The relationship that comic books have had with Hollywood has been quite the tumultuous one. If there would be three movies that have changed the popularity of comic books, it would be Superman (1978), Batman (1989), and Spider-Man (2002). Superman showed audiences the true greatness of superheroes with special effects that had never really been shown before. Batman was extremely different from most people’s conceptions of the hero, which was Adam West’s campy TV series from the 60’s, and turned a character who was comic relief into a brooding anti-hero. Spider-man demonstrated that there were still new ways to bring heroes to the big screen, and also how much there was to gain financially from these movies. It’s no surprise that these are some of the most famous comic book characters out there, and Captain America is the next one up to the plate.
TAKE THAT YOU NAZI FUCK!
The main reason Captain America even exists was as a reaction to what was going on in World War II. He was meant to inspire the average citizen to think that anyone could make a difference if they took a stand against the Evil Empire. Steve Rogers lied about his age, being only 16, so he could enlist into the military. Once it was revealed that he was too young, he was offered a chance to make a difference by signing up for Operation: Rebirth. He ended up essentially becoming the maximum of human efficiency, super-strong with super-reflexes, thus rendering him the first Super Soldier. This lead him to be a major asset in WWII as both a weapon and as a tool used to spark patriotism and heroism in other troops.
Look at that puny wimp. I almost feel sorry for him…ALMOST.
There have been various incarnations of what happened from there. Steve Rogers has Been cloned, has lost faith in humanity and rejected the suit, and has died on multiple occasions. The more relevant details are what happened in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. In this series of events, Captain America was blown up during WWII and landed in the Atlantic Ocean. It only took 50 years, but he was found frozen in a block of ice, and of course thawed out. He then rejoined the Avengers, which at this time consisted of Iron Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Giant Man, Wasp, Thor, and the Hulk. This group is run by Nick Fury, whose likeness was modeled after Samuel L. Jackson. The reason why this Ultimate Universe is important is because you might remember Samuel L. Jackson appearing at the end of Iron Man talking about the Avengers Initiative, or maybe Iron Man showing up in The Incredible Hulk, or maybe the fact that Black Widow is in Iron Man 2, or maybe the fact that Thor is currently being filmed, or maybe the fact that the Captain America movie is rumored to take place during World War II and happens to be titled “The First Avenger”. Trust me, all that stuff is important.
If you feel he is staring into your soul, you’re not alone.
Which brings us to the events of this past week, where they announced Chris Evans was cast as Captain America. Considering how iconic this character is, I believe there were multiple groans heard throughout the country when Evans was announced. I was not the one groaning. Evans most famous role is in another Marvel movie, Fantastic Four. Neither of these two movies are anything all that exciting, but I must say that Evans has one of the better performances. He can play the wise-ass annoying little brother, as well as the physique and attitude to pull off the action scenes. If anyone has any doubt as to whether or not he can pull off this role, I recommend that rather than watch those films, you should watch Danny Boyle’s “Sunshine”. The film is about a mission to save the world by jumpstarting the dying Sun, and Evans plays one of the crew members who understands the gravity of the mission and is literally willing to kill other crew members to make sure it gets done. He was able to show that he can do what is right and do the things needed to be done to get the mission done, despite what the popular opinion may be. I look forward to seeing him in the suit, and have high hopes. Good luck Chris!
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The Wolfman Cometh 