In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Steve Rogers is seen as one of the most selfless heroes of them all. He was known for sacrificing himself to help others and throwing himself on grenades even before becoming Captain America. However, one of the things that makes the character interesting is that he’s not always completely heroic and selfless.
He has many moments where he’s actually quite selfish and some of these moments are more justified than others. Overall, the MCU does a good job of showing that even some of the most heroic people are flawed and can make mistakes. And, at the end of the day, Steve is often motivated more by helping his close friends and doing what he thinks is right than anything else.
Did everything to save Bucky Barnes many times
Through most of the movies that feature Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes is the driving force in his life and the narrative. Steve spends many movies trying to save Bucky once he realizes that he’s been alive and made into the Winter Soldier by HYDRA.
In some ways, these motivations are selfish because he clearly cares a lot about his best friend, sometimes to the detriment of other important things. Yet, he also does genuinely want to save the life of a man who was victimized and deserves to be saved, so it’s hard to fault him too much.
Tried to lie to join the Army
When we first meet Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger, he’s rather naive about the world and has a less nuanced perception of things. However, he does want to help people, and he really wants to fight bullies.
So, while his idea that the only way to help is to be a soldier might be misplaced, he has good intentions. Lying to try to join up might not be the best thing, not for himself or others around him, and it might have had something to do with Steve having something to prove, but he did want to help.
Became Captain America in the first place
Steve is clearly a very giving and self-sacrificial person, but he also did feel like he needed to prove himself. He was a small, sickly young man who felt like he didn’t fit in because he couldn’t join the other young men to fight in the war.
However, he still did have a good heart, or he wouldn’t have been able to become a super-soldier without being corrupted.
Turned his friends into fugitives
During Captain America: Civil War, Steve and Tony are at odds over the Accords, and the other Avengers also have strong opinions about these regulations. However, while some of the other Avengers, like Wanda Maximoff, are on Steve’s side to protect themselves, others, like Sam and Natasha, end up helping Steve out of loyalty.
In the end, Steve asks many of his closest friends, such as Sam, Sharon, and Natasha, to go against the law to help him, and this turns all of these people into fugitives who are on the run.
His awkward relationship with Sharon Carter
One of the main relationships in the MCU that fans didn’t support was Sharon Carter and Steve Rogers.
It didn’t make a lot of sense for Steve to kiss Sharon and then leave her. Additionally, the fact that Steve apparently didn’t even tell Sharon he went back to the past and didn’t help her at all when she was a fugitive makes him look like a jerk.
Wouldn’t work things out with Iron Man in Civil War
Both Captain America and Iron Man were wrong about some things in this conflict and right about others. However, where they both really went wrong was in their inability to work things out together.
From the start, they didn’t communicate well and were both too stubborn. These actions come across as selfish on both of their parts be used they let their issues with each other get in the way of finding a compromise.
Left Bucky alone after everything he’d been through
One thing that many fans were upset about in Avengers: Endgame was that Steve went back to the past in a way that seemed rather out of character. After seemingly caring so much about Bucky Barnes, Steve then left him in the future while he went to the past.
After all that Steve had done to save Bucky, it just didn’t make a lot of sense. Bucky had just been unsnapped, and he likely could have used some support from his best friend. It definitely seems like Steve abandoned him.
Didn’t tell Sam Wilson he was leaving to the past
While leaving Bucky seemed rather selfish; the way he handled it all with Sam Wilson was possibly worse. Bucky at least seemed to be told about Steve’s plan, even if Avengers: Endgame didn’t show this on-screen, but Sam was totally surprised.
When old Steve gave him the shield, Sam didn’t really even know what was happening. He at least deserved to hear about all of this from Steve since they were such close friends.
Went back in time and ignored the rules of time travel
Without a doubt, one of the biggest flaws with the plot of Avengers: Endgame was Steve’s decision to go back in time to be with Peggy. In the movie, the idea was that messing with time in the past was wrong and dangerous, yet Steve decided to do what he wanted anyway.
It’s also never really been explained in the canon if Steve going to the past created a new timeline or if he remained in the same one. But, in any case, he was abusing his power for something selfish.
Seemed to treat Peggy like a prize he deserved
While some people thought Steve going back to be with Peggy was really romantic, others felt it was rather selfish. In the canon, fans saw in Agent Carter that Peggy moved on with Daniel Sousa and lived a full life, but Steve decided to go back in time anyway to be with her.
It felt like he saw her as a prize he deserved to have after being a hero for so long, and it made him look rather selfish while also going back on a lot of his character development around moving on in the future.