I’m hoping to avoid spoilers, for the movies, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the comics, but as an avid Marvel fan I was very pleased with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The character develop we get from Steve post-Avengers is interesting to watch, we didn’t get to see Steve cope with the modern world as much in his first two movies. The Steve Roger we see here is every war movie and veteran, he’s thrust into the world of S.H.I.E.L.D. and nearly lost in the spiral of lies and politics that is the spy agency. True to the Captain he navigates friend and foe with grace and a (slightly tattered) American Flag streaming behind him. I’m almost wistful for the patriotism and strength of Steve Rogers in today’s world.

The Winter Soldier, while not as comical as The First Avenger, adds a new level of depth to the characters of Captain America, Black Widow, Nick Fury, and S.H.I.E.L.D. itself. It also ties up loose ends like Peggy Carter, Agent 13, in a bittersweet knot.

For those who know the comics, the lack of Red Room and connection between Natasha and the Winter Soldier may be disappointing but I think Sam Wilson made up for all of that by representing the average person faced with Captain America (and also being really adorable).

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is playing at movie theaters around Fort Worth. Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD is on ABC on Tues at 8 CST. Next in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is X-Men: Days of Future Past coming out on May 23th and Guardians of the Galaxy coming out August 1st. All leading up to the converging, near collapse, and heart wrenching story arches of the MCU.