Well like I said, Fury's Role is more akin to "Commander-in-Chief" or a similar position.
Oh absolutely. All that and more. Mighty big shoes to fill.Part of the problem is that Steve was a paragon strategist, tactician, and moral center for the Avengers. Losing him means they have three roles to fill, essentially. Not just one.
But my overall point here is that Steve's super powers had very little to do with his Leadership position within the Avengers...so the whole concept that the more powerful Avengers won't respect someone that doesn't have a similar power level is just ridiculous.
I really liked how, even when there was sexual tension evident with Natasha and Steve...it was never showed as anything more than attractive people being naturally attracted to each other.I agree with you; I have no problem with gay characters/relationships being pictured on-screen, but the need of some people to ship any male/male relationship as a gay romantic one is . . . deeply problematic and toxic. It's just as bad, for the same reasons, when writers can't help but work their way through every single possible male/female pairing in the cast over the course of the show, as if male/female friendships can't exist. Something not true in the MCU, as Natasha has close friendships with both Clint and Steve, and there's never really a hint of romantic heat there ever, in either case.
With Clint i feel that if there was ever any romantic interest... it's been dealt with in a mature and adult manner (IE, Clint isn't constantly bitching about being put in the "friendzone"). I also really like how, in contradiction to established norms, she's the one that kind of puts him up on the Pedestal and not because he's so dreamy and sweet and perfect... but simply because he was probably the first person in her life to ever treat her as an actual human being.
The Bruce/Natasha romance to me felt a little forced...and I think at least some of that is because they were purposefully trying to avoid the Steve/Clint situations with her and they overcorrected. I'm not opposed to the idea of Bruce and Nat (since Betty Ross is, for whatever reason, not available)....just thought it could have been approached with a bit more deftness.
Side note: Apparently the Russo brothers have stated that Betty Ross was one of those killed by the Snap and restored by the Blip. Also, allegedly, Liv Tyler has been approached to return as Betty in the She-Hulk series.