Marvel Just Brought Back Captain America’s Most Iconic MCU Moment, and It Has a Whole New Meaning

Captain America rode the Marvel Cinematic Universe to another level of popularity. The character has been popular before, most notably in World War II, but his MCU success showed that all he needed to become one of the most popular superheroes of them all was a bigger stage. One of the most memorable Captain America movie moments came in Captain America: The First Avenger, when young Steve Rogers was being bullied, getting beaten down then getting back up and saying, “I can do this all day.” It’s one of the most important character moments in the films, and it’s homaged in Captain America: Civil War during his battle with Iron Man and again in Avengers: Endgame, when he fights his past self. It’s an iconic line and for an entire generation of fans, it’s defined Captain America.

The comics and the movies have been linked years now, with each different part of Marvel paying homage to the other in a variety of ways. The comics have often paid homage to the biggest movie moments in an attempt to get movie watchers to become comic readers. Cap has often been left out of this; the last decade of the character’s comics have been rather busy for him and there hasn’t been much MCU synergy. However, Captain America (Vol. 14) #14 ends with the perfect homage to this classic MCU line, putting a flawless little twist on it. This issue is part of a story of Cap in Hell, with the Red Skull hot on his tail at the head of a demon army.

“Hell’s Angel” Is Yet Another Battle in Cap and Red Skull’s Endless War

“Hell’s Angel” has been an amazing story, one that has done a great job of digging into Captain America (and Doctor Doom). It spins out of “Doom’s Shadow”, where Cap was called in by Nick Fury to protect Doom’s arsenal during the transition of power after his defeat in One World Under Doom. However, General Ross and a group of gamma-powered soldiers decided that the US should have those weapons, leading to a battle between Captain America, Red Hulk, and a group of mini-Hulks. This wasn’t a fight he can win and Cap’s beaten nearly to death, ending up in Mephisto’s realm during a rebellion against the demon lord, with Doom helping lead the resistance.

Mephisto isn’t taking this threat to his realm lying down, though, and recruits the perfect souls to lead his armies – Valeria Franzen, Doom’s first love who he sacrificed to demons for power, and Cap’s greatest enemy Red Skull. Captain America (Vol. 14) #14 begins with Doom dealing with Valeria and ends with the Red Skull’s army making its way to battle the rebels. Cap has been dealing with the morality of his actions in Hell – these are demons rebelling and there’s a good chance the damned would trading one monster for another – but once he sees Red Skull at the head of Mephisto’s army, all doubt is erased, with the last page seeing Cap homage his classic MCU line by saying, “I can do this for eternity.”

Captain America and Red Skull’s rivalry is one of the most savage in Marvel history. Rarely have their been two characters who were so perfectly diametrically opposed. Steve Rogers is everything good about the freedoms of the United States, while Red Skull has always represented the evils of fascism. The sad thing is that each of them had a similar upbringing – orphans who worked hard to survive – and could have found some common ground at one point, but Steve helped people whenever he could and Johann Schmidt didn’t. He killed a girl and caught the eye of Adolf Hitler, his destiny darkened forever. There are honestly less pure evil villains than you can imagine in superhero comics, but Red Skull is at the top of the Marvel irredeemable list.

The line “I can do this all day” has always spoken to Cap’s perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds, whether it be the bullies he dealt with before the super soldier serum or a battle against an overwhelmingly powerful enemy like Iron Man. In Captain America (Vol. 14) #14, Cap is facing down an entire army of demons, all to free Hell from Mephisto. On his side are Victor Von Doom and various minor demon lords. He’s not sure if what he’s doing is the right thing. However, seeing Red Skull at the heads of an army of enemies shows exactly who the bad guys are – whoever is being led by Skull. The moment he sees that crimson rictus grin, he’ll fight to the end and beyond. He will never stop fighting Red Skull and what he represents. He will do this for eternity.

Captain America and Red Skull’s Rivalry Is Unending

“I can do this all day,” was the moment that moviegoers got to understand who Steve Rogers was. He was small and beaten, yet he kept fighting. He brought this sheer determination to the battle against evil and it allowed him to become a legend. It’s one of those lines that make you think of the character, so Captain America (Vol. 14) #14 homaging it is something of a no-brainer. “Hell’s Angel” has seen him face off against impossible odds, has seen him question his mission and his allies. Then he saw Red Skull and he knew that he was on the right side – only a true monster would release the beast that is Johann Schmidt on anyone. Suddenly, doubt is erased and the endless battle starts again.

Cap and Red Skull are perfect enemies. Their war against each other began decades ago, each of them becoming the exemplar of their side. Captain America was the Sentinel of Liberty and Red Skull was the embodiment of the Nazi ethos. Freedom and fascism will always be at odds with each other and so will they. The two of them have been locked in a death spiral for years; both of them have died several times over the course of their war. However, not even death can stop the two of them from fighting. They will always find each other, picking up right where they left off.