Remember When Captain America Anthony Mackie TRASHED ‘Man of Steel’? The Comment That Sparked Debate
MCU star Anthony Mackie publicly once shared his honest opinion about DCEU. The comments go back to 2015, when Mackie spoke about Man of Steel, the Superman movie starring Henry Cavill.
According to an interview during promotions for the film Our Brand Is Crisis, Mackie did not hold back when talking about the DC superhero film. While many fans praised Man of Steel for its modern take on Superman and its visual style, Mackie made it clear that the movie did not work for him.
He explained that he actually enjoyed the beginning of the film, especially the opening sequence on Krypton. But after that, his opinion changed quickly. He suggested that the movie lost its impact as it went on and became difficult for him to stay interested.
Mackie’s reaction was direct and unexpected, especially because he is part of the Marvel universe as Sam Wilson, also known as Falcon and later Captain America.
During the interview, when the topic of DC movies came up, Mackie was asked to respond in a playful way. Instead, he gave a very honest answer about his experience watching Man of Steel. He said he struggled to get through the rest of the film after the opening scenes.
When another participant mentioned Man of Steel as a strong example of a DC movie, Mackie strongly disagreed. He reacted immediately and said, “You’re bananas… you’re bananas.”
He then pointed out that while the movie starts strong, it continues for a long time after that. Mackie added, “But there’s another three hours of movie after that!”
His comments stood out because they came from someone working in a competing superhero franchise. At the time, Marvel and DC comparisons were a constant topic in entertainment discussions, and Mackie’s blunt opinion quickly spread online.
The discussion also highlighted how divided audiences can be when it comes to superhero films. While some viewers appreciated the darker tone and visual scale of Man of Steel, others felt the pacing and story were uneven. Mackie clearly fell into the second group. Even though the comments were made years ago, they still get mentioned whenever Marvel and DC rivalry comes up. Fans often revisit the moment because it shows how even actors inside the superhero world have very different tastes.
After that period, Mackie continued to grow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, eventually taking on a bigger role as Captain America. And it’s funny since his first standalone movie, Captain America: Brave New World, is one of the biggest both critical and commercial flops in the MCU as a whole.
Captain America: Brave New World earned about $200.5 million in the U.S. and Canada and $214.6 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to roughly $415.1 million. According to Deadline Hollywood, the film needed around $425 million worldwide to break even, factoring in its $180 million production budget plus marketing costs.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige suggested one reason for the underperformance was the absence of Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, who led the previous Captain America films.
Still, Mackie got his second chance as he will appear in future MCU projects.
One of those projects is Avengers: Doomsday, which Mackie has described as a return to the classic Marvel style that fans enjoyed in earlier years. He spoke positively about the production and the team behind it.
He said, “We’re supposed to go out this week and we’ll be out there doing it. Everybody’s excited. I feel with the script and having the Russo brothers back, it’s going to be great. I’m really excited for what this project is going to be. It’s going to give the audience that old Marvel feeling that they always had.”
With the Russo brothers involved, Mackie believes the film will bring back the energy that made early Marvel films so popular.
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