Steve Rogers aka Captain America is a superhero who stands for a lot of strong ideologies,
and arguably, represents the best of his country, looking out for the greater good and the innocent
in peril.
He’s always been firm in his ways, and being a natural born leader has led him to encounter
and work with a plethora of various other heroes over the years, some of which he holds
a whole lot of respect for.
So today, we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 superheroes Captain America
respects.
We’ll be discussing Cap’s relationship with these heroes in both the MCU and in the
comics, so with that in mind, let’s jump in!
10 Iron Man Captain America and Tony Stark have a complicated
history, to say the least.
For starters, just take a look at Civil War; the argument between these two and their opposing
ideologies turned superhero against superhero, and led to a bunch of consequences that shook
up the Marvel universe for quite some time.
And while the MCU adapts Civil War slightly differently, it still has a dire impact on
the characters of that reality.
But, then, there’s the flip side of that.
When Steve and Tony are in each other’s good graces, they’re really good.
They make a solid team.
Hell, they were both members of the first iteration of Avengers in the comics, and now
technically the MCU as well, and despite their past feuds, these two have an appreciation
and respect for one another when it comes to the quality of hero they both are, and
what they are willing to sacrifice for the greater good.
9 Human Torch (android) Speaking of original iterations, this number
doesn’t pertain to Johnny Storm from the Fantastic Four, but rather, the initial Human
Torch – the android who first debuted in Timely Comics before they became Marvel back
in 1939.
Back in the day, the human torch, along with Namor, would appear in cross overs, and would
join up with Cap and a young Bucky Barnes in the All Winners Squad, the golden age superhero
team who first came together in 1946.
Human Torch also fought alongside Cap during World War 2, as seen in flashbacks from the
Invaders series, in which they kicked some serious Nazi butt together.
The Human torch was also recruited to be a part of Roger’s Secret Avengers team, and
works for SHIELD.
8 Namor the Sub Mariner Namor is yet another character who has proven
to piss off Cap in the past.
But to be fair, Namor has always been antagonistic – he is technically the first anti-hero
to have appeared in comic books.
But we can’t mention the original Human Torch and not note that Namor was part of
those two OG superhero teams as well, working alongside the android and Cap as part of the
Invaders and the All Winners Squad.
But, more recently, Namor really came through for Cap during Civil War, coming to the patriotic
hero’s aid with the forces of Atlantis during the final major conflict of that story event.
7 Wolverine Captain America and Wolverine have clashed
MANY a time.
They’ve had some pretty iconic fights over the years - even one that took place back
in WW2, despite having also worked together at that time with Logan being part of the
Canadian Forces.
Regardless of how much they’ve both made each other bleed and bruise, they do share
a mutual understanding of one another, and a respect.
During the Avengers vs XMen story event, Wolverine doesn’t turn on the Avengers, and instead,
is more focused on continuing to build his trust with Cap.
They’ve even developed a friendship in the process.
The two even had a crossover comic together back in 2004.
Now that’s a team up!
6 Bucky Barnes While Bucky has had a complicated past as
the Winter Soldier, one thing is undeniable – his connection with Steve Rogers.
Whether you’re a hard core Stucky shipper or you just find their friendship tugging
on your heart strings, the relationship Cap has with his best pal is one of the most endearing
in the Marvel Universe.
Bucky would even go on to take Steve’s place as Captain America, even hooking up with Steve’s
pal and peer Black Widow in the process.
5 Spider-Man In the comics, Peter Parker has often looked
up to Steve rogers as a mentor of sorts.
The two of them worked together on the Avengers.
Cap actually vouched for Peter; there were some reservations about him joining the team,
but Steve felt that the young web slinger was up to the job of joining the penultimate
team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
In addition to that, in the Civil War story event, Peter actually sides with Tony Stark
initially before coming around and seeing Cap’s side of things, ultimately joining
him and his anti-registration forces.
With both heroes hailing from New York City, Steve can’t help but respect the service
that Peter has done for their home, and the personal sacrifices he’s made in order to
protect the innocent.
4 Black Widow While Cap and Natasha have made for strong
allies in the comics in the past, their relationship in the MCU is the focus of this number.
We really got to see the relationship between these two flourish in Captain America Winter
Soldier; despite bumping heads concerning the additional instructions Natasha was given
on missions that he felt would compromise their main goals, after Fury is taken out,
the two become inseparable, relying on each other wholly, ultimately creating a bond that
would carry on throughout the rest of the MCU appearances.
Steve knows Natasha has got his back no matter what; something that was the most prominent
during Captain America Civil War, in which Black Widow let Steve and Bucky get away at
the end of the battle at the airport because she knew Steve was only trying to do the right
thing.
She ended up paying the price for that too, having to go on the run with Cap after the
events of that film thanks to the government marking them as criminals.
3 Black Panther Black Panther and Captain America have typically
had a solid relationship in the comics together.
During the Civil War story event, T’Challa would side with Cap and his anti-registration
forces.
In the alternate universe of Earth X, Cap entrusts T’Challa with the cosmic cube,
knowing he can resist it and that if need be, he would give it back to Cap without a
fight.
In the MCU, Cap’s respect for his Wakandan peer is utmost.
After the events of Civil War, Cap was seen as an outlaw, a criminal in the eyes of the
government.
Wakanda was a safe refuge of sorts; a place where Cap could bring Bucky, where the scientific
resources of T’Challa’s advanced society could properly heal his best friend.
T’Challa has always pulled through for Steve, and despite having a wee bit of a kafuffle
at the start of Civil War, Cap has seen that T’challa is an honorable man who genuinely
wants to be just; something that Cap respects tenfold.
2 Nick Fury Fury, in both the comics and the MCU, has
always been a figure head that Cap respects.
Back in the comics, Nick Fury fought during World War 2, and Cap even worked alongside
him and his Howling Commando’s.
While Cap at times might not fully agree with the way Fury does things, being a leader himself,
he understands why Fury does what he does, and therefore respects him.
The two have helped each other out big time in the past as well, like when Fury allowed
Cap to use the off the books SHIELD safe houses during Civil War; something Fury only did
because of the amount of trust he has in Steve.
1 Falcon While Fury is a hard one to top, Cap’s relationship
with superhero Falcon aka Sam Wilson is one that was built upon respect.
When Wilson first debuted in Captain America issue 117 in 1969, the character had been
tricked by former Nazis called the Exiles who worked with Red Skull.
While he escaped their captivity, he stayed on the island they were located on in order
to help the villagers there organize and take on the sinister team.
Steve would encourage Sam, training him and inspiring him when he took on the mantle of
Falcon.
He would go on to work with Steve throughout the 70s, and even got front billing on the
Captain America comics between issues 134 and 192, as well as 194 and 222, between 1971
and 1978.
He’s been a part of the Avengers team on multiple occasions, and has even taken up
the mantle of Captain America over the years, being Steve’s successor.
And, let’s not forget the MCU - SPOILER ALER FRIENDS – TURN AWAY NOW IF YOU HAVEN’T
SEEN AVENGERS ENDGAME – LAST CHANCE TO DO THIS – 3, 2 1 – Steve chose Sam to be
his successor, giving him his shield at the end of Endgame.
If that doesn’t scream respect, I don’t know what does.
There we have it friends!
What other heroes can you think of that Captain America respects?
We missed quite a few on our list, including many an Avenger member – since you know,
we can only do ten – so give us a shout in those comments below, and let us know if
you’d like to see a part two, or perhaps the flip side of this – heroes that annoy
Cap!
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