Warning: SPOILERS for Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #7
Marvel's Captain America is one of the company's best-known heroes, but that which is considered a strength by some is actually a terrible weakness: he hasn't changed much since his debut. Steve Rogers, once used as a piece of propaganda (both in-universe and by Marvel Comics), is now the company's equivalent of Superman - not in terms of physical strength, but moral fortitude. But Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #7 reveals a key weakness of the Star-Spangled Man: his morals actively prevent him from being a hero.
In current comics continuity, Captain America recently uncovered a sinister worldwide conspiracy: the Outer Circle. Consisting of five members with unimaginable wealth and power, the members of the group have shaped the entire course of the century since World War I, even rescuing Gavrilo Princep from imprisonment and death. Bucky Barnes is involved in the evil conspiracy as well: his parents were assassinated by Outer Circle members, thus manipulating him into joining the military. They have directed his entire life, and when Bucky assassinates one of the members (an aged Gavrilo himself), he takes his place as the "New Revolution."
In Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #7, written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly with art by Carmen Carnero, Steve Rogers is paid a visit by Namor, the King of Atlantis; he's rescued Steve's shield from the deep after a climactic fight with Bucky in the previous issue. Namor asserts that Captain America never changes, and that remains his biggest flaw - especially regarding the difference between him and Barnes. "In a century of progress, you've not changed a bit," explains Namor. "While you stand in the light, for comrade and country...Bucky is in the shadows, clearing the way. Efficiently. Admirably." Since Bucky is a shadowy figure and Steve must maintain his patriotic visage, Namor continues, Captain America cannot possibly follow his old friend into the depths.
Captain America Is Stuck In The Past (And Marvel Admits It)
Captain America's major weakness is his own reputation as a clean, morally-pure superhero, the likes of which began declining in popularity ever since the beginning of the Cold War. Fans might say this is part of the character's appeal: a man from a bygone age who reminds America of a past long forgotten. But detractors claim the country was never as pure as Captain America himself, and the man is a representation of a country seen through rose-colored (or perhaps red, white and blue) glasses.
At the end of the issue, Captain America realizes that one must fight fire with clandestine fire, and recruits Nick Fury, Black Widow and a group of other spies to put a stop to the conspiracy. But this does not change the fact that Steve is recruiting others to do the dirty work of espionage instead of doing it himself; despite everything, he is still the same man Namor fought in the 40s. Captain America is loved because he emerged in the present day as the proverbial man out of time, but that doesn't mean he must remain this way forever.