Captain America: The First Avenger | Marvel Cinematic Universe Lookback
Ever since I watched Black Panther back in March I've been itching to catch up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Here's the thing; the current amount of media content the Marvel Cinematic Universe has produced (as of June 30, 2018) is at 56. Yes, you read that right 56. 56 movies, one-shots, and tv-show seasons. I don't know about you but that's a little too much and a very overwhelming mountain to climb, to say the least. Also, that's a lot of media content to produce in only ten years, so cheers to Marvel Studios for cranking those out.
So to make my dreams possible I decided only to take on the movies and splitting them into phases while also starting in chronological order of when they take place within their universe not ~our~ order of when they were released. That means the first of this series is none other than our star-spangled banner man! CAPTAIN AMERICA!
Obviously, there's going to be major spoilers for Captain America: The First Avenger if you haven't seen it.
Now that the rules have been set, let's get into this!
This is such an easy question for Steve Rogers' character because of course, he's a relatable character that's part of his whole story! At least in this movie. Who hasn't been the underdog in their life? For me, Steve is one of the most relatable in the MCU to me because of all his health issues. When this movie came out I was in the infancy of my chronic illness, so having hope that there's a cure is top notch relatability.
14/10 Wanting to be more than you are.
What kind/ type are they?
Steve is a self-sacrificing hero albeit with a tinge bit of selfishness.
That's it.
That's his whole arc.
Essay done.
From the get-go we see Steve trying and failing to get into the army. During this part, I'd claim that his determination is admirable if not selfish. Not that this is a bad thing. There's no fault in wanting to do all that you can do for a cause you believe in. That's the hero side of Steve, but we can't just see that moment he's looking into that war propaganda and see that he wants to be that hero. There's no shame in wanting to be the hero it's what makes Steve human and thus relatable and thus a character we're inclined to root for.
12/10 throwing yourself on what you think is a live grenade because you care so much about others, you precious beautiful Steve.
Are they actually needed for the plot?
Yeah.
There are two parts of this story that weave into one another at the very end like most traditional story-telling does. The first being the super-serum. While Steve is on his own journey to help the cause he believes in, Dr. Abraham Erskine and Howard Stark, along with the US Military are looking for a guinea pig to test out this super-serum. They needed someone just like Steve, who's self-sacrificing and 'I just don't like bullies.' The world is too good for my boy Steve. Someone who's more than just bronze and has compassion and goodness like Dr. Erskine says.
So to answer the question, yes, Steve and who he is as a person was needed for the super-serum plot. We'll get to the second part of the story in our villain section.
14/10 Stay golden Stevie-boy stay golden.
Were they, as a character outside of their powers, memorable?
Again, absolutely yes.
We spend only about let's say 20 to 30 minutes with Steve as Captain America. The rest of the movie is spent with Steve Rogers and learning who he fundamentally is as a character. That's pretty impressive for a superhero movie. In some cases this technique doesn't work like with Fan4stic, but to get to the heart of Captain America: The First Avenger you have to get to the heart of Steve Rogers first and they did.
10/10 "What's Fondu?"- Steve Rogers 1947
50/40 for the Hero category!
Here's the thing...
Red Skull is not one of my favorite villains. I love me a good villain. A good yin to my yang. Joker to my Batman, if you will.
However, I can't relate to joining an organization that's for the mass enslavement and death of anyone who isn't white and then saying 'Nah, that's too tame for me. How about instead I injected myself with this and become a Darth Maul wannabe?'
I just...
There's nothing there for me to be like, 'Yeah, I get it. Get your revenge sweetie.' There's nothing for me.
0/10 Why Is Everybody Cosplaying as Darth Maul Now?
What kind/type were they?
They were your typical I WANT TO RULE THE WORLD!-kind. So...
Red Skull is your, I-will-take-down-anything-and-everything-to-get-what-I-want, which is the tesseract cube, which is also the second part of the story I talked about earlier. There is nothing sacred for this man except for that tesseract cube which will give him ULTIMATE POWER.
Again doesn't really do anything for me.
3/10 Why Is Your Salute So Damn Stupid? Like I Know You Think Two Hands Are Better Than One But You Could've Done Better On This One.
Does the plot work with them?
Oddly yes. Mostly because of the two parts that this story ducktails into, Red Skull wanting the serum, getting the serum, and getting the tesseract cube all work and play off of Steve's journey. Unfortunately, because of the plot, Red Skull went out like a punk-bitch
10/10 (GRAVITY, DON'T MEAN MUCH TOO ME- MCR plays over Steve and Red Skull end scene).
Were they, as a character outside of their powers, memorable?
That's the thing. The most memorable parts of Red Skull's character, for me at least, is his quick backstory that we get through Dr. Erskine. So for that 2-3 minutes, you could see what he was about and they could've done something to make him more human, but I think that was the point of Red Skull is that he's the worst kind of human so he's almost not human. Idk.
