I think one of the reasons I’m utterly in love with Steve as a character is -and I say this a lot- his kindness, and his willingness to put people before himself.
It was such a nice thing to see, a character who isn’t ‘asshole with a heart of gold’, or 'tortured soul’ or any dark, edgy, morally gray character type. Steve is good by nature, he is kind to be kind, willing to help people because it’s the right thing to do, not because he’s waiting for something in return.
And even then, with Steve being the way he is, he’s not portrayed as naive, or an idiot who’s always being tricked into something or taken advantage of because of his kindness. Steve stands his ground, doesn’t take bullshit from anyone. His kindness is one of his strengths, it makes everything about him 10x better.
His first reaction upon meeting Bruce for instance, is assuring him that it’s Bruce and his work that matters, not the Hulk, which was a very big insecurity of Bruce.
When Sam presented him the file on the falcon subject, his first instinct is to ask about Riley, and letting a moment of silence pass to let Sam know that he understands that type of loss, that Sam isn’t alone.
He sympathised with the Maximoff twins, knowing that they were young and being tricked, and wanting to help them.
We see Steve comfort both Natasha and Wanda at different times, reassuring them in the ways that he knew worked best for them. He gives Natasha his trust, something that wasn’t readily given to her before, and he lets Wanda know that sometimes there are things that she cannot control, and it’s not entirely her fault.
Even though Steve hardens over the years, even when he’s faced with the worst sides of people, his kindness does not fade. He doesn’t close off, never stops comforting those in need, and it’s one of the best things about him.
It’s also why so many people are attracted to him. Kindness draws people in.
Thank the Russo brothers for a) shooting outside in a real setting with practical effects not CGI, for going with a shaky cam that actually added to the sense of immediacy and wasn’t annoying as fuck.
Let me tell u what makes this scene so great. It’s the fact that Steve has a match, an equal. He mows down the goons on the Lemurian Star, escapes SHIELD HQ by fighting 15 people in closed quaters, jumps off a buliding and blows up a plane, then within hours he meets up with Natasha and survives a missle strike. He has no match, no equal in this world. That’s what happens when Batroc challenges him - this scene shows us that men think they can go toe to toe with Steve but they simply can’t.
And then this scene is a rare beast. It’s an action scene that is actually a character building scene. We saw the WS blow up Fury’s car and shoot him, but that could have been any common soldier. Sam could have deployed the mine. Natasha could have taken the shot a Fury. None of them could survive in no holding back fight with Steve.
Within seconds, Bucky has Steve off of him (usually if Steve is close enough to hit you, it’s game over for you), then disarms him and uses his weapon against him. Bucky dictates the speed and the path of the fight, and while Steve tries to attack, most of the time he is dodging. This tells us the audience, several things: a. Steve is in actual danger, b. Steve, judging by his face, is scared (remember what beatings he has taken up unitl now) and therefore c. for the first time in 3 movies, Steven Grant Rogers, Captain America, is not safe. The stakes are real. You are feeling the adrenaline Steve is feeling, even if you are not sure why. That’s what makes this scene a masterpiece.
This is the best fight scene in MCU for soo many reasons.
What I love is in Steve vs Winter Soldier:
How WS is angry and offensive driven at the shift in target.
How WS gets and disregards the advantage of the shield, and that shot of him with it will become or we know is emotionally charged because that Steve’s symbol and how dare the Hydra spook carry it, then ouch, well that’s Bucky holding that symbol again and the last opportunity of trying to hold that symbol led to the fall.
Levels up Steve. Like for me, this fight shows Steve’s the more skilled, in yes it’s the first sign he’s facing an actual challenge, and is contrasted to his earlier desire for vs Batroc, or his earlier skills, but just because the WS is dominating offensively and making Steve sweat doesn’t mean Steve was losing. He disarmed, he matched hand to hand, avoided kill blows, and at end had both reclaimed his weapon (shield) and flung the WS far and hard enough to daze and demask.
That the fight opened with the callback to the comics arm hitting shield but rides it’s ending on the emotional betrayal Steve and the viewer have of “Bucky?”. Like Sam and Nat coming back in to save Steve’s ass aside, and love that too because this whole sequence beginning at the bridge is just character and team for how Sam, Nat, and Steve fight well and compliment and therefore save each other, BUT it’s all over because you the viewer and Steve and team go from okay we can all maybe get out of this, yes fight back, to oh god what. The shook knocks the fight right off, to bring us back to the horror of why it’s happening in the first place aka this is the stakes of not just a supers brawl or the goodies versus the bads but everyone’s autonomy at stake. They got Bucky, who can’t they get! Love it.
in the marvel fandom and specifically the stucky fandom, i see a lot of people characterize steve as a bit of a “himbo” and entirely bucky-centric, and while i agree that a lot of his choices in canon are entirely driven by bucky, the erasure of his other motivators is kind of a disservice to his character. he’s a morally strong individual and he holds his sets of beliefs very close, not wavering from what he sees as right. he fights for the “little guy”, whoever that may be in the situation.
i also see a lot of the fandom sort of reduce him to a character that’s main purpose in a story is to fix bucky and i think that’s sort of… wrong to both bucky AND him. they both have their share of healing to do proportional to their individual situations and he needs to put on his oxygen mask before he can help out someone else.
This hurts so much. This is exactly what needs to be the rebuttal to Steve and his choice of ending. Because it’s not his missed chance to be regained. It belonged to his past. Either that alt Steve or the him that first lost time, because the Steve of Endgame is not the same and doesn’t belong.
Longing for old joys or chances is not the same as finding new hopes. And I want a Steve that hopes and seeks it, hence he belonged learning and finding or seeking it in the now, in his future.
