Clint Barton's skills is Bojitsu which is the art of fighting using a staff called a Bo. As his long bow collapses into a staff, Bojitsu is an amazing way to channel his existing skillset.
In Avengers Endgame you also see Clint Barton as his vengeful alter-ego named Ronin. This is where you see him display his mastery of Kenjutsu and Iaijutsu which are the art of the Japanese sword and the quick-draw sword technique. Ronin ends up slicing the Japanese mob into a fine mafia carpaccio with what is sure to be a high-tech unbreakable sword.
9. Hope Van Dyne (The Wasp)
Played to perfection by Evangeline Lilly, The Wasp is an extremely skilled fighter who ensures that she takes down her opponent in the least time possible. Hope Van Dyne uses MMA to fight villains in the MCU, taking them down while still being graceful.
Considering that she also trained Ant-Man and keeps current on the latest trends in the fighting arts, The Wasp is a warrior to be reckoned with.
10. Dr Stephen Strange (Doctor Strange)
Dr. Stephen Strange is an intellectual and not in the least bit physically gifted, especially when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. Although Dr. Strange does maintain a certain level of physical fitness what he lacks in combat readiness he makes up for in his semi-skilled Judo and Wing-Chun training.
When you combine his marital arts training with his mastery of the mystic arts what you get is a lethal combination. You see he doesn't have to be physically gifted in reality since he can change his reality at will! You see this in his interaction with Thor in Thor 3: Ragnarok.
That's nothing to say of his skills in wielding the Time Stone or the other Infinity Stones coupled with his ability to travel the multi-verse when required. All this adds up to a lethal multi-dimensional multi-versal fighter.
11. Danny Rand (Iron Fist)
One of the best fighters in this whole group of warriors, Danny Rand, the billionaire also known as the Iron Fist is a true master of the martial arts. He is fluent in most martial arts known to us from Ninjitsu, Kung Fu, and Karate to Muay Thai, Aikido, and Judo.
This makes the use of his superpower all the more deadly - concentrated Chi. His use of the lifeforce referred to as Chi allows him to increase his strength in his fists or other body parts for deadly means, breaking bones or concrete with equal ease.
12. Sam Wilson ( The Falcon/ Captain America)
A true military man - Sam Wilson is a disciplined soldier who draws his strength from his strict physical regimen and straight moral compass. While in the US Air Force, he has picked up a great many fighting techniques to efficiently neutralize an opponent with the least amount of force.
Sam Wilson is trained in Mixed Martial Arts and Krav Maga which are both fighting styles used in urban landscapes. While MMA is a quick and agile way to take an opponent down, Krav Maga is a technique developed and used by the Israeli Army that is down and dirty and downright brutal.
13. T'Chala (Black Panther)
The current King of Wakanda also wears the mantle of the Black Panther who has been the protector of Wakanda for generations. Okay, so I paraphrased this from Civil War, but all true Marvel fans will love it.
The strength of the Black Panther is derived from the heart-shaped herb that grows only in Wakanda. With this comes supernatural strength and senses combined with speed and agility. This translates to Black Panther kicking butt!
All of the Black Panther's moves are cat-like and swift while being really powerful. This can be seen in the Bucky chase scene in Civil War and the Black Panther movie where he turns a speeding Sedan with his Bare Hands!
His signature style is the horizontal spin kick (Captain America's spin kick is oblique and sometimes vertical) which aims for distance!
His other classy fight move is the dismount or landing from a jump. He always lands on his feet. Wonder what that reminds one of.
Bucky fought alongside Steve Rogers until Hydra reshaped him to be the Winter Soldier. He has a similar albeit slightly less efficient version of Captain America's Super Soldier Serum that gives him some of his abilities and endurance. This, and the metal arm that Spidey found so cool.
Hydra's influence on him has made him slightly savage, with fight moves that look like they were designed to kill (they were, for the longest time). He is seen using Systema, a Russian fighting technique along with Karate and even old-school boxing, before he became the Winter Soldier.
His fight style is similar to Romanovs except he tries to end the fight fast to inflict the most injury. Considering he was with the Avengers until the snap. This was a good thing.
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15. Thor
The God of Thunder, an Asgardian and the son of Odin is blessed with the strength and power of a God! Need I say more?
His kicks and punches are so powerful, that they sometimes shake the very ground on which he delivers them. And this is without his Hammer Mjolnir or Storm Breaker.
The best displays of strength are his against Surtur. He also took on the full force of a star in Nidavellir and brushed off an energy blast from all the Infinity Stones all at Once. Of course, there's his control over the elements of weather and even the Bifrost with his new Storm Breaker Hammer.
16. Loki
Loki's fight style is special since he relies significantly on illusions and magic that he learned from his mother Frigga. Apart from Karate-styled blocks and strikes, Loki is more of a brawler and is exceptionally adept with a dagger.
He uses his exceptional strength as an Asgardian and a frost giant to throw punches and blows that incapacitate his opponent. Even his helmet with the bendy horns is used to strike and stab opponents.
Who do you think is the coolest on this list? Do let me know your favorites in the comment section.
17. Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch)
One of the most overpowered Avengers in the list of the constantly changing superhero roster, Wanda fights like a cosmic being. In every fight that the Scarlet Witch engages in, she uses red energy projections to fire pulses.
Wanda uses her chaos magic to transform objects into weapons, telekinetically manipulate objects, and psychically control people and animals. It is never a fair fight if you are up against Wanda!
One of the youngest Avengers in the mix, Tom Holland's Spiderman fights in the style of an agile gymnast. Tom's agile reflexes and spider-enhanced senses do a lot of work in helping anticipate punches and kicks and any objects thrown at him.
While Tom Holland does not start with any specific fighting style, he picks up how to fight using his super senses to anticipate and pick up fight patterns.
First published on 28th October 2020 and updated on 17th May 2024