Many exciting variants have been introduced to theMarvel Cinematic UniversesinceAvengers: Endgame, which has culminated in some of Marvel’s most notable characters fighting alternate versions of themselves.Avengers: Endgamemarked the first appearance of variant characters in the MCU, as the trimmed-down Avengers team traveled through time and changed events, creating branching timelines and new versions of themselves from 2012, 2013, 2014 and more. Even morevariants have debuted in the Multiverse Saga, and they have often been pitted against their counterparts from other realities.
An MCU character meeting their variant from across the multiverse almost always ends with them fighting each other. This has been the case throughout most of the Multiverse Saga, withprojects such asLoki, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessandDeadpool & Wolverineincluding some epic battles between the MCU’s own heroes and their multiversal counterparts. This pattern is expected to continue as the Multiverse Saga continues to develop, so far more than eight heroes will fight their ownvariants in the MCU’s future.
8Steve Rogers’ Captain America Vs. 2012’s Captain America
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
The first MCU project to indirectly explore the multiverse was 2019’sAvengers: Endgame. The Russo brothers' epic crossover event saw the remaining Avengers travel back in time to collect the six Infinity Stones and reverse Thanos' snap. One of these adventures brought Chris Evans' Steve Rogers to 2012, where he claimed Loki’s scepter from STRIKE agents by masquerading as a follower of HYDRA. However,2012’s Captain Americasoon got in his way, believing him to be the escaped Loki in disguise.
2013’s Asgard
2014’s Morag
Soul Stone
2014’s Vormir
It was fantastic to see Captain America fight Captain America, especially sincethis spar made it evident just how much Steve Rogers had grown and matured during his tenure in the modern era. He joked about 2012’s Captain America stating he can"do this all day,“revealed Bucky Barnes' survival to his past counterpart, and resorted to knocking him out with Loki’s scepter before agreeing with Scott Lang by claiming that he did, indeed, have"America’s ass.“This was an incredibly entertaining battle between Captain Americas.
7Nebula Vs. 2014’s Nebula
Another adventure inAvengers: Endgame’sTime Heist broughtKaren Gillan’s Nebulato Morag in 2014, where she and War Machine waited to claim the Power Stone instead of Peter Quill. While Rhodey was able to return swiftly home, however, Nebula’s memory files combined with those of 2014’s Nebula, leading to her being apprehended by a younger and more brutal version of Thanos.In an effort to earn her father’s approval, 2014’s Nebula took the place of 2023’s Nebula, kitting herself out with the latter’s golden head-plate to blend in with the Avengers seamlessly.
Nebula became an official member of the Guardians of the Galaxy afterAvengers: Endgame, but departed the team in 2023’sGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3to lead the new society forming in Knowhere.
This allowed 2014’s Nebula to activate the Avengers' time machine and allow Thanos and his armies to travel into the future, destroying Avengers HQ and leading to the epic Battle of Earth. While 2014’s Nebula almost got her hands on Tony Stark’s completed Infinity Gauntlet, she was stopped by2014’s Gamora and the future Nebula, who shot her dead. This very weird moment was oddly cathartic, asNebula finally stripped away the final remnants of her previous, villainous self, and officially became a bona fide hero.
6Vision Vs. White Vision
WandaVision (2021)
Although not technically two variants fighting each other, Paul Bettany’s Vision got the chance to fight himself in 2021’sWandaVision, the MCU’s first TV series. For most of the series, Vision had been a construct of the Scarlet Witch’s grief, brought to life when she inadvertently created the Hex around Westview, New Jersey. Meanwhile,SWORD had rebuilt the original Vision’s body, now with a sleek, white design, planning to use him as a weapon against the Scarlet Witch. This all came to a head inWandaVision’sfinale, asVision fought White Visionwhile Wanda Maximoff took on Agatha Harkness.
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What was originally a battle of strength and ability, the two Visions eventually ended up in an intelligent and logical debate. White Vision’s orders had been to destroy the Vision, but the fabricated version ofVision helped restore White Vision’s corrupted memories, proving that the latter, in fact, was the original Vision. Perhaps not willing to destroy himself, this remarkable Ship of Theseus discussion ended with White Vision flying off to locations unknown, next to be seen in theMCU’s upcomingVisionseries.
5Loki Vs. Sylvie & Others
Loki (2021-2023)
Phase 4’sLokiwas the first project in the MCU to directly explore the concept of the multiverse, leading on from 2012’s Loki’s triumphant escape from the Avengers duringEndgame’sTime Heist.Loki found himself taken captive and brought to the Time Variance Authority, where he was recruited in hopes of tracking down his own variant, Sylvie. Over the course ofLokiseason 1,Loki and Sylviewould spar several times, but also came to form a close, and weirdly romantic, heartfelt and somewhat narcissistic, bond.
Loki, himself a variant of Tom Hiddleston’s original villain-turned-hero, has been rumored to return in the MCU’s Phase 6, but this hasn’t yet been confirmed by Marvel Studios.
