While Captain America might be known for being one of the most moral Avengers, that doesn’t mean he is always perfect. Captain America is clearly a good person with a hero’s heart, but he’s also complex and makes mistakes. He may be worthy enough to wield Mjolnir, but he’s also made some missteps over the years in the MCU.
This isn’t to say he’s not still an upstanding, admirable character, but his flaws make him interesting and relatable. Here are the 10 worst things Captain America in the MCU has done.
KISSING SHARON CARTER
This kiss is one that many fans were not thrilled about. While Sharon Carter is a capable agent and interesting character, she wasn’t really given her due in the MCU. The kiss between them felt forced and reduced her to a love interest.
It seemed pretty messed up for Steve Rogers to kiss Peggy’s grandniece right after Peggy’s funeral. Of course, given that Captain America goes back in time in Endgame and marries Peggy, this kiss is even weirder now.
REFUSING TO SIGN THE ACCORDS AND SPLITTING UP THE AVENGERS
The central conflict of Captain America: Civil War is definitely a fascinating one, and both Iron Man and Captain America had good reasons for choosing what they did. However, Captain America’s refusal to sign the Accords tore the Avengers apart and made them weak. This fracturing had many impacts, as the Avengers were still torn apart when Thanos came around.
While it’s easy to see Captain America’s side of things, the way he handled everything wasn’t the best. Then again, Iron Man made many mistakes here, too.
GETTING DISTRACTED AND CONTRIBUTING TO LOSS OF LIVES IN LAGOS
At the start of Civil War, we see Captain America leading a team of heroes that includes Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, and Falcon. In the fight with Brock Rumlow, Steve gets distracted by a mention of Bucky, clearly his Achilles heel, and neglects to clock the bomb Rumlow has.
This lapse leads to the death of innocent people after Scarlet Witch tries to stop the bomb from killing Cap. Of course, this isn’t directly his fault, but this scene does show that Captain America isn’t always perfect on the battlefield and doesn’t always make the right call.
PRETENDING HE DIDN’T LIKE SWEARING
This point is more of a funny one than anything else. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America calls out swearing by saying that memorable “language” line.
Many fans didn’t love this moment and felt it was out of character. It especially doesn’t make much sense, given that Steve Rogers has sworn many other times in the MCU both before and after this moment.
BEING UNABLE TO MOVE ON FROM THE PAST
Captain America has always been a man out of time. It’s understandable that moving on from the past would be difficult for him, considering he woke up suddenly around 70 years later and had to adjust to a completely new world. He also had to deal with the fact that nearly everyone he ever knew was either dead or very old.
However, his stubbornness and unwillingness to move on from the past kept him from really integrating into the world and finding connection and friendship with the Avengers.
KEEPING THE TRUTH ABOUT TONY STARK’S PARENTS’ DEATHS HIDDEN
This moment is one of Captain America’s most obvious mistakes. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve learns that Tony Stark’s parents were actually killed by HYDRA. He doesn’t tell Tony this information in an effort to protect him.
While his intentions behind doing so were good, keeping this a secret ended up doing a lot of damage. Tony felt betrayed by Steve for this. While Steve might have meant to protect Tony Stark, honesty would have been the best policy.
THE FIGHT WITH IRON MAN
The fight between Tony, Steve, and Bucky is one of the hardest to watch in the MCU because these three should be allies and friends, not enemies. No one is completely in the wrong in this fight, and no one is completely in the right.
Tony Stark trying to kill Bucky is wrong, even though his anger and pain can be understood. Steve also gets too caught up in this fight and makes things worse. He’s unable to de-escalate. All of the choices he makes leading up to this moment make it so the fight is inevitable.
BECOMING A WAR CRIMINAL
This point is also somewhat funny, especially given the fact that Captain America’s war criminal status is referenced in the MCU in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
After the events of Civil War, Steve finds refuge in Wakanda and takes on his nomad persona. Clearly, Captain America has lost a lot of his identity, and he is struggling to figure out where to go from here.
NOT TELLING SAM HE WAS LEAVING TO THE PAST FOR GOOD
The ending of Avengers: Endgame had many fans confused and upset. When Steve uses time travel to take the Infinity Stones back to the past, he tells everyone that he is coming right back. Instead, he chooses to stay in the past and returns to the moment as an old man after having lived a different life.
While it’s implied in the movie that Steve tells Bucky about his decision, he doesn’t tell Sam Wilson. Given that Sam has been loyal to Steve and one of his best friends, this is a pretty uncool thing.
GOING TO THE PAST TO MARRY PEGGY CARTER
This decision is one that has divided fans. Many people feel that Steve’s decision to go back to the past was one of his worst. This decision gets rid of Peggy’s agency, in a sense, especially if he went back in time in the same timeline.
While the writer and directors of the movie can’t agree on how exactly this time travel moment worked, the fact is that Steve left all of his friends behind and gave up. Instead of learning to move on and being there for his friends who still needed him, he abandoned everyone to go back to the past.
