Avengers: Endgame solidified my disdain for Captain America

Endgame was a great conclusion to the Infinity Stone Saga! Unless you don’t worship at the altar of Captain America and thought Tony Stark deserved better.

I waited a week and a half to view Avengers: Endgame, mainly because I was emotionally spent. Real world depression and grief were weighing on me. Paying money to have fictional despair and grief inflicted on me didn’t seem like the answer to it either. Though with the spoiler ban set to be lifted, and more and more people beginning to talk about it on Twitter, I had to go check out the film.

Spoiler Alert! If you have not seen Endgame yet, this is your official warning that spoilers are ahead. I also feel that I should point out as well that the following opinions and beliefs do not reflect my stance on Chris Evans as a person. Just his version of Captain America.

Endgame didn’t evoke the same emotions for me as it did many others. During the movie’s climactic moments, and then in its immediate aftermath, I didn’t feel sadness or joy. There was excitement as all the iconic characters returned, especially when T’Challa, Shuri, and Okoye emerged. However, I was mostly experiencing hate and frustration. Frustration at the fact that here we are in the final sequences of an 11-year long saga, and the person hogging the moment, while wielding Mjolnir, is none other than Captain America.

Which shouldn’t be that big of a deal right? Cap was an integral part of the Avengers, the leader, and supposed to be everything you want in an altruistic super soldier. He should be able to wield Thor’s hammer and then get his happy ending after sacrificing most of his life being a super soldier. We should all be able to agree on that much right?

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Right. Unless you’re like me and believe Captain America is a self-righteous hypocritical fraud, who spews nothing but deceitful rhetoric about trust, sacrifice, and camaraderie, while practicing none of it to anyone outside Bucky Barnes.

Frankly, Tony Stark deserved a happily ever after, not Captain America. That’s right, I said it! The man, I am sure you all cheered when he was deemed “worthy” is nothing but a sham who used Tony Stark for everything, including for a way to secure his dream life.

Let’s take a look back, shall we? Remember in the first Avengers when Captain America said this to Tony Stark?

"“I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I’ve seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You’re not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you.”"

You’ve seen the footage Cap? You watched when Stark fought to undo all the terror caused by Obadiah Stane? A man, by the way, who was only able to occur so much power in Stark Industries thanks to Bucky killing Howard Stark. Then you watched when Tony was ready to sacrifice himself on the roof to make sure Stane was stopped?

You saw that footage Cap? Or did you only see the footage where he was making poor decisions because using the suit to undo that damage and keep people safe was literally poisoning his blood and killing him?

That’s alright, Captain America, you stay on your righteous soapbox because Tony Stark ALWAYS comes through. That’s why when the battle of New York took place, it wasn’t Cap, throwing his shield to deflect the nuke through the portal. Or him riding that vibranium frisbee into the sky to guide the missile into the portal. It was Iron Man, doing things that only Iron Man can.

Then Tony Stark makes probably his biggest mistake with Ultron. Sure, it’s a justifiable mistake, but a mistake none the less. Tony saw Thanos’ armada out there in deep space. He knew the size of the threat that was coming. He knew they needed help, so he took a gamble with Ultron, which didn’t work out. Stark had good intentions, but you know that they say? “The pathway to hell is paved with good intentions.”

What makes all this worse, though, is Captain Team Player shaming Tony for trying to do the right thing. Cap wants to know why they didn’t talk about it first. Oh? Because the Avengers discuss everything?

I don’t recall Cap sitting down with the rest of the team and telling them how he took a dive for Bucky or what he found in that file regarding mission report December 16th, 1991. No matter how deceitful Rodgers is though, or how he omits pieces of the truth, Tony Stark owns his mistake. Then when the chips are down, doesn’t hesitate to risk his life to clean up that mess by blowing up the flying island.

While Captain speech giver, Steve Rodgers, is riding away, safely, on a lifeboat. Once again, the world is at risk and it requires something Steve-o can’t do himself, but only Iron Man can. You would think by now Captain America would have more respect for Tony Stark.

Then comes the Civil War, where we find out Captain America not only doesn’t respect Tony Stark, he doesn’t even trust him. Which, in my opinion, is the moment Captain America lost his right to have a happy ending. First off, he blows an operation in Nigeria and gets a bunch of Wakandans killed. Said Op, only goes wrong because every time someone mentions Bucky, Cap can’t think straight.

Then, when Stark suggests they sign the accords, which all they really were, was a way to placate the governments of the entire world. Rodgers digs his heels in and won’t sign. Tony pleads with Captain America to sign, just to keep the team together, and then they’ll amend them later. You know, that team unity Captain America has been spouting since World War II.

Captain Hypocrite isn’t having it though. Because a teenage girl with superpowers, and the person who killed those Wakandans, had to stay at the complex for a day or two while they tracked down Bucky. This is the same Captain Hypocrite who when Tony asked him how we were going to defeat Thanos and the encroaching threat, said together. The same Captain Hypocrite that once said, sometimes during missions, you lose people, and you have to get used to it. But, couldn’t handle leaving Wanda in a giant facility for a few days. Watch the clip, here.

