Thanks to Babs' Encouragement, HERE'S.....My Captain America Take
By johnjcoe9198 1 Comments
<---Roger's original WWII-era costume
I think Marvel's got their collective s**t gether in regards to the Cap' movie, besides getting over the largest hurdle in the whole process....namely CASTING Captain America. Someone suggested Jason Lewis (the guy blonde guy from Sex and the City). Sounds like a good idea to me. He has the looks, and I THINK he has the talent. Another name I keep hearing mentioned is Matt Damon, who, honestly, is by far the best candidate, but it'll be hard to look up and NOT see Jason Bourne. Which I find extremely ironic, since Bourne, "Vita-rays" not with standing, is almost a duplicate of Steve Rogers. The one issue I have with Marvel's direction so far is they're dead-set on placing most of the movie in WWII. For me, it should be about half-and-half. Either way, this will probably be 3-hour movie, if they really want to get it right. So, here goes.....See So, the opening scene in my mind consists of Steve standing outside the recruiter's office, ready and eager to enlist in the service. Army or Marines, I think the audience probably doesn't differentiate between the two. But since Millar's Ultimate Steve was a Marine, and so was I, I'm biased! Deal with it! Sorry...anyways, Steve's outside the recruiter's office, ready to enlist. This is shortly after Pearl Harbor, when FDR was finally able to motivate the American populace to join the war. I see him kissing Gale goodbye, as she goes off to work. Now, it'll be hard to buy someone as too frail for service, per Simon and Kirby's original plotting. It always seemed like a very vague and flimsy excuse, even then, so we'll have to come up with an actual ailment to keep Steve out. Actually, it seems more realistic to me to go ahead and have Steve pass the physical, only for the brass to realize he's got a dissqualifying condition during basic training. This is actually far more accurate to the experience, especially since it happened to me. But, the kid's got heart, so someone in the upper chain of command on-base decides to make him the guinea pig for Brankin's experiment. I also want to note that Bucky Barnes is right alongside him, ready to serve his country, even if he is lying about his age. S For those out-of-the-loop on Barnes' backstory, the most recent version paints him as an Army brat who grew up around the base, only to be orphaned as a teenager. Since its the only lifestyle he's ever really been exposed to, he hitches a ride to another base where no one knows him, and enlists at 15 or so. Sounds good to me. I'm picturing Steve and James meet in the line, and become fast friends, a bond that only strengthens during their time in Basic Training. Unfortunately though, Steve has....severe asthma, yeah. Its never been a major deterrant before, but all the physical training makes it glaringly obvious to his Drill Instructor that he's not gonna make it on the battlefield. The news hits the whole platoon hard, especially since Steve has been Squad Leader from the get-go. So, someone from Central Command makes Steve the offer of a lifetime: to become the world's first super-soldier! Now, we introduce Dr. William Brankin, the pioneering scientist behind the whole process. One thing I think its important to establish that Brankin is actually a German defector, just like all the rocket scientists that defected whenever the Nazis began to outright persecute the Jews in Europe. He speaks with a think accent, and probably isn't trusted by CentCom anymore than is necessary. His team outlines the whole process, and I want the audience to understand exactly how painful and grueling this procedure will be for Rogers. Think of the cringe-inducing shot of Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) getting those spinal injections from THE INCREDIBLE HULK, but about 20 times worse. And it doesn't go smoothly, either. There should be at least one shot of the surgical team having to recessitate Rogers on the table. Just to show the audience just much danger Steve is in, and he VOLUNTEERED for it! Also, this is a BLACK BAG operation, so no one, not Gale, not Bucky, even Steve's family is told about what Steve is training for. The brass just gave Barnes a vague story about "special training" during his exit from boot camp...and Bucky doesn't buy it, but keeps quiet about the whole thing. I'm also picturing a voiceover form Rogers, as he's reading the letters he sends to Gail about where he is and what he's doing. Bucky might be in this as well, but its clear Bucky thinks Steve's official story is total bulls**t, but he just casually laughs to himself at Steve's VERY bad lies. But the juxtaposition between the montage of Steve's transformation and the loving letters he sends to Gail will make for some solid audience sympathy, and probably room for a good joke or two. Besides, it'll be important for the plot later on. I'm also envisioning some serious Black-Ops training, CQB, sniper-training, etc. I'm very conflicted about whether Steve should be alone, or going about this in a platoon, with other test subjects, simply for the fact that the military never tests out new gear, etc., flying solo. The simple fact is, they would never do this with just one soldier. However, those soldiers all suffer debilitating side-effects, with Steve being the only candidate to complete the whole process. It just proves how rough this science really is.
