'The Road to Civil War' Feature: CAPTAIN AMERICA - Sentinel of Liberty



***This is the first in a series of 'The Road to Civil War' posts, written by MCU Correspondent Nick Whitney, leading up to the release of CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. ***

Created by comics legends Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America first appeared in his own title, Timely Comics’ Captain America Comics issue No. 1, cover dated March 1941, but hitting the newsstands in December 1940. The cover depicted the star spangled hero punching Adolf Hitler in the face, causing some controversy at the time. Hitler was without doubt a reviled figure he was still a head of state and it was a year before the bombing of Pearl Harbor and America officially entering World War II. Despite this, the issue went on to sell nearly a million copies and Timely knew they had a hit on their hands.


Real name: Steven Rogers, Captain America was a once frail man albeit with a great heart, transformed by Project Rebirth, an Allied program to create super soldiers to fight the Nazis. After his transformation, the chief scientist behind the program, a German defector opposed to Hitler's rhetoric, was killed by a Nazi spy, leaving Steve as the one and only super soldier; soon to be joined by his gifted yet decidedly non-super sidekick, Bucky.

In issue No. 2, Cap’s shield was redesigned into the now familiar round shape — probably to avoid comparisons to the other super patriot hero of the time, 'The Shield' — with the then 19-year-old Stan Lee adding to the Captain America lore with his first writing gig in comics. A text-filler story in issue No. 3 which featured the inaugural instance of Cap using his shield as a weapon that he could throw at enemies.


With America in the WWII, all superhero comics, not just Captain America, experienced a boom in popularity with Captain America selling close to the million mark with each issue, a figure which supposedly beat the circulation of Time magazine at the time. Cap became Timely’s biggest character garnering his own fan club, 'The Sentinels of Liberty,' and in 1944 Republic Pictures even produced a movie serial based loosely on the comics.

But with the end of the war and no more Nazi's to battle, Cap was re-packaged as Captain America: Commie Smasher and though lasting for almost another decade beyond the end of the Golden Age of comics, the character lost some of the magic that made him connect with readers, quietly being cancelled in 1954.

Flash-forward to 1964, the heart of the Silver Age of comics, during which Timely re-branded itself after one of its Golden Age titles, Marvel Comics. In the pages of one of its landmark titles, The Avengers, the now editor-in-chief and head writer Stan Lee brought Captain America back. Ignoring the stories of the 50s, Lee had Cap suffer the tragic loss of his sidekick Bucky on a final mission during the last days of World War II, only to be frozen in the waters of the North Atlantic before being found and re-animated by the Avengers. With this re-introduction, the plot device of being frozen was permanently etched into he character's backstory. His past set in stone but the period he was frozen for always changing as time marched on, Cap could forever remain a Golden Age hero in a contemporary setting, a veritable man out of time.


A stalwart of the Avengers throughout the decades that followed, Captain America also came to be a reflection of the feelings, fears and concerns facing the United States of America. Probably the most famous example of this was Marvel writer Steve Englehart's allegorical tale in reaction to the Watergate scandal, with Cap battling the sinister Secret Empire only to discover their leader was none other than the President of the United States himself, causing Steve Rogers to call into question everything he had ever believed in.

Though never having his own show, Cap made many cameo appearances in animated Marvel series throughout the years, even having a pair of TV films made in 1979 and a feature adaptation in 1990. Despite this, the character never reached the height of his popularity as he had experienced in the 40s, always playing second fiddle to flagship Marvel characters Spider-Man, and later, the X-Men.


The early 2000s changed this however, with a reinvented Captain America in a post 9/11 world. The character was once again used to explore America's place in the world and the fundamental questions of right and wrong, landmark storytelling making the Cap more relevant and popular than ever.

With the advent of Marvel Studios, the 'Avengers Initiative' plan was put into action with Captain America being added to the movie slate alongside Iron Man, Hulk and Thor. Actor Chris Evans, formally the Human Torch in Fox's FANTASTIC FOUR, was tapped to play the iconic hero, with The Rocketeer helmer Joe Johnston hired to direct the first Captain America film of the 21st Century as a period piece set almost entirely in WW2.


Though 2011's CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER was received generally positively, it somewhat underperformed especially in comparison with Marvel Studios' freshman effort, 2008's IRON MAN. The character grew through Joss Whedon's THE AVENGERS (which earned over $1 billion at the worldwide box office) as the man out of time aspect was explored but it was 2014's CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER that cemented Cap as the No. 1 contender for Iron Man's crown as the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Earning a much higher gross at the box office and, more importantly, blowing moviegoers' minds with awesome action and storytelling, The Winter Soldier adapted the modern classic comic tale (written by Ed Brubaker) of the same name. The comic book arc and film saw the resurrection of Cap's long believed dead partner Bucky Barnes as a soviet trained assassin, the Winter Soldier; a plot that leads us directly into Civil War.


The success of The Winter Solider somewhat changed the landscape of the MCU, not only securing the directors Joe and Anthony Russo's place to direct the sequel, but also to helm the MCU's magnum opus, their endgame, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, Part I and II.

Now poised to stand head-to-head with the hitherto undisputed MCU lead character Iron Man in the upcoming CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, Steve Rogers once again stands for something greater than himself as he and those loyal to him take a stand to do what's right in the face of questioning unilateral oversight.

After all, who watches the watchmen?

Written by Nick Whitney, MCU Correspondent -- Click here to read Nick's posts.



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CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR - Actor Sebastian Stan Talks About the Mental State of Bucky / Winter Soldier

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR - Directors Anthony and Joe Russo do Some Teasing

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR - 'Team Cap' Actors Give a Tease