Captain America (Steve Rogers) is the secondary protagonist of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is more commonly known as Steve Rogers, is a fictional character primarily portrayed by Chris Evans in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise—based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name—commonly known by his alias, Captain America. Rogers is depicted as a World War II-era super soldier who was given a serum that provided him with superhuman abilities including enhanced durability, strength, and athleticism. During his fight against the Nazi secret organization Hydra, he became frozen in the Arctic for nearly seventy years until being revived in the 21st century. Rogers becomes a founding member and leader of the Avengers. Following internal conflict within the Avengers as a result of the Sokovia Accords and Thanos initiating the Blip, Rogers leads the team on a final mission and they successfully restore trillions of lives across the universe and defeat Thanos. After returning the Infinity Stones to their original timelines, he remains in the 1940s with his lost love Peggy Carter; they marry and Rogers lives a full life. Upon his retirement, Rogers chooses Sam Wilson to be his successor and passes his shield and the title of Captain America onto him.
Rogers is a central figure in the MCU, appearing in eleven films as of 2022. Alternate versions of Rogers from within the MCU multiverse also appear in the animated series What If...? (2021), voiced by Josh Keaton. These versions include an incarnation of Rogers who instead of receiving the serum, wears a mechanized suit of armor and becomes the Hydra Stomper.
When first introduced in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), the character was received to mixed reception, but gradually became a fan favorite. The character of Steve Rogers is often cited, along with Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, as cementing the success of the MCU. His story arc is considered to be one of the best in the MCU, and the Captain America films within the "Infinity Saga" are commonly referred to as the franchise's best trilogy. Chris Evans' portrayal of Rogers has been met with acclaim and he has won numerous accolades.
Concept and creation[]
Captain America was first conceived as a comic book character in 1940, as a direct response to the military actions of Nazi Germany, prior to the United States entering World War II. The initial introduction of the character included the concepts of a soldier named Steve Rogers being given a serum bestowing enhanced strength and agility, wearing a patriotic red, white and blue uniform, carrying a shield, and having as a sidekick a teenaged Bucky Barnes. In the 1960s, Marvel decided to test bringing the character back as part of the Avengers, with the premise that the character had been frozen for the two decades since the war, and was "haunted by past memories, and trying to adapt to 1960s society". Live-action performances of the character in television and film serials began within a few years after its creation, with a 1990 feature film resulting in critical and financial failure.
In the mid-2000s, Kevin Feige realized that Marvel still owned the rights to the core members of the Avengers, which included Captain America. Feige, a self-professed "fanboy", envisioned creating a shared universe just as creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had done with their comic books in the early 1960s. In 2005, Marvel received a $525 million investment from Merrill Lynch, allowing them to independently produce ten films, including Captain America. Paramount Pictures agreed to distribute the film.
| "Casting Captain America was super hard. I started to think, 'Are we not going to be able to find Captain America, and if we can't, what are we going to do with Avengers? Is the whole thing going to fall apart?' And, then, finally opening ourselves up to Chris Evans, who we had initially sort of just looked past because he was Johnny Storm in a Fantastic Four franchise. Then, bringing him in and showing him the artwork, showing him what was happening in this movie, and he took a weekend to decide." ——Kevin Feige, President of Production for Marvel Studios, on casting Chris Evans as Captain America. |
Originally, the film would stand alone; Feige said "about half" the movie would be set during World War II before moving into the modern day. Producer Avi Arad said, "The biggest opportunity with Captain America is as a man 'out of time', coming back today, looking at our world through the eyes of someone who thought the perfect world was small-town United States. Sixty years go by, and who are we today? Are we better?" He cited the Back to the Future trilogy as an influence, and claimed he had "someone in mind to be the star, and definitely someone in mind to be the director". In February 2006, Arad hoped to have a summer 2008 theatrical release date. In April 2006, David Self was hired to write the script. Joe Johnston met with Marvel to discuss directing the film and signed on in November 2008, hiring Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely to rewrite.
Variety reported in March 2010 that Chris Evans was cast as Captain America; Ryan Phillippe and John Krasinski were also considered for the role. Evans, who previously worked with Marvel as the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four film series, initially declined the part three times before signing a six-picture deal with Marvel, saying, "I think Marvel is doing a lot of good things right now, and it's a fun character. ... I think the story of Steve Rogers is great. He's a great guy. Even if it [were] just a script about anybody, I would probably want to do it. So it wasn't necessarily about the comic itself." In April, it was reported that Joss Whedon would rewrite the script as part of his negotiation to write and direct The Avengers. Whedon said in August, "I just got to make some character connections. The structure of the thing was really tight and I loved it, but there were a couple of opportunities to find his voice a little bit —and some of the other characters'— and make the connections so that you understood exactly why he wanted to be who he wanted to be. And progressing through the script to flesh it out a little bit".
Fictional character biography[]
Origin[]
Steve Rogers was born on July 4, 1918, in Brooklyn, New York, to Joseph and Sarah Rogers. His father, a member of the 107th Infantry Regiment, was killed by mustard gas during the First World War. He was raised by his mother, a nurse, who died of tuberculosis, leaving Rogers alone at the age of eighteen. At just 5-foot-4-inch (1.63 m) tall and weighing only 90 pounds (41 kg), Rogers was also afflicted with a number of medical issues including asthma, scoliosis, heart arrhythmia, partial deafness, stomach ulcers, and pernicious anemia.
