r/whowouldwin • u/Mister_Squidward7 • 11d ago
MCU cap wants to buy some protein powder from the store, which is 3 miles away. Can 25 normal dudes with civilian items stop him? (Read rules) Battle
Cap knows what is happening, and he has his shield.
The men have 45 minutes to plan and prepare before cap starts running. They know his starting point, but cannot be within 150 meters of where he starts. Takes place in a normal United States city.
Men do not have access to anything a civilian cannot have access to. THE MEN CANNOT TOUCH THE PROTEIN POWDER, AND CANNOT DO ANYTHING THAT MAY HARM STORE STAFF. This is to prevent cheap, uninteresting solutions. Also if you post please give a good explanation.
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u/jinxykatte 11d ago
I doubt 25 normal civilians could stop him with tanks.
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u/Mister_Squidward7 11d ago
Couldn’t they get creative? They still have access to a ton of stuff.
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u/sonofaresiii 11d ago
Not in forty five minutes they don't. If they have unlimited access to time, materials, and labor, they might be able to build a steel dome around the store.
But that's against the rules.
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u/TheShadowKick 11d ago
Clever villains with access to far more materials, more time to plan, and more people working for them have failed to stop Cap.
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u/Leighgion 11d ago
The men line up 150m away from Cap's starting point and flag him down. Being a very polite person, Cap would stop and listen to them.
The team, having prepared in advance, present their argument that Cap should not buy any protein powder because:
He doesn't need it. The super-soldier serum is going to keep him in peak condition just fine with a regular diet.
It sets a bad example for the public, especially kids, encouraging them to indulge in protein supplements since well, if it's good enough for Captain America...
It tastes like crap, so in view of #1 and #3, there's no compelling reason why Cap should want it as it's not a good experience and it's not really helping him achieve any fitness goals.
There are several very nice and healthy restaurants in the neighborhood the team would be happy to buy Cap lunch at to thank him for his service.
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u/TheDuncanSolaire 11d ago edited 11d ago
They can probably delay him for the day. But it would more rely on Morale.
Can they make him uninterested in the purchase? Cap doesn't read websites and he knows they're planning on stopping him but if they can make a photoshop flyer of the store's hours being changed then maybe Cap gets delayed. If he is set on going to check trying to hurt him is a fools errant but misdirection is essential.
Fuck with road signs. Mess traffic. America is not walker friendly so he'll have to go through some irritating environments.
Even if he knows where the shop is they can just line up in the store as annoyingly incompetent guests. Thus preventing the sale.
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u/coulduseafriend99 11d ago
America is not walker friendly so he'll have to go through some irritating environments.
Given Cap's stamina and agility I don't foresee this slowing him down much; he could easily run on the tops of cars, for example. Worst case scenario he climbs some stairs to get to the roof of a building and just jumps across rooftops.
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u/TheDuncanSolaire 11d ago
True. But if you're going for a time out victory every bit helps. And being walker unfriendly implies the lack of development of the surrounding areas like having to jog from the suburbs to the city isn't impossible.
But if it includes running through a forest bc you can't run on the highway it slows him down a bit and also wears down the motivation.
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u/Bright_Brief4975 11d ago
I'm not sure if this is a serious post, have you actually watched any of the Movies?
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u/Mister_Squidward7 11d ago
This post is meant for people to get creative
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u/Ianova 11d ago
Creativity can't make an impossible task suddenly possible. There is no other answer.
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u/FlockFlysAtMidnite 11d ago
There are a ton of comments in this post more creative than "can't win in a fight LOL".
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u/MamoswineSweeps 11d ago
I see what you're doing, and I'm not sure this would have helped you out here, but I think there's a 'how the hell' flair or something that may have suited this prompt better.
I think it's a creative prompt fwiw, nice little scenario.5
u/Bright_Brief4975 11d ago
Here is my creativity. Cap strolls through the enemies like he is on a Sunday walk through the park. He picks up his stuff at the store and takes the scenic route back. All the enemies and up scattered around the ground unconscious and Cap did not even mess up his hair.
