Although best known in pop culture as Black Widow and Captain America, Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans are powerhouses across various genres. While Evans started his career with television roles and a handful of movies before Captain America, Johansson first appeared on stage as a child actor in an Off-Broadway production. Evans built a career playing the typical all-American guy-next-door, and Johansson worked her way from child actor to ingénue to indie darling.
Prior to their work in the MCU, Evans and Johansson first starred opposite each other in The Perfect Score. Evans and Johansson have starred in nine movies together (so far), and this list ranks where each one lands against the rest, weighing how much real screen time and chemistry the two actually share over the film’s overall quality or box office alone.
9
‘Captain Marvel’ (2019)
Blink, and You’ll Miss Them
With every superhero getting a standalone film, Carol Danvers’ turn finally arrived in spectacular fashion for her own origin story. Brie Larson takes the lead in Captain Marvel and emerges as one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie traces her journey as a Kree warrior who associates with Nick Fury and Agent Coulson during a galactic war between two alien races.
Chris Evans’s and Scarlett Johansson’s roles in Captain Marvel are brief, so it feels a bit like cheating to include them on the list. However, their mid-credit scene appearance is one of the many times they played their MCU roles and helped make the universe feel more interconnected. While they don’t tie directly into the main plot of Captain Marvel, they do lay the groundwork for Avengers: Endgame and are a nice treat at the end of the underrated MCU film.
8
‘The Perfect Score’ (2004)
Where Their Chemistry First Sparked
The Perfect Score follows six high school students who are afraid of failing their SATs, so they decide to break into a regional office to steal all the exam answers. The Perfect Score aims to convey that your goals and dreams are more than just a test score. Evans plays the main character, Kyle, while Johansson plays Francesca, the office owner’s daughter.
Despite the film being from the 2000s, Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans easily passed off as teenagers, which made their chemistry playful and natural, to say the least. However, the coming-of-age comedy only goes so far in terms of memorability. Beyond being a mildly entertaining film with an average plot, The Perfect Score does not make the most of its actual heist premise. This is the first of many collaborations between the two.
7
‘The Nanny Diaries’ (2007)
An Early Rom-Com Pairing For the Two
The 2007 romance-comedy-drama The Nanny Diaries tells the story of a college graduate (Johansson) who agrees to work as a nanny for a wealthy family. She has to juggle their dysfunction, her new romance with Evans, a ‘Harvard Hottie’, and the child in her care.
The Nanny Diaries is a nice snapshot of the careers Johansson and Evans had before the MCU. Johansson was one of the most in-demand young actresses, but after Lost in Translation, she did not have a defining character or even a type of story and instead took on a variety of projects. Meanwhile, Chris Evans was more of a comedic star following his performance as Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four. Evans played many romantic leading-man roles before he became known as Captain America.
6
‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ (2015)
Same Rules, Same Rulebreakers
No Avengers movie would be complete without the patriotic character of Captain America and the sharp, trained combat skills of Black Widow. Released in 2015, Avengers: Age of Ultron grossed over $1.4 billion worldwide. In the movie, Tony Stark experiments with the Mind Stone housed in Loki’s scepter, turning a computer program into sentient intelligence determined to wreak havoc. The Avengers have to fight an artificial intelligence, Ultron, who simply wants to see humanity go extinct.
The more Evans and Johansson appear together on the screen in the MCU movies, the more we notice that they somehow give off the same overprotective ‘follow-the-rules’ energy. Their actions and their desperation to save as many lives as they can while still averting any major catastrophe are among the reasons they understand each other so well, and this is portrayed with subtle nuance in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
5
‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2016)
Friendship Tested by Loyalty
The third Captain America movie or just another Avengers movie? Despite the obvious title, the movie features almost every existing Avenger, plus characters like Ant-Man, Spider-Man, and Black Panther. In Captain America: Civil War, the team comes into a disagreement over the international oversight of the Avengers and their missions. Now broken into two groups, the Avengers fight an epic battle with one another, hoping one side will emerge victorious.
