It's Not Easy Being Captain America

There's little argument that Captain America holds the respect and admiration of not only his country's citizens, servicemen/women, and law enforcement officers, but also those in the super-powered community who have been privileged to work with him and follow him into battle. That said, on rare occasion, some would also find themselves admitting that:

Captain America can sometimes be a real pain in the neck! (gulp!)

A product of the 1940s, Cap is of course old school when it comes to weighing the options and making the right call in battle scenarios. And as an Avenger, he also brings forth his experience on the battlefield in both directing strategy and leading the troops. And so during the "Secret Wars," when a leader needed to be chosen for the group of heroes transported from Earth to battle a separate group of villains, it was no surprise to see a consensus develop in favor of Cap taking charge.

Yet we'd see that Cap's instincts in that respect kick in even before such a vote is taken, as the heroes are deposited on the planet that would be called "Battleworld" and find themselves having to snap to almost immediately in response to Cap's initial assessment of their situation.

It was the Wasp who at this point in time held the position of Avengers Chairwoman--so how odd to see Cap, of all people, ignore the chain of command and begin barking out orders to his teammates. During the vote meeting, the Wasp would defer to Cap and support his nomination, so for what it's worth it seems reasonably clear that there was no offense taken at Cap's apparent slight.

But while the Hulk also thinks highly of Cap, he begins to chafe at Cap's presumption when Dr. Doom and his villainous followers catch the heroes by surprise in a dawn raid on their base.

Nor does his disposition improve while Cap assumes a waiting posture while the threat of Galactus looms and the Wasp is missing in action.

That inaction proves fatal for the Wasp, when the Wrecking Crew deliver her corpse to the heroes' camp and make good their escape, while Cap finds himself in the position of preventing the Avengers from... avenging.

It's apparent that, in the Hulk's case, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree when the She-Hulk decides to ignore Cap's orders and invade the villains' stronghold on her own in order to deliver payback to the Wrecking Crew. But in taking her on, the Crew is joined by several others, and they assault the She-Hulk as a group, beating her to near-death.

Meanwhile, Cap again holds his group in check, to the astonishment of those who feel compelled to help their friend.

Gosh, Cap--you take "calm, cool and collected" to a whole new disturbing level. And if it had been Bucky who was fighting for his life? What would your decision have been then, sport?

Cap finally gives the go-ahead when the X-Men offer to stand vigil against Galactus, leaving the other heroes free to race to She-Hulk's aid. Unfortunately, they arrive too late--and only then does Cap begin to question his actions, though more in regard to the Wasp's fate than that of the She-Hulk.

Soon enough, the heroes are recalled by Charles Xavier, who alerts them to Galactus making his move to consume the planet. Their ship crash lands on arrival, but is saved at the last moment by Colossus, who was recovering from deadly wounds sustained from battling the Wrecking Crew. (They certainly live up to their name here.) But even as others race to Colossus' aid, Cap makes it clear that injuries don't cut much slack with him when there's a crisis looming.

While it's true that, when lives are on the line, many of us tend to feel more assured knowing that Captain America is on the job, the scale that he uses to weigh his priorities could use some calibration, an assessment that might also apply to his judgment calls. In addition, while he consistently gets high marks from law enforcement and military personnel, there have been times when his patience has worn thin at attempts to hold him accountable. All of that said, hand me that shield because I'd probably be the first to offer to polish it. The man has a tough job, giving no less than his best.