When last we checked in on Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), he was kicking the Chitauri out of Loki’s invading forces with his fellow Avengers (pronunciation joke). The Sentinel of Liberty was also still adjusting to the modern world after a 70-year organic cryo-snooze, coming to grips with the loss of his friends and the prevalence of technology.
As Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins, Cap is working as the world’s first super-powered mop boy, cleaning up Nick Fury’s (Samuel L. Jackson) messes around the globe with the help of Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and S.H.I.E.L.D. Strike Teams. His role in the modern world of military intelligence has led to a crisis of conscience, and though he’s mastered his own shield, Cap is getting more than a little tired of the endless compartmentalization and potential double dealings of that other S.H.I.E.L.D.
So, finally, Fury offers him some insight into, er, Project: Insight, a pre-emptive strike system of Orwellian proportions, with three next-gen helicarriers as the world’s ballistics-bloated Big Brothers. But Cap, outdated optimist that he is, can’t jibe with Fury’s well-informed hyper-cynicism. Order by way of fear is tantamount to tyranny, not peace. Of course, it’s an easy perspective for Cap to defend; he’s not the one burdened by the role of global chess master. Besides, Fury has his own bosses to whom he must answer. One such superior is Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford), a member of the cabal World Security Council and Fury’s longtime friend and ally. Nick has a big favor to ask of Pierce:
Stall Project: Insight at any cost.