I didn't grow up reading his comics or watching him on TV (was he even on TV in the 90s?), and quite honestly, when "Captain America: The First Avenger" was being released, I thought he sounded cheesy and ridiculous (not in a good way, either). I went to see the film out of nothing more than sheer curiosity - how silly could he really be? - and because I wanted to see Richard Armitage on the big screen in the US*. (He wasn't Thorin Oakenshield yet, see.)
And then Captain America turned out to be the most awesome combination of totally badass and almost painfully adorable, that he became my favorite.
So when I saw a Vulture article, shared on Facebook by a friend of mine, entitled "Why Captain America is Only Interesting if He's a Prick," my initial reaction was surprise, to say the least. But I was also intrigued, so I clicked on the article and read through it. I thought it might present an interesting differing opinion from my own.
Which it did - so interesting, in fact, that what was originally going to be just a reply to my friend's Facebook post, has turned (months later, because I take forever to write these things) into this blog entry. My response was getting a bit longer than is socially acceptable on a Facebook wall...
The argument in the article, as I read it, is that the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), specifically, is bland. Captain America, as a concept, can be interesting, and there's nothing terribly wrong with his plot lines (in fact, the author writes that "there have been countless great comic stories either starring or featuring" Captain America and calls The Winter Soldier film "decent") - but the way he is characterized in the films, is boring.
And honestly, that's totally fine. I take no issue with that. As much as I love Captain America, I'm not going to argue here about whether or not he actually is an interesting character. That's a quality completely in the eye of the beholder, and any opinion on the matter is equally valid.
My issue with this article, instead, is the author's claim that "Captain America has the potential to be much more interesting - but only if he's a jerk," and his suggestion that a "flawlessly nice" character provides no "artistic good" to a story for today's world. I entirely disagree that Captain America "should" be a jerk; in fact, from both an in-universe/plot-based standpoint and from the outside perspective of a viewer/reader, I believe quite the opposite.
The author writes that, "Being a bit of a prick fits perfectly with the Captain America origin story," but I think it completely contradicts his origin story - especially the one we see in the MCU (which is the author's focus, and so will be mine here as well). Steve Rogers is chosen for the super soldier program precisely because he is through-and-through a good man; they needed someone who "knows the value of strength, and knows compassion," as the serum's creator, Dr. Erskine, said. Wouldn't writing Captain America as a jerk then erase the exact qualities that made Steve the perfect candidate - really, the only viable candidate shown in the first Captain America film - to begin with?
It's not that I don't think a scrawny kid like Steve Rogers, when suddenly granted superpowers, may very well turn into a bully, simply because he now has the ability to do so. Actually, I think that's a perfectly logical character progression; power corrupts, and all that. And I'm sure that the Ultimates comics - which, from what I understand, take Cap down that path (I've never read them, myself), and which the author uses in this article as an example of Cap-as-jerk - are a fascinating look into a "What if...?" alternate reality. But I think it's an alternate reality for a reason. Dr. Erskine chose Steve specifically because he felt Steve wouldn't be corrupted; writing post-serum Steve Rogers as a jerk, instead, would make all of that a moot point - Dr. Erskine was wrong, and Steve was not special after all - so I have trouble seeing how a rude Captain America would "fit perfectly" with his origin story.
Still, I think it's perfectly valid for someone to find Captain America to be a "boring" character. It's a matter of personal interests, and I can even understand the arguments against him. He's a sweetheart, but in a universe as full of huge personalities as the MCU is, that simple quality can fade into the background. (I think that's a shame, but it's true.) But I absolutely don't think that's a reason why he needs to be a jerk instead - on the contrary, I think it's a reason why he needs to stay the sweet-natured character that he is. Genuinely kind characters like Steve Rogers/Captain America are, in my opinion, extremely important, for so many reasons.
