I just rewatched Captain America: The Winter Soldier for the hundredth time so I’m about to make it the aftg fandom’s problem. So here’s aftg characters as marvel characters:
P.S: Please ignore the relationship dynamics and sexualities of the characters, this is about their personality rather than their relation to the others.
P.S.S: This is strictly MCU.
Dan: Maria Hill
Dan needs to be a leader. She is resilient, resourceful and level headed. She is empathetic and opinionated so I can see her as Maria Hill. On a surface level, both Hill and Dan seem like extensions of an authority figure, Fury and Wymack respectively but while Marvel does not necessarily expand on that where as aftg paints Dan and Wymack as two cogs that operate the machine that is their team. Foxes was not an easy team to coach or captain but their dynamic steers the ship along.
Kevin: Valkyrie
For some reason he was the hardest person to assign. But I see him in her. I think she is a character that knows how to survive and so is Kevin. I think as a fandom we sometimes forget that Kevin is a survivor also. He is an ambitious character that has passion, drive and will but he was to reign it all in because he knew it was not welcome, he could not outshine the “king”. I think fundamentally both of them are traumatized by surviving something they expected not to and every day is a reminder of that survival. They are “better off” then the people they love yet they also have to live with it. Valkyrie and Kevin both fall into despair and cynicism for a time but when the time comes, with some encouragement from their friends they both return to their full glory or even overachieve.
Andrew: Wanda Maximoff
For Andrew I was conflicted because, well Winter Soldier, but I think Wanda is more Andrew they are both misunderstood yes both are a product of their environment. I can see Andrew volunteering for experimentation just so he can get revenge. They are both powerful but the price of that power was high and they paid for it greatly. Andrew is a highly complex character that seems painfully honest while he is just a good liar as Neil is. I find Aaron and Andrew’s similarities fascinating and their distinctions even more interesting.
Matt: Captain America
I would like to first say that I put Captain America on a pedestal. He is very special to me but I would like to think Matt would be a version of Steve Rogers had he lived a different life. I am not talking about Steve Rogers, who is a stickler to the rules. You know The Avengers 2012 Steve. I am talking about the little guy that would not give up, the one that stood up for what is right and also the one that is so stuck on his opinion, albeit it being mostly right, the one that could bend the rules so that justice is served.
Aaron: Bruce Banner
Repression and anger that leads to outbursts, need I say more?
Seth: Yondu
I hated Seth. He is not easy to love like any other character in this fandom but I had a hard time empathizing with him. I think Yondu is a good comparison for him, hard to love but once they are gone, missed in their absence. Death allows depth. Perspective is a weird thing, Seth was an imposing figure in Neil’s life and his death continues to affect him.
Allison: Iron Man
She is Iron Man. No other words.
All jokes aside, a character that is protective of their loved ones and arrogant to the point that they refuse to acknowledge they are ever wrong. They know what they want and they are willing to make personal sacrifices to achieve them.
Nicky: Ant-man
Making wrong decisions with good intentions. Reluctant hero that gradually grows into their role. Nicky had said many problematic things but somehow he was a constant presence in both Andrew and Aaron’s life. I personally think he did what he could trying to give two traumatized teenagers a home when all they’ve known is violence while being a child himself. I see him and Scott along the same character progression.
Renee: Natasha Romanoff
I think Renee is also a tough call but like Natasha she is a person who has a violent and dark past but when they are forced to recognize their actions, while neither is particularly proud of them, they would not change it either. I think of both of them as characters that think they owe something to others because they have been “bad” but they are willing to travel to the deep dark sea of their identity when it is needed.
Neil: Gamora
I love him. He is not a hero nor a savior. Neither is Gamora. Neil and Gamora are alike in their emotional responses I think. I love Neil’s apathy when it comes to a lot of things but I think he genuinely cares about his family, he is more than willing to sacrifice himself for them. Similarly, Gamora is willing to die to save the lives of trillions of people. But they love life so much, I think both of them are alight with their instinct to survive but when it comes to other people the survival that is ingrained in their being becomes obsolete.
Bonus:
Jean: Winter Soldier
No comment. My beloved duo.
Again Bucky Barnes is an unequivocal favorite of mine. So is Jean. I do not know how this backliner became a favorite honestly but I find myself constantly heartbroken thinking about him. Two characters who have been through hell but still choose to be good every day because that is who they are. I love when Jeremy wonders how Jean cıuld survive the nest because Jean is light. Bucky Barnes and Jean Moreau care so deeply, and love tenderly. The words are leaving me at this point.
Coach Moriyama: Alexander Pierce
Love Robert Redford, hate Pierce.
For this I would like to thank @gluupor - who is my favorite writer in this fandom and who inspired this post in the first place. I have never met them nor have I ever interacted with them but if somehow they still occasionally check their tumblr I would like to take this chance and say thank you. Feels Like Falling, Sauntering Vaguely Downwards (which I quoted to my friend just yesterday), Surreal But Nice, No Place Like Home and It Always Ends in a Fight are my favorite pieces of fanfiction. They changed my life for the better. I hope wherever you are you know that your work spreads joy everyday.
