Warning! Spoilers for Captain America Annual #1
Of all the heroes in Marvel’s library, Captain America has arguably the purest heart, but even the Star Spangled Man isn’t infallible. In fact, Captain America's biggest flaw just caused a major problem that could spiral into a cosmic disaster.
Captain America Annual #1 by Gerry Duggan is a new comic from Marvel that ties into the ongoing Infinite Destinies event. Once again, the Infinity Stones have popped up on the Avengers’ radar, but this time, the gems seem to have bonded to certain individuals, granting them undetermined levels of power. Cap’s issue deals with the time stone, which has chosen low-level criminal Hector Bautista as its keeper. Bautista was locked up for the murder of two elderly storeowners when the time stone crashed into his cell, turning him into a living infinity stone. With his new gifts, Bautista can temporarily slow and even stop the flow of time. However, while his record is far from spotless, Bautista has yet to use his powers for anything truly evil; instead, he seems to genuinely want to atone for his actions. Unfortunately, Captain America isn't keen on second chances.
Along with Black Widow, Cap travels to Texas to try and track down Bautista, otherwise known as Overtime. As skilled as the heroes are, Overtime’s abilities prove too much for them to handle. He repeatedly slips away from their grasp, all the while doing everything in his power to not hurt them too badly. “I could have killed you and that assassin back there at any time,” he tells Cap, “but I didn’t want to.” Overtime reveals that he just wants to find a way to go back in time and undo what he did to those innocent storeowners, but as pure as his intentions are, Cap insists on taking him back to prison to serve his time. “We coulda been friends,” Overtime says, “but you don’t want to make things better. You just want a bad guy.” The stone-bearer manages to slip away one last time, promising that he won’t go so easy on the heroes next time.
There’s no excusing what Overtime did to those innocent people, but Cap isn’t exactly in the right here, either. Bautista is clearly not a cold-blooded killer; his guilt over his actions consumes him, and while those actions should not be forgotten, there are other ways to atone besides rotting in a jail cell. Overtime’s powers could make him an incredible asset to the Avengers, especially in regards to tracking down the other Infinity Stone-bearers who may not be as nobly intentioned. Yet Captain America refuses to even consider a fate for Bautista other than serving his sentence. Steve’s strict adherence to the rules is a big part of his character, but in instances like this, it makes him seem more authoritarian than heroic.
Captain America is and always will be a principled man above all else, and when someone violates those principles, he won’t hesitate to brand them as a villain. That kind of determination can certainly be useful, but in situations that call for more nuance, Steve should probably stay on the bench.