This is a sentence meaning question, are the following sentences similar as for their context(I'm not saying its absolute form, but the general concept of it)
(Excerpt)
Captain America's mindset: ...Regardless of whether standing up for them means he gets beaten up, he will still go on.
To:
Captain America's mindset: ...Despite the potential of getting beaten up if he stands up for them., he will still go on.(I've constructed this sentence myself)
Are they the same somehow?
Almost the same. Yes.
When we use regardless, the implied bad thing may or may not happen or may be uncertain.
Regardless of the costs, he is with us.
Here the costs may or may not happen and if they do they may or may not be large. This phrase conveys a sense of him not caring what the costs are.
When we use despite in a context like this, the bad thing is certain
Despite the costs, he is with us.
It connotes him knowing what the costs are and judging them to be worth it.
You have modified the second so that the costs only happen with some probability
Despite the potential costs, he is with us.
Now the costs are uncertain, just as in the first example. But there's a sense in which using despite suggests more knowledge or concern about the costs than the use of regardless of.
