While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had as many 23 films released in the last decade and more, there have only been three full trilogies, of which Thor will become a tetralogy soon. The first two completed series were that of Iron Man and Captain America, and there’s been a constant argument over which was better.
Since we probably won’t be having any more entries in either series, now is the best time to stack the two against each other to put the debate to an end. Here, we’ve considered elements more than simple action to come to our conclusion, so read on further to see who comes out as the winner.
Fight Sequences: Captain America Trilogy
Being the trilogy that played it closer to realism than any other MCU offering, Captain America movies had fight scenes that focused on choreography and grounded action. This allowed it to be grittier and easier to follow, as proper emotion could also be conveyed.
Iron Man movies would focus on the capabilities of the suits, which had the effect of limiting the fighting scenes toward Iron Man shooting his repulsors for the most part. In Captain America, we saw awesome action-oriented scenes involving the best fighters in the titular protagonist, Black Widow, the Winter Soldier, and a slew of others.
Comedy: Iron Man Trilogy
Tony Stark’s penchant for delivering one-liners and quotes was off the charts, and much of the comedy from his trilogy arrived thanks to this. Other than that, the Iron Man movies carried a comedic nature in general, one where even the hard-hitting moments weren’t too heavy-handed.
Captain America movies relied mainly on Steve Rogers’ awkward place in society, with his lack of understanding of social situations being the source of comedy. While that was great too, you have to choose the Iron Man series to have a breezy time.
Supporting Characters: Captain America Trilogy
This one should be a highly debatable point, but ultimately the Captain America characters were much stronger than the ones in Iron Man since these were more well-rounded rather than remaining comedic for the most part.
Characters like Peggy Carter and Bucky Barnes are symbols for empowerment where gender and mental health issues are concerned, and we also got a superb hero out of Falcon too. Even Dr. Erskine’s small part in The First Avenger had an enormous impact on viewers and in-universe.
Popularity & Mass Appeal: Iron Man Trilogy
Even though Iron Man 3 is a seven-year-old film by now, it still ranks as among the very highest-grossing MCU films. You can tell the appeal the series had just by that. In fact, it was Iron Man’s overall popularity that made Marvel have faith that Avengers might work.
While the Captain America films required a real hook for people an audience to arrive for those, all Iron Man movies needed was the title and views were guaranteed. The content within these films are also built for blockbuster quality, as these make for the best replay value.
Emotional Moments: Captain America Trilogy
At one point or another you do want superhero films to not always be all bombastic and heavy on the action, but the Iron Man movies tended to be this way. The sequels in particular were more about the shooting and the running than emotionally charged moments, so Captain America wins here.
You could even consider The First Avenger to be a love story rather than a superhero movie, as Steve and Peggy’s bond shines through. The same way, you could consider the sequels to be films about the theme of friendship, where we saw connections being built and destroyed. All of these hit us in the feels in just the right way.
Better Original Film: Iron Man Trilogy
Although we’re talking about the trilogies as a whole, the first film is always scrutinized the most as it’s the entry point for new viewers. For that reason, it’s absolutely vital for the original film to be awesome; here, Iron Man knocks it out of the park.
It can even be seen as the best original film in the MCU as a whole, what with the presence of a cool superhero, hilarious jokes, great villain, and a story with genuine heart. These lacked significantly in the sequels, but the original excelled. Captain America: The First Avenger, on the other hand, is easily the weakest of its series.
Better Villains: Captain America Trilogy
Other than Obadiah in the first Iron Man, all the other villains were pretty bad in the series. Baddies like Whiplash, The (Fake) Mandarin, and the secondary antagonists were a complete letdown, with Justin Hammer being more of a comedian than a bad guy.
We don’t have to explain much for the Captain America series, where there wasn’t even a single villain who could be considered weak. In fact, even Iron Man was seen as a villain in Civil War, so you can see the quality of the antagonists. Whether it were powerful guys like the Winter Soldier and Red Skull, or those without powers like Helmut Zemo and Alexander Pierce, all of them were a significant threat.
Special Effects: Iron Man Trilogy
Go and check out the makings of these movies and you’ll see exactly why special effects are a must-have. Without these, superhero movies would be ridiculous, and it was the Iron Man series that utilized effects the best.
Of course, its task was made easier due to it being the trilogy where we saw those awesome suits Tony Stark manufactured, but take nothing away from what it accomplished. All those sequences where Iron Man sailed the skies and donned his armor make for the most visually pleasing moments in cinematic history. Captain America’s grounded approach meant it lacked here other than showing us explosions.
Relevance To The MCU: Captain America Trilogy
You can’t watch either trilogy if you haven’t seen other MCU films as the impact of those events are shown in the sequels. However, it was the Captain America movies that also had an impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while Iron Man films didn’t have much of a role.
For instance, we saw Tony leave the superhero life in Iron Man 3, only for him to be back without explanation in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Captain America movies had such relevance that Civil War can be considered its own Avengers film. Themes such as espionage, politics, drama, and betrayal all made for a complete experience that was distributed to follow-ups in the MCU.
Winner: Captain America Trilogy
In the end, it was because the Captain America trilogy became progressively better that enabled it to come away with the win. While the original films have Iron Man excelling, there’s no doubt that the series went down in quality in the sequels.
On the other end we had the Captain America series, which ended up integrating more characters without any of them losing value, while also shifting its themes consistently. You can find more diversity in all departments in the series of the Sentinel of Liberty, and even Iron Man joins in amping up the quality by the final film.
