If you've been around awhile you've seen me write about superheroes before. Although it seems like a lifetime ago when I wrote about the masterful storytelling ability Marvel had with the conclusion of Endgame. Whereas the last was an ode to what it means to see so many of my favorite superheroes brought to life on screen over the years this time around I'm going to focus on my favorite:The First Avenger, Captain America himself.
There are certainly more powerful superheroes. Men and women gifted with the ability to fly, shoot lasers from their eyes, super strength,speed, and the list could continue for a long time. What sets Captain America apart is the man behind the shield. Steve Rogers isn't a billionaire. He isn't an alien. He doesn't fight with a plethora of fancy gadgets. While he is the human body at its peak form what makes him special is his character. The reason Steve Rogers became Captain America isn't because he was a physically imposing, super strong, man. He carries the moniker and the shield because of who he was before the super soldier serum not because of what the serum made him. Quite simply the kid from Brooklyn became a symbol of what it meant to fight even though he had every medical excuse not to join the war effort. That is why Steve Rogers becomes Captain America. Much like only the worthy can wield the mighty Mjolnir it would take a special person to be imbued with the serum to obtain human perfection and not have all that power go to their head. Steve Rogers was that person.
All that power, the perfection, is a dangerous combination if you give it to the wrong person. You can look at most any politician and see that power shouldn't' be tampered with. But, in the right hands or veins as it were you get a man whom does everything he can to make things right. He fights for the little guy, the overlooked, and the marginalized. While there are far more flashy super suits in the comic world you'd be hard pressed to find one as noble as Steve Rogers. What makes him different is his motive. You will see a man that understands what it means to be bullied or ignored. His upbringing forged the man that would bear a shield, lead a team of super powered people, and do so with the intent to help others.
In an age where popular opinion trumps truth and if your career puts you on the television what you think is the only way to think, Steve Rogers is one of the best examples of superhero you can find. You wouldn't find him touting his power or his name to get his way. You'd likely find him doing what he could for those that needed help and not wanting anything in return. Cap is the quintessential superhero, not because of what he can do but why he does it. Steve Rogers might have been turned into Captain America physically but in all reality he was Captain America all along. It isn't the power or the shield that makes the man, its the character and if anything these days is important to understand it is that. Who you are matters far more than what you can do. Being able to build a super-suit or throw a car with one hand doesn't matter much if you're a jerk.
Cap is my favorite because he's a little skinny guy who becomes something great because of who he already happens to be. Fame and fortune don't transform you into a better person they usually lay bare what is already inside. Character matters.
"The serum amplifies everything that is inside. So, good becomes great. Bad becomes worse. This is why you were chosen. Because a strong man, who has known power all his life, will lose respect for that power. But a weak man knows the value of strength, and knows compassion."
"Thanks. I think."
"Whatever happens tomorrow, you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man."-Abraham Erskine
“Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right.
This nation was founded on one principle above all else: The requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world -- "No, YOU move.”-Captain America
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