Who's the Real MVP of the MCU? We Rank the Avengers by Who Gets the Most Screentime
Who is the Most Valuable Avenger? Is it the mightiest – Thor, a demigod with a mean swing? Is it the fearless leader – Captain America, the first Avenger? Or the smartest – Tony Stark, the visionary? Or could fan-favorite Spider-Man be considered the Marvel Cinematic Universe's MVP?
We ranked all 11 Avengers throughout the MCU 's run by total screen time in an effort to name the MVP of the superteam. The more minutes, the more value to the studio and the in-universe storyline, right?
We'll only be focusing on characters who were expressly said to be part of an Avengers lineup – that's the original six Avengers, those added to the ranks after Age of Ultron, and Spider-Man, who was "knighted" an Avenger by Tony Stark during Infinity War.
Not included is the Romanoff-led team during the blip (Captain Marvel, Rocket, Nebula, and Okoye), non-Avengers who fought alongside them against Thanos (Dr. Strange, Black Panther, Guardians of the Galaxy), and recently introduced heroes who have yet to be in a team-up (Shang Chi, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, and many more).
Avengers by Screen Time
Despite being one of the earliest hero of the MCU, War Machine – Tony Stark's best friend James "Rhodey" Rhodes – is last in screen time with only 59 minutes. Seven years after his introduction, he joined the official ranks of the team at the end of Age of Ultron and was heavily present in both Infinity War and Endgame. He'll eventually get his own movie, Armor Wars, which will certainly bring up his screen time. So far, he's been in eight movies and two shows.
Sam Wilson (originally Falcon, now the new Captain America) and Vision are at 133 minutes and 103 minutes, respectively. They were late additions to the ranks, both officially joining the team in Age of Ultron, though Wilson was first introduced as an ally in Captain America: The Winter Solider. He's since been in every Avengers movie with a small role in Ant-Man, starring in his co-lead limited series Falcon and the Winter Soldier in 2021.
After taking on the mantle of Captain America, Wilson's screen time will shoot up in the next few years; as for Vision, we don't know if the character is done for. Vision was only in three movies before being killed by Thanos, though he appeared in the limited series WandaVision as a version of himself created by Wanda Maximoff. There is an artificial version of Vision that exists after the events of WandaVision, but his future is unclear.
Clint Barton (Hawkeye ) and Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) have almost certainly seen their end of days. Nat sacrificed herself in Endgame before appearing in the 2021 self-titled prequel, which served a fitting end to her character after nine movies in the role. Hawkeye lived happily ever after with his family, who were among those dusted by Thanos' snap, at the end of his self-titled limited series in 2021. Kate Bishop became his heir apparent, meaning we probably won't see more of the character after only five movies in ten years. Black Widow will likely end her run with 175 minutes on screen time; Hawkeye is sitting at 145.
Bruce Banner (The Hulk) is right behind Romanoff with 165 minutes since his introduction in the MCU's second movie, 2008's The Incredible Hulk. He's been in every Avengers movie and Thor: Ragnarok, as well as an appearance in She-Hulk and cameos in Captain Marvel and Shang Chi – the latter of which showed Banner curiously in human form, despite having transformed into Professor Hulk in Endgame. His status in future movies is only rumors right now, but his screen time is sure to go up.
Despite a late introduction and a small role to start, Wanda Maximoff (dubbed the Scarlet Witch by Agatha Harkness) ranks fifth in total screen time among Avengers with 205 minutes of screentime. She was introduced via post-credit scene in Winter Soldier, fully introduced as an antagonist-turned-Avenger in Age of Ultron, and had secondary roles in Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame. Her screen time is mostly in thanks to her nine-episode run starring in WandaVision and her role in Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness as Strange's terrifying, ruthless adversary.
Spider-Man (Peter Parker) didn't appear until 2016's Civil War, five years and five movies after Captain America (Steve Rogers). Despite that, Spider-Man has three more minutes of screen time: 245 to 242. Cap had his own trilogy, appeared in all four Avengers movies, and had cameos in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: The Dark World, though he was almost always in an ensemble cast – even in his own movies. Spider-Man had smaller roles in Civil War and the two latest Avengers movies, but was present in most of his trilogy's scenes.
Chris Evans is definitely done with his role as Cap, having given up his shield and title to Sam Wilson after going back in time to grow old with Peggy Carter. Spidey is still a fan-favorite who could easily leap-frog the next two Avengers in total screen time when it's all said and done.
Thor and Iron Man (Tony Stark) were two of the "Big Three" (along with Captain America) who popularized superhero movies in the MCU's Phase 1. At the end of the Infinity Saga, both had trilogies and appeared in all Avengers movies, though Stark also appeared in Civil War, Homecoming, and Incredible Hulk. Thor is at 290 minutes while Iron Man has a comfortable lead with 356.
Stark is long dead after the events of Endgame, while Thor is still a huge presence, becoming the first MCU character to have a four-film series with 2022's Love and Thunder. With one more solo movie or a few more appearances in team-ups, he might overtake Stark as the Most Valuable Avenger.