What It Really Takes To Be Captain America: 6 Golden MCU Rules Explained

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It takes a unique set of traits for someone to become an effective and accepted Captain America in the MCU. Captain America was the first celebrity superhero in the MCU"s main continuity, as Steve Rogers became a super-soldier in 1943, decades before Captain Marvel returned to Earth in 1995 and Tony Stark declared himself to be Iron Man in 2008. Including Steve Rogers, three men in the MCU have adopted the moniker of Captain America and wielded the iconic vibranium shield, but not everyone has what it takes.
Steve Rogers displayed these traits naturally, while Sam Wilson is continuing his legacy in the best way, while putting his own spin on these qualities. John Walker, on the other hand, completely fumbled being an effective Captain America in 2021"s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, though he will surely perform better as the rough-around-the-edges and morally ambiguous US Agent. It takes six core traits for a man to be the perfect Captain America in the MCU, and these could be the foundation for new heroes to take up the mantle in the future.
Captain America Must Be A Strong & Sure Leader Steve Rogers Led The Avengers As Captain America

One of the most obvious traits that a hero must display to take up the mantle of Captain America is that they must be able to fill a leadership position with ease. As Captain America, after waking up in the modern era, Steve Rogers was recruited to become the first leader of the Avengers team. This saw him take control of several huge personalities, which was an incredibly demanding role, but one he suited perfectly. This is something that Sam Wilson may be challenged with in the MCU"s upcoming Captain America: Brave New World.
Trailers for Captain America: Brave New World have shown that Harrison Ford"s President Ross will urge Sam Wilson to rebuild the Avengers, possibly even making Captain America an official position in the United States military. It"s unclear whether Sam will take up Ross on this offer, but this would allow him to fulfill the leadership role that is usually expected from Captain America. As much as he tried, it was always hard to imagine John Walker ever having assumed this leadership role, which is one reason his downfall was so spectacular.
Captain America Must Be A Skilled & Brave Fighter Captain America Is, At His Core, A Soldier

This is certainly not the most important quality that anyone assuming the Captain America mantle must exhibit, but Captain America does indeed need to be a formidable and brave fighter. The super-soldier serum helped Steve Rogers become a powerful fighter, giving him peak physical strength, stamina, durability and speed. Sam Wilson is a United States Air Force pararescue veteran, which made him a fantastic addition to the MCU as the Falcon, and will ensure he has the fighting skills necessary to be a brilliant Captain America.
MCU Captain America
Actor
Became Captain America In
Year
Steve Rogers
Chris Evans
Captain America: The First Avenger
2011
John Walker
Wyatt Russell
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
2021
Sam Wilson
Anthony Mackie
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
2021
John Walker, however, proves why the emphasis should never be put on Captain America being the most stellar and elite soldier possible. John Walker was chosen to be Captain America because of his fighting record, being the first person in American history to receive three Medals of Honor and having led RS One missions in counterterrorism and hostage rescue. However, Walker had to do some questionable things to achieve these goals, and he considered his time at war to be the worst days of his life, so this did not help him be a good Captain America.
Captain America Must Make Fast & Tactical Decisions Captain America Is Often In Very Challenging Situations

Going hand-in-hand with being a brave fighter and a strong leader, Captain America must also be able to make fast tactical decisions in the heat of battle. Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson have demonstrated this skill multiple times, with the former making up his battle with the Red Skull as he went along, and the latter using his quick-thinking to save the members of the Global Repatriation Council. Unfortunately, John Walker"s quick-thinking led to him murdering a Flag Smasher in broad daylight with the Captain America shield, which didn"t quite fit the bill.

