Interesting video essay. See, Captain America aka Steve Rogers, especially the MCU version might be liked much more in the US than other nations. In Germany the title for the second was changed from "Captain America: Winter Soldier" to "The Return of the First Avenger" I guess only a few would have understood the mere title subtitle "Winter Soldier" as Germany tends to be more multicultural when it comes to comics: it's a larger mish-mash of US (superhero) comics, but also a ton of Franco-Belgian comics, European comics in general and Mangas. And the third was changed into "The First Avenger: Civil War" Why? Because the name "Captain America" doesn't sell tickets to a broader audience. I can't speak for everyone but the way I and others interpreted Tony Stark in Civil War was, that because he's Tony he does it in a wrong way but is essentially right. Most of the MCU superheros are Americans and if not technically in-universe then in a metaphorical way because they are interpreted by American authors such as Thor. So, when Steve who represents what you pointed very spot on (a romanticized version of American values that ring kind of hollow when you don't face the ugly past) and the gang enter another country to play police... It's kind of an intrusion. Let's put it this way: If a superhero team from China that doesn't have ties to the current political system and just truly wants to help in an incident in an American city without being asked, how would Americans react? So, American exceptionalism as a message is transported by the character of Steve, that's kind of a problem. For me as German Steves romanticized view of American virtues especially rings a bit hollow because Germans were and are forced to critically question our nation's history. And rightfully so. The Third Reich but recently debate came up about other topics that somehow flew under the radar, topics that need to be looked at to understand where your nation comes from, where you're virtues come from. The first article in our constitution, the "Basic law" from 1948/49 says that "Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority." after that basic human rights are listed including free speech, technically saying that even free speech has kind of limits and that is human dignity. It's meant to be a general safeguard and that at a certain point you can't hide behind a "shield" of "I can say whatever I want" if you actually want to incite hatred, meaning the thin line to cross that is a bit thicker than in the US and N@zi propaganda or possession of things from this era is forbidden. And the reason is rooted in our country's history. Soooo.... Steve Rogers as Captain America can be seen as the American patriot that doesn't question his own history. And that's kind of a problem. For me but also for others. Tony is much more flawed and approachable in that regard, always fixing things especially himself, making things better (Iron Man is technically just a metaphor for this) which is only possible if you see the flaw. While Steve never has to. He is... Perfect. So to speak. Actually you gave me a reason to think about watching Falcon and the Winter Soldier, even though I kinda find both characters a bit boring. 😉

I've always interpreted Steve's character as an idea of what America should be, not the jingoistic view that America somehow is built on a perfect moral center that just needs focusing. I think there are many instances of him defying what might be considered "traditional American values". One small but key example is in age of Ultron, Steve demonstrates a great deal of understanding of Wanda and Pietro's situation, likening it to his own. He demonstrates an empathy for people who others had branded terrorists, for dangerous foreign individuals. That, I think, goes directly against the US's historical and present foreign policy. The message I've always received from Cap is that America is powerful, like Cap, but it should wield that power with empathy towards other countries, their situations, and their beliefs.

There are several more reasons why people love Captain America. These reasons include his background, his personality, what he has gone through to become who he is today, how he even became a superhero, and most importantly, what makes him different from other heroes.

"I don't like bullies" is a helluva jumping off point for a potential superhero

Isn't it a bit uncomfortable that Steve (the embodiment of America) tries to argue that he knows better than foreign governments and should be allowed to police them as he pleases

The perfect man's yearning for the America of the 1940's and eventually choosing to go back to it sends some interesting signals to say the least.

