MCU Fight: Luke Cage Vs Red Skull

[BigThor]

We will be doing VS. battles for the MCU every week and will be using the Winners and Losers to create an accurate power tier list created by some of it's biggest fans (you). So don't forget to VOTE and after voting for a Winner please include a comment on which power tier, both the Winner and Loser should reside within. Also, see below for more details on the characters abilities as well as for a list of available power tiers to choose from.

Don't forget to put which Tier group you think Luke Cage and Red Skull belong to in your posts. Also, don't forget I've now added the option of being able to change your vote if you change your mind.

So, without further delay here is this week's match up

LUKE CAGE

Vs.

RED SKULL

LUKE CAGE

- Superhuman Strength: Cage possesses strength beyond that of a regular man, which was enhanced even more after having a second experiment done on him. During a fight in his bar where different opponents attacked him, Cage effortlessly tossed them aside and overpowered them with one arm. He is able to punch and dent the auto body of motor vehicles with his fists. He is also able to match or possibly outmatch Jessica Jones in strength, as he had the upper hand through his fight with her while he was under Kilgrave's influence. His strength allows him to easily rag doll, lift, drag and send normal humans flying.

- Super Leaps: Cage is able to leap great heights and distances due to the superhuman strength in his legs. He measured 24 feet in attempting the broad jump, 11 feet longer than the world record.[30] This also allowed him to jump several feet in the air over a bar stand while he shielded Misty Knight from gunfire.

- Superhuman Durability: Cage has extremely durable skin, and his nigh-limitless resilience is enough to withstand using his strength to easily break stone and metal without injury. He is virtually impervious to all forms of physical harm, injury or pain. He has nigh-indestructible and impenetrable anatomy. The durability of his cells can be likened to those found on abalone shells, due to their structure and super elasticity. Cage demonstrates this durability to Jessica Jones by using a circular saw against his own stomach, and he survived both being stabbed in the neck and being shot with a shotgun, neither of which could break his skin. A doctor's drill began to smoke when drilling against his skin.

- Superhuman Stamina: Cage was able to swim from Seagate Prison to shore without stopping, a task deemed impossible for any man. Cage was also able to attack multiple safe houses and engage in multiple fights in the span of a few hours, without showing any signs of tiredness. However, strenuous activity and extended use of his powers do seem to cause Luke to be hungry, as he is seen eating large amounts of food afterward. His stamina allows him to easily outlast his opponents, especially when they are in great number, meaning that even if they manage to overpower him, he could still manage to get the upper hand.

- Enhanced Speed: Cage can run at speeds exceeding that of the finest human athlete. He was able to complete the forty-meter sprint in 3.72 seconds, which is faster than Usain Bolt's record. He was also shown capable of running fast enough to intercept a speeding vehicle to save Claire and Scarfe.

- Regenerative Healing Factor: The original procedure Cage went under was designed to accelerate tissue regrowth in its subjects; as a result, Cage's body heals at an accelerated rate. During the experiment, all of the injuries and physical damages that he had were healed to perfect condition, leaving his body without scars, within moments.

RED SKULL

- Enhanced Intelligence: Schmidt's intelligence is enhanced to peak performance. He's shown himself to be a formidable researcher and scientist since he was able to distinguish truth from myths concerning ancient and powerful relics. Schmidt's investigations were able to find the Tesseract and the Runestone, and with his genius invented ways to harness their power to enhance his weapons of mass destruction.

- Enhanced Strength: Schmidt's strength was enhanced to an early level of superhuman potential. He was able to move a giant stone casket lid by himself with little effort, after three normal men could barely make it budge. He was also able to lift a giant wardrobe over his head and threw it dozens of feet away, and this happened just a few days after he received the serum. His punches were shown to be capable of denting Captain America's original metal shield and also capable of holding his own and hurting Captain America, despite his similar super soldier enhanced body.

- Enhanced Durability: While fighting Captain America, Schmidt was shown to be able to quickly recover from blows received from his opponent. He can also survive in the cold climates of Vormir.

- Enhanced Speed: The Super Soldier Serum gave Schmidt enhanced speed, allowing him to land punches on the also enhanced Captain America before Captain America's enhanced reflexes could respond.

- Enhanced Agility: Schmidt was shown to be an agile hand-to-hand combatant while engaged in a one on one battle with Captain America. Though Schmidt prefers to shoot at Captain America from a distance, Red Skull has been known to lunge great distances at a stunned Captain America when the opportunity arises.

