Inspired by this Reddit thread.
For those that don’t care to click on the link, it’s a shot of Thanos saying
“You know what? Screw you” * UNCAPTAINS YOUR AMERICA *
…and the next panel showing the pre-serum Steve Rogers appearing.
Okay, first off, Steve would be at a serious strength disadvantage. He’d be nowhere near as tough, either, and have very little endurance.
That said, he’d still have all of his memories, his talent for strategy and tactics, his knowledge of armed and unarmed combat.
Still, even with those advantages, I’d guess that he wouldn’t last too long. I’m certain, however, he’d still be right at the front lines fighting; that’s a defining mark of his character.
Then there’s the wild card. Mjolnir. He’d still be worthy, even more so I’d say. Do y’all think that it would beef him up, wielding Mjolnir, as it did for Dr. Blake in the early days of the comic, or is Thor’s strength solely a factor of Thor being an Asgardian?
First off, I don’t think the idea would have occurred to Thanos. He saw himself as superior to everyone else in the universe, including the various superheroes. To him, there wasn’t any difference between Captain America and Steven Rogers because they were both so far beneath him. From what he saw as his level, Captain America and Hawkeye were the equivalent of Thor and Doctor Strange. It would be like worrying about which ant is the strongest one in the hive.
But I’ll stop arguing the premise. If Thanos had decided to de-power Captain America, I feel it would have been within his abilities. And I agree, Steve Rogers would have fought on against Thanos even without any powers.
However, I don’t think Rogers would have contributed much to the fight. There wasn’t really a lot of leadership that was needed in either battle with Thanos. And while Rogers may have learned a lot of combat skills as Captain America, I don’t feel they would have translated over to his weaker body.
Not sure about the Mjolnir question. I’d presume Rogers would still be worthy of wielding Mjolnir. But that thing was solid metal and pretty big. Rogers would have had a tough time lifting a normal hammer that size. So unless Mjolnir’s magic provided some kind of anti-gravity assist, it wouldn’t have been a very effective weapon.
Isn’t that the whole thing about the hammer? You don’t need strength to pick it up, Hulk couldn’t budge the thing. The hammer decides if you are worthy to pick it up, it doesn’t care how strong you are. Kind of like how Green Lantern’s ring picks a new owner when the old one dies.
There’s being allowed to pick it up, and then there’s being able to. With or without the serum, Rogers is still worthy; no question about that. But being worthy to lift a half a ton doesn’t mean much when you’re a scrawny 4F weakling.
It’s still irrelevant, though. What makes Captain America great isn’t his super-strength or the tools he wields. What makes Captain America great is the way he inspires his allies. He’s a tremendous force multiplier, compared to which the small amount of force added by himself, even with the serum, is negligible.
Yes. Steve is the one that everyone of the heroes, no matter how suspicious or arrogant, will trust to be their leader - and none of that is the super-serum.