I see it a little differently, which I think should have been Stark's motivation. The UN and the public hate the Avengers. It is not just the UN, the people are distrusting the Avengers, and why wouldn't they? Cap was kinda dumb to bring Wanda, a former terrorist, to an illegal mission where things can always go wrong. Wanda partially caused the Sokovia attack and Hulk's attack on a city. No one, including you, would trust them after all that. After all, you would not know them personally if you were a regular person in the MCU. Both Cap and Stark want to be able to do what they need to do without authorization, but Stark wants to do it secretly while Cap wants to do it openly. What Cap does would cause the Avengers to become criminals, while Stark's method can protect them, build their image, and help them stay together to prepare against Thanos. When Stark breaks the rule to intervene in a conflict (to protect Bucky from being falsely killed and imprisoned at first) he makes sure to do it in a way that others won't find out. He does not blatantly bring a former terrorist on an illegal mission in away that can be easily detected. I mean, even if the mission was a success, any citizen would not be happy a former terrorist being brought into their country without authorization. Stark recognizes that the Avengers must break the rules time to time, but it needs to be done carefully, and possibly with diplomacy rather than telling the UN to f*** off, because it would lead to the Avengers being arrested and disavowed by the public.

Why is Cap always right? Because he’s got America’s ass

I understand where your viewpoint is coming from, but in the end I don't think I can fully agree. While it's true that the MCU does set up two different versions of America in Cap's character and pit them against each other, I see a vastly different message - Cap's America is not the America that ever truly was, but the America that should be, the America that actually follows the principles we claim to have been founded on even if history doesn't back that claim up. Steve represents a version of America that, like him, truly cares about doing what's right; an idealized version that can never truly exist, to be sure, but also one worth striving for even in the face of the version that does already exist.

I’m so happy you took on this topic ☺️ Thanks so much, I’m glad you found it so interesting!

The fact that the government's response to the events of Age of Ultron was to enact general legislation regarding superheroes instead of prosecuting Tony for crimes against humanity is insane to me. He was DIRECTLY responsible for Ultron; this isn't like in the first Avengers where his technology was misused; he wasn't under mind control or anything of the sort. He created a dangerous AI that immediately turned on its creator and tried to destroy humanity, and nobody ever even calls him out on this! General Ross lists it among the Avenger's many transgressions, as if Tony creating Ultron is the same level as Wanda accidently getting people killed when trying to save more people. I realize this isn't actually related to the point of the video, but this has been bugging me for a while. I mean, you could argue that Tony is also an expression of American Exceptionalism being the so-called self-made genius billionaire but I don't want to dive into a whole other tangent.

I don't think Cap was ALWAYS right, he refused to even consider sacrificing Vision or the Sokovians even though trillions/billions of lives were at stake, I always saw Cap as stubborn, and loyal to a fault

