Captain America is the de facto leader of the Marvel superhero community. He’s their most popular WWII hero and his return to the Silver Age has brought him back into the limelight. Since then, its popularity has fluctuated over the years, with its debut in the MCU and Sam Wilson’s stint as Cap making the coat more popular than ever.
Captain America is considered the epitome of Marvel, but that doesn’t mean he actually belongs there. In fact, there are a lot of things about Cap that would make more sense in a DC hero than in Marvel. All things considered, the possibility of Cap in the DC Universe becomes quite intriguing.
ten He Would Fit Better With DC’s Golden Age Heroes
The Marvel vs. DC argument has been raging for years. There are several reasons why one might be considered better than the other, but the majority of them are subjective. However, one place where DC is objectively better is in its lineup of Golden Age heroes. Not only was there Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, but the Justice Society is way cooler than Marvel’s invaders.
Captain America was introduced during this period, and aside from Namor, is the only Marvel hero of the era with stamina. The heroes of DC’s Golden Age are nearly all Guardians. Cap would have a strong team of heroes around him if he made his DC roster debut as well.
9 It fits better with the DC design of legacy heroes
In recent years, Marvel has embraced legacy heroes like never before, with Cap personally having two legacy replacements in the 21st century – Bucky and Falcon both taking over as Captain America on multiple occasions. Prior to this, Cap had Johnny Walker and William Burnside take up the mantle at various points in Marvel history.
DC has always been more focused on legacy heroes than Marvel. In fact, DC’s Silver Age was all about building on the legacy of DC’s Golden Age heroes. Captain America’s history with his legacy, both positive and negative, seems much more in line with DC than Marvel.
8 He is OP at DC level
One of Marvel’s selling points has always been that it’s more realistic than its distinguished competitors. Heroes are per capita less powerful and more realistic in many ways than DC’s. Captain America breaks that mould; his super soldier serum doesn’t make him superhuman at all, but he’s survived situations that even the most powerful heroes wouldn’t survive.
DC is well known for having more OP heroes than Marvel. Batman is a perfect example, but there are plenty more – from Nightwing to Green Arrow – that are ridiculously OP. Captain America would be more comfortable with these heroes than in the Marvel universe.
seven It would fit in better with the DC Multiverse
Both Marvel and DC have multiverses, but DC’s is objectively better and more thoughtful than Marvel’s, which lacks concrete form. DC’s Multiversal Duplicates have been featured in many amazing stories over the years, showing the expanse of DC’s Multiverse, while Marvel’s Multiversal Stories see their heroes living in worlds where they are the same, but different. universe is slightly different.
Captain America, however, has many memorable multiversal versions, some of which are very different from what he is in the regular Marvel Universe. This is much more in line with DC’s Multiversal Dubs.
6 He’s more inspiring than his fellow Marvel heroes
Captain America is the most inspirational hero in comics, which puts him ahead of other Marvel heroes. Per capita, Marvel’s heroes aren’t the most inspiring. Iron Man has several flaws, Hulk is a cautionary tale, Reed Richards is supernaturally smart but rude to everyone, and Spider-Man always seems to be struggling with a new problem in life.
DC is full of inspiring heroes. Superman inspires the world’s heroes, Batman and Nightwing show readers different ways to overcome their trauma, and the Teen Titans aim to grow and become better. Captain America’s nature is much more welcome in DC.
5 Captain America Makes a Great Match With DC Villains
Captain America has a pretty decent rogues gallery, but beyond Red Skull it’s a bit anemic. However, his lack of superpowers means several Marvel villains are out of his league in terms of powers, forcing Cap to get creative if he wants to win. This is another place where Cap in DC makes more sense. Sure, there are plenty of powerful DC villains, but there are just as many human villains for Cap to fight.
Even against the big league antagonists DC, Captain America makes an interesting match for them. DC’s strongest villains are often bested and outmaneuvered by weaker heroes, something Captain America is an expert at. He would be much more comfortable with DC villains than Marvel.
4 His fighting style works best in DC
Captain America is one of Marvel’s strongest fighters, which has allowed him to stand alongside Marvel’s strongest heroes and villains. However, whenever this sort of thing happens at Marvel, it just seems out of place. Marvel is the most grounded universe, so when someone like Cap or Shang-Chi goes through overpowered enemies because of their fighting style, it doesn’t make sense.
At DC, this kind of thing is much more prevalent. Heroes like Batman, the various members of the Bat-Family, Green Arrow, and many more are all incredible fighters who regularly defeat super-powered enemies they shouldn’t be able to defeat. DC is more fantastical than Marvel, which makes these things easier to believe.
3 Cap fits in with DC’s misunderstood heroes
Superheroes are misunderstood by readers all the time, but that seems to happen a lot in DC. Marvel has made superheroes easier to understand, giving even their most powerful characters human weaknesses that allow readers to empathize with them. However, Captain America is often misunderstood by readers who see him carrying an American flag and assume he is a zealous character.
Captain America is both simple and complex, something he shares with the DC Multiverse’s greatest heroes. It’s hard to sympathize with Cap because he’s basically perfect and his values are very different from most. Putting Cap among DC heroes would put him with his kind of people.
2 His incredible feats make more sense in DC
Captain America has done some amazing things over the years. He stood at the helm of the Marvel Universe in battles against the worst threats, performing feats that should have been impossible for someone of his rather limited abilities. On the one hand, that’s the magic of superhero comics in general, but on the other hand, it’s also more of a DC thing.
The closest analog to Captain America’s exploits is Batman. Batman is limited by his lack of superpowers, but has achieved the same accomplishments and triumphs as Cap, and he never feels out of place. Cap’s fantastic accomplishments are definitely DC than Marvel.
1 It’s an iconic symbol
Captain America is the greatest symbol of freedom in comics. It’s pretty self-explanatory in its messaging, unlike other Marvel heroes, whose symbolism is often in subtext. Cap is iconic in a way that most Marvel heroes aren’t, portraying an abstract concept that’s more like DC heroes than anything else.
DC heroes are legendary. Their status as iconic symbols is unlike any Marvel character that isn’t Captain America. He fits much better into DC’s divine pantheon of heroes than he does the most fallible human heroes in the Marvel Universe.
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