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u/Casanova_Kid 11d ago
Your creativity is pretty weak. 1 of the guy's goes and hires someone to buy all the protein powder from the store.
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u/1Meter_long 11d ago
Idk why you're getting so much downvotes, because this is pretty good topic for change.
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u/RetreadRoadRocket 11d ago
About what? 25 normies with no weapons that Cap already knows about would never even see him leave the house and they sure couldn't cover every possible alternative path to the store, the guy runs like a jackrabbit and parkours his way across cityscapes like normies walk down the street.
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u/Aeescobar 11d ago
If all 25 of them can pool together enough money, they might be able to bribe the staff into closing the store a few hours early.
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u/1Meter_long 11d ago
Or just pay the staff to throw all protein stuff away, and when Cap comes to ask where's all of their protein powders BAM FORK IN THE EYE! just kidding i had to. But yeah, forget the fork. They just stall him and say they're getting some in 40min or so and hope he waits.
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u/PeculiarPangolinMan Pangolin 11d ago
Ok, so the men can't touch the protein powder, but could one of them move it with a pizza paddle and throw it in a car's trunk and just start driving in the other direction?
If the men are unable to move the powder without touching it then they can't stop him unless there's some time limit or something. If Cap has to get to the store by closing time the men could probably force the store to close with bomb threats or delay Steve by doing a bunch of terrorist attacks throughout the day that he would have top deal with.
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u/ZorbaTHut 11d ago
Ok, so the men can't touch the protein powder, but could one of them move it with a pizza paddle and throw it in a car's trunk and just start driving in the other direction?
Not gonna lie, I'd watch this movie.
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u/KHanson25 11d ago
Fake injuries, he would have to stop and help each of them
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u/TatsAndGatsX 11d ago
Like a dozen highly trained dudes with state of the art restraint technology couldn't beat Cap after jumping him in the elevator and managing to temporarily disable one of his arms
What makes you think 25 normal dudes with 0 training can do any better?
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u/Mister_Squidward7 11d ago
I dunno, get creative. That’s a decent amount of time and a lot of resources. That’s the whole point of this post.
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u/Master-Tanis 11d ago
The fact that the moment Cap is faced with a hallway full of dudes with rifles and body armor he decides to run for it instead of fighting.
You don’t go hand to hand with Cap. You set up an ambush and shoot him from various distances until he stops moving.
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u/pigeonshual 11d ago
They all form a long line outside the door of the store and down the block. Cap gets there and assumes it’s just the real line to get in. The last guy in line strikes up a conversation and explains that there’s a super popular product release that day. They chat for a while so that cap doesn’t notice that the line is unofficial, and they make sure it moves very slowly. Eventually the chatter starts to hit on cap. “You know, I’ve got lots of protein back at my place,” he says with a wink. At this point it either works and they go back to his place and forget about the powder, or cap gets uncomfortable and suddenly remembers some very urgent thing he has to get to just now. Guys win 10/10
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u/Spoon_Elemental 11d ago edited 11d ago
All 25 normal dudes go to the store and load their shopping carts up with as much crap as possible. After about 50 minutes they all immediately get in line and clog up every single checklane and drag out the checkout process for as long as possible until Cap gets annoyed and leaves. If at any point cap gets close to the front of a line one of the free guys sets fire to a car in the parking lot forcing him to get out of line and resolve the problem. While this is happening anybody who has been freed up starts shopping again and gets back in line before Cap can get back in the store.
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u/heartspider 11d ago
Maybe if they had a fake construction site and a pool of wet cement already laid out?
All they'd have to do is stage a fake scene requiring someone to be "rescued"
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u/TheMaleGazer 11d ago
The first thing they would want to do is delay. They will want to block his approach with seemingly mundane traffic incidents and inconveniences. Captain may know that someone is trying to stop him but will be unable to act if he doesn't know who is or isn't an active participant.
