Marvel fans are sure to remember the X-Men cartoon that ran through most of the 90s. Especially since the entire series was finally released on DVD last year. What many are probably unaware of was the Captain America cartoon series Marvel was gearing to produce along with Saban Entertainment; who also had a hand in both the X-Men and Silver Surfer cartoons of the same era. Though Cap fans would love nothing more than to see the Star Spangled Avenger in as many entertainment mediums as possible, this series may have strayed too far from comfort.
The story was to be set during World War II but
would not feature any Nazis as antagonists save for the Red Skull; which is a major oxymoron since the Red Skull WAS a a member of the Nazi Party. The centerstage heroes were to be Captain America, Bucky and a team of commandos outfitted with futuristic technology. It gets stranger, True Believers. Apparently Captain America's secret identity was Tommy Tompkins. Steve Rogers was a cover name assigned to him by the US Army.
Though the storyline might have been a bit unfamiliar, the show itself had several interesting aspects. For one, computer generated scenes and a bit of 3D graphics were to be used; which would have made it the first animated series to employ the technology.
Unfortunately the series never made it past the promo reel stage, due to Marvel's bankruptcy filing and management changes at the time. All was not lost, though. Thanks to the facility of modern information sharing we can at least get a glimpse of the Captain America show that never came to fruition.
Below you'll see a few storyboards courtesy of
StoryboardPro. They were created by Will Meugniot; who was the artist for the
TMNT and
G.I.Joe: The Movie animated films (among many other projects) and also directed
Ultimate Avengers 2.
And here, for your viewing pleasure, is the promo reel for the series. Many thanks go out to StoryboardsPro for sharing this information with us. Be sure to follow the included links to their site for a chance to see more storyboards and artwork.