As a german socialist and a fan of both Captain America and Superman I want to throw in my two cents, it's my opinion and I respect yours to be honest. I have to say Robert Vicek already commented on the whole renaming of the Captain America movies in germany and I found that renaming to be very silly, but whatever. Cap and also Superman have always been the upholders of old fashioned values, solidarity, honesty, kindness. I didn't grow up in the US or have lived there for an extended amount of time, but in germany. My parents are working class folks, but those values were always important for me too, it's why I identify so much with both Steve Rogers and Clark Kent and why I find this critique so cynical. I see Steve as an encapsulation of what we as a society are more and more losing. Not the nationalism, he could be called Shieldman for all I know, no the connection and believe in people not groups not governments, but people. In germany we have a welfare state that gets more and more dismantled, it gets worse every year and everything people think about is how it might reflect on their possibilities to get crazy rich. We need to start caring about others again instead of ourselves. That is what I took from first Avenger to be honest, fighting for others not for yourself. Steve has always been fighting for himself, but what was important to him was fighting for others. In germany we have a government created trojan that is supposed to spy on your computer to see if you do illegal stuff, it's not the patriot act or instant drone strikes, but governments hold their people hostage, another dent in the armor, because they don't trust the people, cause we don't, reminds me of the Winter Soldier. Lastly I work in IT and oh boy middle management can eff you up. You wanna do something beneficial for the company or your colleagues, best wait three months for it to go through the proper channels. Good thing I don't work in a hospital it could be someones life at stake. Let's take a less personal example, the german healthcare system: you get to a state run hospital they treat you and they hope they get a certain sum of money from your insurance, your insurance company has a guy whose job is literally to tell the hospital what treatments were unnecessary and which they don't pay. This leads to the hospital losing money, because they can't take it from you as you could bring them to court for services that weren't necessary, even if they were. Sounds effed up, because it is. Reminds me of Civil War. I agree with Steve, not because I am a conservative, quite the opposite, I want not just equal chances, but chances for those who have the potential, so we can truly speak of equal opportunities, I want pensions everyone can live off of. I want a society that is better and that is a dream, but we can't build it with a sledgehammer and erode all the good values that exist. See the good and the bad, not just one. Steve Rogers is an example of the best a white man can be, caring compassionate, determined and honest. I still love that Sam took up the mantle, cause we need other perspectives I just don't agree, that Steve is somehow a symbol for everything bad that happened in the USs history, as he routinely stands against people that try to put others down or make these mistakes again. I just hope I can bring a different perspective, one not based on blind patriotism or anti-american sentiment, which to be honest I do have, the long list of countries the US has meddled in is a huge problem, but it's not like NATO or the UN has in any way shape or form changed that problem. If soldiers had more autonomy, maybe they could decide whether the location they are sent to is right for them or not, but they are supposed to just follow orders nothing else, which is why I want to leave you with the following quote here: "And I thought I could throw myself back in and follow orders, serve. It's just not the same." The problem is the more you erode democracy the more you put the moral obligations in the hands of one person and in germany we more than well enough know what that leads to. A "good" dictator can make good decisions, but those are rare, a bad "dictator" will make bad decisions and we will all regret those. Emancipation and democratization of all parts of society is far more potent than putting power into the hands of a commitee, that doesn't have the burden or privilege of actual down to earth work. The more one is removed from the consequences of a decision, the easier it is to decide, but that doesn't mean they decide the right thing.

The thing though about bringing up Cap's opposing of SHIELD's actions in Winter Soldier is he didn't know about the Hydra infiltration when they first got brought up, he was just uncomfortable with the morally dubious intelligence gathering methods and the pro-active rather than reactive approach to threats. He says "I thought the punishment comes AFTER the crime", which to me sounds like the opposite philosophy from Peter's "if you don't [stop the bad things from happening], and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you". Also it seems like Steve's hypocrisy is thinking SHIELD shouldn't be able to act unchecked...while thinking he and his team should be allowed to because he thinks his team will always do the right thing, which is hilarious when you look at a certain person who's on it and what she went on to do. Another way the movie backs Steve is it just forgets about the Embassy tragedy once the Bucky aspect of the plot comes in, which is telling because it's apparent that operation was being conducted without the local authority's aid, sanction or even knowledge, and one has to think if they had local military or even police backup, they could have contained the situation better and avoided the destruction...which is kind of the point of the Accords.

It’s really nice to see a video that really takes a look at critiquing how Steve as Cap is represented and the ideas that are perpetuated in his stories. I think it’s often very easy for people to look at characters like John Walker and see the obvious symbolism of American Exceptionalism presented by the narrative setting him up as an antagonist, but it’s far harder to reconcile those similar issues with Steve because he’s a hero we are supposed to root for. For me, Steve is like John but with a nicer polish and framing. In fact, I am often of the belief that many folks do not want to recognize that Steve and John actually share many similar traits, it’s just that Steve has a better temperament and is presented in a heroic light. It’s easier to point at John and say yes he’s wrong than it is to do that with Steve, and that’s kind of what makes Steve’s brand of American Exceptionalism, at least to me, all the more insidious and dangerous. I have always been extremely uncomfortable with Steve’s line about how “the safest hands are still our own” and the notion that the fate of the world is dependent on the moral fortitude of one white American dude who can just eschew the will of 117 countries.

I mean, when you bring a character from a more simple era created to boost people moral in times of war basically telling them that they are number one to a modern more critical era problems like this are most likely to happen

He is my favorite Avenger; he is what we should strive to be more like.

