Why Green Goblin Beats Captain America in a Straight Fight

Green Goblin beats Captain America in a straight fight. Both are enhanced super soldiers, but one of them is, in my words, "absolutely insane and way way more physically powerful," and that difference in raw strength is what decides this matchup.

Green Goblin's fight with Spider-Man in No Way Home shows just how strong he really is

The clearest evidence for how strong Green Goblin actually is comes from watching him fight Spider-Man. In Civil War, Peter casually caught Bucky's metal arm and physically overpowered him, while Steve had to rely on his experience and IQ just to compete. Green Goblin fought a much more experienced version of that same Spider-Man and, in my view, "beat the absolute crap out of him."

Norman was throwing Peter through walls, smashing him through multiple floors, taking direct punches to the face, and laughing at him the entire time. That is before even factoring in that Green Goblin and his son did basically the same thing to Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man in the Raimi films. Physically, I really don't think these two are on the same level.

Captain America is easily the better fighter thanks to years of varied combat experience

Where Captain America has a real advantage is skill. Steve has spent years fighting basically every type of opponent imaginable, including Winter Soldier, Black Panther, Iron Man, Ultron, and Thanos, and he is genuinely good at adapting during a fight.

The shield lets Captain America punch above his weight against Green Goblin's weapons

Cap's shield is also going to be a factor. It lets him block Goblin's pumpkin bombs and defend against the blades on the glider, and it has let Cap hit way above his normal weight class before, damaging Iron Man's armor and tearing through Ultron drones in the past. Against Green Goblin, Cap is going to land some hits, dodge some attacks, and might even use the shield to knock Goblin off his glider.

Green Goblin still wins because Captain America cannot absorb his punishment

That is about all Captain America can actually do, because he is fighting someone who can trade punches with Spider-Man, take an insane amount of punishment, and laugh about it. Unlike Spider-Man, Captain America really cannot take too many clean hits from Green Goblin. Captain America is skilled and smarter in a fight, but eventually Green Goblin is going to get his hands on him. Once that happens, it's all over. Green Goblin wins.

Who do you think actually wins this fight?