Endgame, which marks Steve Rogers' final appearance in the MCU, features him passing both his shield and his mantle over to Sam Wilson. So we probably won't be seeing the first Avenger onscreen again anytime soon -- especially since Marvel's got their hands full with the remaining Avengers, Black Panther, the Guardians of the Galaxy and, eventually, both the X-men and the Fantastic Four. But Cap's impressive Hollywood run deserves to celebrated. We've seen him go from a sickly, pint-sized weakling to a muscle-bound living legend. From facing off against Nazis to dismantling corrupt American intelligence agencies to going toe-to-toe with a giant intergalactic warlord, Cap's big screen adventures have spanned from 1945 to 2023 and we still haven't seen him as much as we'd like. So until Steve makes his way back to theaters we'll just have to re-watch the solo films, team-ups and guest appearances that we've already got. Here they are:
8. Homecoming
In what is his absolute worst appearance on film, Cap was seen speaking in the cheesiest imaginable PSAs created for school kids. It's best forgotten.
7. The First Avenger
Like Iron Man, Captain America: The First Avenger introduced a then-lesser-known superhero to theater-goers. Unlike the previous movie, The First Avenger mostly takes place in the past -- during the 1940s. It's unique in that it's the only World War II movie of the series.
The story details how a short and scrawny but tough and principled U.S. Army reject (Steve Rogers) becomes the first and last successful participant in the military's "super-soldier" program in which his strength, agility, endurance, healing, speed and reflexes are increased exponentially. He also grows taller and gains an astounding amount of muscle mass. His primary weapon, a shield made from vibranium, was designed by one of his contemporaries, genius-industrialist Howard Stark (Tony's father). Following Rogers' plane crashing into the Arctic Ocean, Stark retrieves an otherworldly device called the Tesseract (which was also on the plane) while attempting (unsuccessfully) to locate Steve and the aircraft.
After Rogers awakens in New York City after being frozen in the Arctic for seven decades, he's offered a mission by Nick Fury in a post-credits scene.
You won't see anyone flying through the clouds but watching Cap acquire his powers is entertaining enough. Like Iron Man, Captain America's worldview has an enormous impact on events to come in later movies.
More than anything else, the blue lasers derailed the middle of Captain America's origin story. But the beginning (filled with 1940's sci-fi and spy action) and the end (Steve Rogers discovering that he's a man out-of-time) are essential viewing.
The story details how a short and scrawny but tough and principled U.S. Army reject (Steve Rogers) becomes the first and last successful participant in the military's "super-soldier" program in which his strength, agility, endurance, healing, speed and reflexes are increased exponentially. He also grows taller and gains an astounding amount of muscle mass. His primary weapon, a shield made from vibranium, was designed by one of his contemporaries, genius-industrialist Howard Stark (Tony's father). Following Rogers' plane crashing into the Arctic Ocean, Stark retrieves an otherworldly device called the Tesseract (which was also on the plane) while attempting (unsuccessfully) to locate Steve and the aircraft.
After Rogers awakens in New York City after being frozen in the Arctic for seven decades, he's offered a mission by Nick Fury in a post-credits scene.
You won't see anyone flying through the clouds but watching Cap acquire his powers is entertaining enough. Like Iron Man, Captain America's worldview has an enormous impact on events to come in later movies.
More than anything else, the blue lasers derailed the middle of Captain America's origin story. But the beginning (filled with 1940's sci-fi and spy action) and the end (Steve Rogers discovering that he's a man out-of-time) are essential viewing.
Appropriately enough, Cap has the best line of the film: "I had a date."
6. Endgame
5. The Age of Ultron
In Age of Ultron, Cap visibly unnerves Thor by almost picking up the latter's hammer, Mjolnir (it wouldn't be revealed 'til later that he chose not to out of respect for Thor's ego). He also goes mano-a-mano with the nearly-indestructible murder-bot Ultron himself. But while he proves himself willing and able to use lethal force if needed, Steve also demonstrates his regard for human life, refusing to leave a rapidly-disintegrating Sokovia until everyone is rescued.