Becoming Captain America and battling Hydra[]
- Main article: Captain America: The First Avenger
At the outset of World War II, Rogers attempts to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces but is repeatedly rejected due to his numerous health problems. In 1943, while attending the Stark Expo with his best friend, James "Bucky" Barnes, Rogers again attempts to enlist. Dr. Abraham Erskine overhears Rogers speaking with Barnes, and approves his enlistment due to his continued efforts to serve his country despite his physical handicaps. He is recruited into the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) as part of a super-soldier experiment under Erskine, U.S. Army Colonel Chester Phillips, and British MI6 agent Peggy Carter. The night before the treatment, Erskine reveals to Rogers that Nazi officer Johann Schmidt, head of the science division called Hydra, underwent an imperfect version of the procedure and suffered permanent side-effects. Rogers agrees to the treatment nonetheless and is injected with Erskine's serum and doused with vita-rays. After Rogers emerges significantly taller and more muscular, an undercover assassin kills Erskine and flees. Rogers, using his remarkable speed and strength increase, pursues and captures the assassin, who reveals he is a Hydra agent and commits suicide with a cyanide capsule. With Erskine dead and the formula lost, U.S. Senator Brandt takes advantage of the media hype around Rogers' actions, and has him tour the nation in a colorful costume with the title of Captain America to promote the sale of war bonds.
In 1943, while on tour in Italy, Rogers learns that the 107th unit – Barnes' unit – was MIA in a battle against Schmidt's forces. Refusing to believe that Barnes is dead, Rogers has Carter and engineer Howard Stark fly him behind enemy lines to mount a solo rescue attempt. Rogers infiltrates the Hydra facility, freeing Barnes and 400 other prisoners. Rogers confronts Schmidt, who reveals himself to be the "Red Skull" and escapes. Despite disobeying orders, Rogers is rewarded for his heroics and is formally promoted to the rank of Captain. He recruits Barnes and several other elite soldiers, who were among the prisoners he rescued, to form a team called the Howling Commandos to attack other Hydra bases. Stark outfits Rogers with advanced equipment, most notably a circular shield made of vibranium, a rare, nearly indestructible metal. Over the next two years, Rogers and the Howling Commandos help to turn the tide of the war in favor of the Allies. The team eventually captures top Hydra scientist Dr. Arnim Zola on a train, but Barnes falls to his presumed death during the battle. Using information extracted from Zola, Rogers leads an attack on the final Hydra stronghold to stop Schmidt from using weapons of mass destruction on the world's major cities. Rogers infiltrates the final Hydra base with the help of the SSR, including Carter who reveals her mutual romantic feelings toward Rogers and the two share a kiss before Schmidt escapes in an aircraft carrying the weapons and is pursued by Rogers. During the confrontation, the source of Hydra's advanced weapons, the Tesseract, is physically handled by Schmidt causing him to vanish within a bright light. The Tesseract is lost in the ocean and with no way to land the plane without the risk of detonating the bombs, Rogers reluctantly bids farewell to Carter via the plane's communications system and crashes it and himself in the Arctic.
Adjusting to the modern era and the Battle of New York[]
- Main article: The Avengers
In 2011, Rogers awakens in a 1940s-style hospital room. Deducing from an anachronistic baseball radio broadcast that something is wrong, he flees outside and finds himself in present-day Times Square, where S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury informs him that he has been frozen in suspended animation for nearly 70 years.
Rogers learns that most of his World War II-era comrades are deceased and he struggles to adjust to the modern world. In 2012, He is approached by Fury, who has activated the "Avengers Initiative", with an assignment to retrieve the stolen Tesseract from Loki. Rogers agrees and is introduced to Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner by Agent Phil Coulson. In Stuttgart, Rogers and Loki have a brief physical confrontation until Tony Stark arrives, resulting in Loki's surrender. While Loki is being escorted to S.H.I.E.L.D. on the Quinjet, his brother Thor arrives and frees him, hoping to convince him to abandon his plan. After a confrontation between Thor, Stark, and Rogers, Thor agrees to take Loki to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s flying aircraft carrier, the Helicarrier.
The Avengers become divided, both over how to approach Loki and the revelation that S.H.I.E.L.D. plans to harness the Tesseract to develop weapons much like Hydra had in the 1940s. Agents possessed by Loki, including Clint Barton, attack the Helicarrier, disabling one of its engines in flight, which Stark and Rogers work together to restart. Loki escapes, and Stark and Rogers realize that for Loki, he needs to overpower them publicly to validate himself as ruler of Earth. Rogers invites Barton to join the Avengers after he is freed by Romanoff from his mind control. Loki uses the Tesseract to open a wormhole in New York City above Stark Tower to allow the alien species of the Chitauri to invade. However, Rogers successfully leads the Avengers in defending the city and they defeat and capture Loki. Following the battle, Rogers coordinates the search and rescue of injured civilians. Thor returns Loki to Asgard to face justice for his invasion and the Avengers go their separate ways. Rogers, with newfound purpose in the modern world, rides off on his motorcycle.
Sometime afterwards, Rogers in his Captain America uniform records a number of public service announcements for high school students, encouraging them to do things like maintain healthy lifestyles, obey rules, and practice patience.