This video gave me a lot to think about. I always took Captain America or rather Steve Rogers represented what wish America was not really reaffirming American myth. I do see your point on how not using Captain America to deconstruct the problems with America's history can be misrepresenting some of the wrong ideas. I can see how Civil War plotline could be seen as Americans know what is best for the rest of the world. I don't think that was their intention, but it is result of having most superheroes on the team being Americans. I think it was more to do with Steve Rogers being to Marvel what Clark Kent is to Superman. Both were meant to represent the American Dream I'm not entirely sure that means they are problematic either. At least the way I have seen Steve Rogers was less about America is always right, the good old days were perfect, because they weren't. I always looked at him and thought what we should try to strive for. Despite the flaws in Steve and in US in general that we should strive to be better. I'm interested in what you think of the character in the comics and television. Good video. Like I said it gave me a lot to think about.

I find this video intriguing, though I will say I slightly disagree. I’m American, but I was raised to reject the myth of American Exceptionalism (btw thanks, Woodrow Wilson, for forging today’s idea of American Exceptionalism; you’ve been quite helpful 🙃). However, I *do* hold to the “American Ideals.” I believe that these ideals are what America should work towards, and that true patriotism is holding the government accountable to what it could and should be. In this way, I would say that Steve is a patriot. On the other hand, American Exceptionalism is what I would say is nationalism, the blind faith in the nation and that anything the nation does is inherently right. Steve has been shown multiple times to distrust the government, and to engage in - let’s call it “civil disobedience” - when he sees them as wrong. That said, I would say that Steve definitely has his flaws. It’s made clear in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier that Steve wasn’t as aware of race issues as he could’ve been, hence why he didn’t think anything of giving Sam the shield. So yes, Steve is not as aware of America’s flaws as he could be, but I wouldn’t say he believes in American Exceptionalism in the traditional sense.

Dan Olson mentioned in his Street Fighter Legend of Chun-Li video essay that it is okay for characters in films to be mistaken. That is to say, they can believe things that are not diegetically true in the universe. A character could absolutely hear an urban legend and make a conclusion that turns out to be wrong. It does feel to me like in the MCU, as in a lot of films, there's a hesitance to let characters who are the "heroes" be mistaken in this way, except in very specific circumstances. I mean Cap isn't an idiot, but he's also not the smartest man who ever lived by characterization, so it stands to reason he should be mistaken sometimes, just on probability. But he rarely seems to be. Good thoughts as always, POG!

I think you ilustrated pretty well a subject I have tried to explain to my friends and family and that has bothered me since I started to use some critical thinking and knew captain america. I find this specially interesting the interaction on these ideas in other countries aside the US and how many of them ignore what has been going through their eyes (This was also seen with superman for a good time and for the slogan it was as obvious or even more than cap)

Your videos are very enlightening. Keep making more 😎

Thanks for this. A really interesting and entertaining analysis.

Loved the suggestion that the idealised part sustains a tolerance for the less than ideal part, the beautiful soul that functions to make palatable what it reportedly repudiates. This division into two Americas and how that functions is such an interesting topic. Thanks so much for this.

The faux news issue was mildly referenced in Spiderman's trilogy with JJJ's infowars style daily bugle, but you are correct it hasn't really been a major narrative of the MCU at large. On another note, with the introduction of more 'Gods' in Phase 4 (particularly the Greek pantheon in Thor4 and the Egyptian in Moon Knight) it would be interesting to see an expansion of this to include some of the newer 'Gods', like the Goddess Columbia, or perhaps a hero who believes he or she is serving Columbia by fighting against American imperialism. I don't think there is a source material to draw from in the comics on this - but I could be wrong, I've certainly not read everything Marvel has on offer... Anyway, fascinating character study as always, enjoyed this vid.

I’m a 28 year old man who’s moral compass has drastically improved by captain americas trilogy.

