Captain America is the de facto leader of the Marvel Universe, but he’s far from perfect. For more than eighty years, Cap has fought the good fight, protecting America’s soul from the evils of the universe. He is an icon of the comics industry, with several characters taking inspiration from his example. However, there are also a lot of things about Captain America that can hold the character back.
The Sentinel of Liberty is certainly beloved, but his stature in the Marvel Universe doesn’t quite match the readership. For readers, even if they love Cap, there are things that keep him from being among the most popular characters, issues that have been cropping up for years.
ten So many stories boiling down to the hydra or the red skull
Red Skull and Hydra are Cap’s most iconic enemies. They fit perfectly into his wheelhouse, as each is basically the complete and utter opposite of everything Cap stands for. However, they’re also Cap’s most popular villains by a ridiculously wide margin, so too many stories feature them.
It got to the point of parodying how many times a Captain America story had him clashing with them or becoming the ultimate antagonist behind everything. Too many writers keep coming back to the same well, and it’s become awfully predictable.
9 Captain America only changes when someone new takes the shield
Steve Rogers is a wonderful character, loved by all Marvel fans in one way or another, but he’s the ultimate character carved in stone. Steve doesn’t really grow or change; it has reached a completely untouchable icon level. Superheroes aren’t really known for changing that much, but Steve takes that to the next level.
The only way readers get a change while reading Captain America the comics is if someone else takes over. It can be quite heartwarming, but it’s also infuriating for longtime fans. Steve Rogers is Steve Rogers, for better or worse.
8 His only good love interest is not so good
Some Marvel heroes are lucky because they have a bunch of great love interests that the writers can bring in for some extra drama. Captain America has only one – SHIELD Agent Sharon Carter. The irony in that statement is that she’s not actually very much in love. Comparing her to a multi-faceted love like Mary Jane Watson reveals a remarkably simple character.
Sharon is a highly skilled spy loyal to Cap, and that’s about it when it comes to anything interesting about her. Creators keep coming back to Sharon, but it’s more because of a lack of good love interests than because she’s so great.
seven Too often, Cap’s place is taken for granted
Captain America is the pinnacle of the Marvel hero community, which has sometimes resulted in complacency. Cap doesn’t always reach his potential because he already has, or at least that’s how readers feel. He no longer has to prove himself, and Marvel’s vaunted feet-of-clay approach doesn’t apply to him in the same way as other heroes.
As some characters question themselves and try to prove they belong in their positions, too many of Cap’s tales are just sure stories about the greatest hero of all time. This can make reading his books for long periods of time quite boring.
6 It is very easy to classify
Cap is the ultimate patriotic hero. He wears the colors of the American flag and while he is not always a fan of the government, he wholeheartedly believes in the promise of the United States. It’s taken the character in some interesting directions over the years, but it’s also made it very easy to classify him.
Even beyond his patriotism, Cap has so many ways to be pigeonholed. He is a character that lends itself well to a repeating narrative. Even when others are in the suit, Marvel often returns to Cap’s boilerplate stories.
5 He can be too OP sometimes
Cap is one of the best fighters in the Marvel Universe. Add to that his incredible strategic mind, and he’s far more formidable than he should be. However, the physical realities of Captain America are what they are. He is not superhumanly strong or fast, and is outclassed by nearly every hero he fights with in one way or another.
That’s why it’s so frustrating for the fans that he’s so unbeatable. Cap owns victories over heroes who are his superiors in almost every way. This is one of the most annoying aspects of the character, especially for fans who dislike him and have to watch him beat their favorite hero.
4 He has very few all-time best races
Marvel has tapped top creators for their comics. That said, some Marvel characters have it better than others when it comes to incredible runs by creative teams. There are characters who have a ridiculous amount of good runs, but Cap can’t boast the same. In fact, the number of Cap races that fans consider “the best ever” can be counted on the one hand.
That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of good Cap stories. Each era of the character has something incredible for fans, but the number of races considered the best of all time is extremely low for a character as beloved as Cap.
3 He doesn’t have the deepest bench of bad guys
As noted above, too many Cap stories revolve around the same villains. There’s honestly a very good reason for that: Cap’s villains aren’t the best in the world. They all fit into the same basic categories – they are either enemies of America, or Americans who want the country to be theirs and theirs alone, or henchmen of both types.
It’s very difficult to use most of Cap’s villains in interesting ways, as many of them are interchangeable. It’s almost only worth reading Cap in the Avengers comics, as he can fight far higher caliber villains alongside the team than picking up his comics solo.
2 Secret Empire did a lot of damage to the character
Marvel is known for its big twists, but not all of them land. That’s what happened with the Hydra Cap reveal leading to secret empire. Many fans were outraged by this, but the preparation for the event was excellent and apparently had a lot to say about the current day.
secret empire wasted it all. It was a bloated, drawn-out event that took all the clever storytelling and goodwill of the buildup and threw it away to become a boilerplate Marvel event book. secret empire did a lot of damage to the Captain America brand among comic book fans.
1 Too many people misunderstand the character
Captain America has been misunderstood by some fans for years. Cap may carry the flag, but he’s not a chauvinistic, America First patriot. He is a thoughtful man who loves the country’s ideals but also knows that they are not respected at the best of times. Cap works best when he fights to make the American Dream a reality.
It’s not the character’s or the creators’ fault that so many people misinterpret Cap, but it can be annoying for Cap’s fans who force the character to deal with those who don’t. Captain America represents America’s promise; he knows it’s not perfect and that’s the point. Anyone who doesn’t understand this has a complete misunderstanding of who Cap is.
