It’s been just over a week since Marvel announced that Chris Evans would play Captain America, and fanboys around the world have more or less embraced the decision. In fact, they’ve already begun making their own Captain America posters.
While others have jumped on the Evans bandwagon, I have been more hesitant. Although I don’t think Evans is bad for the role (he certainly makes for a more believable Cap than some of the other rumored candidates), I’m unsure if he has the gravitas necessary to lead a team as important to the Marvel universe as The Avengers. I mean, can you honestly say that you see Chris Evans leading Robert Downey Jr. into battle?
Now before I get angry fanboy letters, I should say that I still think Evans has the potential to be a great Captain America. The key to his success, however, depends on one thing: research. If Evans takes the time to properly research who Captain America is as a character and what role he plays in the Marvel universe, he’ll be in a stronger position to knock this role out of the park.
Of course, with more than 70 years of source material to sort through, finding the best Captain America stories to research is no easy task. That’s why I, being the nice guy that I am, decided to do Evans’ legwork for him. So, without further ado, I present “The Top Five Captain America Stories Chris Evans NEEDS to Read.”
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CAPTAIN AMERICA’S ORIGINS
(Captain America Comics #1, 1941)
While the cover of Captain America’s first comic is misleading (Cap wouldn’t go face-to-face with Hitler until Captain America Comics #2), it clearly demonstrates what Joe Simon and Jack Kirby were thinking when they created the character. A product of World War II, Captain America was conceived from the beginning as a response to the evils of Nazi Germany. In essence Cap was, and remains, a patriotic hero that represents the greatest ideals of American society.
In the character’s first appearance, we learn how Steve Rogers is transformed from a frail young man incapable of serving his country into the powerful Captain America, thanks to the U.S. government’s “Super-Solider” formula. Although this story is familiar by now, looking back on the first issue of Captain America almost 70 years after it was published provides a new perspective on the character’s origins.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that American patriotism is not as strong in the 21st century as it was in the early 1940s. By reading Captain America Comics #1 and imagining what the world was like at the time of its publication, Evans will better understand the kind of man Steve Rogers is – i.e., a guy who would do ANYTHING to serve his country, even subject himself to an unknown, potentially dangerous experiment.
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CAPTAIN AMERICA’S EXPLOITS DURING WWII
(Tales of Suspense #63-71, 1965)
Considering that the events of The First Avenger: Captain America are going to take place primarily during World War II, it would make sense for Chris Evans to brush up on some of the Captain’s wartime battles. Beginning with Marvel’s Tales of Suspense #63, a retelling of Captain America’s origins, this run of Marvel comics during the mid 1960s showcases Captain America and his sidekick Bucky Barnes in a series of flashbacks, as they fight Nazis and trade blows multiple times with their archenemy, The Red Skull.
While the stories in Tales of Suspense #63-71, which were primarily written by the legendary Stan Lee, are often criticized for being boring, I still think there is value in reading them. Why? Well, for one thing, they are comprised almost entirely of action scenes. Granted, the action scenes are repetitive, but they are action scenes nonetheless. If Chris Evans wants to find a comic where 90% of the pages are Cap wailing on Nazi soldiers, this would be a good place to start.
Additionally (in my opinion at least), there is a certain endearing quality to the melodramatic writing that runs through these nine issues. It may not be the “gritty” superhero that modern audiences have come to expect, but it’s good material for Evans to look into if he wants to see how the “good old-fashioned” Captain America took care of business.
Continue to our final 3 picks…
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No Ed Brubaker? I am disappoint.
Was all set to point out one of the least-appreciated great Cap storylines, but you already put it in. Cap No More was a truly excellent exploration of Steve Rogers's character and Captain America's purpose as a symbol.
The Streets of Poison storyline. He has the super-soldier serum removed.
This was a storyline that directly stemmed from the “war on drugs” . Marvel questioned Steve Rogers' message to the kiddies and removed the nasty steroid from his bloodstream.
In a way it was cool because after years of living as Cap, he unknowingly had been naturally training as he utilized the serum in combat. And after the serum left, he still kicked ass… even without the serum. I think he even defeated Superpatriot.
