Anthony Mackie Quickly Clarifies Earlier 'Captain America' Comments - "I'm A Proud American"
Well that was quick! Kevin Feige and The Mouse must've gotten on the phone in record time after hearing Anthony Mackie's comments this morning to make sure Captain America released a statement as a proud American ASAP. I wonder if they have a special 'DEFCON 5' all-hands-on-deck damage control type hotline that goes out in moments like this. Hell, they might be trying to get Mackie on the field with the National Guard at the Super Bowl by now. Let him be one of the many holders of the big ass flag! Hold a screening for everyone who just got pardoned by Trump! Get this guy back in on America before this movie comes out!
Seriously, though - how fast did Mackie know he fucked up? Was it the second it came outta his mouth? When he got off stage? When the first tweet went out? I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that moment of discovery.
If I'm being completely honest, I don't even think the original comment was all that crazy in the context of what he was saying - and Chris Evans himself has quotes basically saying the exact same thing while he was playing the character....
"I'm not trying to get too lost in the American side of it. This isn't a flag waving movie. It is red, white and blue, but it just so happens that the character was created in America during war time, when there was a common enemy, even though it is Captain America.
I've said before in interviews, it feels more like he should just be called Captain Good. You know, he was created at a time when there was this undeniable evil and this guy was kind of created to fight that evil. I think that everyone could agree that Nazis were bad and he, Cap, just so happens to wear the red, white and blue."
….but it was just incredibly stupid to say on the media tour for god damn a 'CAPTAIN AMERICA' movie. Soooo dumb. Aside from spoiling the ending of the movie outright, I'm not sure there was a worse thing to say in that moment. It was like delivering a heli-carrier worth of ammo to those already rooting for this movie's downfall (for one reason or another). Years and years of media training out the window. I truly don't think it was some outwardly anti-American statement from Mackie that was worthy of the outrage, though. If you've seen the Captain America movies, I feel like it's pretty easy to understand what he was trying to say (especially when speaking to a live audience in Rome, Italy): Cap ain't just a patriotic/nationalistic superhero who only fights for America, and he never has been! He hates bullies and fights for the little guy, no matter what they look like or where they're from - even if they're an alien from another planet….or a potential ticket buyer in Rome, Italy!
In the MCU, after he's used as the poster child of World War II propaganda in 'The First Avenger', he literally spends the next two movies in his trilogy fighting the American government. When Tony Stark signs the Sokovia Accords and stands with the US government, Captain America is the one to oppose him the strongest. Again - it's not anti-American, and isn't intended as such, but Cap has always been about what America should be rather than what it is, going back to the earlier iterations of the character….
….and I don't wanna put words in his mouth or appear like I'm doing damage control for him here, but I think that's basically what Anthony Mackie was saying this morning.
I can't imagine the headache of a day they must've had over at Marvel because of this, though. Thoughts and prayers to the poor social media intern who had to deliver the news to their superiors: "Uh, excuse me. I think we have a problem. I'm pretty sure Twitter is saying Captain America just turned his back on America like Sgt Slaughter before WrestleMania VII. They're not happy."
'Captain America: Brave New World' hits theaters on Valentine's Day - February 14th. We'll have to wait until then to find out if these comments could've made any real impact on the box office numbers, but I have a feeling that the percentage of people who are even aware that this happened is so low it probably won't play a factor.
P.S. While we're on the topic of Marvel superheroes, I've been streaming the #1 game in the world 'Marvel Rivals' every Tuesday at 4pm - check out today's stream below….