Throughout his years as a soldier and a superhero within the Marvel Universe, MCU hero: Swordsman.
Jacques “Jack” Duquesne aka the Swordsman made his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the Disney+ original series Hawkeye. In the show, Jack is dating Kate Bishop's mother (Eleanor Bishop) and is presumed to be the villain of the entire series upon his introduction. However, as the show progresses, it is revealed that Jack is just a loveable airhead born with a silver spoon in his mouth, yet he remains extremely skilled in swordplay. While his debut was initially presumed to be villainous in nature, the Swordsman proved to be a hero when he fought alongside Clint Barton and Kate Bishop against the Kingpin’s Tracksuit Mafia, making him an official Marvel hero—albeit a fairly pathetic one.
In Avengers #19 by Stan Lee and Don Heck, the Swordsman—who at this point in time is an established criminal within the Marvel Universe—wants to give up his life of crime and the Avengers. In that effort, the Swordsman breaks into the Avengers’ base and challenges them all to battle so that he could prove his skills. However, he doesn’t make his true intentions known so the Avengers only see the Swordsman as a villain. When the battle began, the only two people at the Avengers’ HQ were Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, though Captain America jumped into the action after just a few moments of fighting. While the Swordsman was able to escape, his battle with the Avengers was not over as he was determined to best them all to prove himself worthy of ing the team—starting with their leader, Captain America.
Later in the comic, the Swordsman tricks Captain America into a trap where he is successful in defeating the Avengers’ leader. The fact that the Swordsman was not only able to outsmart Captain America but was physically able to take him down is absolutely laughable especially when only considering the character’s MCU portrayal. While the comic book version of the Swordsman was unarguably superior to the MCU version both in of intellect and skill (at least, as it currently stands), one can’t help but associate this Marvel Comics loss with the MCU versions of the characters involved. The thought that Captain America, the same Super Soldier who went toe-to-toe with Thanos, would be taken down by the sword-obsessed rich guy that was dating Kate Bishop’s mom is hilarious.
Of course, the distinction here is between an early comic and a more-established point in a live-action universe, so to compare the two isn’t really fair to either versions of the characters. However, it is nearly impossible not to draw that connection especially after everything fans have seen Captain America do, not just in the MCU, but in Marvel Comics since this issue came out. Captain America is one of the most formidable heroes in the entirety of Marvel Comics, so to see him be taken down by Swordsman (a truly pathetic MCU hero who's neither very strong, smart, nor speedy) is pretty heartbreaking, and absolutely humiliating.