I am so excited to watch this video just looking at the title & thumbnail

Part of this is an issue within American culture. The Steve Rogers Captain America represented a classically liberal ideal of the United States as this great nation that needs to take a shower every once in awhile. We make some mistakes, we do "make the wrong call" sometimes, but we're fundamentally good people, and, in the end, we're always right. And while that's an overly optimistic view of the United States, it's still way too critical of the USA for a large chunk of our society, American conservatives, who, aside from being famously the dumbest conservatives on the planet, are incapable of admitting any faults in the good ol' US of A. And you can see this with how they absolutely lost their shit over some pretty mild critiques of the country from Civil War, and their absolute freak out over Falcon & The Winter Soldier's take on the Johnny Walker Cap. And the worst part? Walker Cap, as an attack on the Bush/Cheney neocon movement, isn't even a representative of the worst of America, the very MAGA chuds who were the ones losing their shit. So, while I, a veteran of the US armed forces, who has seen our foreign policy in action and become increasingly skeptical of our "good intentions" myself, would love a hard-nosed critique of my beloved homeland, because, frankly, we deserve it, I am realistic about why Disney wouldn't be keen on alienating that 20% of the population that thinks their stars & stripes speedos are the epitome of patriotism.

Awesome video. Simple and well presented.

the Civil War arc in EMH was great since Caps true battle was winning the hearts & minds of regular citizens without beating up Iron Man and also Learn directly from Spider-Man as an Ally rather than a Foe.

I mean. Cap's right in the comics in civil war too. And yeah, his view also lines up with Spidey's. But at the same time, yeah its very American/white saviour mentality. But I always interpret Steve Rogers (and now Sam Wilson) as what America should be but isnt, what it says it is, but isnt. Or hell, that American doesnt deserve him. Buuuut, you could argue that he drops all of that by the end and just goes back to Peggy. So no greater American thing, just living his own life with... his wife......... in a nice house...... aka The American Dream.... FUCK. Nah, nah. Sod that. He drops the American stuff and chooses to live in peace. I'm sticking with that. Ima ignore all this and stick with the he's a solider who finds peace and continue to love his ending.

Me, weakly, at the end: "...when Captain America throws his...mighty...shield?"

You know,, we have a saying Your freedom ends where someone else's begins Valuing freedom over everything else doesn't work, because you are encroaching on someone else's freedom while doing so You have to compromise, sometimes

At the time of the airport battle, so also while recruting Spider-Man, the conflict is about Steve protecting Bucky, not about the accords.

Yeah, even though Cap got on my nerves at times, he was right the majority of the time about doing what is right and wanting the freedom for the world.

This is a really good video

I think if compared to The Boys one could draw parallels between Tony’s guilt and Butchers guilt. He might not be “right” but it’s for the better

Ah Another "America bad" vid Why.....

The movie is called captain America civil war.His name the title that's why he win caused plot armor

I’ve got no real comment, I like the video and really prefer to just watch random videos but you make great content and I’m gonna comment so you feel motivated to keep going

I am absolutely astounded how many people think the MCU portrays Steve as blameless. It’s funny because I’ve seen a couple of non-American content creators say the opposite. It’s quite literally implied that Infinity War and Endgame turn out the way they do because the Avengers were separated due to Steve’s stubbornness. In many ways, it proves that Tony was right in trying to keep the world united with the Accords, even if I don’t necessarily agree with his side. I also don’t agree with the majority here about the interpretation of Cap’s portrayal. He’s rather anti-American government and anti-authority, not because of self-righteousness/moral superiority necessarily, but because he grew up in a time with dictators and the one organization he trusted ended up being compromised by Hydra. He fundamentally understands that you can only ever truly trust yourself and your morals to see through with whatever version of fairness you believe in. It’s the classic case of: how much individual responsibility do we have for the things that happen/occur in the world around us? Where is the line crossed between doing the right thing and imposing our own beliefs on others? What’s the balance between vigilantism vs. popular vote/government-defined justice? There are no clearly defined right or wrong answers, and I don’t think that the MCU does such a bad job at touching on these topics, but I do wish they went harder in on them. There were not enough obvious consequences for Steve’s betrayal/rejection of the in-universe “UN” compromise and Tony’s creation of Ultron imo. Edit: I’m also curious how much of people’s distaste of Cap is actually just driven by subconscious anti-American sentiment (whether justifiable or not). There’s definitely an argument to be made that Iron Man is by far a better example of American Exceptionalism, but it’s just that Cap runs around with his little stars-and-stripes outfit. Anyway, just my perspective as a dual-citizen of the US and a tiny country in LATAM…🤷‍♀️