4/10 Elrond Had A Better BackStory That Was Delivered In The Same Amount Of Time, I'm Just Saying
17/40 for the Villian Category!
Chester Philips- In being the hardass who doesn't see Steve's true worth, absolutely.
4/3 He's still Skinny
Peggy Carter- In being skeptical at first to seeing bits of gold in Steve to GOD I WANNA TAP THAT to GOD I WANNA KILL THAT to I'm gonna kick some ass with him to this is our only kiss we'll ever have to 'Don't be late'
Yeah, yeah she did great and is such a good character.
12/3 The Mood
Bucky Barnes- In being whaddup I'm here to be your bestie and save the day uh-oh gotta go save Europe's day, uh-oh we got taken by Hydra, 'How'd you get so tall', to I'mma fight with my bestie, I'mma fall for my best. Yeah, he did, Also whaddup mad-hatter, this is by far your worse dimension yet.
5/3 Falling through a rabbit hole
Howard Stark- In being the young Frankenstein queen we deserve yes, in explaining a bit more about Tony yeah. What the hell is up with the fondu buddy? What kind of line is that? Like, what were you going for, you cheese slut!
6/3 "I said in a few years, didn't I"
Dum Dum- I honestly didn't know you had a name...At least in this movie 3/3 Great Mustache
Gabe Jones- You were in this for like two seconds and I appreciated both of them, wish that Steve and his buddies could've had their own little side story outside of Captain America. Like a little sketch or something. 2/3 ~sings~ What Might've Been Ours
Abraham Erskine- Stanely Tucci I always seem to find you in the weirdness of places but by far this is the best you I've come across. Thank you for being Steve Rogers Obi-wan it was much appreciated. I wish you didn't have to be because you were such an interesting character but I understand that the plot needed Steve to have angst and a little bit of vengeance for the second/third act, so RIP, you beautiful doctor. 10/3 "Stay true to who you are..."
I haven't seen this movie in about 5 years, and the movie came out about 7 years ago from when I'm filming this, and I have to say that the effects are phenomenal! I mean the short Steve to Chris Evans Steve is so flawless. Like, we've seen that type of technology implemented in newer films such as Star Wars and they were only on screen for a couple of seconds and you could tell something was off but with Captain America, HOT DIGGITY DAMN BOYS AND GIRLS! You've outdone yourselves, it looks wonderful. It holds up as well as LOTR trilogy and how they handled their height differences. Bravo.
Also, the CGI in the background was very well done, the only thing that was semi-awkward was Red Skull and the submarine for a couple of scenes but out of the whole movie that's pretty damn impressive.
14/10 Man That Shield Can Fly
Was it used as it's own storyteller?
Absolutely yes.
From introducing Hydra to introducing Steve, Howard Stark, to Peggy Carter. We went from dark and brooding to, quiet and nervous, to showboating and loud, to quietly ready to be respected and if you don't I'll kick your ass. All of that comes off in the cinematography alone and camera work that it flows right along with the characters and helps you along the way of how to feel in a scene.
12/10 The Boys Are Have Returned scenes
Does it set the tone of the movie right?
Yes. Whoever did the coloring for this movie needs a damn reward. They captured the tone of wartime 1940s in America and also in Europe perfectly. They got that war propaganda down to a T! There wasn't really a moment where I felt this feels like a 2011 scene placed in a 1947 movie when it came to the cinematography.
10/10 Slow Mo Cap Is Best Cap- Says, Local Director
36/30 for Cinematography!
I think this story will hold up for many, many generations because it already has. We've been telling WWII stories for about 80 years now and they've always been one of the movies that holds up in storytelling. We've been telling superhero stories since Hercules. Mixing the two together is genius. But as for today in July 2018, yeah. I think watching a man in spandex punch out Hilter 200 times is very much needed in today's climate.
10/10
What were they going for?
So because this was made 2/3 years into the MCU's takeover I suspect their goal was to show the heart of everybody's troubles, which is hard to do when you've already established your audience with Iron Man and you have to do a hard reverse to show, This is what happened, why, what they were going after, and how this involves everybody else, also here's a new superhero to remember, lol k thx bye.
They had their hands full but they just emptied them on us and we ate it up and were ready and willing to do it again.
11/10 "How'd you get so tall?"
"I joined the army."
21/20 for Story Category!
That being said with all my ratings Captain America: The First Avenger movie gets a total of *drumroll*
For now Captain America: The First Avenger is #1 on my Lookback at Marvel's Cinematic Universe.
Next time we'll be taking a look at the man who started this franchise;
In the meantime, let me know what your favorite parts of this movie were in the comments below. Obviously, I love talking about movies or wouldn't have made this post.
