Captain America is one of Marvel's longest-running and most popular superheroes. He's also always been one of the most important heroes, an integral part of the Marvel Universe. Over the years, there have been many versions of Captain America, but one thing they all share is a willingness to throw themselves at the most dangerous foes in the name of liberty.
With the popularity of the character gained from his appearance in the MCU, Cap has more fans than ever, with many thinking the MCU version is best, while others prefer the comic version. Both versions have their merits, of course, and an argument can be made for either being the best.
10 MCU Cap Is The Best: He's Stronger
Right off the bat, it's important to get this out of the way—the MCU version of Captain America is much stronger than the comic version. It's one of many differences between the two, but it's a big one. Cap has peak human strength in the comics, with it being increased in recent years to a very low-level super strength.
In the MCU, Cap is much stronger. The biggest example of this comes in Avengers: Infinity War, when Cap can hold back Thanos's hand from crushing his head. Thanos can smack around Hulk like it's nothing, so for Cap to be able to hold him back for any amount of time is impressive and not something the comic version could.
9 Comic Cap Is The Best: His Shield Is Much Tougher
In the movies, Cap's shield is made out of vibranium, a metal with a high tensile strength enhanced by its ability to absorb impacts. While it's undoubtedly strong, vibranium can still be damaged. Cap's shield is made of an adamantium-vibranium alloy in the comics, and it is much tougher than the MCU shield.
Pure adamantium on its own is just about indestructible, its tensile strength off the charts. Add to that vibranium's ability to absorb the kinetic energy of impacts, and the shield Cap wields in the comics is much tougher.
8 MCU Cap Is The Best: His Devotion To His Friends
While Cap in the comics is one of the best friends a hero can have, the one in the MCU takes the cake in that regard. Cap has often squabbled with and fought his teammates in the comics, often deciding to go it independently. This isn't something that the MCU Cap even seems capable of, as he rarely strayed too far from his fellow Avengers.
One of the weirdest parts about his ending in Avengers: Endgame is that it's basically out of character for Cap to abandon his friends to go and live a life with Peggy Carter. While it's a nice ending, it never made sense for him to abandon his friends, especially with how he was built up over the years.
7 Comic Cap Is The Best: He's Learned To Balance His Life And Being Captain America
One thing about the MCU version of Captain America is that he never seemed to live a very balanced life. He was pretty much just Captain America, with little time for anything else. The only time it seemed like he even tried to have a life outside of the Avengers was in the five-year time jump in Avengers: Endgame.
In the comics, Cap learned to be both Steve Rogers and Captain America, even holding down jobs outside of being Cap. He had multiple girlfriends over the years, with the most serious being his relationship with Sharon Carter. Cap realized that having a life outside of being a superhero was just as important as being one.
6 MCU Cap Is The Best: He Makes The Same Kind Of Mistakes Regular People Do
While making mistakes wouldn't seem like a tick in the "best" column, the fact that MCU Cap has made so many mistakes is actually a plus for him. While Cap in the comics has made his share of mistakes, they've mostly been of the kinds that a regular person could not relate to at all. Comic Cap is much more of an archetype than MCU Cap, who can seem much more human and down to Earth because audiences understand him and the mistakes he makes.
Often in the comics, Cap is the paragon of virtue, always doing the right thing. In the MCU, he has feet of clay and makes relatable mistakes, allowing them to empathize with him more.
5 Comic Cap Is The Best: He May Stop Being Captain America, But He Never Gives Up The Fight
In the MCU, Captain America decided that the best way to end his story was to stop being a hero and live a life of his own. In the comics, this isn't remotely close to anything Cap would do. However, he has stopped being Cap for other reasons while remaining a superhero.
Like any other American, Cap gets disillusioned with the country and the direction its leaders take it. So he's stopped being Cap on more than one occasion, choosing not to be the symbol of something he disagrees with. During these times, though, he'll still fight evil, taking on names like Nomad or the Captain to continue fighting the good fight.
4 MCU Cap Is The Best: The First Avenger
In the MCU, Captain America is the first superhero, and without his creation, there would be no Avengers. This is very different than the comic Marvel Universe, where Cap was merely one of the first, with the android Human Torch and Atlantean monarch Namor the Sub-Mariner predating him.
As the first hero, Cap's heroic example and never say die attitude resonated throughout the years, inspiring others to do great things, join SHIELD and make a difference, like Agent Coulson, or try and duplicate the serum that gave him his powers.
3 Comic Cap Is The Best: He Doesn't Play Second Fiddle To Iron Man
While Cap in the MCU is ostensibly the leader of the Avengers, everyone—heroes and viewers alike—knows that Iron Man is the most important member of the team. This undercuts Cap's importance to the group, as it's usually Iron Man making all the decisions and coming up with all of the plans.
Cap is much more important in the comics than Iron Man, with everyone listening to him and looking to him for guidance. While some heroes feel closer to Iron Man or may agree with him more, most of the superheroic community listens to Cap when he talks, including Iron Man.
2 MCU Cap Is The Best: He Has A Bigger Audience
Even if the comics version of Captain America is unequivocally and objectively better in a demonstrative way, the fact is that more people have seen Captain America in the movies than in the comics.
The best-selling comics only move, at the most, two hundred thousand copies a month, with a portion of those going into back issue boxes for resale. By comparison, millions of people have watched moves with Cap in them. By this metric alone, the MCU version of Cap is the best.
1 Comic Cap Is The Best: He's The Heroic Ideal
Marvel heroes are known for having feet of clay and being more relatable than DC's more archetypal heroes. This is true in just about every example, except for Captain America. Cap is the closest the heroes of the Marvel Universe get to an idealized state—he's the perfect hero.
He never gives up the fight, has found a way to be a superhero and have a fulfilling life outside of that, is the greatest tactician and leader around, and has won fights that should have been the end of him. He is the shining example of everything a hero in the Marvel Universe can be, the heroic ideal that all aspire to.
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