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In the MCU, Captain America is the leader of the Avengers, who were operating for SHIELD (at least until its destruction), which itself was under the command of a mysterious "World Council".

But, at the same time, Captain America started his superhero career as an American soldier. He is still a symbol for Americans and a symbol of America outside his country.

What is Captain America's true allegiance? The movies’ dangers are so huge that the interests of the USA coincide with those of the world, but is it stated somewhere in the movies which side he would choose if the USA had interests that were in contradiction with those of the rest of the world?

I am mostly interested in answers about the MCU, but I am not sure there is conclusive information in it. In that case, I would be happy to hear about the comics.

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  • He isn't a part of the army anymore. scifi.stackexchange.com/a/58308/12551
    – Stark07
    May 19, 2015 at 12:43
  • 4
    He's the robocop Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington would have created. He would probably have an aneurism if he were real and saw what was going on today!
    – zxq9
    May 20, 2015 at 1:55
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    i.imgur.com/vNsfIvU.png
    – Etheryte
    May 20, 2015 at 9:07
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    He has one true allegiance — or at least one on each arm
    – Paul D. Waite
    Jul 1, 2017 at 14:27
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    @Taladris: well that’s just because I’ve phrased it obscurely. His true allegiance is to his biceps.
    – Paul D. Waite
    Jul 3, 2017 at 8:12

2 Answers 2

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37

Captain America is conceptually an unabashed idealist. His allegiance is to "the USA as it should be".

In a conflict between the USA and anyone, he would

  • support the USA (or rather, its government) if its goals and actions are morally sound,
  • oppose the US government (using legitimate democratic channels preferably) in the opposite case,
  • and in the case of a conflict of legitimate interests on both sides, he would try to enable the compromise that is most compatible with American values.

The latter two would be difficult to write though, as they require a politician respectively a diplomat as protagonist, not the soldier that Cap is.

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  • 12
    "Oppose the US government (using legitimate democratic channels)" Is that what you call was happening in Civil War (For comics cap)? Or Even in CA:TWS? Cap has no problem being an outlaw if it means upholding what he thinks is morally right and in-line with what the USA should be.
    – Thorn
    May 19, 2015 at 13:21
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    @Thorn: Let me clarify: he'd use legitimate channels as much as possible
    – Michael Borgwardt
    May 19, 2015 at 13:32
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    @Thorn for the record, Cap DID try to reason with Maria Hill before it all hit the fan (in the comics). In "Winter Soldier", he never really had a chance to try things diplomatically before HYDRA forced his hand. But yes, ultimately, he will do what he believes is right despite what anyone else thinks.
    – Omegacron
    May 19, 2015 at 14:21
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    I'd love to watch the movie where Cap goes door to door collecting signatures for a petition. Or organizes a rally.
    – user1027
    May 19, 2015 at 17:34
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    So Captain America is basically Ron Paul. Got it.
    – hownowbrowncow
    May 19, 2015 at 17:42
29

Captain America's true allegiance is to the ideals of America as he understands them.

http://prettyfakes.com/2006/11/america-is-a-piece-of-trash/

enter image description here

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  • 5
    ...Is that Captain America lying on the ground in front of Captain America?
    – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
    May 20, 2015 at 4:44
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    @BlueRaja-DannyPflughoeft, I'd infer, from the last panel, that that is an impostor.
    – Celos
    May 20, 2015 at 7:09

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