When you talked about pure American values you showed a painting specifically portraying manifest destiny which was a political movement to move west and claim indigenous peoples land as American land. It couldn't be more apt. The Crux of civil war is American freedom versus the safety of others. It could be viewed through the lens of American military imperialism, or it could be viewed through the lens of gun control, ie: my freedom to own a gun is more important than your safety from being shot by a gun. Tony was right, they just added the betrayal at the end for additional drama It doesn't change Tony's point.

I think Sam's movies as Cap will dive head first into the myths as you said especially given the title of his movie. That being said I think Steve is a character many nations other than US can find something to strive towards and this is coming from a guy whose country was colonized by the US for son long

I think I have an idea for you to do Spider-Man no home and other mcu movies s character analysis for all 3 Spider-Men and you can and also just add your opinion on the movies could I also ask why the story in Spider-Man no way home is as good as Spider-Man 2 story and (personal opinion a story that had a mix of Spider-Man one and Spider-Man 2 story )thats not just fan service only if you feel the same way

I mean... the sins of America's past don't necessarily negate the power and the virtue of the American Ideal: individuals, people, and nations rarely live up to their ideals from the get go, but holding those ideals is what drives growth as we struggle to realize them. It was an appeal to the American Ideal that was key to the success of the Civil Rights movement and many other positive changes in our country after all.

TLDR: Steve Rogers is LITERALLY an anti-fascist super soldier and I love him. For me I don't really see Steve Roger's as a representation of American exceptionalism but more so a representation of what America should strive to be. He was chosen for the supersoldier program specifically because of his strong morals and character, the kind of man who doesn't hesitate to stand against tyranny even from America itself. Sure it's not a perfect depiction but I think he is a good character regardless. Plus he gets bonus points for being the first American Nazi puncher.

Oh my God I miss the big 3 and yes it's not called the big 4 coz we haven't had a Hulk movie and his a part-timer

This is sort of late to the party. But I do agree somewhat. I think the movies implicate that Steve Rogers is perfectly blameless and always in the right corner. I think his arc would have been more impactful if they had showed in Endgame that he realized how far he had gone in certain instances (like Civil War) and having to come to terms with those decisions and mistskes. In the end Steve Rogers is only a man( a very unique one), and there is no shame in him realizing and admitting that he doesn't always know best and being humble enough to take the steps to understand why.

But he’s so pretty

Wow, Cap AND Bucky both had to run at a SLOW pace because of Sam... #AAforAA

Great video!

My question is: as you've mentioned in your video, as he distances himself from America and if that is the case, Why is he still called Captain America and wears the American flag?

Lore of Steve Rogers, the MCU, and American Exceptionalism | A Video Essay Momentum 100

The thing that's always frustrated me about Civil War is how Tony actively tricks Peter into joining his side to fight Steve when Peter's entire heroic philosophy is aligned with Steve's. They both believe that not doing something to help when you're able to is a moral wrong, and Tony uses Peter against Steve because he doesn't actually care about morality.

Whenever anyone does a video on the Accords, they fail to mention "The Avengers," or at least, the relevant part. *The nuclear weapon launched at Manhattan by the World Council that didn't want to deploy the Avengers.* People talk about collateral damage that the Avengers supposedly caused. How about a nuke for collateral damage? Ultimately, almost all responsibility sits on the shoulders of Loki and Thanos. The Avengers did not invite aliens to Earth; Loki and Thanos invited themselves. So, why would Captain America trust another World Council? And more importantly, why would he trust a Council that Russia and China have permanent seats on? As for Ross, he's a criminal and should have been arrested a long time ago. He forced Emil Blonsky to take more and more super soldier serum and destroy Harlem.

Incredibly based

Civil War was the spiritual successor to Twilight, you can't change my mind.

