Marvel Admits The Biggest Civil War Criticism Was Totally Valid
Warning: contains spoilers for Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1!
While Captain America is Marvel's most morally-upstanding superhero, even he has his fair share of flaws - and he just admitted one of his biggest. A memorable conversation during Marvel's Civil War event between Steve Rogers and a reporter lives in infamy among Captain America fans, in which said reporter insinuated that the hero is too far removed from the American people to possibly understand them. In Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1, these much-maligned assumptions are proven true - by none other than Captain America himself.
Fifteen years after its conclusion, Marvel's Civil War event continues to shape their universe. The event irrevocably changed multiple heroes - Spider-Man publicly unmasked, leading directly to Aunt May's near-death and the events of One More Day, for example - but Steve Rogers tragically died shortly after the conflict. But one of the more memorable moments from Civil War actually came before the event proper; in Civil War: Frontline #11, reporter Sally Floyd sharply chastised Steve Rogers for not understanding MySpace, never watching The Simpsons or ever attending a NASCAR race.
The reporter's line of questioning was widely ridiculed, but in Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1, written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly with art by Carmen Carnero, Steve Rogers decides to return to his roots as an ordinary American living in New York City. Realizing he has grown out of touch with the average citizen, he seeks to live a (relatively) normal life. "I'd almost forgotten what it was like to have friends," he muses. "Civilian, non-super-suited, Earthborn, regular, actual friends." Rogers drinks at a bar with friends, attends a baseball game, takes art classes (Steve wanted to be an artist before becoming Captain America) and talks to his new neighbors via radio.
Sally Floyd's line of questioning, while executed in a flawed manner, was based in truth. Captain America lives a relatively sheltered life - not in terms of the danger he faces whenever fighting a supervillain, but the lack of sharing the everyday struggles of the average American. Captain America is a famous hero of World War 2 and a celebrity who seemingly has no acquaintances outside of the military or the superhero community. He'll never lack for money or power, and could easily live in any manner of luxury apartments if he truly wanted to do so.
Captain America may not use a MySpace, but he also doesn't have to balance a budget, plan meals, or struggle to find a job. In a tragic way, Steve Rogers never returned from the war, since his time in the Avengers requires constant vigilance. Supervillains like the Red Skull may attack at any minute, and while Captain America can choose to let someone else fight his battles, he never will; the tragedy of the character is his inability to ever live a normal life when the fighting is done.
Source: Screenrant
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