Endgame Finally Moved Past Captain America’s “Language” Joke

Avengers: Endgame showed that the MCU has finally moved past Captain America’s “Language!” joke. Steve Rogers’ aversion to profanity has been a bit of a long-running gag in the MCU, used for moments of comic relief.

In the beginning of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) used a swear word, causing Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) to reprimand him by saying, “Language!” Captain America was ridiculed by Iron Man, who didn’t let him forget about the remark for the remainder of the movie. Even Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) got in on the joke with a swipe at Steve. But at the end of the movie, Steve himself used profanity when he called Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) a “son of a bitch.” Both Fury and Iron Man were quick to point out Cap’s profanity, and the scene was played for laughs.

In the first half of Chris Evans’ final film as Captain America, Avengers: Endgame, what’s left of the MCU’s heroes after the snap of the Infinity Gauntlet gather together, Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) included. It’s in this scene that the Avengers decide to team up for one last encounter with Thanos. Before heading off to fight him, Steve says, “let’s go get this son of a bitch.” Though the movie is full of light-hearted, humorous moments, this isn’t one of them, particularly because it deals with the immediate aftermath of the Avengers losing their friends. Fortunately, screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely decided not to undermine the moment with another joke about Cap’s bad language.

This isn’t the only instance in the movie where Steve uses colorful language. In fact, Cap swears more in Endgame than in any other MCU movie. Clearly, Marvel has decided to leave Captain America’s “Language!”  joke in the past. The reason why it was used for humor in the first place is because Captain America has a long-held reputation — both in the movies and in the comics — as a straight-laced boy scout-type hero with a strict moral code and old-fashioned values. As someone who was brought up in the 1920s and 1930s, Steve comes from a time where it was frowned upon to use profanity in public situations, particularly in front of women.

How Captain America speaks in Endgame is another indication of how Steve has changed since his MCU debut in Captain America: The First Avenger. A similar moment occurs when Steve makes his “America’s ass” comment. Cap demonstrates qualities in Endgame that would have been taken as out-of-character if they happened in one of his earliest MCU appearances – but after everything he’s been through, he can hardly be blamed for growing a little rougher around the edges.