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Captain America Super Bowl Spot Breakdown & Analysis

What does the TV spot tell us about the movie and how it will compare to the comics?

By now you should have seen the long awaited Captain America: The First Avenger Super Bowl TV spot. At 31 seconds, it feels like it flies by. But those 31 seconds are filled with images we haven't seen before. Let's break down this clip to see what new information we can learn and get an idea of how faithful this movie appears to be compared to the Captain America's comic book origin. 

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From the first scene we can see that Steve Rogers has a slightly different background. In the comics, he wasn't allowed to serve his country due to his unfit condition. The TV spot tells us that Steve managed to enlist and get his own uniform. In a later scene we also see him struggling through some training while the others around him are going through the obstacle course with ease. 
 == TEASER ==
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You get an idea of Steve Rogers physique in the opening scene but seeing him in a t-shirt and right before his transformation, we see the government should have prevented him from actually joining the Army. Again, this shows us the difference when he is being prepared for the change. In the comics he was a simple volunteer. The first time we saw him in the comic was right before the change.  
 

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The lab is looking pretty shiny here. In the comics, Project Rebirth involved Steve getting inoculated with the Super Soldier Serum. The movie version has Steve put in a high tech-looking pod.  
 
The pod encloses him and rather than a serum, it looks more as if he is possibly exposed to gas or some sort of electrical burst of energy. The process is a more dramatic and painful one that in the comic, which seemed to just mae Steve a little light-headed rather than showing him scream in agony. The process also didn't look to go completely smooth as there were electrical explosions around the lab. This could possibly lead to preventing the process from being repeated.  

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Scrawny little Steve Rogers is no more. Enter the man with the giant pectorals. It's time for everyone in the room to cheer. The experiment is a success. When asked how he felt, his reply was, "Taller."  
 
We know in the comics that Abraham Erskine was the only one that knew the secret of Super Soldier Serum. He was then prevented from administering the formula to other soldiers. We have to assume that something similar happens in movie but we are not privy to that just yet. 
 
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Throughout the clip, we jump around a little. The next scene shows Steve in his Captain America outfit holding the circular shield. In previous images, we've seen that at some point he has the original shield as well during the film. We'll also see this circular one in an earlier state towards the end of the clip. 
 
Also, take a look to Cap's left (our right), that guy in the derby hat with the fancy mustache has got to be Dum Dum Dugan. So where is Nick Fury
 
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Captain America will be seeing some action. The scene above and this one shows him getting in the middle of things. Early reports suggested that the Army would be reluctant to allow their one and only Super Soldier to get into the thick of things out of fear of losing him. You would think that if the Super Soldier Serum's secrets were lost, they would have him strapped down in a lab and be conducting every single test they could on his blood and body. The shield might suggest that this too takes place later on. 

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Here's where things start looking a little fishy. With the movie taking place during WWII, they have to ensure that everything looks right for the time period. Captain America will be fighting the forces of HYDRA and he's going to need some help (yes, HYDRA appears to be a bigger threat rather than the Nazis). Check out the plane and weapons the soldiers are carrying. Those don't really look like their from the WWII-era. Then again, if you've seen the footage from San Diego Comic-Con, you know that a cosmic cube is involved. Will that be the explanation as to how HYDRA managed to get some pretty advanced-looking weapons? 

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Captain America uses a gun. It makes sense. I know over the years, writers have tried to shy away from Captain America using a gun. He was a soldier. It was war. Why wouldn't he have a gun? Sure, he doesn't need one because as Captain America he can kick pretty much anyone's ass but it's a nice little touch to see him actually having one. I have a feeling that by the time the movie's over, he'll realize that he doesn't even need one to get the job done. 

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Another shot with who I suspect is Dum Dum Dugan. Things are looking a little calm here. Right behind Cap's shoulders is Sebastian Stan playing Bucky. There's been talk that Bucky and Steve's relationship will be different than what we've seen in the comics. If these other soldiers are part of the Howling Commandos, again I have to ask, where is Nick Fury? Whether or not he has a big role in the movie is bound to be kept a secret.

