With the annoucment of the official cast of the Avengers movie via San Diego Comic-Con this last weekend, I thought it appropriate to talk about the character I'm most excited to see...other than Tony Stark. I know people are getting excited about the release of Thor next year, but the history major in me can't stop thinking about Captain America.
Over the last few days more details have been surfacing from the cast and creators as to how Cap will be portrayed on the big screen. The consensus on the plot, so far, involves a few changes in Steve Rogers's origin story. While Steve will receive the super soldier serum, don't expect Cap to immediately run off and punch Hitler in the face. Rogers will apparently be used as a USO promoter and army recruiter, more of an example to young men as to what they can strive to be in the army. Steve wants to get out into the fray and fight like any soldier, but his handlers want to keep their poster boy close to home, forcing him to go AWOL and join the men in the field. According to Chris Evans, Cap won't even don the final, and more iconic, suit until the third act of the movie.
What this all points to is the filmmakers' desire to change the tone of Captain America not only to market the movie to a global audience but also to make him more relevant to the changing attitudes of Americans about our own country.
Nostalgia surrounding World War II pertains to the emergence of the United States as a super power. Our country, spurred to war by the attack on Pearl Harbor, banned together to fight the Axis powers. Not since World War II has America been so united in purpose with a clear enemy to fight. The subsequent years proved to be ones of prosperity for America, solidifying our own mythos as a booming, self-made country capable of surmounting all obstacles.
Captain America, introduced nine months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, was supposed to embody all of these American values. Any fan of Cap or comic books in general is aware of the cover for Captain America #1:
And that says pretty much everything you need to know about Cap: gung-ho soldier ready to defend the principles of democracy against all of America's enemies. 1940's Cap didn't question America's motivations. He did what any good soldier would do - defend our way of life against those who would seek to destroy it.
In our present day society and in the aftermath of more questionable wars like Vietnam and Iraq, Cap's attitude transferred from 1941 to 2010 would seem more like nationalist propaganda than the values embodied in a superhero (that's not to say it wasn't nationalist propaganda during WWII, we just looked upon it in a more positive light in the 40's then we do today...more or less). We're not the only global power in the world and our reputation has certainly been tarnished enough that a pure translation of 1940's Captain America would not be received well by an international audience.
In this regard, I understand the changes they're making. Steve Rogers doesn't want to fight for the sake of fighting. He understands that he has an advantage other soldiers don't, which might save more lives in the long run. The fact that the government won't allow him to go overseas also sets up distrust between Cap and his superiors, which will play out in the Avengers movie. Essentially, they're trying to establish a Captain America that is less of a drone to the American way of life and more of a good man trying to go good in a world torn apart by war, evil, and corruption.
Captain America, then, skirts the line between anachronism and contemporary hero. He is the essential American hero, which means he embodies the past and present attitudes of the United States. In the 40's we needed him to be the "Sentinel of Liberty." When he was revived in the 1960's, in the wake of Vietnam, Cap questioned his government the way the American people questioned their government. And now, when he is revived after a supposed 70 year nap to lead the Avengers, we'll need him to embody that which we value most...whatever that may be.
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