Captain America / My post for the Toy Contest 1

Hello, in this post I would like to answer the questions than @erodedthoughts have placed:
1.) Who is your favorite superhero?
2.) What do you like about them and what do you dislike?
3.) What would you do if you could join their team? What would your power be?

I really loved this contest when I first saw the post because i’m a huge fan of superheroes and comics since I was little, although before it was very difficult to me follow the evolution and stories as long at that time it wasn’t easy to find the comics in Venezuela. It is still not easy, but with the miracles of the internet I’ve had the opportunity to read a lot of comics and know the evolution of my favorite characters.

As long as I live in a country with economic crisis and political loss of liberties (Venezuela), I don’t really know how long I would be able to follow comics: we have the slowest internet connection of the hemisphere and getting worse, and the few comics, toys and collectables that we can find are almost unaffordable for an average income person.

But let’s get in the matter of the post...

My favorite superhero is Steve Rogers, Captain America, because he is a simple human being with strong will to fight for the highest civic and moral values, and that made him –for me- the greatest superhero ever. His devotion to those ideals is only comparable with Superman’s, but I think that the Cap is better because he was already an unselfish fighter before getting his powers by the supersoldier serum that only enhanced his physical abilities, his bravery and nobility were there. Unlikely other superheroes, his motivations come from his heart and a sense of duty to fight for what is right, and not for tragic reasons (as Spiderman), guilt (as Ironman) or a duty to protect a weakere species (like Superman). It’s a real hero, that could be an anonymous hero If he never had got his powers.

I also think that Steve Rogers is a leader by his own actions, not because of his enhanced abilities. He struggles to be recognized as we do in real life (at school, at jobs, at our communities…). His leadership doesn’t came from the experiment or the serum that make him powerful, he had to show and demonstrate that he could be a great leader, a great hero.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the origin movie of Captain America depicts that emotional struggle of Steve Rogers, always fighting for the right even when he knows he had the weakest position. Altough I don’t think this is the best movie of the MCU, I feel they picked the right choices in many things, especially in the cast of Hayley Atwell as Margaret "Peggy" Carter, that was also a great character that helped to show Captain in more depth.

What I dislike most of Captain America is the same with other heroes: his prompt to sacrifice. Although sacrifice is an important part of what makes a hero, as long as a hero is capable of give all for the greater good, I think that a hero must think in his responsibility beyond the moment. I think that this kind of sacrifice, as the first option, is more egoist than altruist, because with his death the hero will be letting the rest of the world in the hands of the villains. Sometimes this kind of hero, with an urge to protect others and sacrifice themselves, make choices for other people that –using their free will- could have decide to do something heroic as well, deciding if a cause is right enough to risk life for it. Captain America is one of those heroes that risk his own life, without thinking in other choices to reduce damages.

If I coul team up with Captain America II will marry him… hehehehe. At least with Chris Evans.

Back to the question. Steve Rogers became a patriotic symbol when world needed hope, facing the biggest of the conflicts known by humankind at the time. That never grew old. Some days I think that Venezuelans are sinking in a big hole and we cannot get out, and then we need that inspiration of Captain America. We are not at war, but we have a real humanitarian crisis, something is wrong in my country. I can illustrate it with a recent anecdote: a couple weeks ago I needed a band-it, and I after I went to almost 15 drug-stores I had to improvise because I never found that basic thing.

I will join the Captain America crusade to bring hope in every moment of necessity. Of course it will be better to have a superpower. Although supersoldier serum gave Captain enhanced strength and speed, there is no comparison with other heroes as Superman, QuickSilver or Flash. So I will like to bring teleporting to the team, the ability to get from a place to another without a quinjet, that will compensate for that lack of fliying and superspeed of Cap. Teleporting will make me a great add to the team and share the honor of fight for the right causes everywhere.