10 Things You Didn't Know About Captain America
Steve Rogers a.k.a Captain America is the ultimate embodiment of good within the Marvel Comics universe. Due to his "old fashioned" approach, he is often looked to as the voice of reason within The Avengers team, and thanks to his experience in actual warfare, he is usually quite the cunning strategist. Like all people, though, he does have his flaws which do put him at odds with the government and some of his fellow heroes, most prominent in the Civil War storyline.
He was first created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, back in 1941, originally fighting in World War II, before being frozen and waking up in the modern day. Chris Evans portrayed the character throughout the MCU's Infinity Saga, to the praises from fans and critics, with many considering him to be perfectly cast for the role. Like all good things, though, his time in the role came to an end at the denouement of Endgame, which saw the character return the Infinity Stones to their appropriate places in time and living out his life with Peggy Carter.
The character appeared in three films of his own, plus team-ups in the Avengers films, but following the release and success of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it would appear that Sam Wilson a.k.a Falcon will now take up the mantle of the new Captain America moving forward, with the announcement of a Captain America 4 being greenlit.
In celebration of this, today, we are going to look at 10 things you didn't know about Captain America:
10. He Has Had More Films Than You Realize
As previously mentioned, Chris Evans first took up the role of Cap in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). However, this was not the first time the character got his own live-action adaptation.
The First Avenger was actually the fifth live-action film featuring the character, as there was a television film released in 1944, two more in 1979, and a theatrical release in 1990. These obviously never quite reached the heights and acclaim of the MCU films, causing many people to forget they even exist.
9. Chris Evans Took Some Persuading
Due to how popular and, in some cases, perfect the casting choices were for the Marvel characters, it's hard to imagine anyone else having played the role of Captain America other than Chris Evans. What you may not know is that Evans actually declined the role at least two times before agreeing. He was apparently worried about the effects the fame would have on his personal life, plus there's also the issue of how badly the Fantastic Four films went down, in which he played Johnny Storm aka the Human torch, so I suppose you can definitely understand his skepticism over playing another Marvel hero.
8. He Wasn't The "First Avenger"
Due to the full title of Evans' first outing, fans of the films and not the comics would be forgiven for believing him to be the "First Avenger" and an original member of the team, but this is actually not the case. In the comic book world, the title of "original Avengers" belongs to Ant-Man, Wasp, Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor. Captain America wouldn't join the team until after the Hulk had already left.
7. His Shield Is Different In The MCU And The Comics
The characters we have met onscreen are, for more past, pretty accurate to their comic book counterparts. Due to different companies owning the rights to different characters, however, some alterations had to be made and, for Cap, it was his shield. In the comics, his shield is made from both Vibranium (which absorbs vibrations) and Adamantium (making it indestructible). Due to 20th Century Fox owning the rights to the X-Men, the MCU was not able to use adamantium in their stories, as it is more linked to Wolverine, so Cap's shield in the MCU is only made from vibranium, meaning it actually shouldn't be as indestructible as it appears to be. Bonus fact - multiple shields were made for the films, made from various different materials, but when the shield is thrown it is created digitally.
6. His List Changes Depending On Country
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier (the sequel focusing on the character), there is a scene were Steve reads through a notebook in which he has written a list of things to check out now that he is in the modern word. However, a little Easter egg included here is that the list changes depending on what country the film is being shown in. For example, in the US version, the list includes I Love Lucy, Steve Jobs, and disco, but in France it includes the 1998 World Cup, The Fifth Element, and Daft Punk.
The above photo is his UK list.
5. CGI Plastic Surgery
One of the characteristics of pre-Cap Steve Rogers was the fact he was small, scrawny, plagued with a list of health problems, and not exactly warfare material. Whilst actors have adopted various crazy diets and workouts to achieve the "buff" look required for superhero films, they can't exactly shrink. So in order to achieve the effect at the beginning of The First Avenger, Chris Evans was digitally shrunk by a company called LOLA, who do actually specialize in digital "plastic surgery." Despite it being obvious that something is a bit off, they did a good job and pulled it off well.
4. Unscripted Chest Touch
The First Avenger gives a great in-depth breakdown on how Steve Rogers was chosen for the super soldier serum trial, resulting in his transformation into Captain America. However, when his new physique's first shown, it's also the first time his co-star, Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter) had seen him, and she was so taken aback, she couldn't help but touch his chest. Turns out, this was actually unscripted, and Atwell was just as surprised as her character at seeing Evans' body she couldn't help but have a feel.
3. He Can't Get Drunk
It turns out Cap suffers from the same "problem" Wolverine has in that he is physically unable to get drunk. Unlike Wolverine, who can't get drunk due to his incredible healing powers, Cap is unable to due to the super soldier serum injected into him. The serum results in him having an extremely fast metabolism, meaning any alcohol he consumes is burned off by his system almost immediately.
Bit of a bummer to know, after a hard day of fighting off aliens and villains hellbent on taken over the world, you can't even get hammered.
2. He Was Born On The 4th of July
It would appear Steve Rogers may have always been destined to become the "star spangled man with a plan," as he was born on the 4th of July, Independence Day in the USA. Despite not always agreeing with the American government and at times outright defying it, I don't think he could get more American than sharing his birth date with one of the biggest days of celebration in the country's history.
1. He's Not The Only "Captain America"
Finishing our list off, is a fact some may already know, just not the whole extent of it. Whilst Steve Rogers is synonymous with the role of Captain America, he wasn't the only person to hold the mantle and shield. We know Sam Wilson took up the mantle in the comics, which now seems to be emulated by the MCU version of the character, but many fans assumed Bucky would take the role on as he too took over in the comics. Other characters to have held the famous shield include Isaiah Bradley, a WWII test subject who brought into The Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV show, along with Peggy Carter herself.
Well there you have it, 10 things you (probably) didn't know about one of Marvel's most famous and enduring characters. How many did you know? Do you know of any others?
Until next time!