At the very least, the "artistic good [of] a flawlessly nice" character like him, which the author of this article questions, is to provide contrast. Not to say that the rest of the MCU characters aren't perfectly nice people (the Good Guys, anyway), but humility, warmth, etc, aren't really the strong suits of any of the major players. If Captain America were to be the jerk the author of this article says he should be, he'd be just another cocky superhero, too. His quiet kindness may make him less conspicuous than the others, but it also sets him apart from them; it helps him serve as a foil to the world around him.
But Steve Rogers' demeanor isn't solely a breath of fresh air in a universe chock-full of big egos. Much more significantly, he demonstrates that awesomeness doesn't need to go hand-in-hand with arrogance, and proves that kindness should not be mistaken for weakness - or for a weakness. After all, anyone can slide down the slippery slope to becoming a bully (or even just to becoming a master of snark and sarcasm like Tony Stark) when they're the most powerful person in the room. Plenty of people have, both in fiction and in our own real world. It takes a special kind of person - a special kind of inner strength that all the super solider serum in the world can't provide - to resist that outcome; to remain gentle and kind despite the power to treat others as if they're somehow lesser than you. Steve Rogers has that inner strength, and that's important. To have an unabashedly, unashamedly kind character like Steve at the forefront of his own film franchise (and of course the comics, well before that) shows that being powerful and being nice are not at all mutually exclusive.
Frankly, with all the messages out there about "nice guys (and girls) finishing last," about the only path to success being a ruthless drive to the top, about frenemies and cheating spouses and political corruption... I think we, as viewers (and readers), need to see a superhero like Captain America. We need to see a gentleman winning the day; we need to see a man whose kindness is one of his defining features - and that it doesn't hold him back. I love that we can admire and look up to Captain America not only because he's brave and strong and fast and all of the other things a superhero should be - but also because Steve Rogers is a good man, and that's the very best reason to look up to someone. He is genuinely, through-and-through, nice, without looking for anything in return for that kindness. That's all too rare - in fiction and real life - and that's exactly why Captain America matters, "even" in 2014.
Actually, that's why he's always mattered, and why he always will: he's not just a comic book superhero, he's a real superhero. (Bear with me here.) There is no super soldier serum in the real world; no gamma radiation, no radioactive spiders, no... anything. But there is kindness. In the real world, heroes are those who do good, who do the right thing, simply out of the goodness of their hearts. (Some say that to truly be considered a "hero," there has to be some level of self-sacrifice or self-endangerment involved - think firefighters, rescue workers, etc - but I respectfully disagree; a person can save a life with a kind word, or even just a smile, if it's delivered at the right moment, and I bet that person looks like a hero to the person they affected.) We all have that kindness in us - and if that was enough to make scrawny little Steve Rogers a hero, it ought to be enough for us. And we really ought to try.
So yes, maybe Captain America can sometimes fade into the background when compared to his fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe residents. Sure, he lacks the rock-star swagger of Iron Man, the regal might of Thor, the brazen resourcefulness of Black Widow. But that's who Captain America is: he's a good man, a humble man; one who goes in and gets the job done without pomp and circumstance, because that isn't the point, is it? The point is helping people, so that's what he does. He's powerful without being pompous; skilled without being smug; confident without being cocky. He's no less effective than the other Avengers, he just didn't let his abilities affect his personality quite as much.
To write Captain America as a jerk, then, is not a simple, minor adjustment. It would completely overhaul his character and undo his origin story. Beyond even the canon of the story, though, writing Cap as a jerk would rob him of his most important job of all: reminding us, his viewers (and readers), that goodness and kindness can make a hero long before any superpowers come into play. Just ask Dr. Erskine about Steve Rogers.
*Spoilery side note, for those who care how that particular point of interest played out: Mr. Armitage was in "The First Avenger" as that guy who pretends to be a reporter covering the super soldier serum procedure, but is actually a Hydra operative. So he's there for about 10 minutes, then he's caught by the newly-empowered Steve Rogers (not even Captain America yet!), eats some poison, and dies. ... Hail Hydra.
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