Related 10 Smartest Decisions Captain America Made In The MCU Films Captain America may not have the brains of Tony Stark or Bruce Banner, but Steve made some very smart choices throughout his time in the MCU.
Posts Exhibiting this trait repeatedly is a fairly tall order for any regular person, and is even more challenging for Captain America. The superhero often finds himself in extremely taxing and difficult situations that don"t always have an easy solution. This has been most evident in the Avengers movies, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War, in which Steve Rogers regularly made the tough call, even if it meant opposition from his own team. Sam Wilson will likely face similar situations in Captain America: Brave New World as he"s set to face several formidable villains.
Captain America Must Have A Strong Moral Code Captain America Has An Opinion On Right From Wrong Close One of the main traits that Captain America must express is his sure and steadfast moral code. Steve Rogers always knew his thoughts on what is right and what is wrong and stood by them unwaveringly. This is one of the key aspects that attracted Dr. Abraham Erskine to Rogers back in 1943, as Rogers noted that he had no right to do any less than people laying down their lives on the front lines. This attitude extended throughout Rogers" entire career as Captain America.
Steve Rogers" Captain America was one of Marvel Comics" (then named Timely Comics) first superheroes, debuting in 1940"s Captain America Comics #1. A version of this issue of Marvel Comics appeared at the end of 2011"s Captain America: The First Avenger, as kids read about Steve Rogers" adventures following his heroic sacrifice.
Steve Rogers" moral code saw him join the fight against Loki, help rescue the citizens of Sokovia, abandon the Captain America mantle by sticking by his friend in Civil War, and embark on the Time Heist to reverse the damage caused by Thanos. Sam Wilson has this same moral code, which spurred him to think of ways to talk Karli Morgenthau down rather than kill her. John Walker, however, does not harbor this gift. He would much rather have seen Morgenthau dead, and even killed an innocent Flag Smasher in her place.
Captain America Must Be Willing To Pay The Ultimate Price Captain America Often Puts His Life On The Line

On many occasions, both Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson have been willing to sacrifice their own lives for the betterment of others. Most notably, Steve Rogers seemingly sacrificed himself in Captain America: The First Avenger to ensure that the Red Skull"s bombs would never reach their destinations, though he was thankfully discovered frozen in ice several decades later. Since then, Rogers declared his willingness to lay down his life in The Avengers, Age of Ultron, Infinity War and Endgame, though never actually pulled it off again.
Conversely, Sam Wilson did, in fact, lose his life while battling Thanos as the Falcon in Avengers: Infinity War. Sam was one of the trillions of Thanos" victims after he snapped his fingers, though he was returned in Endgame. The low stakes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier meant Sam Wilson"s first foray as Captain America was fairly safe, but battling the Red Hulk, Sidewinder and the Leader in Captain America: Brave New World could bring him to the brink. It"s hard to imagine John Walker ever willingly sacrificing himself for others.
Captain America Must Be “A Good Man” Abraham Erskine Urged Steve Rogers To Remain "A Good Man"

Dr. Abraham Erskine explained back in Captain America: The First Avenger that his super-soldier serum makes its user more of who they already are. Gilmore Hodge was a bully, so he would have become an even bigger bully had he received the serum, but Rogers, as Erskine described, was a "good man." Receiving the serum made Rogers even better, ultimately making him worthy enough to even wield Thor"s enchanted hammer, Mjolnir. While Sam Wilson hasn"t taken the super-soldier serum, he is still a very good man, so he certainly fits into this category.

Related Every Super Soldier Serum In The MCU (& How They Failed) The super soldier serum that created Captain America was lost when Abraham Erskine was killed, but the MCU has seen many attempts to replicate it.
Posts The super-soldier serum has corrupted a great many greedy, egotistical and villainous people over the years, including the likes of Johann Schmidt"s Red Skull, Emil Blonsky"s Abomination and Alexei Shostakov"s Red Guardian, though the latter is striving for heroism nowadays. John Walker added himself to this list in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, believing that taking the super-soldier serum would make him a better Captain America, but this only made him even worse. Walker simply didn"t have what it takes to be Captain America, while Rogers and Wilson displayed these traits perfectly.
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Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount's Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
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