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24 seconds into the clip, we finally get to see the Red Skull as he removes his human-looking mask. In the scene right before this, it looked like Cap was fighting the Red Skull. It's hard to tell if this reveal occurs immediately after. It's also hard to tell how...realistic the Skull's head will look. From this little peak, it's looking pretty good. 

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Towards the end, we get a little bit of humor that is mandatory in trailers and TV clips. We see Steve Rogers holding an early (and unpainted) version of the circular shield. What's interesting about this is looking at Steve, he appears to be his pre-Super Soldier Serum self. This makes me wonder about his original shield and there's also the other prototype version of the shield seen in Iron Man 2.

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And that ends the TV spot. It might have been short but it did reveal a tiny bit. We've heard recently that Bucky will have a bigger role. That and any involvement with Nick Fury or Howard Stark is not clearly evident from this. We also don't see any mention of the Cosmic Cube as in the San Diego footage. I imagine it won't be too much longer until we get an official (and longer) movie trailer.  
 
What did you think about this 31-second spot? Was there anything in this analysis that I missed? Are you more or less excited than you were before? 
 

Update 

And here's a look at the TV spot if you haven't seen it yet (without the watermark). 

109 Comments

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Suigetsu

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Edited By Suigetsu

OMG" LoOK At that womans chest! Its huge!!!! Oh mama, now I know why captain America got all beefed up!
 
Maybe the formula was secretly a solution for viagra ;P you never now!

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Jedted

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Edited By Jedted

I thought the trailer looked interesting and it seems like they did a good with the look and feel of the setting.  What i'm wondering is how this will tie in with Iron Man and Thor in the modern day.  Will this movie end with Cap being frozen in ice or will whatever process that makes him a Super Soilder also make him immortal too? 
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Fantasgasmic

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Edited By Fantasgasmic

I'm calling it now. Red skull looks cheezier than 1987 live action Skeletor. Compare for yourselves.
 

 Skeletor
 Skeletor
Red Skull
Red Skull
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Weapon-Alpha

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Edited By Weapon-Alpha

the thing about the pod they put him in maybe they injected him with the serum and needed the electro shock to jump start the serums potential inside steve

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Spidermancdc

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Edited By Spidermancdc
@blueninjapanther:
wrong actor this is chris evans
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Penguin-Dust

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Edited By Penguin-Dust
@DP812:  Wow, that is so depressing.  Hollywood needs to figure out how to share.  Chances are they won't but it'd be nice if they could.
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DP812

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Edited By DP812
@PenguinDust said:
Speaking of ageless, anyone know if Logan/Wolverine will make a cameo in Captain America?  I'm curious because he did in the cartoon's Cap origin story for Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.     
 
Absolutely not. TV is different from movies and 20th Century Fox has a lock on the option for the X-Men and all related characters for movies and they are not releasing that hold any time soon (which is why they crank out a crappy, slapped-together film every few years just so they can retain the rights). 
 
As long as Fox holds the options on the X-verse, the FF, Ghost Rider and Daredevil and Sony holds the option on Spider-Man, you will NEVER see those characters appear in any Marvel Studios movies. You will never see Reed Richards interacting with Tony Stark or Logan and Cap fighting side-by-side in WW2, not even a Spidey swing-by.
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dragorith

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Edited By dragorith

I thought I heard something that HYDRA was going to be a specialized part of the SS run by Red Skull.

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CrimsonAlchemist

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Edited By CrimsonAlchemist

Hope this movie hits the mark it looks like it well...
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FireFlare153

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Edited By FireFlare153

Sweet! Can't wait to see it!
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EDfromRED

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Edited By EDfromRED

The trailer has me pumped to see the movie! This has to be a golden age of super hero flicks.
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The Average Bear

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Edited By The Average Bear
@waruikumo said:
" OK I know he's NOT Keanu Reeves, but every time he (Evans) attempts to show emotion, all I can think of is "Whoa!"  Thor looked awesome Captain America ehhhh not so much, Evans is waayy to distracting.  They should have gone with the guy from the "The Eagle" Roman movie.   "
You did not just suggest they employ Channing Tatum to fill the role of Captain America...did you?
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waruikumo

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Edited By waruikumo

OK I know he's NOT Keanu Reeves, but every time he (Evans) attempts to show emotion, all I can think of is "Whoa!" 
 
