Superhero Media: Captain America - The First Avenger

I've hinted at it previously when discussing MCU films, but I honestly believe Captain America - The First Avenger is the best film in Wave 1. Part of it has to do with the writing, set design and composition, but really, Chris Evans brings it all together. I have to say that I wasn't keen on Chris Evans as Cap right up until Age of Ultron, my fan-cast back in the day was Jensen Ackles, and I still think he would have done a good job, but everything that Evans is outside of the role just informs the character even better. Chris Evans was the Captain America we needed, not the one I wanted. Is it really important that Evans is a genuinely decent person whilst playing Captain America? When you consider the international reputation of the American Nation this century so far and how easy it would have been for a young actor cast in the role to go on to be a bigoted, neo-conservative, queer phobic all over Twitter. Instead, we got a compassionate, caring man who adopts stray animals and makes sure everyone on the cast and crew of the Marvel films gets a good lunch. If that's not the spirit of Captain America made flesh, I don't know what is. 

Most Golden Age superhero films (The Phantom, The Shadow and The Rocketeer) tend to get a bad wrap in the press, but Captain America - The First Avenger busted blocks across the globe, even in countries where America itself is not looked upon fondly; that's damn impressive. And it's not like Captain America - The First Avenger is some high art masterpiece or anything, the story is pretty basic and the tone very pulpy for the most part, but the strong cast and solid emotional core makes it connect with people more deeply than one may first expect. I won't wax on anymore about Chris Evans, who really plays two different roles in this film, and Tommy Lee Jones is basically just being Tommy Lee Jones, but how about Sebastian Stan and Hayley Atwell? Agent Carter has to be one of the biggest wastes of talent in the MCU (yes I'm still mad we only got two seasons of Agent Carter), and her performance here is stunning, especially the scene in the car where she falls for skinny Steve Rogers and the improvised moment where she reaches out to touch the newly emerged Captain America. 

As a wargamer, there is a lot to love in Captain America - The First Avenger as well, with plenty of Cap and Howling Commandos battling Hydra, the camp magnificence of Hydra itself and more Nazi super-technology that you could even need. Sure, it turns out the Cosmic Cube has more to do with the broader MCU meta-plot later on, but for now it's a fun MacGuffin and a great nod to Cap lore. I used to have a set of Howling Commandos for my 1949 Secrets of the Third Reich American army, converted from Eureka Pulpitations figures, but they went when I sold the army; I'd really like a set that looks like the characters from Captain America - The First Avenger, preferably in 28mm rather than Batman scale or whatever. Cap will go on from here to be one of the most important characters in the MCU, and this first outing is a great start as well as a damn fine film with an excellent cast.