- Enhanced Stamina: Schmidt is more resilient to fatigue and exhaustion, allowing him to fight and exert himself for long periods without strain or weakness, even while fighting Captain America, who sent him flying through the air.

- Regenerative Healing Factor: Schmidt's advanced metabolism increases his resilience, as well as increasing his recovery and healing speed.


*****Below is the list of power tiers to choose from. Please select a power tier for each character doing battle (the characters below in Red are not in any particular order). Be aware both characters can share the same power tier*****

The character's current statuses below are as follows

*****NOTE: Characters that are OFFICIAL will always be Placed above characters that are UNOFFICIAL.*****

Cosmic Tier (cosmic/interdimension level power/presence on a planetary scale, at the minimum)
Thanos (w/ Filled Infinity Gauntlet)
Dormmamu
Eson The Searcher with Infinity Stone
Surtur Prime
Ego The Living Planet
Odin
Doctor Strange (w/ Time Gem)

Transcendent Tier (City to planetary level power & Cosmic/interdimensional level influence on a local scale?)
Thor
Hela
Thanos (Base)
Ronan with the Power Stone
Kurse
Surtur's Fire Dragon
Fenris
Ultron Prime (Vibranium)


Powerhouse Tier (Beyond top tier, power/interdimensional power on a block to city Level)
Doctor Strange
Vision
Doctor Strange
Malekith (W/ reality gem)
Hulk
Ghost Rider
Ebony Maw
Scarlet Witch
Destroyer
Hulkbuster Ironman
Pre-Eternal Flame Surtur
Abomination
Cull Obsidian
Abilisk
Iron Man
Jotunheim Beast
Kronan
Ancient One
Giant Man
Kaecilius

Top Tier (Street to block level?)
Ronan
Valkyrie
Hogun
Aldrich Killian
Loki
Drax
Heimdall
War Machine
Corvus Glaive
Iron Monger
Whiplash
Quake
Malekith
Sif
Fandral
Volstagg
Korath The Pursuer
Groot
Killgrave
Yondu
Lash
Hive
Frigga
Pepper Potts with Extremis
Mantis
Skurge
Korg
Baron Mordo
Master Wong
Corvus Glaive

Superhuman Tier (Street Level)
Black Panther
Captain America
Spider-Man
Gamora
Star-Lord
Vulture
Falcon
Winter Soldier
Red Skull
Crossbones
Quicksilver
Iron Fist
Luke Cage
Jessica Jones
Eric Savin (Extremis Soldier)
Ellen Brandt (Extremis Soldier)
Emil Blonsky (Super Soldier)
Madame Gao
Mr. Hyde
Slingshot
Aida
Raina
Deathlok
The Patriot
Carl Creed the Absorbing Man
Lorelei
Nebula
Miek
Ant Man
Yellow Jacket
Proxima Midnight
Erik Killmonger
Ulysses Klaue

Street Tier (non super human, agent level)
Daredevil
Elektra
Black Widow
Okoye
Rocket Racoon
Hawkeye
Nick Fury
Punisher
Coleen Wing
Batroc the Leaper
Shocker
Kingpin
Nobu
Diamondback
Bakuto
Peggy Carter
Sharon Carter Agent 13
Dum Dum Dugan
Mocking Bird
Maria Hill
Misty Knight
The Punisher
Phil Coulson
Zemo
Jig Saw
M'Baku
Shuri

 

[Spider-Fan]

If Elektra can ham and KO Luke, so can a super soldier. Vote goes to Red Skull

 

[Luigi]

Red Skull

If Luke can get taken out by a shotgun, then Red Skull could definitely knock him out. Schmidt was shown to be equal to WWII Cap's strength and held his own against him in a fight.

 

[Batmannerism]

Okay. In a straight up fight Cage wins. He is clearly stronger and more durable than super soldiers like Skull and Cap. I think Cap could take him with his shield and skill advantage and similarly Bucky with a gun plus his death grip arm.

Skull is not as skilled a fighter as Cap or Bucky and he's also incredibly overconfident and insane ( which are not conducive qualities to winning fist fights). It would be a knock down drag out brawl but I see Cage eventually overpowering Skull.

However, the Red Skull does not fight fair. He's always got a plan or a secret weapon up his sleeve. If Skull had even a minutes prep he would have some nasty gadget to KO Cage just as he was about to win.

 

[jolldan]

Im leaning towards Red Skull.

If he can match Cap in a fight then we know that's already a pretty high merit.

Plus I would have said Luke's fighting style is very much dependent on him being vastly physically superior to his opponents.

