Before movies like Avengers: Infinity War and Spider-Man: No Way Home held the top spot on a lot of fans’ Marvel Cinematic Universe rankings, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was considered the series’ best entry (and for some, it still is). It helped a franchise still in its infancy find its footing and set the stage for bigger things to come. The Winter Soldier also featured a great villain, which was something a lot of superhero movies struggled to pull off at the time. However, despite being one of the best MCU movies, The Winter Soldier still has its fair share of moments that leave viewers scratching their heads.
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While some of these choices may feel like nitpicking, The Winter Soldier is truly a victim of its own success. When a movie is this good, it’s harder to see flaws, but the ones that are present are hard to ignore, especially when they make future MCU moments tougher to swallow.
Nick Fury Getting Duped
The plot of Captain America: The Winter Soldier focuses on Hydra growing within S.H.I.E.L.D. and making moves to take control of the organization. Before Alexander Pierce and Co. can fully reveal themselves, though, they have to get someone off the board – Nick Fury. Bucky Barnes, acting as the Winter Soldier, seemingly kills the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. before it comes to light that he faked his death. It’s a great plot twist, but the situation is one Fury never should have found himself in.
Throughout the early MCU movies, Fury is always ten steps ahead. However, in The Winter Soldier, he lets characters like Brock Rumlow pull one over on him, and he doesn’t realize what’s going on until it’s too late. Sure, Hydra was great at covering its tracks, but Fury should have picked up on the organization’s presence earlier.
Where Are the Skrulls?
Of course, the lack of Skrulls in Captain America: The Winter Soldier wasn’t an issue when the movie came out. The shape-shifting alien race didn’t make its MCU debut until years later in Captain Marvel, but since that movie was set in the ’90s, they’re fair game to discuss.
The big problem is that Fury made friends with the Skrulls and, as Secret Invasion reveals, used them on missions. While he seemingly kept this to himself, it’s hard to believe that Fury wouldn’t use a Skrull to keep tabs on Pierce or anyone else in a position of power. After all, he makes it very clear to Captain America that he doesn’t trust anyone.
Project Insight Was Never a Good Idea
Hydra reveals itself in Captain America: The Winter Soldier because it wants access to Project Insight, which involves three helicarriers launching into the air and being able to take out threats from long distances. Fury and the World Security Council backed the idea after the events of The Avengers, but it’s clear it was flawed from the start.
For starters, even if Hydra stayed dormant, another evil organization would have tried to get its hands on the helicarriers. Captain America was also against the whole thing, and as most MCU projects have proven, going against Steve Rogers usually doesn’t end well.
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Ending S.H.I.E.L.D. Had Major Repercussions
Toward the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the good guys put together a plan, and Captain America makes it clear that it’s time for S.H.I.E.L.D. to end. He makes solid points because it was dirty from the start and couldn’t continue in its current form. However, when the movie came out in 2014, it had just transitioned to the world of TV with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
When the Hydra twist happened, it gave Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. plenty of material to work with, with the show even going as far as to reveal that one of its main players, Ward, was working with the evil organization. As the show continued, though, it became clear that it would have benefited from having a seat at the table a little longer.
Captain America Trusted Black Widow Way Too Quickly
Another problem with Captain America: The Winter Soldier‘s story is Black Widow’s place in it. During the opening of the movie, she leaves Cap on his own while she downloads data on the Lemurian Star. He confronts her about it, but he forgets about it a bit too quickly when things start to unravel.
While Natasha Romanoff fought with the Avengers in the 2012 movie, she still answered to Nick Fury, and, as The Winter Soldier proved, he wasn’t firing on all cylinders at the time. Cap would’ve been smart to keep her at arm’s length a little longer, at least until he could make sure that she didn’t have ulterior motives.
What problems do you have with Captain America: The Winter Soldier? Is it still one of your favorite MCU movies? Let us know in the comments below!
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