WARNING: The following contains spoilers for X-Men: The Trial of Magneto #2, now on sale from Marvel Comics.
Steve Rogers has long been the beating heart of Marvel's superhero community. Optimists and cynics alike have turned to Captain America for guidance over the years. Even villains like Doctor Doom have expressed some respect for the hero.
It's this kind heart that's on display in X-Men: The Trial of Magneto #2 by Leah Williams, Lucas Werneck, Edgar Delgado and VC's Clayton Cowles -- with the hero having a keen eye for his friends and allies even in the thick of battle.
Captain America -- alongside Iron Man, Wasp, and Vision -- are the Avengers allowed to visit the mutant nation of Krakoa in The Trial of Magneto #2. They are there to collect the body of their fallen friend the Scarlet Witch, the group also quietly uses the tragic occasion to reaffirm their bonds. Greeting Captain America with a handshake that he would likely keep from other representatives of the hero community, Cyclops welcomes Rogers to the island and invites them to a tour -- something Captain America accepts as a gesture of friendship. He can later be seen playfully laughing at Emma Frosts shut-down of a flirtatious Iron Man, and greets the powerful telepath with a polite "ma'am."
Captain America also reveals to Northstar and Quicksilver just how empathetic he can be. It turns out during the Hellfire Gala, Rogers got the chance to meet Northstar's husband Kyle and developed a fondness for him. Northstar offers to make plans for them all to meet up -- prompting Quicksilver to snark that Captain America is being a little too happy for the somber occasion. But Rogers softly explains to Pietro that he believes it's their shared grief over losing someone as incredible Scarlet Witch that allows him to put aside differences and arguments, and instead bond with others. This actually cuts to the core of Quicksilver, who thanks his former leader for the kind words - and is even brought to tears when Captain America tells him how proud Wanda would be to know Pietro is so protective of her, even in death.
It can sometimes be easy to see Captain America as the leader of the Avengers, or a symbol of freedom, or a myth instead of a man. But it's that inner strength and soft heart that makes him such a distinct and important figure. He's able to see through the difficulties of life and find the goodness in others -- in part explaining the Avengers long-standing tradition of giving former villains (like Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch) the chance to grow into better people. This was an element codified during the recent Heroes Reborn event (where, without the Avengers, figures like Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Ant-Man never got the chance to be redeemed), a world where Captain America was never found and got the chance to become the moral center of the Marvel Universe.
While The Trial of Magneto has largely been a tragic murder mystery, Captain America has a point. Even in times of tragedy, people can come together and share the load of their pain, giving them the chance to recover together. It's a vital task for someone to take on, and especially after recent years (including the events of Secret Empire) risked Rogers' position in that role, it's heartening to see that his presence and words can still help his fellow heroes.