Obviously, there's going to be major spoilers for Captain America: The First Avenger if you haven't seen it.
He wants to serve his country, but he’s not this sort of jingoistic American flag-waver,” Johnston said. “He’s just a good person. We make a point of that in the script: Don’t change who you are once you go from Steve Rogers to this super-soldier; you have to stay who you are inside, that’s really what’s important more than your strength and everything. It’ll be interesting and fun to put a different spin on the character and one that the fans are really going to appreciate.This quote from Joe Johnson to the LA Times back in 2010 captures the heart of what Captain America: The First Avenger is all about, thus will be the thesis (if you will) of this 'review' and partly what I'll be judging the movie by. To wholly conduct this lookback with as much fairness as possible I will be critiquing this movie (and the rest of the MCU movies) into five categories;
Now that the rules have been set, let's get into this!
Hero
Are they relatable? |
| Captain America |
This is such an easy question for Steve Rogers' character because of course, he's a relatable character that's part of his whole story! At least in this movie. Who hasn't been the underdog in their life? For me, Steve is one of the most relatable in the MCU to me because of all his health issues. When this movie came out I was in the infancy of my chronic illness, so having hope that there's a cure is top notch relatability.
14/10 Wanting to be more than you are.
What kind/ type are they?
Steve is a self-sacrificing hero albeit with a tinge bit of selfishness.
That's it.
That's his whole arc.
Essay done.
From the get-go we see Steve trying and failing to get into the army. During this part, I'd claim that his determination is admirable if not selfish. Not that this is a bad thing. There's no fault in wanting to do all that you can do for a cause you believe in. That's the hero side of Steve, but we can't just see that moment he's looking into that war propaganda and see that he wants to be that hero. There's no shame in wanting to be the hero it's what makes Steve human and thus relatable and thus a character we're inclined to root for.
12/10 throwing yourself on what you think is a live grenade because you care so much about others, you precious beautiful Steve.
Are they actually needed for the plot?
 |
| Captain America: The 1st & Only Mood |
There are two parts of this story that weave into one another at the very end like most traditional story-telling does. The first being the super-serum. While Steve is on his own journey to help the cause he believes in, Dr. Abraham Erskine and Howard Stark, along with the US Military are looking for a guinea pig to test out this super-serum. They needed someone just like Steve, who's self-sacrificing and 'I just don't like bullies.' The world is too good for my boy Steve. Someone who's more than just bronze and has compassion and goodness like Dr. Erskine says.
So to answer the question, yes, Steve and who he is as a person was needed for the super-serum plot. We'll get to the second part of the story in our villain section.
14/10 Stay golden Stevie-boy stay golden.
Were they, as a character outside of their powers, memorable?
Again, absolutely yes.
We spend only about let's say 20 to 30 minutes with Steve as Captain America. The rest of the movie is spent with Steve Rogers and learning who he fundamentally is as a character. That's pretty impressive for a superhero movie. In some cases this technique doesn't work like with Fan4stic, but to get to the heart of Captain America: The First Avenger you have to get to the heart of Steve Rogers first and they did.
10/10 "What's Fondu?"- Steve Rogers 1947
50/40 for the Hero category!
Villain
Are they relatable? |
| Red Skull |
Red Skull is not one of my favorite villains. I love me a good villain. A good yin to my yang. Joker to my Batman, if you will.
However, I can't relate to joining an organization that's for the mass enslavement and death of anyone who isn't white and then saying 'Nah, that's too tame for me. How about instead I injected myself with this and become a Darth Maul wannabe?'
I just...
There's nothing there for me to be like, 'Yeah, I get it. Get your revenge sweetie.' There's nothing for me.
0/10 Why Is Everybody Cosplaying as Darth Maul Now?
What kind/type were they?
They were your typical I WANT TO RULE THE WORLD!-kind. So...
Red Skull is your, I-will-take-down-anything-and-everything-to-get-what-I-want, which is the tesseract cube, which is also the second part of the story I talked about earlier. There is nothing sacred for this man except for that tesseract cube which will give him ULTIMATE POWER.
Again doesn't really do anything for me.
3/10 Why Is Your Salute So Damn Stupid? Like I Know You Think Two Hands Are Better Than One But You Could've Done Better On This One.
Does the plot work with them?
 |
| This really makes him look like Darth Maul |
Oddly yes. Mostly because of the two parts that this story ducktails into, Red Skull wanting the serum, getting the serum, and getting the tesseract cube all work and play off of Steve's journey. Unfortunately, because of the plot, Red Skull went out like a punk-bitch
10/10 (GRAVITY, DON'T MEAN MUCH TOO ME- MCR plays over Steve and Red Skull end scene).
Were they, as a character outside of their powers, memorable?
