Joe Simon conceived the idea for Captain America, which was refined by his partner, artist Jack Kirby, in 1941. Captain America was a consciously political creation on their part. Simon and Kirby were morally repulsed by the actions of Nazi Germany in the years leading up to the United States' involvement in World War II and felt war was inevitable. Simon later said,
"The opponents to the war were all quite well organized. We wanted to have our say too." Captain America Comics #1 was released in December of 1940, a year before the bombing of Pearl Harbor but a full year into World War II The cover art showed the protagonist punching Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in the jaw, which undoubtedly helped the issue sell more than one million copies.
The basic story, though slightly modified many times, is this: During World War II, a young Steve Rogers tried to enlist into the military but was turned away due to his frail and sickly body. Steve Rogers was given another chance to serve his country, as a General overheard his rejection and offers Steve a chance to fight the Nazi’s by being a part of a top-secret experiment. Steve agrees wholeheartedly.
After being given a super-solider serum and was blasted by radiation, Steve’s body was no longer sickly and frail but the pinnacle of human perfection. Unfortunately, the plans for the super-soldier serum were lost when a Nazi spy killed the scientist who kept the plans secreted away in his mind. Steve was to be the first and last super soldier. After months of extensive training he was soon put into action as Captain America. He fought Hitler, the Nazi’s and his greatest foe, The Red Skull; but his work was soon cut short when fighting Baron Zemo. Tied to a rocket with his sidekick, Bucky, Captain America was too late in freeing the two and the rocket exploded, apparently killing Bucky and sending Captain America to what seemed to be an icy grave in the frigid Atlantic Ocean.
His frozen body was found decades later by his former Invaders teammate Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Due to the super soldier formula, he survived. He is a man that is ripped from his own generation, living in the future but never able to escape his past. Instead of sulking, Captain America took the opportunity to continue to fight the good fight and has gone on to lead the Avengers and become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
I’ve compiled the top ten Captain America comic references that I believe would amplify fan approval for Star Spangled Avenger’s film. These things could easily be ignored, modified or left on the cutting room floor; but they would make the film so much more meaningful to me. Here are my picks and how I would attempt to integrate them into the film:
I think a brief scene showing Cap mulling over this poster, or another similar one, would be a tangible way of displaying his disdain over the propaganda issue. It would also be a good way to honor Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, who were directly involved with the creation of the fan club.
9. Weapon Plus - It is a fictional clandestine program within the Marvel universe, whose purpose is the creation of super soldiers intended to fight the wars of the future. During the 1940s, the existence of mutants was not yet known to the general public. A select few individuals were aware of the existence of Homo superior and the fact that they had the potential to replace baseline humans as the dominant species on Earth. Weapon Plus was created to address the so-called ‘mutant problem’, though many agencies they worked with were not aware of this intent. There were sixteen installments of the program throughout the decades; where Weapon Plus has used increasingly more extreme methods to create its super soldiers. Captain America, a product of Weapon I also known as Project: Rebirth, was enhanced to peak human levels. Project: Rebirth was retroactively made a part of the Weapon Plus after WWII when Weapon Plus became an official organization. Wolverine was the most successful participant of Weapon X; which employed genetic alteration, brainwashing and memory implants. What was unknown by everyone involved in Weapon Plus is that its mastermind, John Sublime, was actually the host body for a sentient bacteria present in every living creature on the planet, save for mutants, who were genetically immune to the Sublime infection.
Why would the filmmakers bother including this into the Captain America film? Because it’s already been mentioned:
In the 2008 Marvel Studios film The Incredible Hulk, General Ross can be seen extracting an experimental super-soldier serum created by Dr. Reinstein from a cold storage lab where the containers are marked "Weapons Plus".
Now they get a chance to elaborate on that little Easter egg that most fans probably overlooked.
8. Sharon Carter, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Sharon grew up hearing stories of her aunt, Margaret "Peggy" Carter, who was a freedom fighter during World War II. During this time, Peggy worked alongside Steve Rogers/Captain America, on several occasions. The two fell in love despite Rogers never finding out her name, but were separated in the closing weeks of the war. They never reunited before Rogers was thought dead, lost and frozen in the Atlantic Ocean Inspired by her aunt's adventures, Sharon joined S.H.I.E.L.D. and was assigned the code name "Agent 13". By then, Rogers had been revived and, during one of Sharon's earliest missions, he came to her aid. Throughout the years, Sharon and Steve have had an on and off romantic relationship. . .until she shot his three times in the gut at point blank range.