Lokiseason 1’s finale saw the pair fight for real, as Sylvie wanted to kill Jonathan Majors' He Who Remains for ruining her life, while Loki figured keeping him alive would prevent greater destruction in the future.This fight ended with Sylvie thrusting Loki into a past version of the TVA and murdering He Who Remains, obliterating the Sacred Timeline, which led to the confusion and complexities ofLokiseason 2 and othermultiversal adventures in the MCU. Loki also battled his variants in the Void at the End of Time, including Kid Loki, President Loki and more.
4Peter Parker’s Spider-Man Vs. Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
For the most part, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker meeting his multiversal variants,Sony’s Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, was very amicable. They bantered, shared stories of their superhero antics, and provided essential moral support to each other, but there was one moment where this all could have fallen apart.Seeking revenge on Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin for the murder of Aunt May, Holland’s Spider-Man came close to impaling the villain with his own glider, but Maguire’s Spider-Man got in the way, stopping his younger variant.
Tom Holland
Captain America: Civil War(2016)
There was a moment in 2021’sSpider-Man: No Way Homewhere it seemed as though Tom Holland’s Peter Parker would overpower Maguire’s.This could have led to both Maguire’s Spider-Man and Norman Osborn being impaled on the Green Goblin’s glider. However, it was the Goblin himself who took the opportunity to stab Maguire’s Spider-Man, ending the battle, as Holland’s Spider-Man instead chose to cure the villain, reverting him to the harmless Norman Osborn.Spider-Man: No Way Homealmost ended very differently, though this would have been similarly tragic.
3Doctor Strange Vs. Sinister Strange
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)
Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange has been set up as a key figure in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, especially since he now seemingly has more knowledge than anyone else about the intricacies and dangers of the multiverse. 2022’sDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnesssentStrange on a journey through a variety of alternate realities, including Earth-838, and an incursion-ruined universe inhabited only be an evil variant of himself, corrupted by the Darkhold.Sinister Strange had to go, particularly after admitting to killing many other Strange variants.
Sinister Strange isn’t the only evil Doctor Strange that has been seen in the MCU, as the animatedWhat If…?series saw Strange Supreme destroy his entire universe, and Earth-838’s own Doctor Strange became corrupted by the Darkhold.
In one of Marvel Studios' most beautiful, colorful, entertaining and clever battles,Doctor Strange and Sinister Strange used weaponized musical notes to attack each other. This was an effective way of showing the good of Doctor Strange’s golden notes against the evil of Sinister Strange’s purple, and allowed this fight to end in a massive crescendo that thrustSinister Strange out the window, impaling him on his own fence. This dramatic battle is one that won’t be forgotten anytime soon, and Strange could battle even more of his own variants in the MCU’s future.
2Wanda Maximoff’s Scarlet Witch Vs. Earth-838’s Scarlet Witch
Doctor Strange wasn’t the only character inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessto battle their variant, asElizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoffalso got this honor. Similarly to the good Strange vs. the evil Strange, Olsen portrayed Maximoff both as the innocent Earth-838 variant and the twisted and corrupted Earth-616 version: the Scarlet Witch.The Scarlet Witch spent the majority ofMultiverse of Madnessdream-walking into her Earth-838 counterpart’s body, hoping to find America Chavez and steal her universe-hopping power.
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When America Chavez eventually gave the Scarlet Witch exactly what she wanted, however, opening a portal to Earth-838, Maximoff was met with nothing but terror from the children she had hoped to reunite with.Earth-838’s Wanda Maximofftried to protect her family, but the Scarlet Witch easily threw her across the room, proving that she was far more powerful and unhinged than her variant. Nevertheless,she still learned the error of her ways, and endedMultiverse of Madnessby sparing her variant and sacrificing her own life.
1Wade Wilson’s Deadpool Vs. The Deadpool Corps
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
WhileMultiverse of Madnessexplored many corners of the vast multiverse,2024’sDeadpool & Wolverinefocused on the concept of the multiverse more than any previous MCU project. Taking place primarily onEarth-10005, the universe of 20th Century Fox’sX-Menfranchise, and in the Void at the End of Time,Deadpool & Wolverinedisplayed some of the untapped potential of the multiverse. This was most evident in the appearances of Wolverine’s variants and the Deadpool Corps, the latter of which put up a good fight against Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s titular heroes.
The Deadpool Corps included some fun cameos, including Blake Lively as Lady Deadpool, Matthew McConaughey as Cowboypool, and Ryan Reynolds and Lively’s children, Inez and Olin as Kidpool and Babypool, respectively.
After causing the brutal murder of Nicepool, a Deadpool variant who doesn’t have a regenerative ability, Earth-10005’s Deadpool and the “Worst Wolverine” assumed the otherDeadpool Corps membersalso can’t regenerate. The pair tear through the likes of Lady Deadpool, Cowboypool, Zenpool, Kidpool, Headpool, Deadpool 2099 and many more, eventually bursting out the back of a bus adorned with Marvel legend Stan Lee’s face. Of course,the Deadpool Corps does regenerate, but is thankfully calmed down by Rob Delaney’s Peter, contributing to one of the most intense, exhilarating and hilarious scenes in the history of theMarvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