Now, Steve's weeks later, Steve's finished, and we see him in all his shirtless, badass glory. During Steve's "unveiling" for the Top-Brass, the hammer drops. One of Brankin's team goes nuts and brutally guns the rest of Brankin's team down, cursing his name in German while he does it. Steve breaks through observation glass with little effort, and royally kicks some ass. He stops just short out-right killing the man, but realizes, with no small amount of terror, just how powerful he's become. But with Brankin's team dead, no other viable candidates ready, and most of the data lost, the commanders decide to salvage the only remaining asset from this very expensive failure. So, they air-drop Steve into France before the Normandy invasion, to take out infantry nests on the beachhead prior to D-day. And they assign him to the same platoon as Bucky, no less! They don't inform Steve of some of these details, hoping they can try and pick-up again after the campaign is over. Meanwhile, Bucky's turned into quite an efficient killer in his own right, even though Steve is pretty sure he can't be more than 16 years old. (as a side-note, wherever there's room to fit it in, I'd like to establish that Bucky was abused by his dad, prior to his death. It could even be insinuated that Bucky's the one responsible for it, but in a murky way, like tampering with his Jeep on base, causing a fatal crash. But it needs to be keep from being clearly stated, at least in the beginning of the movie.) Bucky's a troubled kid, raised by a savage man to be a savage fighter. But, Steve loves the guy like a brother, as he's a really good guy at heart.
Bucky sees Steve's inhuman battlefield prowess in Normandy, but keeps his suspicions to himself. Meanwhile, Steve is somewhat unnerved by how easily Bucky kills the enemy, and really isn't bothered much by the carnage inflicted on his fellow soldiers. Nonetheless, Steve's reputation among the soldiers on the frontlines quickly becomes almost mythic. (The commanders issued Steve the uniform he wears in Ultimates vol. 1, when he's still fighting WWII. Meanwhile, word of this UBERMENSCH reaches Hitler's command in Berlin. They quickly deduce that Brankin must've finished work on at the super-soldier program, despite their best efforts. Their intelligence can't verify whether or not Brankin's dead, so they assume the worst, and that the U.S. must be field-testing their newest weapon. So, they devise a diversionary mission specifically designed to draw this soldier out: A test-launch of a ICBM, heavily fortified, stationed not too far away from where Steve's fighting. You can guess what comes next: the missle launch, Bucky's death, and Steve ends up on the damned missile, trying to reprogram the coordinates to make it splash over the Atlantic, instead of striking its intended target: London! The platoon is KIA, and CentCom assumes the mission is a total loss. Since the whole super-soldier program was quasi-legal to begin with, they decide to cover it up. Before we move forward, I want everyone to understand the battle scenes must be realistic, and very SAVING PRIVATE RYAN-like in their accuracy. Not to be gruesome, but to show how much all this stuff is messing with Rogers and Bucky, but yet Steve still doesn't hesitate to risk his neck to help out his fellow soldiers. They also begin to have suspicions after Steve is injured several times, only to rapidly heal within days/hours. (It can't be instantaneous, or it'll be too similar to Wolverine's Origin movie.) But, its also a good opportunity for soldiers to name-drop Logan here, remarking that they've seen something similar from these two wild Canadians who keep popping up all over the place-remember, Creed AND Logan were pretty close-by while all this is going on. It'd just be too expensive to pay Hugh Jackson for screentime on a throwaway cameo scene at this point!)
I'm picturing a shot of Steve's frozen body, his hand just barely sticking out of the ice, and the shot pans out to show the surrounding landscape (it establishes just how remote Steve's location is). But, against all odds, in the present day, a zoological team affliated with Stark industries stumbles across Rogers' body while doing research on polar bears. (the bears keep knawing Steve's fingers, but they keep growing back-this could be stated by one of the researchers, rather than shown, as one of them wonders how the exposed flesh hasn't succumb to frostbite, or been consumed by the aforementioned polar bears). So, they dig him out, and inform basecamp about their VERY unexpected find. They keep him frozen, wanting to preserve the body for later analysis, and transport him back stateside. The local news station reports on the story, and the name Steve Rogers is immediatey flagged by the S.H.I.E.L.D. database (this effects-shot could be almost a carbon-copy of the same shot from THE INCREDIBLE HULK-admit, that scene was smooth!).
