Captain America: The First Avenger is the fourth Marvel property to be cinematically adapted by Marvel, and the second after The Incredible Hulk to have been previously adapted by a studio outside the Marvel wheelhouse. I think I can safely say we all remember rubber ears Captain America from 1990 and the 1944 serial of the same name. But I digress. Since the Super Bowl trailer dropped, we’ve seen all kinds of First Avenger-related news and media in the on-ramp to the July release date.

Today, we have: a movie still of Chris Evans in costume, being manhandled by HYDRA; the official film synopsis; and confirmation that Derek Luke will be playing Gabe Jones of the Howling Commandos.

First things first, here's the official Captain America: The First Avenger Official Synopsis, courtesy of Marvel:

Captain America: The First Avenger will focus on the early days of the Marvel Universe when Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).

So, nothing new in terms of plot details. I still grimace every time I read the word “HYDRA” when I should be reading “Nazis,” but that’s a fairly minor quibble if the film as a whole ends up being fantastic.

Next up, let’s take a look at the new movie still:

Captain America: The First Avenger Movie Still

I have to say, I’m still not completely sold on this suit. I think it looks technically very “good” and will end up working just fine, especially when I see it on the big-screen, but I can’t shake the feeling that it looks like some sort of cloth-based spacesuit from the future. This is the 1940s, right? Shouldn't it look a bit more like it’s from, I don’t know, the 1940s?

Next up, according to Black Film, a source has indicated that Derek Luke (Antwone Fisher) will be playing Gabe Jones of the Howling Commandos – an elite special forces unit led by Nick Fury in World War II. The team’s roster has changed from comic to comic, but typically has consisted of Fury, ‘Dum Dum’ Dugan, and Gabe Jones, the first African-American in the Marvel Universe to serve in an integrated unit.

Last year, Kevin Feige revealed The Howling Commandos would be appearing in Captain America: The First Avenger, and I suppose this is further confirmation of that. The only question remaining is: Will Nick Fury – the Nick Fury of the movies, played by Samuel L. Jackson – lead the squad in The First Avenger? Or will this be a Nick-Fury-less iteration of The Howling Commandos?

In the Ultimate and 616 comics, Fury avoids aging and/or dying by constantly consuming something known as “The Infinity Formula,” so it’s more than possible for the Sam Jackson version to be around during the events of The First Avenger as well as Iron Man 1 and 2. Though, considering Jackson didn’t do any extensive shooting for The First Avenger, one can assume that’s probably not the case.

Captain America: The First Avenger hits theaters July 22nd, 2011.

Sources: Black Film