Five Things: Five things Cap wishes he had told another Avenger

[caiusbackup]

mississippienne asked for Top five things Cap wishes he had told another Avenger:

1. Cap *has* apologized to Rick Jones for abandoning him so unexpectedly, but he wishes he had been able to do so at the time; or at least, that he had been able to find him sooner, in a situation other than the middle of an intergalactic war. Beyond that, he wishes he'd been anywhere *near* ready at the time to explain to the boy, to apologize, for how much his grief over Bucky distorted their brief association.

But he has a sneaking suspicion that reconciling with Rick would not have been good for either of them, as sad as it is to be potentially a more distructive influence than the Hulk.

2. There are many things Cap wishes he had said, wishes he had done better when the Avengers' founders were called away that first time, leaving him in charge of three new Avengers who had recently been criminals.

If he had been a little firmer, a little kinder, a little more confident of himself and his role in this new world, Clint and Wanda and Pietro's paths might have been easier.

3. He wishes he'd been in Los Angeles to tell Clint that Bobbi loved him, and Bobbi that Clint loved her; and a little later to tell Vision that he existed, to remind him that he had been human.

4. Steve heard only after the fact that Dennis had been found living in the sewers, afflicted by madness. He wishes that he had been there, to remind D-Man of the hero and the *friend* he had been; and that he had kept better in touch before that, had reinforced better his gratitude to Dennis for coming all the way from the Zero People to help the Avengers, despite the scorn of Avengers who did not know him.

5. Maybe someday Steve will figure out the words that will make Tony understand. Over the years, he has tried every word he can think of; whatever differences they have are not a matter of lack of opportunity to talk.

(My Avengers knowledge is decidedly spotty still, so these were hard to write, and should not really be considered a *top* five list--there are probably glaringly obvious things I've missed 'cause I haven't read the issues in question.)

Comments

[harmonyangel.livejournal.com]

Oh, these are fantastic. 5 is, unsurprisingly, my favorite, but I love the others a whole lot, too, especially 2 (man, that poor group didn't turn out well, did it?) and 4 (I've been wondering about D-Man lately, since I read those heartbreaking issues of The Pulse before knowing anything about his history). Brava.

[caiusmajor.livejournal.com]

Glad you like! Poor Hawkeye and Wanda and Pietro--life has not been kind to them, and back when they first joined, Cap really *wasn't* the greatest of team leaders.

I read the issues of the Pulse a little after I'd first encountered D-Man in a skattering of old Cap issues, and I was really sad it had come to that and that Daredevil, not Cap, had to haul him out of it.

Thanks very much!

[tavella.livejournal.com]

back when they first joined, Cap really *wasn't* the greatest of team leaders.

You know, they say that comics is the illusion of change, but I don't think that's entirely true. Because Cap, for example, really did learn and change; he had trouble with the Kooky Quartet because he wasn't used to leading civilians rather than soldiers, but he eventually got very good at both.

[caiusmajor.livejournal.com]

Well, there are all sorts of different sorts of change (and non-change) going on in comics, but it's definitely true: when I read those issues, I was quite startled to find out how *immature* Cap came accross back then--plenty of times it was Wanda or even Pietro who had to pull Cap and Hawkeye apart from their bickering. (When Pietro and even Wanda weren't joining in, that is.)

Which is not at all how that dynamic would have gone these days.

[elspethdixon.livejournal.com]

Having done the math (or tried to, anyway--Marvel timelines have nothing on DC, but are still screwy), I'm pretty sure he was about 26/27 then. All the Avengers have grown up a lot since those first days, though not as obviously as the X-Men, who all started out as teens rather than people in their early twenties.

Ah, Clint and Steve. I have a special love for the bit in Avengers volume 3 where Clint is "explaining" to Cap why he has no luck with women. It involves handgestures, posing, and "impressions" (Clint: "Gosh, golly, shucks, I'm Captain America. Watch me stand here and look noble." Cap: "Clint, the depth of your interest in my love life is starting to concern me.").

[caiusmajor.livejournal.com]

Yeah--as much as Cap comes off as being a Really Old Man sometimes, he's not, subjectively, and certainly wasn't then.

Oh man, yes. Clint and Steve are *awesome* together. I'm also fond of the one, I think it's Cap 400ish, just after Galactic Storm, where Clint goes and jumps on Cap's bed to get him out of his funk.