Since the beginning of the MCU, the franchise has seen a number of incredibly imbalanced conflicts between individuals possessing incredible powers.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has featured many memorable battles, but some of the franchise’s fights have been ridiculously uneven. Since the beginning of the MCU’s movie timeline, the franchise has been built on epic struggles of good against evil. Adapted as the franchise is from the pages of Marvel Comics, its heroes and villains boast a range of extraordinary abilities, with conflict arising when such power is misapplied or outright abused. No MCU movie would be complete without at least some form of action, with heroes and villains doing battle to settle their differences.

The nature of the different powers and abilities in the MCU means that these battles aren’t always entirely balanced. Some fights in the franchise are actually incredibly uneven, with super-powered individuals or teams fighting against less remarkable opponents in the movies and TV shows of the MCU. Interestingly, these fights don’t always end predictably, as sometimes the less powerful side is able to achieve victory against the odds, whether due to underhanded methods or simple luck. With that in mind, here are 10 of the most ridiculously uneven fights in the history of the MCU, and who won them.

10. Ant-Man Vs Kang

Ant-Man Narrowly Defeated The Powerful Kang (With Help)

Kang the Conqueror is one of the MCU’s most powerful figures to date. An individual so dangerous he was imprisoned in the Quantum Realm by his own variants to protect the Multiverse, Kang’s status as a formidable enemy speaks for itself. Despite possessing the limited shrinking and growing abilities afforded to him by Pym Particles, Scott Lang was able to defeat Kang at the ending of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Though his victory was unlikely, Ant-Man was able to win his fight with Kang thanks to the help of multiple other characters.

9. The Avengers Vs The Maximoff Twins

The Maximoffs Beat The Odds To Defeat The Avengers

The opening scenes of Avengers: Age of Ultron saw the MCU’s Avengers take on Hydra forces, only to encounter the Maximoff twins. Despite possessing the amassed might of Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye, the Avengers were unable to stop the Maximoff twins, who arguably won their first battle thanks to Quicksilver’s super speed and Wanda’s mind-controlling magic. In fact, despite boasting a considerable array of powers, the Avengers aren’t able to defeat the Maximoff twins at all, instead allowing them to join their ranks later in the movie.

8. Yondu Vs The Ravagers

Yondu’s Yaka Arrow Quickly Dispatched The Unsuspecting Ravagers

Yondu Udonta may not seem like a particularly powerful character in the hierarchy of the MCU, but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 sees him wipe out an entire Ravager crew armed with only his Yaka Arrow. Yondu is joined by Rocket and Baby Groot, but he alone does almost all of the killing, taking out dozens of Taserface’s crew without breaking a sweat. The Ravagers’ numbers alone made the fight incredibly uneven in their favor, but the unsuspecting crewmembers proved to be no match for Yondu’s Yaka Arrow.

7. Captain America Vs Hydra Sleeper Agents

The Winter Soldier’s Elevator Scene Proved Multiple Henchmen Were No Match For Cap

Captain America: The Winter Soldier boasts many memorable fight scenes, but none appear to be as unevenly matched as the elevator scene. Surrounded by Hydra sleeper agents in a confined space, Steve Rogers realizes he will need to fight. Though the numbers are clearly against him, and he hardly has room to move, the fight actually turns out to be uneven in Cap’s favor. He knocks the agents unconscious with relatively minimal effort, turning the tide of the seemingly uneven battle in a matter of seconds.

6. Thor Vs Hela

Thor Was Unable To Defeat His More Powerful Sister

There aren’t many occasions in the MCU when Avengers lost fights, but Thor: Ragnarok sees Marvel’s God of Thunder humbled. After meeting his older sister Hela, Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, is destroyed, and he finds himself stranded on Sakaar. Even after fighting to return to Asgard and face Hela, Thor realizes that he simply isn’t strong enough to defeat her. In fact, their fight is so uneven that Thor is forced to call in Surtur and destroy all of Asgard just to stop Hela, proving that he simply wasn’t able to defeat his older sister.

5. Shang-Chi Vs The Dweller-in-Darkness

Shang-Chi Was Somehow Able To Defeat The Hugely Powerful Villain

The ending of Shang-Chi reveals that the film’s villain, Xu Wenwu, was actually being manipulated by the Dweller-in Darkness, the powerful leader of the Soul Eaters. The ancient extra-dimensional entity should have proven no match for any mortal hero, but using the power of the Ten Rings, Shang-Chi was narrowly able to destroy the villain. Considering the vast gulf in their respective powers, Shang-Chi’s victory was incredibly unlikely, as their battle should have been one of the most uneven in the entire MCU.

4. Captain America Vs Crossbones

Steve Rogers’ Super Soldier Powers Made Light Work Of Crossbones

In the MCU, there is nothing to suggest that Brock Rumlow – AKA Crossbones – has any special abilities at all. Trained by SHIELD/Hydra, Rumlow is a formidable combatant, but Steve Rogers’ enhanced abilities afforded to him by the super soldier serum made their one-on-one fight incredibly imbalanced. Considering Cap’s greater strength, speed, reactions, and intelligence, the pair’s fight in Civil War was only ever going to end one way, and Captain America defeated Crossbones with ease.

3. Loki Vs Thanos

The God Of Mischief Was No Match For The Mad Titan

The beginning of Avengers: Infinity War cements Loki’s hero turn by seeing him attempt to kill Thanos to protect the surviving Asgardians. Unfortunately, the battle between Thanos and Loki is so incredibly uneven that Thanos sees Loki’s attempt coming and easily grabs hold of the God of Mischief. Thanos’ response is to casually choke the life out of Loki, killing him with remarkable ease. Loki’s swift death at the hands of Thanos proves just how uneven their match-up was and highlights that approaching the Mad Titan one-on-one was a bad idea.

2. Hulk Vs Loki

Hulk’s Fight With Loki Was Comically Imbalanced

Loki might possess some remarkable abilities, but when it comes to general combat, he’s hardly a worthy adversary for many MCU heroes. The Avengers sees Loki face Hulk, only for the gamma-infused giant to toss the villain around, demonstrating his superior strength and far greater power. The fight is actually so uneven that it’s hardly a fight at all, but rather Loki’s ill-fated encounter with a hero who proves to be far more powerful than he expected.

1. Iron Man Vs The Ten Rings

Iron Man’s Tech Blindsided The Unsuspecting Terrorists

The very first movie in the MCU, 2008’s Iron Man, saw one of the franchise’s most uneven fights take place. Shortly after refining his suit design and creating the most technologically advanced weapon on Earth, Tony Stark flies to the Middle East to take the fight to the Ten Rings forces attacking innocent villagers. Stark’s tech blindsides his adversaries, who had no experience with anything so remarkably powerful, and as one of the first major fights in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man’s decimation of the Ten Rings was a statement announcing the presence of superheroes to the world.