Captain America: The First Avenger (July 2011)
Primary Characters- Steve Rogers/Captain America
- Bucky Barnes
- Peggy Carter
- Howard Stark
- Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull
Secondary Characters
- Dr. Abraham Erskine
- Colonel Chester Phillips
- The Howling Commandos
- Arnim Zola
- Director Nick Fury
Notable Story Elements
- Hydra
- Vibranium
- The Tesseract/Space Stone
Times viewed: 2+
- Sick at home and alone on Christmas 2011
- Multiple partial viewings on TV
- 23 Days of Marvel - March 17th, 2020
Easter Eggs
- Multiple Captain America costumes
- Classic costume while selling war bonds
- Costume with bomber jacket and helmet, seen in recent retellings of World War II
- Final costume with helmet, similar to its design in The Ultimates
- The android Human Torch appears at the Expo in a sealed chamber
- Howard Stark's propulsive technology, perhaps later be appropriated by his son for the Iron Man armor
- Captain America Comics #1
- Steve's talent as an artist
Captain America and Steve Rogers have long been my favorite comic book characters.
Though the two are inextricably linked, many others have taken on the mantle over the years.
My favorite run of the series was Mark Gruenwald's unmatched137-issue stretch that spanned many of my elementary schooling all the way through the start of my college years. His time with the character is most known for Steve's loss of the title of Captain America in the face of government pressure to serve at their whims. Gruenwald's story was intended to reveal Steve Rogers as the heart of Captain America, rather than Captain America being an alter ego of Steve Rogers. He did so by putting his version of a Rambo-esque character, Super-Patriot John Walker, in the stars-and-stripes costume.
Steve, in the meantime, adopted the guise of The Captain, continuing the good fight with an eclectic group of supporting characters at his side. Dennis Dunphy (Demolition Man/D-Man) was a past member of the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation; like many kids, I loved WWF during the 1980s. Jack Monroe (Nomad - assuming an identity that Steve once used following the Secret Empire disillusionment in the '70s) had been a part of Gruenwald's earliest Cap comics. My first saw them going up against Madcap. I also became a huge fan of Sam Wilson, The Falcon, around that time. Many of my Marvel Super Heroes RPG characters had avian elements. Decades later, when Sam inherited the mantle of Captain America, I was thrilled. Reformed supervillain Rachel Leighton (Diamondback of the memorable Serpent Society) was Steve's love interest and crime-fighting partner through most of these years, too.
Steve, in the meantime, adopted the guise of The Captain, continuing the good fight with an eclectic group of supporting characters at his side. Dennis Dunphy (Demolition Man/D-Man) was a past member of the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation; like many kids, I loved WWF during the 1980s. Jack Monroe (Nomad - assuming an identity that Steve once used following the Secret Empire disillusionment in the '70s) had been a part of Gruenwald's earliest Cap comics. My first saw them going up against Madcap. I also became a huge fan of Sam Wilson, The Falcon, around that time. Many of my Marvel Super Heroes RPG characters had avian elements. Decades later, when Sam inherited the mantle of Captain America, I was thrilled. Reformed supervillain Rachel Leighton (Diamondback of the memorable Serpent Society) was Steve's love interest and crime-fighting partner through most of these years, too.
Some of the elements from Mark Gruenwald's stories would eventually make their way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Following Civil War, he adopts a darker costume, seen when he breaks his allies out of lock-up, and later in his memorable return in Infinity War. Both scenes flooded me with nostalgia and inspired cheers. Most recently, when he bequeathed the shield to Sam Wilson, I was breathless. Yes, The Mandalorian was exceptional, but it's really The Falcon and The Winter Soldier that has me juiced.
On Captain America: The First Avenger - I somehow missed its original theatrical premiere, the first and only time that would happen with an MCU film. Hope was only three years old, and I made a big push on my graduate studies that summer. That next school year was a beast, probably the most challenging I've had in almost two decades of working with students, and following sinus surgery that fall, I ended up sick during Christmas.
While Melanie, Hope, and my mom spent the day with the in-laws, I queued up Captain America on digital streaming. I liked it, but did not love it as I had Iron Man and its sequel. Bucky had already re-emerged as The Winter Solider and even become Captain America in the comics by this point, so it was no surprise that he was a big part of the movie. Their relationship was, and remains, my favorite feature of the movie.
As much as I loved the G.I. Joe cartoons, the laser-like weapons of Hydra contrasted too sharply with the other wartime grittiness. Hugo Weaving doesn't lean into the sneering villainy of The Red Skull enough for my taste, though the nod to the time (also in Mark Gruenwald's run) Arnim Zola placed his consciousness in a cloned body of Steve Rogers and he benefited from the Super Soldier Serum was appreciated. The Howling Commandos are not even named, and just aren't the same without Nick Fury leading them.