With Red Skull's combination of strength, speed and agility I think he's just too fast for Cage eventually wearing him down for a KO.


EDIT: Im not sure if it would play that much in to the fight but Red Skull also carried a Luger style energy pistol, I don't know if it could do any real damage to Luke but it could at the very least give him both a distancing and distracting weapon to set up other attacks.

 

[Docker2.0]

Red Skull easily. Luke Cage is just a brawler with strength while Red Skull is a military strategist with excellent hand to hand combat who isn't to far off from Luke Cage in strength. He was able to shake off blows from Cap like they were nothing. I honestly don't know how the voting is this close.

 

[Stormborn]

Luke Cage takes this.

His durability advantage is huge, he can tank gunfire, rocket launchers, Iron Fist punches and by season 2 he's even immune to the Judas Bullets we've seen hurt him previously (and the point blank shotgun blast to the head we saw hurt him in JJS1 might not work any more either). He's also stronger than Red Skull, he's comparably skilled (he's a trained marine/former cage fighter) and he's already beaten a superpowered martial artist who was far stronger, more skilled and more durable than Schmidt (Bushmaster).

Other super soldiers (Cap, Black Panther, Winter Soldier) would give Cage a good fight because they have speed/skill to counter Luke's advantages plus their strength is closer to Luke's. MCU Red Skull isn't in the same league though.

Im leaning towards Red Skull. If he can match Cap in a fight then we know that's already a pretty high merit.

In the comics, Red Skull's a recurring villain on par with Cap but in the MCU he's a starter villain. He narrowly lost to a rookie version of Cap who didn't know martial arts yet and wasn't nearly as fast/strong as he later became. Modern day Cap would curb stomp Red Skull. I reckon Luke would beat him without much trouble too.

 

[Bach]

If Luke Cage was able to beat Bushmaster then he can definitely beat Red Skull.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Red Skull is a more skilled fighter. Luke could barely hang with Bushmaster. I see Red Skull beating him worse, especially since Bushmaster's Nightshade was a temp fix. Super soldier serum is permanent.

 

[Stormborn]

Red Skull is a more skilled fighter. Luke could barely hang with Bushmaster. I see Red Skull beating him worse, especially since Bushmaster's Nightshade was a temp fix. Super soldier serum is permanent.

He had 4 fights with Bushmaster. Lost the first one, the second was inconclusive but Luke had the advantage for most of it, and then Luke won the last two.

And Bushmaster showed way more skill, strength and durability than we've seen from Red Skull. MCU Red Skull's an old timey brawler, not a trained martial artist.

 

[Spider-Fan]

He had 4 fights with Bushmaster. Lost the first one, the second was inconclusive but Luke had the advantage for most of it, and then Luke won the last two.

And Bushmaster showed way more skill, strength and durability than we've seen from Red Skull.

Bushmaster was winning that 4th fight handedly. He was fighting Luke plus help. Without the help from Misty and co, Luke would have lost. As for Red Skull, he didn't get into a master kun-fu fight, true. But Luke only has brawler skill. Red Skull at least displayed some level of actual fighting strategy. Luke just throws people.

 

[Stormborn]

Bushmaster was winning that 4th fight handedly. He was fighting Luke plus help. Without the help from Misty and co, Luke would have lost. As for Red Skull, he didn't get into a master kun-fu fight, true. But Luke only has brawler skill. Red Skull at least displayed some level of actual fighting strategy. Luke just throws people.

Luke doesn't just throw people. He's a former marine and cage fighter, he's got some skill.
He was winning against Bushmaster in their second fight, beat him in their third fight and won their final fight with a small amount of help from two non-superpowered humans. And Bushmaster's way above Red Skull both physically and when it comes to skill.

I'm pretty sure the Russos have confirmed Cap didn't know martial arts until he woke up in the modern day and started training. That means Red Skull lost to a version of Cap that didn't know martial arts yet, that's not too impressive skill wise.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Luke doesn't just throw people. He's a former marine and cage fighter, he's got some skill.
He was winning against Bushmaster in their second fight, beat him in their third fight and won their final fight with a small amount of help from two non-superpowered humans. And Bushmaster's way above Red Skull both physically and when it comes to skill.

I'm pretty sure the Russos have confirmed Cap didn't know martial arts until he woke up in the modern day and started training. That means Red Skull lost to a version of Cap that didn't know martial arts yet, that's not too impressive skill wise.