Captain America: Civil War initially puts Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff on opposite sides of the board, with Black Widow backing Tony Stark’s pro-registration side while Captain America goes rogue. Yet despite their disagreement, the two still have a deep understanding and care for one another, and their conversation at the church following Peggy Carter’s funeral is a real character highlight, showing how far they have come and their wonderful chemistry.
4
‘The Avengers’ (2012)
Where Natasha Met Steve
In 2012, audiences first saw all the MCU superheroes together on one screen. It was also the first time Natasha and Steve made acquaintances. As the last movie of Phase One, The Avengers did exceptionally well with both critics and audiences, grossing over $1.5 billion worldwide. The film’s primary plot follows Loki’s arrival on Earth with the intention of ruling it. This forced Nick Fury to launch the Avengers program and assemble the strongest heroes to fight back.
Chris Evans is given a bit more comedy in The Avengers, as the man-out-of-time aspect works well for his character while also serving as a moral anchor. Meanwhile, the movie gives Johansson so much more to do as Black Widow than she did in Iron Man 2. Much of her characterization that would define her is introduced in this film. It is interesting that, despite Black Widow being so closely linked to Captain America in future films, the two only get a few brief scenes together here. Yet the moment of the duo working on the ground to fight off alien invaders hints at the bond these two will share.
3
‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)
Reunited for One Last Stand
Avengers: Infinity War became the first superhero movie to gross over $2 billion worldwide. Praised mostly for its visual effects and emotional weight, the film follows the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy as they try to stop Thanos from collecting all six Infinity Stones and wiping out half the population. But it is no easy feat, and despite the involvement of every Avenger who had made their debut in the MCU up to that point, fighting in unison, the result was… well, you know how it went.
Both Captain America and Natasha were on the run from the government before Infinity War. Seeing them return was a delight, and although they were not as powerful as The Hulk or Thor, it was clear that when they entered the picture, the balance shifted in the heroes’ favor. Naturally, all the Avengers come together in the end, with Nat and Steve fighting side by side. From the dramatic sequences to the jaw-dropping fight scenes, both actors did a fantastic job of coordinating with one another, particularly in the film’s final heartbreaking moments.
2
‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)
Their Bond’s Emotional Final Chapter
As expected, Avengers: Endgame was an immense box office success, grossing more than $2.798 billion worldwide and surpassing Infinity War‘s entire theatrical run in just 11 days. The movie received numerous award nominations and was praised by critics for its direction, visual effects, and, yet again, emotional weight. It followed the events of Infinity War five years after the blip. While some of the original team had lost all hope, the rest were still determined to travel back in time and reverse the event that took half the population out.
Considering Natasha and Steve were among the few Avengers who weren’t wiped out by the snap, we could see just how deep their friendship was. They hadn’t been in the same place the entire time, but they were together, reeling from what had happened. The film features a touching conversation between the two about how they are dealing with the new world’s status quo, and, following Black Widow’s sacrifice, it becomes clear how important she was to the entire team, particularly to Steve Rogers.
1
‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ (2014)
Peak Chemistry, Peak Partnership
Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released in 2014 and instantly became a commercial success, praised by critics for the action sequences and the actors’ performances. Steve Rogers joins forces with Natasha Romanoff and Sam Wilson (Falcon) to uncover an S.H.I.E.L.D. conspiracy while fighting a new villain known as the Winter Soldier. This was the movie that also solidified the bond between Captain America and Black Widow, as it brought her in as a key supporting character and, arguably, the Avenger with whom Captain America has the closest bond.
Despite having more films to share in the future, Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson’s characters showed peak on-screen chemistry in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. After all, this was the movie that showed us Natasha and Steve’s close friendship blooming the most. From finding shelter in Sam’s house to joining forces to fight and save Bucky, the movie proves their friendship is one of the best examples of on-screen chemistry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
