Summary
The First Avenger teaches you the fundamentals.
Captain America is the designated first character. Official guidance puts him at the top of the beginner list, and shield fundamentals are the curriculum: honest mid-range, a projectile that comes back, defense that punishes impatience.
Cap has been a playable Marvel-fighter staple since the 1990s, and Tōkon hands him the same teaching-character role with modern animation. He was playable throughout the beta; shield-throw properties and frame data get documented from the launch build.
Move list: Captain America
| Move | Type | Gauge | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trick Shield5U | Unique Move | — | Shield toss on a complex trajectory; rebounds when tagged with Ricochet Volley. |
| Trick Shield (Aerial)j.5U | Unique Move | — | Air version of the trick toss.Air OK |
| Ricochet Volley5U (shield out) | Unique Move | — | Strike that rebounds a thrown shield; cancels into Skills on contact.Air OK |
| Shield Guard4U | Unique Move | — | Blocking stance that auto-counters point-character attacks and powers up the next toss. |
| Shield Strike236L/M/H | Skill | 25 (Heavy) | Shield projectile; Medium angles it, Heavy flies fast.Air OK |
| Soaring Justice623L/M/H | Skill | 25 (Heavy) | Rising attack with anti-air invincibility.Air OK |
| Freedom Charge214L/M/H | Skill | 25 (Heavy) | Forward charge; Light triggers Break, Heavy hits overhead. |
| Freedom Charge (Aerial)j.214L/M/H | Skill | 25 | Delayed descending lunge that baits anti-airs.Air OK |
| Shield Shock22L/M/H | Skill | 25 (Heavy) | Ground punch shockwave that hits low — mixup tool. |
| Living Legend236M+H | Super Skill | 50 | Lunging attack into a fierce finisher. |
| Sentinel of Liberty632146M+H | Ultimate Skill | 100 | Invincible strike into a series of hits; shield tosses stay powered up for the round after it lands. |
Inputs use numpad notation for a character facing right: 2 is down, 6 is forward, so 236 is a quarter-circle forward and 623 a “dragon punch” motion; L/M/H are the three attack strengths and U is the Unique button. The game also has simplified one-button skills — the controls guide covers both.
Startup, active, recovery and on-block values need the retail build to measure and land here after August 6, 2026. Invented frame data is worse than none.
How to play Captain America
Captain America is shield fundamentals, and the shield is a two-part tool. Trick Shield toss travels a complex path, and Ricochet Volley strikes a thrown shield to rebound it — so you throw it out, then hit it back for a second angle the opponent has to respect. Solid, honest mid-range is the entire identity.
Around that he has a clean toolkit: Shield Strike as a projectile, Soaring Justice as an anti-air, and a grounded high/low mixup — Freedom Charge hits overhead on the Heavy version (Light triggers a Break instead) while Shield Shock is a shockwave that hits low. Shield Guard is his defensive read — a stance that auto-counters a point character's attack.
There is no install to manage; he is the fundamentals pick — strong buttons, a counter, an anti-air, and a shield he can throw and rebound with Ricochet Volley for a second angle. Sentinel of Liberty, his Ultimate, keeps his shield tosses powered up afterward, extending the pressure his normal game already builds.
In the open beta he was picked 60 times, split 19 on point and 41 as an assist. That middle-of-the-road split fits the character: a fundamentals fighter with a shield projectile and a counter makes a perfectly good assist, but he also has the anti-air and mixup tools to anchor a team, and players used him both ways.
Kit-level gameplan from Captain America’s documented moves and the open-beta usage split — not frame data. Specific frame advantages and matchup reads land once the retail build is tested.
On the Vibranium and above leaderboard, Captain America was picked 60 times across 1,600 character slots — 14th most-picked of the 16 playable.
Players overwhelmingly used Captain America as an assist — 68% of picks — rather than as the fighter they started the match with. Compare every fighter’s beta pick rate.
By raw picks, Captain America landed just ahead of Ms. Marvel and just behind Peni Parker.
Popularity is not strength — this counts what people chose over one three-day weekend on a pre-launch build, not what wins.
Official character guide
Captain America Character Guide
Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls - Captain America Character Guide | PS5 & PC Games
PlayStation
Captain America is voiced by Brian Bloom — officially credited (source).
Combos
Combo routes for Captain America live at ComboForge, where players have been submitting and voting on them for a year. That is a better source than anything we would assemble here.
Every other fighter
Amazing Guardians
Fighting Avengers
Knights of Doom
Samurai Outriders
Year 1 DLC