‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ Shows Why the MCU Misses Captain America
Anyone who’s seen the latest Avengers and Spider-Man films will know that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in a weird place right now, with a lot of heroes either dead or missing in action. And one hero it needs, but isn’t there, is Captain America… Which is bound to cause a lot of problems going forward. (Obviously, spoilers follow for Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home. If you somehow haven’t seen either, look away now!)
Far From Home seemed to confirm that after the events of Endgame, there is no Avengers team currently in place to protect Earth from any superpowered or extra-galactic forces. Nick Fury confirms that Thor, Doctor Strange, and Captain Marvel among others are unavailable to deal with this new threat secretly conjured up by Mysterio, but makes no mention of the Avengers.
Of course, Nick Fury is actually Talos in disguise, and seemingly doesn’t have access to the wealth of information Fury normally has at his disposal. But if the Avengers were around, then presumably it would be pretty easy even for Talos to get a hold of them in his Nick Fury form. It’s not hard to think they wouldn’t have given Fury a contact number to get in touch in the event that some crazy elemental beings start destroying major cities across the world.
But this is a world where Tony Stark, Black Widow and the Vision are dead. There’s no word on what’s happening with Hulk, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, or War Machine. Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes are also off the grid, it seems (which will get explained in the Disney+ series Falcon and Winter Soldier), as Sam tries to fill Captain America’s shoes now that Steve Rogers is a pensioner and has retired.
And that’s where the MCU has arguably been hit hardest. The death of Tony Stark is a huge blow to Earth’s defense, but with Steve Rogers retired, the MCU has lost its moral core. Not only would the Avengers likely still be around had Cap not gone back in time to return the stones, but Steve Rogers possesses a moral core to him that makes him an excellent judge of character.
He would have been able to see through Mysterio’s stoic hero act in a heartbeat, as someone who actually knows what it’s like to be truly selfless and noble. If he had, then Mysterio would never have convinced Fury, and therefore the rest of the world, that a new threat was on the rise and he was the only one capable of defending humanity from it.
As Ben Child discusses in The Guardian, the MCU is in a pretty dark place right now. Earth is now in a uncertain situation where it’s main protectors are gone and in their absence, nobody really knows what to believe anymore. If someone comes in and makes it look like there are elemental beings capable of destroying the world, there’s no one credible left to challenge that.
You need a Captain America in the world; someone who can see BS for what it is so you don’t get these lying and manipulative faux-heroes and leaders popping up across the world. We saw that Spider-Man is still around, but clearly he is still early in his superhero career, and lacks the authority and experience to counteract these kind of problems in the same way that Captain America could.
Humanity is at its most vulnerable and gullible state since the Avengers first formed. While we all have vaguely optimistic hopes that everything work out in the end (as it usually does in these films), we have no idea how this universe is going to move forward. It’s certainly an interesting place to be, but the MCU would feel like a much safer place with Captain America still in it.
Spider-Man: Far From Home is now playing in theaters.
Josh is a huge a fan of Star Wars, superheroes and video games. He spends most of his time wondering who would win in a fight between Boba Fett and Star Lord.
