Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-7823447-20140421150120/@comment-1044705-20160510081747

Hmm...tough call. I'll try and explain this cohesively and in detail.

To the casual observer, Iron Man seems like the obvious winner. He's got the armour, a shit ton of firepower and gadgets, plus he can fly. Oh, and he's a genius, so he thinks ahead and has contingency plans. What chance does a soldier with a shield stand against all that, right? Well, not exactly.

Captain America's superior traits are mostly invisible. He may look like merely an above-average strong-armed man with only an indestructible shield and some really good fighting skills, but there's a lot more to him than that. He's not just a top-notch tactician, he's actually leagues ahead the most brilliant General when it comes to strategy. He can analyze every course of action, every shield-throwing trajectory, and stay multiple steps ahead of his opponents. And while Iron Man is brilliant cognitively, it just doesn't measure up to combative know-how in most fights.

Of course, this doesn't discount Iron Man's areas of expertise. His arsenal of guns, lasers, missiles, and his more complex inventions are sure to have Cap on the ropes in a number of varying fighting environments. But Iron Man's gadgets are just that, and his advantages tend to be breakable, which is a major vulnerability for him. Cap is someone who has a reputation for outmaneuvering his opponents when he's at a disadvantage, and he always gets back up when he's knocked down; this is a crucial trait for him that transcends physical factors, and I don't think it's something people give him enough credit for. Cap may have a tough time dealing with things such as the Hulkbuster, but then again he has defeated far more intimidating opponents with nothing but his wits and his trusty shield.

So, my answer, and I apologize if it's not a very helpful one, is that it could go either way. In a simulation of 100 fights where both are in peak condition and are allowed to fully use their resources, I'd be willing to bet that the numbers would be very close to 50/50, with some random variables leaning the marginal majority towards one or another. I think more people believe Iron Man to be the stronger superhero, but to me that has always seemed like an easy cop-out answer. What people often forget is that both of them are familiar with the other's strengths/weaknesses and would probably use that knowledge in their fight. It's not a simple matter of how many guns Iron Man has, or how versatile Cap is as a fighter. What may seem like game-changers for us could be merely rudimentary factors to them, which is why the whole Cap/Iron Man rivalry has remained such an interesting debate.