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Read about Phoenix Jones in Portrait of a Superhero on FIGHTLAND.
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Steve Rogers realized Captain America isn't just a PR tool of the president or the war department, but a representation of the idealism of America, something greater than himself. During the Nixon years, he became Nomad—"A Man Without a Country," complete with a motorcycle and long hair—because he didn't agree with the draconian politics of the times. In the late 80s, Steve Rogers became "The Captain" after he resigned as Captain America due to governmental corruption he encountered. He fought Tony Stark in the Civil War series, an arc about superheroes self-registering with the government, over the serious threats posed against loved ones and innocent people connected to each hero due to invasions of privacy. You know when Batman first let someone else wear the cowl? When his back was snapped in half by Bane.This is the marking of an actual hero—a person whose only priority is service to others. Chris Evans's portrayal of Cap in the Marvel Cinema Universe is thoughtful, grounded, and likable. He also has a backbone and a shield from the 1940s as his only weapon. And he's the leader of a team with a Norse god, an unstoppable green monster, and a billionaire scientific egotist. (Management skills: also extremely heroic.) Cap carries regrets and grief, namely about his partner Bucky Barnes getting captured, brainwashed, and turned into a Russian killing machine known as The Winter Soldier. In the last Captain America movie, he tries to save Bucky's life while BUCKY IS TRYING TO KILL HIM.As a soon-to-be Millenial Father, I can't relate to Batman. I don't have time for antiheroes and their issues. I have bigger things to take care of as a grown adult. I want to strive for strength and compassion, integrity and toughness, character and action. I want to be Captain America because he deals his pain privately and doesn't take it out on the world. The Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the citizens of the United States don't have time to deal with Steve Rogers' personal shit, and he knows that better than anyone. My wife and my son will need me to be there for them, always, as my best self, even when it's hard and I'm down and out. But a real hero doesn't act on his worst impulses. And that's why I need more heroes to look up to.Follow Zilla on Twitter.Noisey thinks that Ice-T is the antihero feminism needs.