Tony admits when he is wrong. He did it with Ultron, then again when he assumed Bucky was the actual bomber. Do you know who else was wrong in the Civil War that we never talk about? Captain America!  Yes, Captain America’s heart was in the right place. He thought that there was going to be a bunch of crazed super soldiers released on the world, and he needed to stop them. There were super soldiers, but they were dead, and Cap was wrong.

Interesting, that when Tony did something when his heart was in the right place but turned out to be wrong the Avengers and some of you Cap stans had no issues shaming him for it. When Cap does it, does it the Black Widow, who’s got a lot of nerve wants Tony to get a hold of his ego. While the Captain America Stans defend it by saying “Hey man, Cap is such a good friend!”

Even though his friend is a murderer, he was wrong about the super soldiers, and after telling everyone how important it is to stick together tore the Avengers apart just so he could be vindicated in his decision to not sign the accords. And if Captain America was really a good friend, he would’ve trusted Tony enough to sign the accords. It’s clear, after all that BS about laying on the wire for the man next to you, and don’t worry about the giant space armada we’ll fight them together he spouted at Tony.

Captain trust me I got this, didn’t trust Tony enough when push comes to shove Tony would still come to help him. Which Tony did by the way at the end of Civil War. And it’s obvious he didn’t trust Tony enough to tell him Bucky murdered his parents.

Then Thanos shows up in earth’s neck of the galaxy looking for the remaining Infinity Stones and of course, the Avengers fail. Thanos wins and snaps half of all life in the universe out of existence. Now, I’m not going to say that it’s Captain America’s fault Thanos won. But, it’s Captain America’s fault. You don’t think that if Cap had signed the accords, or maybe even told Tony Bucky killed his parents, that the Avengers wouldn’t have been split up? Or at least would’ve been a little more coordinated when the children of Thanos showed up on Earth?

Yeah, maybe Cap and Stark aren’t on speaking terms. Though, I’d bet the rest of the team is probably hanging around the complex, making it easier for them to drive the children off, and prepare for the arrival of Thanos. However, the Avengers aren’t together, and they lose and now Doctor Strange is telling Tony, he’s got to save us in the Endgame.

Honestly, the most gratifying part of this whole saga is when Tony goes off on Captain America, about how he wanted a suit all over the world. Then, calls Cap a liar, and tells him that he doesn’t want to hear from him anymore, and all Captain Awe shucks could do is stand there and take it.

Personally, you could’ve rolled credits right there. Everything has gone to crap and good old Cap is standing there wondering why his self-righteousness wasn’t strong enough to keep Thanos from killing everyone. Cap and just about everyone who ran off with him during Civil War, who spent all that time talking down and about Tony, called him all kinds of names, gave him all kinds of crap for Ultron and look at you now. Y’all are standing around here defeated. The movie should’ve ended there, that what they all deserve.

Instead, Captain got half of the universe dusted, comes begging for Tony’s help, again! Can you imagine warning your colleagues about something, they don’t listen, then when that thing you warned them about shows up and kills half the living things in the universe, and you get lucky, and finally get the life you deserve with your wife and child, the same people who dogged you for the last decade plus come asking you to risk it all again so they can get the massive L they took off their conscience?

Luckily, Tony Stark isn’t as petty as I am, and decides to help, because thanks to him the Avengers were able to recollect the Infinity Stones and bring everyone back. Then, eventually Iron Man makes the ultimate sacrifice and saves everyone by using the stones himself.

I mean, yes, it would have made total sense for Captain America to give his life. Since he’s been talking about risking his life for others since the Avengers first got together, but the only people up until this point who actually put their life on the line were Pietro Maximoff, Black Widow, and Tony Stark. However, the fact that Iron Man sacrificed himself didn’t bother me so much. Tony Stark proved for 11 years he was ready to lay down his life when the moment came. It only makes sense that he should be the one to end it.

What had me so frustrated is that Captain America, after doing little besides criticizing Tony for 11 years about his ego, getting blinded by his own ego and dividing the Avengers, thus weakening them enough for Thanos to win, bails. Cap straight up bails on the rebuilding effort, bails on the remaining Avengers who now clearly have a lack of leadership, and last, but most importantly bails on the responsibility he has to make sure that Morgan Stark is safe as she grows up and to make sure that Pepper never has to decide between her family and the world like Tony did!

In conclusion, I could do nothing but shake my head in disgust when the guy who told Tony Stark to stop pretending to be a hero, and that he would never be the guy to make the sacrifice play, used Tony’s tech to make sure he didn’t have to sacrifice his happy ending.

So yeah, Endgame could’ve ended better, but not because Iron Man died, but because Captain America got to live. Morgan Stark deserved better, and so did Tony.