Thor looked awesome Captain America ehhhh not so much, Evans is waayy to distracting. 
 
They should have gone with the guy from the "The Eagle" Roman movie.  

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ShadowDemon

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Edited By ShadowDemon

The "tech problems" aren't that big of a deal, IMO.  As others have stated, the "pod" is the new Vita-Ray apparatus.  The guns and the bomber can be easily explained either by the Cosmic Cube or the simple fact that these are mostly HYDRA troopers who would have had access to Nazi Super Science gear.
 
And to the guy who was griping about the flying wing: read up on experimental German aircraft of WW II.  Such plains were on the Luftwaffe's drawing boards, and a few even prototyped.

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emmbro30

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Edited By emmbro30

Pictures look good, to bad the video is no longer there.
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fullofmetal

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Edited By fullofmetal

<3 
 
They kept the head wings~

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thebatman1

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Edited By thebatman1

looks...OK nothing too special but time can only tell frankly i would have cast Matt Damon as cap, he did awesome in the Borne series and can ACTUALLY fight...no offense chris evans...

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BiteMe-Fanboy

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Edited By BiteMe-Fanboy

DUUUUMMMMMM DUMMMMMM DUUUUGGGGAAAANNNN!!!!

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Avenging-X-Bolt

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Edited By Avenging-X-Bolt
@blueninjapanther:
um first off, thats not ryan reynolds, secondly its cgi 
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mister garbage

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Edited By mister garbage

The gun in that pic appears to be a WWII era Winchester shotgun. 
 
Using weapons out-of-era doesn't seem like the kind of thing a big movie company would overlook...

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King Quisling

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Edited By King Quisling
@omertalvendetta:  I'm skinny and I totally have a bobble/lollipop head thing going on. :P
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King Quisling

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Edited By King Quisling

I'm loving the movie take on Union Jack. Glad to see he's even in the film.

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darth bul

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Edited By darth bul

ill
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TypingKira

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Edited By TypingKira

I have a cousin that looks like emaciated Steve-- I happen to think he's kind of cute in a sad puppy kind of way. 

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Kamen Rider Kajiki

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It would look funny but I do hope it won't go this way again.
  

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Shipwreck

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Edited By Shipwreck

It looks horrible. There is too much computerization in the movie. the bomber they use wasn't made for 35-40 plus years after world war 2. Looks too it's to 1980's and 1990s.

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tobiasPUNK

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Edited By tobiasPUNK

i love chris evan's commitment to the movie by fluctuating his weight like that.

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Morgan4242

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Edited By Morgan4242

Captain America is my favorite superhero, they have made a couple crap movies over the years...this one looks better, I hope.
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blueninjapanther

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Edited By blueninjapanther

ryan reynolds body looks weird when it's skinny. His head dosen't fit his skinny body.
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HumanTorch101

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Edited By HumanTorch101
@Trodorne: There were plenty of Japanese Americans who served in World War 2.  Go here to read more about them.
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undeadpool

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Edited By undeadpool
@KZR said:
" How did they get Chris Evans to look THAT skinny. Wow. Isn't he supposed to be quite muscular. Anyway looks great except no show for Howard Stark, Nick Fury of Union Jack. "
Check out Christian Bale in The Machinist (even just Google image search). He probably went on a similar diet.
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alexisg

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Edited By alexisg

One thing that is nice to finally  see is the coloring of the movie. I think the teaser poster that went around last week and what is shown on the captainamerica.com homepage got a lot of people excited. That being said the trailer is much brighter but still looks to be keeping some of the tonality to the image which I was hoping to see. Lets see if CA can get some mud on his suit. 

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BoOMbOoMpOw

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Edited By BoOMbOoMpOw

I so can`t wait too see bucky in this movie !!!!!

