🏛️ The 2025 Frontrunners: Breaking the "Cape" Stigma

🏛️ The 2025 Frontrunners: Breaking the "Cape" Stigma

This year, two performances in particular have transcended the confines of comic book adaptations, demanding to be seen as elite-tier acting.

1. Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova (Thunderbolts*)²

Released in May 2025, Thunderbolts* was a risk for Marvel, pivoting away from cosmic battles to a gritty, character-driven story about trauma and "chosen family."³ At the center of it all was Florence Pugh.⁴ Critics have hailed her performance as the most emotionally complex in the franchise since Endgame.

Pugh doesn't just play a spy; she plays a woman vibrating with the weight of unresolved grief for her sister, Natasha Romanov, and a deep-seated resentment toward the systems that made her a weapon.⁵ Her chemistry with Lewis Pullman (playing Bob/Sentry) provided the film’s spiritual anchor, shifting the third-act climax from a CGI battle to a series of quiet, devastating emotional confrontations.⁶

"Pugh shows more range in Thunderbolts* than most of this year's Best Actress candidates.⁷ She manages to be hilarious in one breath and utterly shattered the next." — CBR, December 2025

2. Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (The Fantastic Four: First Steps)

The July release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps brought a retro-futuristic aesthetic that charmed audiences, but it was Vanessa Kirby who provided the soul.⁸ While superhero movies often struggle to portray family dynamics without falling into cliché, Kirby’s Sue Storm was a revelation.

The film's core conflict—whether to sacrifice her son, Franklin, to save the world from Galactus—rested entirely on Kirby’s ability to convey a mother’s primal terror and a leader’s impossible resolve.⁹ Her performance anchored the "family" theme that director Matt Shakman leaned so heavily into, proving that Sue Storm is perhaps the MCU's most compelling hero of the modern era.

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🕰️ The Historical Snubs: When the Academy Looked Away

To understand why the 2025 buzz is so loud, we have to look at the performances that paved the way but were ultimately left at the altar of the Dolby Theatre.

Robert Downey Jr. (Avengers: Endgame)

The gold standard for the "snub" remains RDJ’s final turn as Tony Stark. After a decade of character growth, Downey Jr. delivered a performance in Endgame that was both weary and heroic. His "I am Iron Man" moment wasn't just a catchphrase; it was the culmination of a three-hour masterclass in subverting the "billionaire playboy" archetype. Despite intense fan pressure, Downey Jr. famously declined an Oscar campaign, preferring to let the character’s legacy speak for itself.¹⁰

Tony Leung as Wenwu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings)

Tony Leung brought "prestige cinema" to the MCU. As Wenwu, he avoided every "villain" trope, instead playing a grieving widower whose villainy was a byproduct of immense, lonely love. It was a Shakespearean performance that, in any other genre, would have been a locked-in Supporting Actor nominee.

Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)

Building on her Emmy-nominated work in WandaVision, Olsen’s transition to the big screen as a "villain" fueled by maternal grief was haunting. She portrayed a descent into madness with a vulnerability that made the audience root for the antagonist, a feat rarely achieved in high-budget cinema.

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⚖️ Why the Bias is Finally Fading

The Academy has historically favored "serious" films—historical dramas, biopics, and gritty realism. However, the MCU in 2025 has moved closer to these categories than ever before.

Table: The Evolution of MCU "Prestige" Acting

Era	Focus	Key "Oscar-Caliber" Performance
Phase 1-3	Charisma & Iconography	Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man)
Phase 4	Grief & Legacy	Angela Bassett (Wakanda Forever)
Phase 5-6 (2025)	Psychological Depth & Family	Florence Pugh & Vanessa Kirby

The "Marvel Logo" is no longer a total barrier because the studio has started hiring "auteur" directors—like Jake Schreier and Matt Shakman—who prioritize performance over pixels. When an actor like Harrison Ford (who garnered significant praise for his "meaning and power" in Captain America: Brave New World this year) joins the fold, it signals to the Academy that the sandbox is now safe for "serious" actors to play in.

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🎭 The "Green Screen" Paradox

One of the most common criticisms from Oscar voters is that acting against a green screen isn't "real" acting. However, as Bradley Cooper proved with his voice work in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.¹¹ 3, or Josh Brolin proved as Thanos, acting in a vacuum requires more imagination, not less.

In 2025, the use of practical sets and "The Volume" technology has helped bridge this gap. In Thunderbolts*, much of Florence Pugh’s best work was done in tangible, grounded environments, allowing her to react to her co-stars rather than a tennis ball on a stick. This shift toward "realism" in production is finally making the performances feel "real" enough for the more traditional members of the Academy.

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🔮 The Verdict: Will 2026 Be the Year?

With the nominations for the 98th Academy Awards set to be announced in January 2026, the MCU finds itself in a strong position.

• Best Actress: Vanessa Kirby is a strong "dark horse" contender. Her previous nomination for Pieces of a Woman gives her the pedigree the Academy respects.

• Best Supporting Actress: Florence Pugh is the favorite for the "Genre" slot. She is an Academy darling, and the narrative of her "saving" the MCU this year is a powerful one for voters.

• Best Supporting Actor: While Harrison Ford gave a commanding performance, the competition in this category is notoriously stiff. However, a "legacy" nomination is never off the table for a star of his stature.

The MCU has proven that it can do more than just make money; it can make us feel. As Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova tearfully realizes her own worth at the end of Thunderbolts*, she isn't just a superhero. She is a woman. And that, more than any superpower, is what deserves a golden statue.