10 Best Friendships in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Throughout the MCU, there have been a lot of unlikely pairings, which usually end with the best friendships. Although most characters have their own stand-alone movie, some of the best scenes are all of them interacting together.
Within the six original Avengers, there are a couple of friendships that fans are obsessing over like Thor and Bruce Banner. But weirdly enough most of the best friendships are outside those six.
Here’s the scoop on the best friendships in the MCU!
1. Thor and Bruce Banner
Our first unlikely pair is none-other than Thor and Bruce Banner. Their friendship began a little later in the MCU series, not taking shape until Thor: Ragnarok. After the Hulk leaves The Avengers in Age of Ultron, he washes up on the planet Sakaar in pure Hulk form.
One of their most well-known and loved moments of their friendship comes when Thor and Hulk must battle for the title of Champion of Sakaar. Throughout the movie, Thor helps Hulk / Bruce maintain his anger and fills him in on everything he has missed as the Hulk.
Although they seem like an opposite pairing, Bruce’s brains matched with Thor’s strength leads to a great friendship in the MCU filled with witty banter that continues into Infinity War and Endgame.
2. Peter Parker and Tony Stark
Another great, but painfully sad, pairing comes from Peter Parker aka Spider-Man, and Tony Stark aka Iron Man. The mentorship begins in Captain America: Civil War when Tony recruits Peter for his team against Steve Rogers.
After that movie, Peter and Tony keep in contact for Avenger purposes and Tony becomes a mentor to Peter. Tony eventually begins to like “the kid” as he called him a little more than he thought. Peter and Tony had a father-son-like relationship that they both needed.
Tony was the only one who really believed in Peter when he began his time with the Avengers. Everyone thought he was crazy recruiting a 16-year-old, but Parker proved himself in multiple ways, thanks to Tony. Their friendship continued to grow up until Tony’s untimely death in Endgame, devastating fans everywhere who weren’t done watching them on screen.
3. Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes
Arguably the oldest friendship in the MCU, dating back to the 1940s, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes is next on our list. Steve and Bucky were hometown friends before Bucky leaves to fight in WWII.
When Steve appears as Captain America, he and Bucky fight alongside until Bucky’s “death” in 1943. But, in Captain America: Winter Soldier we find out Bucky has been alive all this time, frozen just like Steve was. After saving Bucky from Hydra Steve, they are back to being best friends causing Captain America: Civil War.
The two are fun to watch on screen with multiple inside jokes and conflicting personalities that make them a loveable duo. We see them interact every so often in the movies, mostly in Infinity War and Endgame. Sadly, when Steve chooses to go back in time to live a real life, he had to say goodbye to Bucky.
4. Groot and Rocket
Belonging in a more unconventional friendship category, we have Groot and Rocket. Groot is an alien-like sentient tree creature, who uses his power only for good, while Rocket is a talking raccoon made in a lab with his own rambunctious personality.
Although Groot is of very few words, you can tell how much he cares for his friend Rocket. We don’t know exactly how they met, but we’re glad they did. Groot is the perfect opposite of Rocket and balances him out well.
You can see the love Rocket has for Groot at the end of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, too. The amount of emotion Rocket had when Groot sacrifices himself was a real tearjerker for fans everywhere. But do not fear the last time we saw the duo Rocket planted a piece of Groot’s body and was able to make a new Groot, so their friendship continues in the MCU.
5. Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson
One of Steve Roger’s newest friends Sam Wilson has already proved to be among the best. The pair met in Captain America: Winter Soldier and became veteran buddies trying to figure out life in a civilian world.
As their friendship progresses, the two have more in common than they think. Sam helps Steve find and protect Bucky and stays by his side as the Falcon. Steve and Sam have a more civilized relationship sprinkled in with banter that fans love. Both being traumatized from war and loss; the pair form a special relationship that cannot compare to others.
What sticks out about their friendship is the ending. When Steve leaves to be with Peggy, he hands off the duties of being Captain America to Sam. This opens a door for Sam and Bucky to become hesitant friends as they begin a life without Steve.
6. Loki and Mobius
Loki and Mobius’ friendship has been a wild ride. While it is relatively new it has fans everywhere rooting for them. Mobius was in charge of Loki while working for the TVA, but it was Loki who informed him that he was a deviant turned TVA worker.
Mobius is a quirky guy, who loves jet skis by the way, and is a great counterpart to Loki’s sarcastic and serious personality. They balance each other well enough and when these two starts scheming nothing can stop them.
We don’t really know when we’ll see these two on screen again. Last we saw Loki enter an alternate universe where Mobius had no idea who he was. Hopefully, they will reunite to continue their funny banter and mischievous adventures!
7. Peter Parker and Ned Leeds
The youngest friendship on our list is Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, and his longtime friend Ned Leeds. Peter and Ned are like Batman and Robin if Robin stayed behind the computer while Batman fought crime.
Ned and Peter have been friends since they were kids and have stayed strong throughout high school. Ned is the man behind the computer helping Spider-Man figure out his next moves when fighting crime. The duo loves to build Legos together, mostly Star Wars, and have added MJ into their friend group.
Their nerdy friendship is one of our favorites because it really represents best friends in high school, figuring out how to be teenagers, and finding love but with villains mixed in. The last time we saw Peter and Ned, Ned had forgotten all about Peter thanks to a spell Doctor Strange cast. But, Peter seemed determined to rekindle that friendship somehow!
8. Doctor Strange and Wong
This unlikely duo came when one of them needed it most. Doctor Strange and Wong have a complicated relationship but would do anything for each other. When Doctor Strange showed up needing support, he found it in Wong.
Wong and Doctor Strange have fought in multiple battles together and have used their “magic” to save the world more than once. When Doctor Strange is witty and sarcastic, Wong is there to add a more serious tone to the conversation.
Since the blip, Wong has taken over as Sorcerers Supreme and you can tell there is a little resentment, in a joking manner of course, from Doctor Strange. These two have a funny and entertaining relationship that fans adore.
9. Tony Stark and Rhodey
Tony Stark and Rhodey go way back to their college days. The pair met at MIT and have been inseparable ever since. Rhodey has been with Stark since the first Iron Man movie and stuck with him until the end in Avengers: Endgame.
Tony and Rhodey are both sarcastic and truly funny, so their friendship was not lacking in the comedy department. It was filled with endearing nicknames: sour patch, platypus just to name a couple, but they both always made sure the other knew they had their back.
Rhodey became Tony’s predecessor after his death with his own iron suit marking their friendships as one for the history books. There are few people Tony trusts as much as he does Rhodey and it is clear how much love he had for him.
10. Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff
Rounding out our list are Clint and Natasha. These two have a complicated history, their first meeting was when Clint was sent to kill Natasha but he soon discovered he wasn’t what they thought. It was Clint who helped her join S.H.I.E.L.D and adjust to her non assassin life.
Natasha had been the one to stop Clint from his assassin era after the Blip and saved him countless times. Their friendship was always a little more serious than the other ones, but that was because it was filled with love for each other.
The ending to their friendship has been a huge debate since Avengers: Endgame premiered. In the end, it had to be Clint or Natasha who died and although both fought hard to save the other person, Natasha was the one who perished for the infinity stone.
You can stream all Marvel movies on Disney+, and Amazon Prime for Spider-Man, to see all these friendships on screen.
Which friendship in the MCU is your favorite? Comment below!
For more articles like this, check these out below:
- 100 Best Quotes from Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: No Way Home
- The 100 Best Quotes from Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange
- 100 Best Quotes from Marvel Studios’ Black Widow