Since the film will be book-ended during modern times, I think Sharon should be one of the agents who find and thaw Cap along with Nick Fury. If Marvel is planning on using her as an active S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, might as well get the introduction out of the way.
7. Cosmic Cube - The Cosmic Cube is a device created by a secret society of para-military scientists known as A.I.M. and is capable of transforming any wish into reality, irrespective of the consequences. The Red Skull obtains the device but before successfully using it he is tricked and defeated by Captain America. The object is revealed to be so powerful that it drove MODOK, another A.I.M creation who assisted with the formation of the Cube, insane.
There are several ways I see this working on film. First, it could be shown in Nazi custody and mentioned as a powerful weapon if they could only figure out how to manipulate it. The other way is for Red Skull to mention his wish to acquire it, but he is ridiculed by his Nazi superiors for believing it to be more than a myth. Not only would it be an appreciated mention in the film, but a good way to touch upon A.I.M.
6. Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos - This elite, specialized military unit (a First Attack Squad) was led by Nick Fury during World War II and consisted of Corporal Thaddeus Aloysius Cadwallander "Dum Dum" Dugan, Private Gabriel Jones, Private Robert "Rebel" Ralston, Private Dino Manelli, Private Isadore "Izzy" Cohen, Private Jonathan "Junior" Juniper, Private Percival "Pinky" Pinkerton and Private Eric Koenig. Two of their more infamous nemeses were Baron Zemo and the Adolf Hilter’s protégé, the Red Skull. They fought alongside Captain America and Bucky on several occasions.
I keep picturing a particular scene over and over in my head that makes this team fit in well with the movie: The final confrontation shows Cap, the Invaders and Allied troops storming the Red Skull’s headquarters in an attempt to defeat him/save a captured comrade/destroy experimental Nazi weapons (see #3 on my list). The Invaders attack from every angle their super powers allow, while the outnumbered Allied troops lead the ground attack. And there are no better ground pounders in the Marvel U than the howling Commandos. This would also be a great way for Cap and Nick Fury to be introduced to each other.
5. Cap’s Motorcycle - Captain America has never ignored a chance to ride a Harley. From keeping one stored by his Brooklyn apartment in modern times to leaving skid marks on fascist’s faces, Cap is a hardnosed rider through and through.
With that being said, how would it incorporate well into the film? I don’t believe many of us would want to see Cap riding all around Germany or doing bike stunts during his USO tour. Since we do know that motorcycles were frequently used by both sides during WWII, it should be that hard to throw a scene in where Cap gets to show off his two-wheeling skills. The best and simplest way I picture it is if Cap knocks a Nazi troop off a bike and takes it as a quick means of transport. Once he gets to his destination, he jumps off and thinks/says something to the effect of ‘Why don’t I have one of those?’
4. Union Jack I & II- The original Union Jack, James Montgomery Falsworth, was an adventurer and British government operative during World War I. He came out of retirement to fight during World War II; becoming a member of the Invaders after the original Human Torch saves his daughter, Jacqueline Falsworth (aka Spitfire), from Baron Blood. He was an athletic man who possessed no superhuman powers. He was trained in the field of espionage, armed and unarmed combat. He wore a bullet-proof costume, carried a signature 6" dagger and a .455 caliber Webley revolver.
Brian Falsworth (Union Jack II) is the son of James Montgomery Falsworth (Union Jack) and brother to Jacqueline Falsworth (Spitfire). Though initially sympathetic toward Germany and supportive of peace between it and the United Kingdom, Brian is thrown in prison by the Nazi party. Brian gains superhuman powers through an experiment where a German scientist tries to recreate the Super Soldier Formula that resulted in Captain America.
How would all of this fit into Cap’s movie without taking too long to explain? Easy: James, the original Union Jack, comes out of retirement to aid his daughter (Spitfire) in rescuing his son Brian from a Nazi stronghold where he is being experimented on. Being a master of espionage, he doesn’t reveal this to his Invaders team, who think he is fighting the Nazi party on his government’s behalf. Now if only there were an evil Marvel scientist who would fit well into this scheme . . .
