Captain America: The First Avenger

<<

Infinity Saga

>>

Edit Coming 02/02/26

Okay, so 'The Avengers' is in line to happen, but one of the most famous faces of the group still needed his movie. Taking place during World War II, it's a neat flashback to take place before the "main event" that would take place the following year. And I have to say, personally speaking, I think Cap gets one hell of a bad rap. Maybe it's just who I've met, but he seems to be considered quite possibly the lamest character of this universe. But, I'm here to say a few things on the matter, and I hope my opinion can open a few minds up to the Star Spangled Man.

In this man's humble opinion, Cap here does have the most solid running series between the Marvel heroes who have been introduced, starting here, with what I'd consider the weakest (but still strong) of the 'Cap' titles.

Hitting rewind, and taking us back to the days of World War II, we meet Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and his best friend, Sgt. James "Bucky" Barnes (Sebastian Stan). Steve tries to enlist in the military, but is rejected time and time again due to health problems, probably having to do with bad CG. Yeah, that's one thing I'll be the first to admit. The CG that makes Chris Evans "Little Steve" IS pretty damn rough to look at. But hey, that doesn't ruin an otherwise great story.

Overhearing Steve's desire to fight in the war, Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) allows him to enlist as part of a "Super Soldier" program. From there, Steve shows that even though he's tiny, lanky and weak, he has incredible honor and bravery. On top of that, he mentions that he wants to fight in the war so badly because he "just doesn't like bullies". That, to me, makes him a great hero, and gives me the same reasons to enjoy this as I had when I watched, and enjoyed, 'Wonder Woman'. He just wants to do what's right for the sake of doing what's right, and that's a true hero. Anyway, as we all know, he gets the Soldier Serum, and becomes Captain America - a man with incredible speed and strength, and essentially a better and healthier version of what Emil Blonsky was for the first part of 'Incredible Hulk'.

Meanwhile, an offshoot of the Nazi order known as Hydra, lead by Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) find a great source of power known as the Tesseract. The energy is to be used on a man named Dr. Arnim Zola's (Toby Jones) inventions and weaponry. This will allow for a massive offensive that would allow the Nazi side to win, thus changing the world. Of course, this does make the ending of the movie somewhat predictable, but I still think this is a very solid starting point for Cap.

As I mentioned before, as far as the 'Cap' movies go, I do consider this the weakest one. This is largely due to some CG issues, and the overall predictability of the ending. But with that said, again, this is enjoyable for the same reasons 'Wonder Woman' was enjoyable, at least speaking for myself. In fact, the two are a pretty solid comparison with their overall subject matter. Both war/superhero movies, both characters who lived in past and present, and both heroes with little more motivation that "it's what's right".

For me, however, I tend to also note the story of the underdog becoming a kick-ass hero, which has always been an attractive situation for me, considering the relatability. This movie has a few bumps in the road along the way, but I tend to consider Cap's movies as landmarks along the way. I'll cover exactly why in each case when I get to it. For this, it was the landmark ending of the solo movies for this universe. After the next movie in line, things would never be the same for the genre.

4/5

POST-CREDIT SCENE: Essentially a clip from 'The Avengers', Rogers is found in a gym, working out, and is  approached for the upcoming mission. This is followed up with a quick 'Avengers' teaser trailer.

---