Captain America is the beating heart of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man may have kickstarted the shared universe, and other Marvel heavyweights like Thor and Black Panther have taken the spotlight from time to time, but the soul of Marvel’s biggest stories has always come back to Captain America. Played with earnest conviction by Chris Evans and eventually Anthony Mackie, Cap’s story spans over eight decades in the MCU timeline, from his World War II origins to facing off with Thanos, eventually leaving behind the moniker and pᴀssing it to Sam Wilson.

Captain America has been such an elemental and ever-present force in the MCU that it’s hard to believe the two iterations of the character have only technically starred in four solo films. Many of their appearances have come in team up films, where it’s easier to contrast their purity of spirit and purpose with some of the more obviously flawed Avengers. Some movies are among the best MCU films when it comes to the Captain America franchise – though this does apply to some of them more than others.

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Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

A Disappointing Fourth Captain America Entry

Captain America: Brave New World is the first film in the Captain America franchise to star Sam Wilson as the тιтular character rather than Steve Rogers, though The Falcon and the Winter Soldier did see Sam Wilson embrace his new тιтle prior to the film. Despite the idea of a new Captain America providing a fresh take on the franchise, Brave New World feels more like a retread of what came before for both iterations of the character, resulting in a rather disappointing outing for Anthony Mackie as the character.

Perhaps the biggest letdown about Captain America: Brave New World is that it fails to capture the spirit that made the original Steve Rogers trilogy so great despite it pulling heavily from them thematically. This results in a lackluster film that doesn’t necessarily take the character of Captain America to any bold, new heights. Fortunately, Sam Wilson will be able to see his story continue (and hopefully evolve) as he looks to play a significant role as part of the Avengers: Doomsday cast.

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Captain America: Civil War (2016)

The MCU’s Major Turning Point

Captain America: Civil War was a huge turning point for the MCU. Cap’s efforts to protect his deeply damaged friend Bucky and shirk the Sokovia Accords led to a splintering of the Avengers that wasn’t fully healed heading into Endgame. By the MCU’s standards, it’s a dark, heavy movie that sees friends forced to fight each other over morally ambiguous ideals that neither side is completely sure about. It’s also a movie blessed with the debut of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther, who both make a strong impression right before their own solo films.

Captain America: Civil War is, essentially, an Avengers film. It’s just as much about Tony Stark as it is Steve Rogers, and the fact that nearly every Avenger – save for Thor and Hulk – are on hand makes it hard to take too much time to focus on Cap himself. The film still manages to say some important things about Cap’s worldview – his sense of loyalty and righteousness, even in the face of unthinkable resistance, is the character at his core.