In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America has ridden a fairly odd roller coaster. Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers has clearly been adored for nearly a decade and a half, allowing general audiences to become incredibly familiar with this one iteration of the character before he was gracefully and beautifully written out of the MCU narrative with the happiest ending possible in Avengers: Endgame, and part of that ending being so wonderful was Steve passing the shield from one Captain America to the next.
Rather, the roller coaster sank from how high it rose once the era of MCU’s new Captain America commenced. Firstly, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier arguably botched what could’ve been a smooth transition for Sam Wilson by having him relinquish the shield and later have to pry it from John Walker’s hands, and secondly, he’s only appeared as Captain America proper in Captain America: Brave New World since then. Now, an upcoming fighting game’s line of dialogue is pouring gasoline onto Captain America’s contentiousness once more.
Marvel Tōkon’s Captain America Has Controversial Dialogue
Shared on Twitter/X, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls fans are understandably wincing due to the tail-end of Captain America’s new character guide gameplay breakdown video. In-game, Steve Rogers’ Captain America spouts a ton of in-character lines, such as “freedom isn’t free” and “I fight for liberty and justice, for everyone.” But one line from this video, in particular, is completely out of character, and has evidently rubbed Captain America fans the wrong way:
There’s only one Captain America. And he’s standing right here.
It’s an odd line because there are countless characters who’ve assumed the role of Captain America in Marvel’s rich history of comic book lore, with a handful already represented in the MCU alone. And, of course, with Sam’s Captain America having always fought an uphill battle in cementing himself as a new iteration of a beloved character (not unlike Miles Morales’ Spider-Man never being too far from Peter Parker’s shadow), this line is bizarre, unfortunate, and easy to take out of context.
It doesn’t help that the MCU is exhuming a plainclothes Steve for Avengers: Doomsday, seemingly for no reason other than the sake of nostalgia.
There Could Be A Simple Answer, But It’ll Need Clarification
To be fair, it’s possible that this line is only intended to be heard in the event of a Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls mirror match, wherein the victorious Captain America could be referring to the version of himself that he just defeated. However, there is no Captain America present on the opponent team in the match depicted in the Captain America gameplay breakdown where this line is said, suggesting it’s a random line, plucked from a bucket of however many, that he might say in his win cinematic regardless.
Even if he legitimately is the only Captain America in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls lore, this line was bound to be egregious. For example, the response would probably be even worse if only Sam’s Captain America was featured in-game and said this line, and it’d be no less uncharacteristic.
Either way, it’s difficult not to interpret this line as being in poor taste. It’ll be interesting to see if players only ever hear it in Captain America mirrors, and every other character turning out to have a line that’s comparable to it in their own mirror matches would certainly assuage the situation, but it’s still ironic and jarring for characters like Captain America, who share a superhero mantle with other characters, to state they’re the only one.
Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is scheduled to be released for PC and PS5 on August 6, 2026.
- Released
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August 6, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen / Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
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Arc System Works, Marvel Games, PlayStation Studios
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
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Yes