Once again, Cap has some great lines. Some of the best actually - even better than Iron Man's. They include:
"I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science invented was me."
"You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed - walk it off."
"What kinda monster would let a German scientist experiment on him to help his country." (Sarcastically referring to himself and the Maximoffs)
4. The Winter Soldier
The Winter Soldier is Captain America's The Empire Strikes Back. Darker, more mature and more sincere than Cap's debut solo film, it's evident from the very beginning that Winter Soldier is an entirely different movie than -- not only The First Avenger -- but all of Marvel's previous offerings. This sequel isn't merely a departure. It belongs to another genre altogether. The First Avenger was a light-hearted, good vs. evil, period war movie about a superhero. Winter Soldier is a mostly sober conspiracy thriller loaded with paranoia, suspense, timely concern about government overreach, global surveillance, spies, assassins and shades of grey. According to the filmmakers, there was also a reassuring reliance on practical stunts and special effects and less dependence on CGI whenever possible. Luckily, somebody wised up and replaced the stupid blue lasers with bullets. There are no traces of mystical energy sources and no Nazis. Unlike in The Avengers, there are also no aliens, no Iron Man, no Thor, no Hulk, no Loki and best of all, no Hawkeye. This is the most grounded and mature Marvel movie so far.
Aside from the costume, Chris Evans' Steve Rogers hasn't changed drastically. His hallmark sincerity and stoicism's still there but he's a little more suspicious of people's motives now and there's the suggestion that he's disenchanted with his role as a soldier in today's world. This only serves to broaden and deepen the character and Evans portrays the new depth perfectly.
Winter Soldier was the 4th highest-grossing film in the U.S. for 2014 and 7th highest-grossing film of the year, worldwide. It would've been #1 if not for Legos, mockingjays and galactic guardians.
Cap delivers the movie's best lines:
"Before we get started, does anyone wanna get out?"
"Then finish it. 'Cause I'm with you 'til the end of the line."
"The price of freedom is high; it always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it."
"On your left."
3. Infinity War
2. Civil War
Civil War is a very loose adaptation of the 2006 comic book storyline of the same name. In the movie version, the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.N. step in after the last straw in Avengers-related mayhem -- the Scarlet Witch's accidental killing of a bunch of bystanders during a mission to catch The Winter Soldier's Brock Rumlow. During a meeting between the team and the U.S. Secretary of Defense, some of the previous missions that ended in collateral damage come up, including: the NYC invasion; the heli-carrier crashes in D.C.; Iron Man's fight with the Hulk in Johannesburg; and the Sokovia battle. The government's insistence on having operational control over the Avengers leads to the team's disbandment with half agreeing to federal supervision under Tony Stark's leadership and the other half following Steve Rogers.
Cap's eventual status as a fugitive -- and a startling revelation about Bucky's involvement in the deaths of Stark's parents -- leads to a violent confrontation between two world-renown heroes: Captain America and Iron Man. The two former colleagues' philosophical differences (which were always there) devolves into Tony attempting to murder Bucky to avenge Ma and Pa Stark, which leads to both Cap and the former Winter Soldier two-piecing the hell outta Iron Man. Ultimately, Steve single-handedly beats his former colleague down to the pavement and plants his shield squarely in the arc reactor that powers his famous suit (settling the four-year-old argument of who could beat whom in The Avengers).
Cap delivers the film's best line to Iron Man during a brawl between the two former teammates:
"I can do this all day."
1. The Avengers
Given the horrendous optics of the suit that he wears (his worst ever), The Avengers is definitely not the best showcase for Cap. But the movie, the Avengers' first mission as a team, does show why his famous colleagues are willing to follow his lead against impossible odds -- and to the death if need be -- as he directs super operations during an alien invasion of his hometown. The seeds of an eventual beef between the super-soldier and Tony Stark are sown in this first billion-dollar MCU film as well. Steve even invites Tony to knuckle-up with the line: "Put on the suit."
Originally Posted 5/15/19
Related:
The 7 Greatest Movies of the MCU
Iron Man's 4 Greatest Movies
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