3. Baron Zemo - Dr. Heinrich Zemo, the 12th Baron Zemo, was one of the Nazi Party’s top scientists. He was an enemy to both Captain America and the Howling Commandos during World War II. It was the explosion of his experimental plane over the Atlantic Ocean that caused both the presumed deaths of Bucky and Captain America. Zemo also defeated the Red Skull, his Nazi partner and rival, by burying him alive in a state of suspended animation. He was a brilliant and sadistic scientific genius who created many weapons of mass destruction for Hitler's army, including a large-scale death ray cannon, a disintegration pistol and primitive androids of considerable strength and invulnerability. Zemo’s intelligence was only matched by his sadism, as he routinely tested his deadly weapons on innocent people, both prisoner and civilian inside the Third Reich.
Flashback movie moment: Evil Nazi scientist in need of a guinea pig, meet Brian Falsworth (aka Union Jack). Not only that, let’s not forget he’s the one who built the rocket Cap takes his final WWII ride on.
2. Cap Punching Hilter - The cover art of Captain America’s first comic featured the super soldier giving Adolf Hitler a swift punch across the face. It is one of the most iconic, and highly debated, mainstream character comic covers of all time. It has been mimicked in several other Captain America comics as well as being modified for the Captain America Reborn series (Where he’s demonstrating a very effective rear naked choke hold the bastard dictator).
Being that Cap will most definitely be used as a propaganda tool for the government in the film, this artwork would be a great way of showing it. Not only does it fit the style of political American advertisements for that era, but it would undoubtedly bother the hell out of our hero since he isn’t actually given the opportunity to fight in the war.
1. Cap’s Ricocheting Shield - Besides Wolverine’s adamantium claws, no weapon in the Marvel universe is wielded with such mastery and skill as Captain America’s Shield. Before carrying his signature round shield, Cap carried several triangular shaped ones. These shields were ‘retired’ in very different fashions: One was given by him King T'Chaka, father of T'Challa (the Black Panther) of the African country Wakanda as a pledge that the nation would remain uninvolved in the rest of their war; another was stolen decades later by Baron Zemo while it was stored in Avengers Mansion; the third was kept in the Smithsonian Museum until destroyed by a Kree warrior. Cap’s discus-shaped shield personally presented to him by President Franklin Roosevelt.
This new weapon was created by a fictional American who had been commissioned by the US government to create an indestructible armor material to aid the war effort. MacLain experiments with an alien metal found only in Wakands called vibranium. During one of his experiments to fuse vibranium with an experimental iron alloy,[2] MacLain falls asleep and awakens to find the experiment a startling success. However he is unable to duplicate the result. The vibranium-iron alloy mix is then poured into a mold for a tank's upper hatch to create the disc shape and painted to become what has been Captain America's symbol for decades.
The vibranium in the shield grants it unusual properties, since the metal itself is able to absorb direct and ambient vibration. It can absorb virtually all of the kinetic impact from any blows that the shield receives without injuring the bearer in the process. The vibranium is also a factor in the way Cap throws his shield: he often uses it to ricochet around a room and strike various opponents with little loss of velocity in its forward movement after each impact.
Though Cap has used his shield for almost every offensive and defensive maneuver, it is this ‘ricochet’ technique that his fighting style is most associated with. Since the composition of the shield goes hand in hand with the manner in which it is used, it would make the most sense if the film incorporated both elements. It is an easy aspect for the filmmakers to leave out (especially since it’s hard to make believable without explanation) but I would very much like to see it included.
Many thanks to Marvel for the background information and images used in this article.
A few quick things:
*This was ready to be posted earlier but I had to do a last minute update due to the news of the Invaders being in the film. They were originally my #3 choice.
*Namor was originally my #2 choice, so the same goes for why I excluded his from the list. Knowing the Invaders will have a major presence in hte movie, I feel that he will undoubtedly be shown since he was the first to find Cap frozen in ice (Avengers #4, March 1964).
*I have a feeling that when Steve Rogers sees Union Jack in his uniform (look at the above pic), it will give him the incentive to change from the combat style uniform he wears to the full on Captain America suit we’re all used to. If England's top espionage agent can get away with wearing a uniform most could be considered gaudy, then Cap sure as hell can lead troops with one.