10 Strongest Friendships In The MCU | Screen Rant
Since Iron Man flew into theatres back in 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown into one of the biggest franchises ever made. While that story is astounding the real strength of the MCU comes from the reliably great performances from its various casts. With new projects on the way in 2022, the MCU looks to bring more heroes and villains to the screen with that comes some amazing friendships.
Since Rhodey and Tony Stark first snarked at each other in that first Iron Man film, the MCU has been populated by some seriously strong friendships. The strongest of these bonds is something to witness and makes these superheroes end up feeling more grounded in the end.
Tony and Rhodey have been a part of the MCU since its start in Iron Man and have been friends until Tony’s sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame. Though the two have fought, as was seen in Iron Man 2, there’s nothing that can truly keep them apart.
Even with the crazy events that occur in Tony’s life throughout his trilogy and with the Avengers, Rhodey remains a constant help to him both as a friend and as a partner in his War Machine gear. Viewers never got to see Tony and Pepper Pott’s wedding, but it is safe to assume Rhodey was the best man in the ceremony.
Best friends since childhood, Steve and Bucky have undergone a literal century of friendship. In Captain America: The First Avenger, Bucky is seen looking out for Steve before and after he is injected with the super-soldier serum. Steve, meanwhile, goes behind enemy lines to free Bucky and is devastated at his apparent death.
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, when Steve learns the sort of abuse that Bucky went through to become the titular assassin, he does everything he can to save him. In the end, Steve can save Bucky, but the two are separated at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Even so, the depth of their affection for each other and unshakable faith makes them one of the best friendships in the MCU.
It is revealed in The Avengers that Clint is the reason that Natasha joined S.H.I.E.L.D. and fans get slightly more details of how this happened in Black Widow. Clint’s actions build a sense of trust with Natasha that leads to an unbreakable friendship between the duo.
Audiences can see how strong their bond truly is as they fight one another in Vormir during Avengers: Endgame as neither wants to see the other sacrifice themself. In the end, Natasha makes the jump and her passing affects Clint heavily, the grief of losing his best friend bleeding into the Disney+ series Hawkeye.
Though the MCU’s Peter Parker was introduced in Captain America: Civil War, his best friend Ned wasn’t introduced until Spider-Man: Homecoming. These two teenagers instantly demonstrate that they are not afraid to be their true selves when they’re together, even if those around them think them too nerdy.
When Ned discovers that Peter is Spider-Man, he quickly offers to help him, specifically asking to be his “guy in the chair". Ned continues to be a friend of Spider-Man until the end of Spider: No Way Home, where he magically forgets about Peter along with the rest of the world.
The Eternals are a group of ten with several different and complex dynamics across the group, but Thena and Gilgamesh’s relationship is the strongest of all. After Thena develops Mahd Wy’ry in Eternals, Gilgamesh volunteers to watch over Thena and commits to doing so for centuries.
The solidity of their bond is highlighted as the film progresses, showing that Gilgamesh has become a calming presence in Thena’s life when Mahd Wy’ry begins to take over. This duo deserved more screen time with one another. Fortunately, Thena was at least to get revenge on the Deviant that took Gilgamesh’s life by the end of the movie.
Fans learned during Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings that Shang-Chi and Katy have been best friends for ten years since Shang-Chi left home and arrived in the United States. They have a friendship that started with Katy standing up for him, which has not changed over time.
After Shang-Chi’s life begins to catch up with him, Katy only wants to learn more and be of assistance in whatever way she can with no hesitation. Katy plays a pivotal role in the final battle and will presumably continue to in the Shang-Chi sequel. Refreshingly, at least in the first film, Shang-Chi and Katy remain extremely and platonically close rather than becoming romantically involved.
Captain Marvel allowed audiences to piece together Carol’s old life at the same time as she did. While doing so, Carol decides to talk to Maria Rambeau for some insight on the period she spent on Earth that she cannot remember.
Maria, with the help of her daughter Monica, shows Carol who she is through different belongings and memories from the past, leading to Carol and Monica helping each other again as if no time had passed at all. The pair of them even raised Maria's daughter Monica together, showcasing the depth of their bond. Unfortunately, the two of them haven’t been seen together since then. It was confirmed in WandaVision that Maria had passed away, but this pair was friendship goals.
During his prison sentence that ended at the beginning of Ant-Man, Scott met his good friend Luis. The duo got along so well during their separate sentences that Luis was the one to pick up Scott when he was released and then even allowed Scott to live with him until he got back on his feet.
When Scott becomes Ant-Man, Luis isn’t deterred at all and agrees to help Scott with his superhero endeavors in both Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp. Their bond is one of a kind, which can be expected to continue to grow in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania next year.
Stephen and Wong met in Doctor Strange and, despite the original arrogance and disrespect Stephen showed when first met with the mystic arts, Wong sticks around and grows to become Stephen’s closest friend. This pair has saved the world multiple times and are even about to explore the multiverse together in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Life-changing experiences such as these demonstrate how well Stephen and Wong complement each other, both in wits and magical combat, and only strengthen the connection that they share.
As the only team members that knew each other before the events of Guardians of the Galaxy, Rocket and Groot have had a partnership that is strong and super reliable. The two mesh perfectly when working on bounties or fighting on the battlefield and their companionship doesn’t die after Groot is reborn at the end of the first film.
When Groot grows older, his relationship with Rocket is such a close one that he eventually becomes somewhat of a father figure to Groot. Director James Gunn confirmed the translation of Groot’s last word to Rocket as he turned to dust in Avengers: Infinity War was “dad.”