I don't agree. Captain America and Red Skull have similar serums, and Cap has shown way more physically than Bushmaster ever did. Red Skull has many of those same skills.

As for your Russos comment/quote you're referring to, please provide that. Because he clearly knew how to fight in TFA.

 

[Stormborn]

I don't agree. Captain America and Red Skull have similar serums, and Cap has shown way more physically than Bushmaster ever did. Red Skull has many of those same skills.

As for your Russos comment/quote you're referring to, please provide that. Because he clearly knew how to fight in TFA.

It seems pretty obvious to me if you look at the semi-skilled brawl Cap/Skull had in their final fight compared to the insanely skilled Cap vs Winter Soldier fight that Cap levelled up a few times in between. Pretty much all of Cap's hand to hand skill feats are from the modern day and his strength feats have been getting better and better with every film.

And it's on the Blu-Ray commentary for Winter Solider, I don't have a transcript but after a little googling it's referenced here:
Compelling Evidence Captain America is a Ninja in the MCU | Inverse

Oh and I didn't reply to you on this point before:

If Elektra can ham and KO Luke, so can a super soldier. Vote goes to Red Skull

Elektra had superhuman strength in the Defenders, and she's a way more skilled fighter than Red Skull. Plus if I remember right, the only time she knocked cage out was when he was barely recovered from being drugged.

 

[Spider-Fan]

It seems pretty obvious to me if you look at the semi-skilled brawl Cap/Skull had in their final fight compared to the insanely skilled Cap vs Winter Soldier fight that Cap levelled up a few times in between. Pretty much all of Cap's hand to hand skill feats are from the modern day and his strength feats have been getting better and better with every film.

And it's on the Blu-Ray commentary for Winter Solider, I don't have a transcript but after a little googling it's referenced here:
Compelling Evidence Captain America is a Ninja in the MCU | Inverse

Cap's certainly trained more, no doubt. I am not arguing that. So I would agree on more modern fighting techniques, but he was certainly well versed in what the army was teaching in his era.

 

[metaphysician]

Hmm. This ultimately comes down to how close a match you think Red Skull is to Steve Rogers, and whether you think Steve Rogers' power has actually grown over the movies, or only the emphasis of its portrayal.

If we take Red Skull as being essentially a peer of Steve Rogers? Then I think he takes it. Luke Cage is strong, and tough, but he's not invincible. Red Skull is less skilled than Steve, and more overconfident, but not so much that he won't be able to wear Luke down more often than not. There's a chance Luke might be able to get a solid grapple on the Skull and never let go, but I think its much more likely that Schmidt will take a hit and learn that he has to actually play defensively, first.

 

[Bach]

Red Skull never showed even once the amount of skill Bushmaster had. It's obvious that Luke Cage wins here.

 

[Stormborn]

Hmm. This ultimately comes down to how close a match you think Red Skull is to Steve Rogers, and whether you think Steve Rogers' power has actually grown over the movies, or only the emphasis of its portrayal.

I don't think we can assume Red Skull's capable of everything we've seen Cap do.

Red Skull's powers come from an unstable early version of Erskine's serum and he didn't spend much time on the front lines. I think it stands to reason that even though Red Skull used to be able to fight evenly with WW2 Cap (a guy who could bend iron bars and lift motorcycles), Cap's kept getting stronger through training and experience plus the serum and he's now out of Red Skull's league (he can hold down helicopters and hits hard enough to affect Spider-Man and Iron Man).

Plus it's pretty much inarguable that modern day Cap is way way more skilled than he was when he fought Red Skull.

 

[Batmannerism]

I think people are downplaying the fact that Skull has a massive superiority complex. The only reason he even tried to fight Cap on even terms is because he knows Cap is also a super soldier and sees him as a worthy foe.

With Cage, the Skull would probably underestimate him and end up getting severely beaten . The only way I see Skull winning is with a sneaky gadget of some kind.

 

[BigThor]

Close battle, I was gonna do Iron Man vs Abilisk but it seems I made the right decision.

*pats myself on the back*

 

[Web-Head]

This just makes me want Luke Cage in the actual MCU proper.

 

[Luigi]

This just makes me want Luke Cage in the actual MCU proper.

Preach.

 

[Web-Head]

Preach.

...played by someone other than Colter

 

[Docker2.0]

...played by someone other than Colter

Agreed. Colter IS NOT Luke Cage. He's so dry!

 

[OB12]

The only way Red Skull wins this is if he uses some sort of airborne toxin against Cage. In a straight-up hand-to-hand fight, Luke Cage wins this.