Captain America’s Escape From SHIELD Was Better In The Comic

One of Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s most famous scenes saw Captain America escape from SHIELD – but the comic book version of this escape was even cooler. Steve Rogers has always been known for his clear sense of right and wrong, and when Nick Fury believed SHIELD had been compromised, he knew exactly who to turn to. Unfortunately, even Fury had no idea about the real scale of Hydra’s infiltration, and soon Captain America was on the run.

In Captain America: The Winter Soldier an elite group of SHIELD agents confronts Steve Rogers on an elevator. What followed was one of the best, most intense action scenes in the MCU to date, as Steve proved he was indeed a force to be reckoned with. But Captain America’s escape from SHIELD was frankly even more impressive in the comics. The equivalent scene happened in the Civil War miniseries, with Steve Rogers summoned to the SHIELD Helicarrier to meet with Director Maria Hill. She had been placed in charge of implementing the Superhuman Registration Act, the comic book version of the Sokovia Accords. Hill suspected Captain America would be trouble, so she had isolated him from the rest of the superhero community in the hopes of either talking him round or taking him down. It didn’t take long for the conversation to escalate into a confrontation – but Hill believed she had prepared for it. She was wrong.

Looking back, Maria Hill’s strategy was inspired. She had rightly recognized Steve Rogers as a leader in the superhero community, and so she had isolated him in an environment where she had total control. She essentially transformed the SHIELD Helicarrier into a giant “Captain America Trap,” with concentric rings of increasing force. The first ring was a full platoon of agents standing by inside the room with Captain America, armed with tranquilizer guns. Should that fail, the next ring was comprised of heavily-armed SHIELD tactical agents. On top of all that, the Helicarrier was being circled by fighter jets, forcing Cap to stand down because even he couldn’t dodge a rocket.

But it wasn’t enough. For all her preparedness, Maria Hill had underestimated Captain America’s tactical genius; he effortlessly turned the whole thing against her. Surrounded by too many SHIELD agents to block all their tranquilizer darts with his own shield, he used a SHIELD agent’s body to block them. Cap smashed through the windows of the Hellicarrier, moving at such speed that the tactical response units didn’t have time to think. Then, incredibly, he leaped out onto one of those fighter jets and commandeered it, scaring the pilot witless and pressuring the pilot to fly him down to Earth. Remarkably, he did all this without even a second’s thought, as relentless as a force of nature. It’s hard to see what else Hill could have done differently to prepare for this fight.

This is why Captain America’s escape from the SHIELD Helicarrier in Civil War is even better than the elevator scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. On both occasions, Cap is responding to what is (to him) an unexpected threat; but in the MCU, his escape simply demonstrates his strength and skill, whereas as in the comics he had to intuitively spot the gaps in Maria Hill’s impressive strategy and overcome an entire Hellicarrier’s worth of opponents. When Steve Rogers escaped the Triskellion, he was dealing mainly with agents who had no idea what was going on and were reacting spontaneously, whereas Maria Hill packed the Hellicarrier with elites who knew full well they were probably about to take on Captain America. What’s more, Hill’s strategy – and the isolated location of the battle, hundreds of feet in the air – should have meant there was no obvious exit, and yet he created one. As Hill learned the hard way, Captain America is certainly not a man to be underestimated.

About The Author

Thomas Bacon
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Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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