WHEDON HOW CAN YOU SAY HE HAS AN EGO DO YOU NOT SEE THIS SHIT. DO YOU NOT SEE HIM LOOKING PHYSICALLY UNCOMFORTABLE BECAUSE OF THE CAMERA DO YOU NOT SEE THE REST OF THE COMMANDOS NOT GIVING TWO SHITS ABOUT THE CAMERA BECAUSE THEY HAVE BIGGER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT AND STEVE IS THERE THINKING “SHIT SHIT DON’T LOOK AT ME DON’T TRACK ME I DON’T WANT TO BE THE ARMY’S DANCING MONKEY I WANT TO DO SOME GOOD, QUIT FOLLOWING ME” “A MATCH OF EGOS” WITH TONY STARK WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL
#I’m fairly sure Steve was ashamed of his time with the USO#not in the sense that he was doing anything wrong#but that he could have been doing so much more#So much happened while he was on tour#the Allies took Sicily in the biggest amphibious operation to date#he knows now what he can do#how he can help#and instead he was dancing in tights#I think it eats at him#could he have made a difference?#could he have saved lives?#and every time he sees a camera he’s reminded of being on stage#of making those films#of being safe when he should have been out there fighting (via boopboopbi)
Headcanon where Bucky used to “accidentally” damage newsreel cameras to make Steve feel better.
I love you all and I love this analysis but i think y’all are mistaking two different kind of ego. This is a hot take that will probably get me in trouble, but
Tony’s got a very performative kind of ego. A kind of “Oh look at me look how amazing I am” ego.
You know, the kind that often goes hand in hand with those pesky self-esteem issues that Tony has in spades. Genius Billionaire Playboy Attention-Seeker. If you scratch that shiny surface, he’s a hot mess, always second-guessing himself.
Oh but Steve (god love him) Steve’s just so sure, you know? This is Right and that is Wrong and yeah, he’s a smart guy and understands the complexity in a situation but Red Skull wasn’t all that far off the mark when he said that Steve-o does arrogance better than anyone. It just looks different when he does it.
Put it this way: can you imagine Tony delivering a line like this:
… with that level of confidence? No. Tony would be all tortured and angsty about it, but not Steve. And that’s its own kind of confidence, it’s own kind of ego.
Steve might not be comfortable in front of a camera (sing me the song of Steve Rogers’ body dysmorphia I am here for that shit) but Steven “tree by the river of truth” Rogers consults his own moral compass (aka his opinion of what is right and what is wrong) first and last and always. Yeah, it’s admirable. It’s also egotistical as fuck. Who died and made him king of right and wrong, huh?
In Sum: If ego is “a sense of self-esteem or self-importance” Steve got all the self-esteem (at least in terms of morality) and Tony got all the self-importance (at least in terms of who should be the center of attention At All Times) but they’re both egotistical af.
Tony’s ego is about being seen, Steve’s ego is about being right. They’re both struggling against their own egos, with varying levels of success.
TO BE CLEAR, I love them both for it.