When approached as a character, Captain America is often seen as the surface level Avenger, a poster-boy for the team and an attractive one at that. Strong and powerful, Captain America reinforces the ideals that make a superhero truly a superhero, as he remains loyal to the good cause, the righteous fight, making the bad guy pay for all the wrongdoings they’ve caused.
This is the Captain America we’re opened to in the first movie. Recruited to the U.S. Army and a bleeding-heart Patriot, Steve Rogers wants nothing more than to give his life for his country. Just like most Americans at the time, trust in the Red, White, and Blue was a core part of his being. The government could do no wrong, and the wartime efforts were a chance to truly prove that you had what it takes to defend your country’s honor and dignities. Throughout the first film we’re shown that sacrifice for the good of one’s country is the purest form of respect one can uphold, and a necessary duty of being a proper American. The bad guy is a crudely evil man with a red face, speaking in a snarky demeanor and obviously rooting for evil itself. Everything is incredibly black and white, good versus bad, hero versus villain. By the end of the film, Captain America gives up true love for the security of his homeland, a sacrifice made for the good of the world.
What’s important to note is the time in which these movies take place, and the context in which they develop from. Crucial to the character of Captain America is patriotism yes, but also the understanding that the “good guy” has a duty to the world around him. His confidence in America’s actions allowed him to support the fight against Hydra, but his reawakening in modern day serves as a metaphor for changing times and trust in tandem. After being awoken from his icy slumber, he arrives in a world post-Nixon, post-Vietnam, post-Korea, following every controversy and trust breaking issue that began to fester following the truth behind Watergate. Trust in the government capitulates following the 1960’s and we begin to see that more and more in the opinions of the people.
Interestingly enough, the filmmakers behind the Captain America series and the MCU as a whole decide to follow this tangent, turning Captain America from the idol of Patriotism he has represented since his inception to the tragic, betrayed hero we know him as today.
In the second Captain America film, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the Cap realizes that the government he once defended with his life is corrupted, plotting to murder innocent people through surveillance tactics not dissimilar to those of the United States government under the PATRIOT Act. Where the government was trusted in the 1940’s, the culture of the modern time understands that people in power are easily corruptible, leading Captain America to side with his own morals rather than a blind faith to the governing body.
The character development present in both films is extremely impressive, especially when understood in the context of the summer blockbuster. Rarely do we see such drastic political statements like these in our box office hits, delivering a message both captivating and familiar to the new era of American citizens. Where characters like Iron Man and Hulk stay stagnant across the MCU films, Captain America as a character changes drastically from his introduction, fully realizing the problems of our modern era, and the effects such issues have on characters that are relics of a time far different than our own.
In the promotional videos for Avengers: Infinity War, we see Captain America’s new look, fully dressed in his new black outfit and scruffy beard. Steve Rogers is no longer the scrappy kid from Brooklyn, nor the Patriot who would sacrifice it all for his country, but the worn veteran who has seen the ugly reality behind the people he once respected.
The Captain America we once knew is dead, and what’s left of his mantra is a cold fighter, desperate to find the shining light of hope lost to him long ago.
Ryan Dorman is a Columnist and the Content Director for the Boardwalk Times. He can be found on Twitter at @OpentheDorman, and as a host of the Boardwalk Talk podcast on iTunes.