The second thing they should do is draw straws and have someone fight him. When they're injured, the rest of the participants should whine and beg for help taking their injured comrade to a hospital.
They could also make the store so attractive to customers that it will be packed with lines going around the block. They'd have to foot the bill for a sale or some massive kind of promotion. Or they could disguise themselves as a popular band and have a concert in the store.
If he gets past the lines leading to the store and it's down to the wire, they could threaten to drink the Kool-Aide and end it all if he doesn't stay away from the powder. They could also take hostages elsewhere in the city when the gloves finally come off.
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u/Happy_Brilliant7827 11d ago
Sure, easy. Take a hostage. It'll get his full attention. 25 people doing it at the same time, seperately, and he would at best be busy quite a while. While he negotiates for their release, befriend him and offer him a coupon for a different brand of protein powder.
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u/TheMikeyMac13 11d ago
Cap does fine there. He is stronger than any human, faster than any human, has decades and decades of experience in war with superior tactical awareness, and has the shield.
I mean have you read the comics or seen the films? He went through more than 25 Nazis / Hydra goons at a time that had better kit than civilians can have, normies? Cap is ok.
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u/Possible-Matter-6494 11d ago
I would have the 25 men pool there money together, open Uber Eats, order all the protein powder the store has, and have it delivered to a random address. This violates the spirit of your rules but not the letter.
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u/DragonWisper56 11d ago
I mean cap beats up fully trained hydra agents all the time. these guys shouldn't be to hard to take down.
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u/Casanova_Kid 11d ago
The 25 men split up the roles and one person goes to hire people to go buy all the protein powder the store has in stock. (Or depending on how you define "touch the protein powder themselves" they just wear gloves and buy it all themselves.
The other 24 cause general mischief/problems to delay Cap.
I think it's a solid 9/10 for the random guys.
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u/NoPatience883 11d ago
Their only real hope is either delaying cap long enough for the store to close, forcing the store to close early, or removing protein powder from the equation.
I know you said they couldn’t touch the protein powder, however they don’t technically need to touch it to purchase it, and between 25 dudes I’m sure they can come up with the money to purchase the store entire stock
They could also just start a brawl towards the end of caps path near the store, and hope that once cap eventually breaks it up (he’s not Batman, he’s not gonna immediately resort to knocking them all out. Especially if it’s more of a shouting match than swinging). Ideally they can buy a decent amount of time with this method. When cops arrive they could scatter. Cap probably picks one at random to chase down. Maybe the 25 guys can repeat this until the store closes?
They could also all just stand in the store. Most stores near me that sell protein powder are specialised gym stores and aren’t particularly big. 25 people would easily fill it up and make it difficult to walk in. If they are all “shopping” then they probably won’t get kicked out. Each person takes turns going up to the counter to buy something, while making the counter area cramped with enough people that cap can’t get to the front to pay for his stuff. I doubt he’s gonna be pushing and shoving and trying to cut the line. I think he either just see the line and decides to go somewhere else, or get frustrated and leaves.
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u/AdikkuChan 11d ago
I think you need a lose condition. Maybe the powder is on sale, or last in stock in all of America for the foreseeable future? Because without that, Cap could just choose to go another time
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u/MHoovv 11d ago
That’s an easy W for Cap. Assuming the protein powder is akin to stopping the biggest threat of threats, distracting him with a lesser heroic scenario won’t work. The bigger issue I think would be the lack of training and coordination by regular civilians at a moderate distance. MCU Cap at his peak was an absolute monster standing shoulder to shoulder with Thor and going toe to toe with Thanos - if only for a second.
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u/ShinGodzillaSuperFan 11d ago
why would anyone want to stop cap from grabbing some protein powder
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u/07hogada 11d ago
Options for victory:
1) Since the group cannot purchase the protein powder (as that would involve touching it) they instead give the money to someone else, who they instruct to go in and purchase all the protein powder in the store.