Americans have a tendency to not like to be told how to live, unless it's by someone the like. That's why left and right people are always at each other's throats. As an American, such a way of life is self destructive. Everyone would follow a leader if that leader lines up with the people's way of thinking, you're the enemy otherwise. I tend to find Steve Rodgers a Gary Stu. He's always right stance never really has a consequence. In Civil War, Steve as right. Turning into a rogue agent was justified by Hydra's secret super soldier facility. It didn't matter in that Steve kept a dark secret, he was still pro Bucky through and though.

Let’s face it, regardless of all the points brought up here, this movie's approach to the conflict is still better than the Civil War comic.

Yo this isn't even garbage. I'd keep it in the dresser with the glue. Or maybe in a nik nak draw, assuming there's room. Great job guy.

Showing Fox but not CNN is quite telling you seem to think corruption is one sided.

I don't know what to say without a full deep dive that I don't really wanna do. I think you're wrong a lot in this. I think you harp on some details and disregard others. I think you're missing the point. You say he's always right to reinforce older American ideals but awknowledge that he isn't always right. He's not tye literal embodiment of American ideals. He's just a man trying to do the right thing. Like...I think you've severely over thought this to your arguments detriment.

Thank you for making this video. I've always wanted to like Cap alongside everyone else, but something always rubbed me the wrong way about how Cap is portrayed in the MCU as always ending up being right no matter how risky or naive his decisions are. Often in very convenient ways that betray each sequel's premise. Like Winter Soldier having Cap confront a morally grey modern American government but finding out they were Nazis all the time. Or Civil War having Cap choosing to believe in his brainwashed war buddy assassin over world powers wanting superpowered accountability and control, only for the plot to devolve into framing wanting accountability as wanting revenge and having a deranged mastermind orchestrating all the drama. In other words, these movies try to ask complex questions that should challenge Steve to question himself and therefore his idealized vision of America rooted in past romanticized ideals. Yet they never commit and always gives him an easy out that pulls a bait-and-switch with who we thought the main antagonist was. But the movies get praise anyways just for asking those questions like some participation prize treated as a gold medal. It doesn't help that the existence of Infinity War and Endgame force the Avengers to reunite and defy the government without a single thought, thus framing the conflicts in Civil War as being meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Which makes the MCU's efforts at grounded, nuanced political conflicts feel like an even bigger waste of time and potential because sci-fi crossover fights are more important. I feel like Cap largely got away with little criticism because practically anyone is going to seem like a morally upright and competent person if Tony Stark is their foil. You don't feel the need to question if Cap's methods and beliefs hold up well if his antagonist is constantly emotionally unstable, arrogant, and technically committing war crimes. And let me be clear, I was never on Tony's side in either the MCU or the comic book Civil War. But despite how reckless Tony is in instances like creating a whole legion of suits to compensate for almost losing against the Chitauri, creating Ultron because of fearing that his allies won't survive the next alien invasion, and signing the Accords out of guilt for Sokovian collateral damage, I can still understand how he rationalizes his hasty egocentric actions as being for the greater good. And I at least slightly respect that he's willing to adapt and change his modus operandi after being humbled, even if his insecurities constantly get the better of him in the process. Thus, I am invested in seeing how he will grapple with his flaws. And even if he isn't punished, I feel validated knowing that the story also thinks he's flawed. In contrast however, Steve feels oddly complacent. I never understood why I was supposed to blindly believe in the merits of Steve's heroics by contrast other than that he acts polite and wears the Puerto Rican flag as a costume. Civil War Cap never had an answer for minimizing collateral damage in the future. To the point his therapy speech with Wanda after Lagos was pretty much "don't feel bad, we all suck sometimes. We'll get 'em next time." I totally get that Wanda did the best she could. I don't think she deserves to be jailed for failing to accomplish what nobody else has the means to even try doing. Yet why should Steve's pep talk be given the benefit of the doubt? Especially when half the world ended up getting erased a few films later, and you could argue it largely came to pass thanks to selfish decisions made by superheroes at every major turn (without spoilers, The Multiverse of Madness only compounds this with Stephen's arc in that film). I get why Cap is morally superior to secret Nazi empires or an unhinged playboy billionaire with mommy issues. But I don't get why I'm supposed to think he should be the leading man of a superhero shared universe that everyone should look up to as a paragon of virtue. Just that the movie wants me to think he's great, so he is great. Somehow. I understand the merit of having flat character arcs where the protagonist doesn't have to change, the world does. Hence the famous Captain America "you move" speech. But the solutions to those conflicts, especially nuanced ones, have to feel earned and intellectually honest. And it'd be one thing if the stories intentionally wanted me to question whether I should like or dislike Cap. But we all know he's supposed to be the best. Because at the end of the day, America has to be the best.

