Captain America. He’s a beacon of truth and justice. He’s an icon of righteousness, and a pursuer of all things good and proper. Except for equality – apparently that’s something that doesn’t really fit in his world, if you are to pay any attention to the immensely popular films that use this comic book character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The thing about Captain America as a film character is, he has an excuse for sexism built right in to his story. He hails from clichéd 1940s America, when GIs were being shipped off to fight the Nazi menace in Europe, while their teary-eyed sweethearts waved them off with a handkerchief. Indeed, he was conceived essentially as war-time propaganda, by writer Joe Simon, and artist Jack Kirby – first appearing in December 1940, at th...

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