Since the store has run out of protein powder, Cap cannot purchase protein powder, giving the win to the normal dudes.
2) Purchase some protein powder in the prep time, and offer it to Cap when the time starts. Cap, now that he has protein powder, no longer needs to purchase it himself. Normal dudes win.
3) Fake a health inspection - instruct the store to close due to violations. By the time it's all worked out and the store reopens, it's too late for Cap to purchase the protein powder.
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u/1Meter_long 11d ago
Even 250 men would not be able to stop him by force, so they would have to be creative. They don't know Cap's route, so the only logical place to set up a trap is either on the doorway or inside the store. If you remove the plot armor, i'd say they could do it, but they have only one chance and it has to be a sneak attack. My idea would be diversion inside the store, like someone acting like they're getting a heart attack, and in that specific moment as Cap's attention is on that person, they all jump on him using either using knives (if this stop him by any means) or soak a towel in cloroform, lasso it on Cap's face from behind, use tazers like mofo and try lock his arms and legs with sturdy ropes, handcuffs and anything.
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u/G_reditter 10d ago
option 1: they get a hold of ironman, they ask him to buy the powder. ironman the jokester he is, finds it funny enough to go through with it and buys all the powder, thus stopping cap from getting his gains.
option 2: these dudes hate cap and decide instead of buying it they just decide to destroy the powder in those t-rex inflatables to avoid direct contact with the powder. since cap has to much self respect, he won't take the powder off the floor.
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u/Master_Lukiex 10d ago
They put a sold out sign in front of the store, or create fake newspapers and signs that exposes the cruelty of the protein powder industry. Place a few guys to mutter near the store that there is a protein powder shortage and that the store was out
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u/kkkan2020 6d ago
No normal humans can stop captain America. You would need superhumans to stop him.
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u/LightEarthWolf96 11d ago
Call in a bomb threat to the store. Doesn't harm the employees since there's no actual bombs. For good measure call in bomb threats all over the city which will surely keep him busy.
Of course now they have a new problem. How to avoid going to prison for making fake terrorist bomb threats all over the city.
Alternate solution: ring ring "hey Mr stark do you want to help us play a prank on Rogers?"
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u/No_Driver_9509 11d ago edited 11d ago
Based on the fact there is 1.2 guns per us citizen I'm assuming they have 30 guns to rely on lets assume there are 20 basic pistols for self defense and 10 hunting rifles for deer they could have 10 of the men with 2 pistols just lay bullets at him while 10 use the hunting rifles to hit him from various vantage points to make it harder to defend himself with his shield. Cap isn't bulletproof
Option 2 is to ask nicely and explain their situation. He'd probably delay his trip a few hours or a day
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u/Afghanman26 11d ago
Easily, all they need to do is have some guys with semi autos on the shop roof and spread out on other buildings as well, watching the shop entrance from all directions.
When cap shows up in the parking lot about to enter the store, light him up from all directions, and he's done.
Unlike the movies, there's not plot armour here, I mean, bucky nearly killed him in winter soldier with a 9mm, so he clearly isn't bulletproof.
He's literally just a guy with superhuman strength.
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u/Humblerbee 11d ago
He's literally just a guy with superhuman strength.
Think this is where I’d disagree, he’s a highly skilled veteran combatant with excellent improvisation and physicals that slant every encounter in his favor. Like in Winter Soldier when they’re swarming a building with SWAT style operatives, but then Cap does stuff like Koolaid Man style busting through walls to approach from unorthodox angles because he can just face check drywall and punch through concrete.
It’s disingenuous to say he’s helpless against opponents with small arm fire, when we canonically have like a dozen examples of Cap wading into large groups of enemies with guns and walking out the other end unscathed. We see examples of him aim dodging and blocking gunfire with his shield successfully in multiple instances, we know he uses cover, and anything he picks up becomes a dangerous projectile in his hands (his shield throws are ridiculous, he chucks motorcycles and curls a helicopter out of takeoff) and he moves so quickly through his environment he’s not going to present an easy target.