That's the thing. The most memorable parts of Red Skull's character, for me at least, is his quick backstory that we get through Dr. Erskine. So for that 2-3 minutes, you could see what he was about and they could've done something to make him more human, but I think that was the point of Red Skull is that he's the worst kind of human so he's almost not human. Idk.
4/10 Elrond Had A Better BackStory That Was Delivered In The Same Amount Of Time, I'm Just Saying
17/40 for the Villian Category!
Side Characters
Were they efficient? Memorable? What was their story? |
| Whaddup Agent K! |
4/3 He's still Skinny
 |
| I present you with: A Mood |
Yeah, yeah she did great and is such a good character.
12/3 The Mood
Bucky Barnes- In being whaddup I'm here to be your bestie and save the day uh-oh gotta go save Europe's day, uh-oh we got taken by Hydra, 'How'd you get so tall', to I'mma fight with my bestie, I'mma fall for my best. Yeah, he did, Also whaddup mad-hatter, this is by far your worse dimension yet.
5/3 Falling through a rabbit hole
 |
| Literally watch the two scenes back to back and tell me if you see a difference, I dare you. |
6/3 "I said in a few years, didn't I"
Dum Dum- I honestly didn't know you had a name...At least in this movie 3/3 Great Mustache
Gabe Jones- You were in this for like two seconds and I appreciated both of them, wish that Steve and his buddies could've had their own little side story outside of Captain America. Like a little sketch or something. 2/3 ~sings~ What Might've Been Ours
Abraham Erskine- Stanely Tucci I always seem to find you in the weirdness of places but by far this is the best you I've come across. Thank you for being Steve Rogers Obi-wan it was much appreciated. I wish you didn't have to be because you were such an interesting character but I understand that the plot needed Steve to have angst and a little bit of vengeance for the second/third act, so RIP, you beautiful doctor. 10/3 "Stay true to who you are..."
42/21 in the Character Category!
Cinematography
Effects, do they hold up?I haven't seen this movie in about 5 years, and the movie came out about 7 years ago from when I'm filming this, and I have to say that the effects are phenomenal! I mean the short Steve to Chris Evans Steve is so flawless. Like, we've seen that type of technology implemented in newer films such as Star Wars and they were only on screen for a couple of seconds and you could tell something was off but with Captain America, HOT DIGGITY DAMN BOYS AND GIRLS! You've outdone yourselves, it looks wonderful. It holds up as well as LOTR trilogy and how they handled their height differences. Bravo.
Also, the CGI in the background was very well done, the only thing that was semi-awkward was Red Skull and the submarine for a couple of scenes but out of the whole movie that's pretty damn impressive.14/10 Man That Shield Can Fly
Was it used as it's own storyteller?
Absolutely yes.
From introducing Hydra to introducing Steve, Howard Stark, to Peggy Carter. We went from dark and brooding to, quiet and nervous, to showboating and loud, to quietly ready to be respected and if you don't I'll kick your ass. All of that comes off in the cinematography alone and camera work that it flows right along with the characters and helps you along the way of how to feel in a scene.
12/10 The Boys Are Have Returned scenes
Does it set the tone of the movie right?
Yes. Whoever did the coloring for this movie needs a damn reward. They captured the tone of wartime 1940s in America and also in Europe perfectly. They got that war propaganda down to a T! There wasn't really a moment where I felt this feels like a 2011 scene placed in a 1947 movie when it came to the cinematography.
10/10 Slow Mo Cap Is Best Cap- Says, Local Director
36/30 for Cinematography!
Story
Does it hold up vs when it was released to today?I think this story will hold up for many, many generations because it already has. We've been telling WWII stories for about 80 years now and they've always been one of the movies that holds up in storytelling. We've been telling superhero stories since Hercules. Mixing the two together is genius. But as for today in July 2018, yeah. I think watching a man in spandex punch out Hilter 200 times is very much needed in today's climate.
10/10
 |
| And one more time! And one more time! |
What were they going for?
So because this was made 2/3 years into the MCU's takeover I suspect their goal was to show the heart of everybody's troubles, which is hard to do when you've already established your audience with Iron Man and you have to do a hard reverse to show, This is what happened, why, what they were going after, and how this involves everybody else, also here's a new superhero to remember, lol k thx bye.
They had their hands full but they just emptied them on us and we ate it up and were ready and willing to do it again.
11/10 "How'd you get so tall?"
"I joined the army."
21/20 for Story Category!
Rank within MCU
Based on the above and my personal tasteThat being said with all my ratings Captain America: The First Avenger movie gets a total of *drumroll*
166/151!
That means I loved this movie 109.9%. You might be thinking that's impossible. 109.9% is impossible, yet here we are.For now Captain America: The First Avenger is #1 on my Lookback at Marvel's Cinematic Universe.
Next time we'll be taking a look at the man who started this franchise;
 |
| TONY STARK! |
❤CJ❤
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