Anthony Mackie Defeated Chris Evans And Paul Bettany In A ‘Civil War’ Push-Up Contest

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Much fuss has been made over the eventual changing of the guard in the Captain America subset of Marvel films. Chris Evans regularly seesaws on whether he’s willing to keep holding the shield. On Saturday, Anthony Mackie (who plays Falcon) spoke to a Comic-Con crowd in Salt Lake City. The actor admitted how he “ate a lot of Atlanta dirt” during his Civil War stunt-work.

The topic on everyone’s mind at Comic-Con was whether or not Steve Rogers survives the next movie. In the comics, he is replaced more than once. Both Bucky Barnes and Falcon take up the shield in Rogers’ absence, but Mackie says he doesn’t think anyone could replace Evans in the role:

“I don’t think we need a new Cap. I don’t think Cap needs to change. I think [Bucky’s actor Sebastian Stan] would be a great Cap, but then we’re left without Bucky. I think I’d be a great Cap, but then we’re left without a Falcon.”

This is a diplomatic answer and one that was certainly engineered to avoid spoilers and keep Marvel happy. Yet Evans does bring a fantastic presence to the role. His own conflicted nature and insecurities as an actor disappear within the character, who never wavers in his dignity. What isn’t dignified, however, is the notion of a bunch of actor-bros duking it out on set over their push-up prowess. That’s exactly what happened, according to Mackie.

Mackie says Paul Bettany (Vision) made the mistake of challenging everyone to a push-up contest. Mackie related his reluctance to join because Vision’s Infinity Gem doesn’t translate to massive superpowers: “I’m like ‘Yo Paul, that’s not real, your jewel’s not real. It’s not helping you do push-ups.'” According to Mackie, Bettany dropped and knocked out 62 push-ups. Then Chris Evans popped over and delivered 70. Mackie smugly responded, “Wow, 70 in one sitting, that’s a lot of push-ups … I want you all to see something. When I got through with my 85 … I’m just saying.”

Unfortunately, Mackie did not provide video evidence of this alleged smackdown, but he did challenge the panel’s moderator (Jay Whittaker) to an impromptu battle. Here’s a clip of Mackie throwing down some one-armed push-ups.

(Via Salt Lake Tribune)

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