Captain America Rightfully MCU’s Strongest Avenger:
Captain America is generally not seen as a heavy hitter. Sure he has the super-soldier serum running through his veins and he is probably the Marvel Universe’s greatest strategist and tactician with tons of military expertise and experience. But at the end of the day, Captain America is all but a human being. He is the peak level of what a human being could ever hope to achieve. So that means Captain America has a ceiling to his power levels. Or does he? In the movies, we see a lot of times where Captain America proved to punch way higher than his weight class. The number of times Cap has surpassed our collective expectations is way too much.
1. Stopped a Helicopter from taking off
No human being in this whole wide world, no matter how hard or how much he trains is not going to be able to bench-press a Helicopter. Captain America did not just do that. He went a step further. In the Civil War, we see Zemo releasing Bucky after brainwashing him with code-words. Bucky tries to escape the facility via a helicopter. And mind you it is not a utility helicopter. It is a full-fledged transport helicopter reserved and designed for transporting high-value delegates across cities. Captain America, using his sheer muscle power, did not just stop the helicopter from taking off, but held the thing together while hanging from the edge of a building. He did not even have sure footing when he achieved this feat.
2. Went up against Thor
When Thor first appears in The Avengers of 2012, he wants to take his brother back to Asgard, where he claims he will stand trial for his crimes. Iron Man seems to not agree with this proposition. Tony Stark and Thor decide it is better to fight like two raging beasts in the middle of mating season rather than talk it out like grown men. It is Captain America who steps in to diffuse the tension. But Thor, who is already in an enraged state, decides to not put up with any of it and strikes Captain America with his hammer. When Thor does “put his hammer down”, he hits the Vibranium shield of Captain America, and even the Norse God of Thunder is knocked out by the resulting shockwave from the recoiling energy surge.
3. Fought Thanos singlehandedly
Many have tried and many have failed. Thanos is called the Mad Titan for a reason. It is not just his beliefs that are crazy. His power levels are also insane. Even Thor, who had the Storm breaker axe with him, could not kill Thanos. The entire force of Avengers tried and failed to defeat Thanos in Endgame. The Hulk tried and failed and he is supposed to be the God of Brute Force in the MCU. But where everyone faltered, Captain America succeeded. In Infinity War, when Thanos uses the Space Stone to travel to Wakanda to kill Vision and get the Mind Stone, it is Captain America who stands in his way. For a brief moment, even Thanos is puzzled how a measly human being found the strength to match Thanos’ power.
4. Is worthy of Mjolnir and knows how to use it
Captain America lifting the Mjolnir hammer is probably the sweetest memory in the MCU, the second place being Tony Stark hugging Peter Parker in Endgame after the Hulk Snap. The fact that Captain America is capable of being worthy enough to lift one of the Asgardian Super Weapons is enough of a testament to Cap’s power levels. There is also this – Captain America does not just lift Ṁjolnir, he even knows how to use it in battle. When he fights Thanos using his Shield and Hammer in a deadly combination, we look in awe the lightning laden maelstrom that is Captain America.
5. Fought Winter Soldier to a standstill
Bucky Barnes was captured by Hydra and trained to become an assassin. He was also fitted with a bionic super arm that gave him super strength. The Winter Soldier has way more experience in the battlefield than Captain America does which is understandable when taken into consideration the fact that the Winter Soldier was around much longer while Captain America went on ice right after World War Two. Captain America takes a hell of a beating from Bucky Barnes. But not even a bionic arm is enough to stop the Super Soldier in his tracks.
6. Made Loki bend the knee
After Loki gives him infamous “You are made to be ruled” speech in The Avengers of 2012, the first superhero to enter the scene and cut to the chase is Captain America. When Loki tries to sweep this human away with only one blow, he is astounded to see that the human being is not only capable of defending himself but even hurt him with an even stronger blow. Loki is not your average human being. He is a Frost Giant. His strength levels are dozens of times stronger than the best of what humanity has to offer. So how did Captain America make Loki bend the knee?
7. Fought Ultron
The Age of Ultron movie was not the best and brightest moment of the MCU. Granted it grossed a lot of money and is one of the highest-grossing Marvel movies to have been ever made, it had a hell of a lot of flaws. One of the few good things about Age of Ultron was the fight scene between Captain America and Ultron during the truck chase scene. Ultron may not be as strong as the Hulk but his arms and legs are still a machine and operate at least 200 percent capacity of normal human beings. In other words, Captain America should have become squished lemon in one strike by Ultron. He didn’t. He even made Ultron take the back foot.
8. Took down a Quin-Jet
A Shield Quin-Jet is a piece of highly advanced troop transport/weapons platform. It is fitted with super durable armor and can take a hell of a lot of damage and still remain air-worthy. In short, it is very hard to take down a Quin-Jet even with weapons. But Captain America is not your regular human being. He took down a Quin-Jet with nothing but a bike and his trusted shield. He first flanked the jet by using a side-winder maneuver and jammed the Shield at the jet’s soft spot. The bike went straight into the air intake of the jet and lo and behold – one flaming Quin-Jet. The level of sophistication and training needed to perform that move are just too much for a human mind. But not Captain America!
9. The Elevator Fight Sequence
Who could ever forget the Elevator Scene!! That was the epitome of Captain America, a show of the very best of his abilities. To fight in a closed space with very less freedom of movement is extremely difficult. Up close and personal are not how martial artists are trained when they trade fists. Captain America fought more than half a dozen highly trained mercenaries in an elevator!! And he was the only guy left standing. To top it all off, he did not even get hit once throughout the fight.
10. Defeated Iron Man
Captain America: Civil War reveals Zemo’s grand machinations where he breaks down the Avengers from the inside out and makes them fight each other. The end of the movie sees Captain America and Iron Man going toe to toe against each other, with additional support provided by Winter Soldier to the former. Mind you, Captain America is wearing armor that is supposed to be the bleeding edge of technological advancement. To top it off, the armor is powered by an A.I construct that could analyze and predict patterns of enemies within split seconds, and tell exactly how these opponents are going to react in the next few moments. Captain America proved that he is faster than even a freaking Artificial Intelligence
