Does Steve Rogers’ Captain America Have Superpowers In The MCU?

Steve Rogers gained the body of an Olympic athlete when he became Captain America, but the MCU Steve Rogers may have gained superpowers as well. The Captain America of the comics was meant to be the pinnacle of human achievement, with a heroic heart and athletic physique. However, there are several instances in the movies which suggest the MCU Captain America has superpowers, including enhanced strength and stamina.

Created by comics’ legends Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the Steve Rogers of the comics was meant to be a more realistic hero that ordinary children could aspire to be like. Much like DC Comics’ Batman, the Steve Rogers of the comics is highly trained, but has no intrinsic abilities that mark him as more than human. While the Super Soldier Serum transformed Steve Rogers into a peak human athlete, it did not give him any powers beyond those which any soldier could reach with time and training. Still, there is some question whether Captain America is superhuman in the MCU.

Steve Rogers Does Not Have Superpowers In The MCU

Officially, the MCU Steve Rogers did not gain any superpowers when he became Captain America. The process which enhanced the MCU Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger was a scientific miracle, but it was not clearly intended to give him bulletproof skin, superspeed or anything that would be considered a superpower. If it were, the American government would not have bothered investing in an expensive vibranium shield to protect their first Super Soldier, even if he also turned it into an effective weapon.

The MCU Pushes The Limits Of Captain America’s Skill Set

While Steve Rogers seemed to be a peak human athlete in his earliest MCU appearances, later films made the prospect of his being an ordinary human increasingly implausible. Perhaps the most infamous example of this came in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, when Steve Rogers briefly stopped a helicopter piloted by the Winter Soldier from taking off. Notably, the current world record for a man’s grip strength (331.8 pounds) is considerably less than the weight of a small helicopter.

Steve Rogers’ confrontation with Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War also points to the MCU Captain America having superpowers. The two faced off during the Battle of Wakanda, and Steve Rogers briefly held the Mad Titan in check. While it seems likely that Thanos was holding back his full power at that moment and may have been surprised by Captain America’s resolve to keep fighting when so many stronger heroes gave up, it would have taken truly superhuman strength for Steve Rogers to accomplish what he managed.

There is no clear explanation for this, save that the Super Soldier serum may have unanticipated effects upon a body kept in cryogenic suspension. The shock of the cold could force the serum into an accelerated state, boosting its effects in much the same way that the debilitating effects of alcohol can be increased by other medications and extreme temperatures. This might explain the clearly superhuman feats achieved by both Captain America and the Winter Soldier in the later MCU films.