In March 1941 Captain America was born from the creative minds of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. 75 years later and our hero’s popularity has never been higher. This coming May we’ll see the release of the highly anticipated Captain America: Civil War. This will be the third film of the franchise and one could argue that the previous two Captain America films have been some of the very best Marvel has produced.
Cap’s first live action appearance came in 1944 starring Dick Purcell as District Attorney Grant Gardner. Yup you read right. In this version he’s not Steve Rogers. Here, he used a gun and didn’t carry the famous shield. He’s not even a super solider. It was a 15-part serial with cliffhangers at the end of each episode. These 15-minute shorts appeared in movie theaters prior to the main feature. Instead of the Red Skull, Captain America had to face The Scarab. It was Captain America in name only but it was head and shoulders better than the 1979 or 1990 TV versions. Even the 1966 Marvel Superheroes cartoon with minimal use of animation was superior to those TV versions.
One the biggest comic book events occurred in 2006 with Civil War, a seven-issue storyline that extended across multiple titles. It was the brainchild of Mark Millar and will serve as a basis for the film Captain America: Civil War. It pitted some of greatest heroes of Marvel against one another. The Government wanted all “superheroes” to register their true identity. Cap opposed such a registration. Tony Stark/Iron Man on the other hand supported it. This opposition led to a huge conflict between the two and ended with Captain America surrendering, going to prison and apparently being assassinated. How much will the film version touch upon this story we’ll have to wait till May.
Fast-forward to 2011 and the first big screen version was released as part of what we now call the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain America: First Avengerstarred Chris Evans and is one of the finest origin films ever done. It served as the final chapter that led to the first Avengers film and the completion of Phase One. The success of First Avenger and later Winter Solider has also led to the small screen and Marvel’s Agent Carter starring Hayley Atwell.
As much as Captain America is the unquestionable leader of The Avengers, perhaps his most important role is being their moral compass. Maybe even being the moral compass of the Marvel Universe. He fights for his beliefs and will always put himself in harm’s way to protect his friends and teammates. In a world that shows so much inhumanity, Captain America remains a shining example of our human potential. The legacy of Captain America is stronger than ever in its 75-year history. I look forward to seeing what the next 75 will bring.
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
Captain America 1944 Series Complete All 15 Chapters