While Melanie, Hope, and my mom spent the day with the in-laws, I queued up Captain America on digital streaming. I liked it, but did not love it as I had Iron Man and its sequel. Bucky had already re-emerged as The Winter Solider and even become Captain America in the comics by this point, so it was no surprise that he was a big part of the movie. Their relationship was, and remains, my favorite feature of the movie.
As much as I loved the G.I. Joe cartoons, the laser-like weapons of Hydra contrasted too sharply with the other wartime grittiness. Hugo Weaving doesn't lean into the sneering villainy of The Red Skull enough for my taste, though the nod to the time (also in Mark Gruenwald's run) Arnim Zola placed his consciousness in a cloned body of Steve Rogers and he benefited from the Super Soldier Serum was appreciated. The Howling Commandos are not even named, and just aren't the same without Nick Fury leading them.
My feelings are mostly the same now as they were on the first full viewing about a decade ago. It's a serviceable MCU movie and does well introducing both Steve Rogers as a heroic figure, with or without Serum and a shield, and his relationship with Bucky Barnes. Now that we know the conclusions to his story, the scenes with Peggy Carter are especially poignant.
Captain Marvel (March 2019)
Primary Characters
Times viewed: 3
- Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel
- Agent Nick Fury
- Yon-Rogg
- Talos
- Mar-Vell/Wendy Lawson
Secondary Characters
- Maria Rambeau
- Monica Rambeau
- Agent Phil Coulson
- Korath
- Ronan the Accuser
Notable Story Elements
- Kree
- Skrulls
- SHIELD
- The Tesseract/Space Stone
Times viewed: 3
- Original theatrical release
- Friday Family Movie Night sometime in the past year
- 23 Days of Marvel - March 18th, 2020
Easter Eggs
- Korath's inclusion as a Kree, a heritage that's not given in Guardians of the Galaxy but explains his loyalty to Ronan (though I knew he was Kree in the '90s Fantastic Four comics)
- Maria Rambeau's pilot handle of "Photon"
- Retroactive origin of The Avengers Initiative
I'm hesitant to even mention it for fear of directing clicks their way, but Matt McGloin of Cosmic Book News perhaps overstated it "best" by responding to the directorial and production decisions related to Captain Marvel as, "RIP MCU."
Brie Larson has been described as "wooden" in her portrayal of Carol Danvers. I'm not nearly as connected to her character as I am to most others in the MCU, knowing her best as Binary in The Uncanny X-Men and later Warbird in Kurt Busiek's Avengers re-launch. Still, she's always struck me as serious, if not stiff. The Washington Post published an excellent retrospective of her comic book history around the time of the movie's theatrical release.
The importance of this as the first MCU movie headlined by a female character cannot be overstated, nor can the online vitriol that accompanied it be ignored. As the father of a then-11-year-old daughter, I saw Captain Marvel as a touchstone moment. Wonder Woman preceded it by almost two years and was itself a cultural milestone. I am sure essays exist on why one was "good" and the other was not, but I haven't read them and don't plan to seek them out.
The kids and I enjoyed the film; I believe we saw it opening night. Hope loved the deadly alien cat more than anything, but I still think she enjoyed the lead character, too. When we played Disney Infinity 2.0, her go-to character was always Black Widow, but paradoxically, I don't think she related to the superspy bombshell in the films as much as she did Carol as a young woman seeking and asserting her identity.
What struck me then was how neatly it connected certain dots - Korath's connection to Ronan, both of whom had already appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy; Ronan's unexplored reluctance to seek the Infinity Stones on Earth in Guardians; the relationship between Nick Fury and Phil Coulson; and the origin of Fury's eye patch ("WHAT THE FLERKEN?!").
The kids and I enjoyed the film; I believe we saw it opening night. Hope loved the deadly alien cat more than anything, but I still think she enjoyed the lead character, too. When we played Disney Infinity 2.0, her go-to character was always Black Widow, but paradoxically, I don't think she related to the superspy bombshell in the films as much as she did Carol as a young woman seeking and asserting her identity.
What struck me then was how neatly it connected certain dots - Korath's connection to Ronan, both of whom had already appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy; Ronan's unexplored reluctance to seek the Infinity Stones on Earth in Guardians; the relationship between Nick Fury and Phil Coulson; and the origin of Fury's eye patch ("WHAT THE FLERKEN?!").
What strikes me now: dang, that's a killer soundtrack. 1995 was the year I graduated high school and began some of the best years of my life so far, at Western Michigan University, and I listened to the radio more at that time than any other period in my life. Blockbuster, flip phones, and plenty more evoke that era, too.
Even with such a long history with Captain America and very little with Captain Marvel, I now feel I enjoyed the latter's movie more than the former's first MCU entry. That's saying something, as Steve Rogers is far and away my favorite cinematic character.
Even with such a long history with Captain America and very little with Captain Marvel, I now feel I enjoyed the latter's movie more than the former's first MCU entry. That's saying something, as Steve Rogers is far and away my favorite cinematic character.
Ranking
- Captain Marvel
- Captain America: The First Avenger
No comments:
Post a Comment