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nacarrell

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Edited By nacarrell

The pod could easily be mainly to shield everyone else from the vita-rays or something. Plus, it means they didn't have to use CGI to (probably badly) make him change from skinny Steve to muscular Cap.

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KZR

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Edited By KZR

How did they get Chris Evans to look THAT skinny. Wow. Isn't he supposed to be quite muscular. Anyway looks great except no show for Howard Stark, Nick Fury of Union Jack.

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Fantasgasmic

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Edited By Fantasgasmic
@noelveiga: I like the painted on wings. I just wish they did the goggles under the helmet like the old-timet Ultimate Cap, instead of the integrated mask/helmet thing like Ultimate Cap post thaw out.
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NoelVeiga

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Edited By NoelVeiga

They left the wings in the costume. 
 
I can't believe they put the little wings there, even if they're painted on. Those were ridiculous to begin with, every major redesign cut them off. It's kind of the opposite of the Spider-Man thing, where they completely ravaged the suit, it's being close to the material to the point of breaking suspension of disbelief. 
 
Oh, well... It's easily the goofiest-looking Marvel movie yet, but I'll still give it a go. At this point I feel I'm commited to this thing all the way up to The Avengers, even if the films suck.

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Decept-O

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Edited By Decept-O

Finally a movie trailer that doesn't reveal everything.  Looks good, have a bit more confidence in this.  Can't wait for the movie to hit the theatres!
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Fatale

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Edited By Fatale

The plane appears to be a Horte

No Caption Provided
n Ho-229, a fighter bomber designed by the Nazis in the last days of WW2. It was never actually finished, but then again, this is secret stuff we're dealing with lol. The actual intended purpose for the Ho-229 was actually to cross the Atlantic and drop an Atomic bomb on New York City.  
 
Also, look at the design of the plane. It's "flying wing" look has been replicated by us, 50 years later. Take a look at the B-2 bomber, and you can see just how advanced the plane was for its time.  
 
But then again, I think I see multiple propellors at the back of the plane. who knows. 
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Fantasgasmic

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Edited By Fantasgasmic

Red Skull looks a lot like Skeletor from the Masters of the Universe movie from the 1987.      .

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G Bird

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Edited By G Bird

I think it looked great and definitely cannot wait to see it this summer! Red Skull looks really awesome too!

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The Jeff

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Edited By The Jeff

I really want to see this movie now

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SpidermanWins

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Edited By SpidermanWins

AWESOMENESS!!!!!! I can't even wait for the real trailer and movie! But I am sorta confused about the whole machine and how that has anything to do with the Super Soldier Serum and all. I hope they do not ruin it but I can't help but being excited.

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Shaanyboi

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Edited By Shaanyboi

The fact it's Hydra and not the Nazis makes me facepalm.  That's such a fucking stupid change.

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-Vigil-

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Edited By -Vigil-

In a word: Perfect. The movie looks just how I imagined it would, and it's something I'll definitely see on opening day.

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SuperXAsh

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Edited By SuperXAsh

the costume DOES look alot better in motion and on film than it did with the set pictures.

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Silkcuts

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Edited By Silkcuts

This was a great read to start the day.  I missed the Spot, because I decided to play the open bata on Killzone 3 insteas, plus Canada doesn't always get all the good commercials anyway.  happy for this so it doesn't feel like I missed it.

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TheCrusader

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Edited By TheCrusader

Wintastic. Can't wait.
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TadThuggish

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Edited By TadThuggish

As a big Captain America fan, this all looks really good. 
 
EXCEPT for Chris Evan's head hilariously photoshopped onto a 12-year-old boy.  Holy shit, that is beyond awful.

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Kid_Zombie

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Edited By Kid_Zombie
@G-Man:  Hey dude, sorry but they have adressed a lot of the speculation here already.
 
NICK FURY: Samual jackson has JUST been casted in the movie, for the final scene of finding Cap in Ice.
 
Shield: Cap America leaves the USO with old looking shield to save his buddy Bucky. He wont get the circular shield till he gets the new costume from Howard stark.
 
they also adress a lot of these issues in the online comic:
 https://subscriptions.marvel.com/digitalcomics/view_white.htm?iid=19142