Captain America: The Cliched Avenger?

“I would argue that Cap is far from cliché, unlike most superheroes today (X-Men, Spiderman, Batman, Thor, GL, and Superman from SR), Steve is the most refreshing.” – Anonymous Imdb.com User.

To be on the safe side, the user who I’ve quoted this statement from, will remain anonymous. The term being coined here is “cliché,” which the person states, he’s far from it. I could not disagree more.

Now, before I address why I disagree with the clichéd argument, let’s all agree with one thing. Steve Rogers isn’t some morally-challenged, morbidly-depressed, vigilant misanthrope. Nor is he a man faced with hate and intolerance of the people he’s sworn to protect.

The trend that superhero adaptations work best when the protagonists have deep, psychological issues is not completely popular with the majority. This has been proven by the entry of Captain America: The First Avenger, a shield-throwing superhero with retro-style flavor.

Steve Rogers is an idealized version of the All-American male, a man of honorable conduct who also puts his country first. Captain America was the brain-child and mascot of America during the 1940s.

Created by the legendary Jack Kirby and Joe Simon,  he was the symbolic figure that represented everything America has stood for, and everything we’ve fought for against the Axis powers. During the
WWII era, America asserted many forms of product placement that became resource propaganda that antagonized the Axis nations. Such values were asserted for political, domestic, and military reasons.

One of the many examples of such is Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America, a walking propaganda of Pro-American ideals, of which Americans have strongly believed in during the times of WWII.  And such values are what are imprinted in Steve as he resides in modern times. He’s a man with the mentality of your 90 year old grandfather, always complaining about what he doesn’t understand about the culture of modern times.

He’s always looking at the world through a different perspective.  The traditions of the modern world, (drugs, atheism, sex, OR communism) were considered as Anti-American, taboo, or against the conformity of American ideals in.

Every hero has an agenda, and what becomes the catalyst behind a crime-fighter’s agenda depends solely on the events that have affected their lives. These events are what justify their vendetta; they are what lead to the path of vigilance. These events vary greatly. What makes Steve Rogers different from the pack? 

Steve’s persona as Captain America is public, and he shows no hesitation of taking on his active duties as his alter ego. Juggling a life of duality holds no personal conflict of interest for Rogers as it does for Peter Parker.

However, he addresses the conflicts he sustains quite differently than that of Batman or Spider-Man. Before he was Cap, Steve was simply a young, Brooklyn orphan with a physical deficiency. Unlike his best friend (and future side-kick) Bucky Barnes, the emaciated Rogers can’t defend himself against bullies or score any chicks.

The issue of bullies being the motive behind his plan to have a career in the military; despite being physical frail and unfit, is as clichéd as a woman joining the military on some feministic binge just to prove her male opposition wrong.

There are various degrees of clichés that these heroes represent. And what makes Steve a cliché is the fact that he is a man who embodies (and had become a symbol) of the traditional American values and beliefs of the early 20th Century. 

In the Avengers, Steve Rogers finds difficulty with the adjustment to a modernized society that is less simplistic then that of the Great Depression/WWII era.

This is quite different that a man whose motive for vengeance against criminals is due to the murder of his parents and his fear of bats.

Furthermore, there’s the formulaic side-kick cliché. Call this a minor detail, but if Batman has Robin, how is Cap and Bucky any different? Furthermore, Steve Rogers’s persona is does not show traces of corruption of value.  The fact that Steve represents only the “righteous” side of man-kind, is what makes him a cliché.

Big thanks to Da_Nerdette for this post! Make sure to follow her: https://twitter.com/#!/Da_Nerdette