And, Nick Fury immediately swoops in to claim the body. Whether or not Henry and Janet Pym make cameos as part of the analysis team, I'll leave to Marvel Studios. It would make sense, though. Also, General Ross should be there, too, as the Hulk project was originally his baby to begin with. They arrive to begin their analysis, thawing out the body, so as to facilitate collecting blood and tissue samples (remember, the guy's been in the TUNDRA for decades, so he's basically immobile in his present state). However, while he's on the operating table, he wakes up, and, understandably, freaks out. This scene could probably be an exact copy of the same scene from the first animated ULTIMATE AVENGERS movie. Steve doesn't takes a hostage, he doesn't believe them, and Fury walks in, introduces himself, and Rogers replies "Nice try, soldier, but the highest-ranking soldier in the Armed Forces is Lt. Colonal, and I happen to know him personally!" Rogers busts out of SHIELD, making his way into modern-day New York City, and almost faints at the sight of all this stuff he's never seen before. Then, he sees a newspaper, with the current date listed right at the top. Once he steadies himself after almost passing out again, Fury catches up with him, explaining how it is he's suddenly woken up naked on a lab table, 70 years in the future. The shot pans out, with this look of utter loss and disbelief embedded on his face. We have the boardroom scene with Fury, Ross, Henry, and Janet. (Maybe Stark is there, too, since it was his science team that found "the body" in the first place) They have the expository dialogue, explaining to Steve and the audience just how-in-the-hell Steve survived all this. Later, as Steve is busy catching up on all the things he's missed, via computer, the team marvels out just how fast he's processing all this information. Days into his "resurrection", he's already typing like a court-transcripter, and is becoming familiar with all the technology in the digital age. But, Fury grants Steve a visit to Arlington National Cemetary, to visit the graves of his platoon. (there should also be a quick scene where Steve does a Google search on Gail, learning of her fate after his "death". She remarries, has kids, etc.) Fury, befriending Steve in this brave new world, tracks down Gail's surviving relatives, and collects a photo album for him to look at. (this should happen off-screen, so as to surprise Steve whenever they visit the gravesites of his platoon) He sees the monument erected in his honor, noticing how it only bears his first name "For Steve" . There's a GREAT scene from Ultimates vol.2, where Steve visits this monument with the still-living Bucky. I hope Mark Millar doesn't mind me "borrowing" this scene, as its far too moving NOT to use. Just replace Bucky with Fury, and the same scene is still more or less intact, with the speech about how they used to have a memorial ceremony "fit for a President, man! Every year up until the 60's, when the anti-war protesters started to ask questions...." Rogers and Fury sit down at the bench, and Fury hands Steve the aforementioned photo album, and Steve begins to flip through it. He smiles, laughing at some funny pictures of Gail as Fury explains what happened to her after the war. And the voice-over fades into the background as Steve finally breaks down. And its brutal. This is the most important scene of the whole movie, so sorrow and desperation in Steve's voice has to sound GENUINE. It starts small at first, almost like when Forrest Gump finds out about his son in that movie. His eyes well up, and he can't hold it back anymore. He quietly, in a very haunted voice, says to Fury "Everyone he's ever known is gone." "I mean, the whole WORLD has passed me by, Nick!" "It should be ME in these pictures, playing with MY kids!" "Dammit, I should've been there when she died!" "Why didn't you just leave me in the ice!" He collapses back onto the bench....and Fury finally says what's he's been itching to say ever since Rogers woke up. "I've thought about how to pitch this to you for days now, and I think I'll just wing it...." "Nick, I don't even know what the Hell that means..." "Well, I'm sure you've come across some news articles talking about mutants, and Stark going public about the Iron Man thing. Did you also happen to notice the part about the World Trade Center?" "Yeah, about, uh, what'd'ya'callit, 911?" "Yeah, well, I know its all that shocking to YOU after Pearl Harbor and D-day, but it ruffled the feathers of everyone around here somethin' fierce..." "The fact is, we've been trying to recreate your results from Project Rebirth for the last 20 years, ever since we became officially aware of mutants." We never made this public, mind you, but we've known for a while now that we need an infantry force capable of matching that kind of power." "Our results so far have been....mixed." There's a rapid flash of scenes with Spider-Man, Green Goblin, the Hulk, etc., to show the audience just how deep all this goes. "So what're you saying, you want me to re-join the Corp.? Aren't a LITTLE past the age requirement?" "Oh, I think we can make an exception this ONE time!" "I mean, what else're you gonna do?" "Hell, you don't even know how to APPLY for your G.I. benefits anymore!" So....they share a laugh, and we flashforward to a press conference where the Pentagon goes public with Rogers' story. And they publically introduce him, in his new combat uniform. And....that's the end. I think they mention the Avengers Initiative, almost in passing, much like Fury did at the end of IRON MAN. The credits roll, and cue the "reveal" after the credits...A man, calmly watches the news broadcast, and a cold, evil smile slowly forms across his face. A subordinate, speaking Farsi, with English subtitles, pronounces "Mr. Schmidt, your flight to New York is ready, sir." "Of course...I have some some long-overdue business to finish..." And the camera pans out to reveal a terrorist training camp, somewhere in the Middle East, as the troops shout "HAIL HYDRA!" in the background....
On a side note, I know it'll piss off all the purists, but I think, for the purposes of the film, if the production crew DOESN'T use Cap's shield in its current design. It'll look TERRIBLE onscreen. Just look how out-of-place it looks in the background during its cameo in Iron Man. No one would've noticed it unless it looked so garrish and brightly colored. No, I think having the stars on the outline, like Wonder Woman's shield in her comic, still blue, obviously,with the stars being white. Then, with an eagle motif in the center.
<---Something along the lines of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s logo, which could also explain the origin of their logo. That would be a neat little tie-in.