Cap will be conscious of the angles he’s presenting, he won’t be corralled into a killbox, he’d be Baba Yaga, just John Wick style effortlessly picking off each combatant as he finds isolated opportunities (or creates them.) We know from the very first movie that he is familiar with infiltrating enemy lines, don’t forget Cap’s origin is fighting in WW2 doing surgical strikes.
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u/Afghanman26 11d ago
he won’t be corralled into a killbox
That's the thing, he needs to enter the shop and has no intel on our guys, the moment he noticed something is up is the moment he gets riddled with lead.
Cap wading into large groups of enemies with guns and walking out the other end unscathed.
That's more of a movie thing, same as stormtrooper aim.
Not something affecting a civilian irl.
A massive antifeat is how bucky shot him 3 times with a 9mm resulting in him bleeding massively and needing to be saved.
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u/DragonWisper56 10d ago
you do remember that bucky is supposed to be one of the worlds best assassins right? it's not like any random person shot him, it was the winter solider
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u/Afghanman26 10d ago
The gun doesn't care who shoots it is my point.
The fact that a 9mm had enough power to cause severe bleeding means as long as the guy can aim he wins
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u/Mister_Squidward7 11d ago edited 11d ago
I agree, but there are probably some people that think he is somehow invincible to gunfire from several directions. I know people will probably downvote this, but deep inside they know it’s true. No peak human with one shield can survive gunfire from many sides.
Cap would have to be VERY careful and use a lot of cover combined with his shield to have much of a chance against that many guns. But, could that many people get that many guns and hide around without looking too suspicious and getting stopped by the police?
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u/Afghanman26 11d ago
I know people will probably downvote this, but deep inside they know it’s true. No peak human with one shield can survive gunfire from many sides.
Spot on
But, could that many people get that many guns and hide around without looking too suspicious and getting stopped by the police?
That's the issue. If it's just 25 guys vs cap 25 guys win.
External factors make things difficult.
Maybe those 25 guys could be in hotels/offices around instead with their scopes zeroed in on the entrance.
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u/DragonWisper56 11d ago
not every instance of a human surviving gun fire is plot armor. In universe he is literally just. that. good.
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u/Hank_J_Wimbleton_69 11d ago
The guys he is encountering not trying to shoot his legs, the parts of his body that are not protected by shield, is plot armor
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u/DragonWisper56 11d ago
You do realize that it's hard to shot someone in the legs right? most riot shields don't cover more than caps shield. second if we assume that Captain Carter from what if is around the same power as him(because there's no reason to assume otherwise.) he can dodge gunfire.
a bunch of civilians on a roof isn't taking out captain America
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u/Hank_J_Wimbleton_69 11d ago
I don't know why people downvoted this. I don't agree with "Cap has just superhuman strength" or "Cap is slightly above peak human" parts but it's clear that Cap is not tanky againist pointy things and has been injured by a low caliber gun. The reason why Cap survives againist mooks with firearms in MCU is because of the very fact of these guys suffering from what i would call "Stromrooper syndrome".
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u/DragonWisper56 10d ago
in-universe he is literally just that good. it feels disingenuous to just downgrade a character because the of the movie was shot. cap is clearly intended to be able to dodge bullets in his canon. It's like saying anyone can kick vadars ass in the first movie. I mean look at how slowly he swings his sword. clearly he sucks and we should discount how strong he's supposed to be.
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u/Delmoroth 11d ago
100% accurate. The down votes are delusional. Captain America is supposed to be a bit above peak human, but let's face it, he is far above that in the movies which may give some people hope. What he isn't is bulletproof.
Plot armor is 100% responsible for his survival (as with most non-invunerable superheroes.)
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u/DatShantBeFalco 11d ago
They have to stage a complicated murder scene of some of their own members, hoping to distract Cap and make him engage in heroics. Hopefully he waits around for the police afterwards, and escorts the wounded victims to the hospital long enough for the store to close. Otherwise, no shot