Hello 👋

He represents the good part of the US.

“Based captain America”

I think Captain America was intentionally created in this way, affirming these national myths because, obviously. I'm really interested in what they do with Sam's Captain America. The MCU seems to be progressive on the outside but they still retain a certain conservative ideology and maybe its because they want to play into both sides. For example, the newer villains have pretty valid points about the society and world we live in, like Killmonger and the Flag Smashers, yet they're made the bad guys because they violent extremists. The idea is that their ideologies are valid but their execution was bad, seemingly endorsing ideas from the left while ultimately ensuring that the conservative status quo is upheld with a hopeful look to the future...

Team Cap fa LIFE🇺🇸🇺🇲🛡️

I’m guessing you don’t do that many videos on britbongerland because Brits aren’t super critical of England?

I always struggled with the character of Cap. I want to like him, but I could never get past him being a guy who runs around in an American flag.

I like Steve Rogers

You are missing the point. Steve was always more about fighting the evil and not nationalism nor america. And he fights often and often against country and goverment as for him it is always fight for the little one unlike the US that fights for its interest. Thats why he would fighr socovia accord, so he would never have hands tide when it cake to helping others.

Captain America? More like Captain A-Meh-rica.🙄

Ok you can call steve conservative, which he is, but he also shows what it shopuld b to stick to prionciples, to think for youself, to not be affraid to stand up no matter what, be it againt the own pwople (which republicans really should do, think for themselves) , pretty sure they use that to apeal that conservative valu ar alright, but they should critical adapted in a complicated world. That alaways existed. And never stopped examining . Not that he int a mess made in , later movies, but i think is appealing to the americans that yeah, its ok and valuable, but not , i think it wa their wy to apeal people defending "the spirit o america" that yeah its fine, if you adapt and nevr continue fighting nazis and the likes , hydra, them inter, like whit suprematists iniltrating. i donr see as, siure you can twist anything, but it was a clear problemeven then.

He's always right because he hates bullies, doesn't matter who they are, even USA citizens.

the kinda garbage we need in our life

Tony is bad and that's why I favor him.

Why do you hate Captain America 🇺🇸

Average American idealism

This video is the definition of it's not that deep

The filmakers of the MCU are very staunchly left-wing, Chris Evans himself really diving into politics. I think it's an insane take to suggest that Captain America is somehow conservative propaganda. American Idealism is not inherently bad, or at least the ideals Cap himself represents, there is no way to glean some sort of toxic message from him unless you already hold radical right wing opinions and look for things where they don't exist. Captain America and Superman are both just character archetypes, "force of nature" protagonists (I don't think that's a completely accurate descriptor but you get what I mean) are not exclusive to those two either. The character itself was written around ww2 and that's what the filmmakers had to work with, (I'm pretty sure Stan Lee and most comic book creators aren't conservative either) I think they're fair in keeping the integrity of the character. What I do think is toxic is claiming that Captain America is bad, because he's ... too good? And that sends the very bad message that ... America should be good? Or ... what exactly? Is it that Steve Rogers doesn't acknowledge slavery or colonialism? Because I'm pretty sure he wasn't involved in any of that, but sure let's just stop in the middle of civil war to acknowledge America's muddy and not so ideal history as if that has anything to do with anything. Captain America is always right because that's his character archetype, not because of the costume he wears.