Steve Rodgers - The Best Avenger
With Avengers: Infinity War having just come out, it seemed like a good time to go through why Steve Rodgers, aka Captain America is objectively the best Avenger. Now, I’m a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) person, and know basically nothing about the comic books. Therefore, I’m using MCU Cap as the basis of my analysis, not the 70 years or so of comic book history. Also, while I have seen Infinity War this is spoiler-free territory, I promise.
He Chose This
I had a long debate with one of my friends several years ago, around, I think, when Winter Soldier came out, about why I thought Cap was the best Avenger. And part of my argument was that, unlike the X-men, or the vast majority of superheroes, Steve Rodgers actually chose to do this. It wasn’t forced upon him as a result of birth, an accident, or an experiment. When my friend countered with “but who wouldn’t want to gain superpowers?” I reminded him that the serum was unproven and could have ended terribly. Steve entered the program when it could have left him dead, worse off, or insane like Red Skull. He signed up not to become Captain America, but for the chance that he might become him. It was a crazy lottery that more likely would have ended in death than superpowers. And he chose it anyways.
Boy has a Temper
My absolute fav Captain America fan vid can be seen here, and I think it exemplifies that he not only has inhanced combat abilities, he has a bit of a temper: http://this-is-furious.tumblr.com/post/141638654684/brendaonao3-jamesrbarnes-steves-internal
The Cap literally beats people up who piss him off and has no quit in him. Even pre-powers he had no quit and literally told bullies “Bring It.” He is noble not because he doesn’t have base instincts – he beats the crap out of people constantly – but because he holds onto ideals despite that. His temper also highlights, that he is not an especially noble person, but rather a person who tries to live by especially noble ideas.
Playing Decent is Hard
This is more a commentary on actor Chris Evans, than on character Steve Rodgers. It isn’t easy to play a decent, moral person and make them interesting. And regardless of his temper, Cap is fundamentally a decent person. We live in a cultural universe where good is boring. It’s blah. Which, in reality, couldn’t be further from the truth. It is a lot easier, on a day-to-day basis, to be a jerk than to be a decent person. Decency is difficult (says the person who lives and works in Washington DC). It’s even more difficult to be a compelling character while maintaining that decency. Snark may be fun, but it’s a lot easier than being noble.
He Loves Incredibly Deeply
Regardless of how you feel about the Steve/Bucky ‘ship, its abundantly clear that Steve loves Bucky a great deal. As a friend, comrade, family member, lover – it honestly doesn’t matter. Love is love in whatever form it manifests. And while Steve clearly makes mistakes, he does so out of love, rather than malice, a desire to control, or even a belief he knows better than his compatriots. He acts out of faith in others, informed by love. Which, even when misguided, is in the tradition of what the best of us should do.