This will show Chris that Cap thinks of his image, and how the kiddies admire him. He has to be a role model.
Another classic is Avengers annual #17 (i think) After the avengers have been disbanded, Cap forms a makeshift team of reserve members to fight the High Evolutionary. And GREY HULK is there! This annual shows how well Cap can utilize each heroes' strengths for the betterment of the team.
Avengers #300 takes place during Inferno, and Steve is The Captain (the black suit) also Reed and sue richards join the Avengers (and in the back is a list of every Avenger since the beginning and every issue they appeared in. BONUS!)
Seems like you're asking Chris and the other actors to do the jobs of the screenplay writers. They are mostly the ones who need to know more about Cap; but hey! I'm so excited about seeing more of these Marvel movies! They all sound so fabulous!
I disagree with your comment. While I agree the screenplay writers need to know the stories, the actor needs to know it just as well to play the character properly. The screenplay writers could adapt even the best story lines, if the actor doesn't research the character's background properly and goes into the movie blind it would still make for a bad movie.
I'm pretty sure actors sometimes choose to do their own “research” for roles, not just what's in the script. In a character-driven piece, a screenwriter's job is to capture a snapshot of the character that the story covers (Cap in WWII for instance).
An actor should understand the entire history and future of their character, to better grasp that part of their lives the movie is highlighting.
I promise you, both novelists and actors do this sort of thing all the time. I even teach my writing students to do it. When they create a character, write an entire biography for that character, BEFORE you write the story you want to tell.
Brubacker is great, and Winter Soldier is a particularly good story, but I wanted to stay away from some of the new stuff, especially Captain America: Reborn.
Honestly,its ashamed theres no ed brubaker in this list.He should definitely read “The Death Of captain America” storyline.It helps show how important Cap is to so many heroes.It will help him see what it could be like if the directors and producers decide to go down the road of killing him in a movie.
I think Chris Evans should also read the Deathlok mini-series. It showed how Cap could learn that some enemies could be made into allies for a greater good.
We only had 5 picks, bro. Brubaker was certainly considered
EVERYBODY involved should know. It should be seamless.
@Monkeyboy,man o' man now you picked good eater-egg sub-story. Marvel is in the works to make the Deathlok action movie. I think that's an awesome idea!!! Maybe we'll see Luther Manning(Deathlok) do a cameo in Iron Man 3 before his transformation. He could be an associate of Jim Rhodes or something. I'd like to see Cuba Gooding Jr. for that role.
I meant a good Easter-egg. LOL. I need to calm down and proof read sometimes. LOL!
Umm, no, sorry… fail. The ONE and ONLY Captain America storyline that Chris Evans should read is the last three or four years of the title, written by Ed Brubaker (including the whole Death of Captain America storyline… but there was two years of phenomenal writing even before that story).
Brubaker takes the character into the believable modern world, has great flashbacks to WWII-era storylines, and makes the character three-dimensional and real as a human being. I've been reading comics for over 25 years and this is the only time I've ever found Captain America stories — or the character — compelling. Just simply great, great stuff. (The first two Ultimates graphic novels are pretty good, though, I have to admit!)
i love this article, and it was informative for somebody with no knowledge of Captain America's background besides common knowledge…BUT…i think it's more important the director of the film read these comics, not the actor. The actor should portray the character the director chooses, and he can only really follow his instructions. Evans is just a pawn, as are most actors (besides the Pitts and Cruises), and the director moves the pieces.
I believe he should read the Ultimates stories, and study up on the actual culture of the 1940's and all the real experiments and the conspiracies that existed back then.
Love the choices, I need to read those myself. But yeah, he needs to do a lot of research, and what awesome research that is to just read comic books.
I really don't think our picks are considered Failures. Brubaker is not THE ONLY great Cap writer – and a lot of people would debate the Death of Cap as being “Great,” I think.
But still, one more time: BRUBAKER's STORIES WERE CONSIDERED FOR THIS POST – THEY JUST DIDN'T MAKE THE FINAL CUT. Sorry.
Sorry, Kofi, I didn't read the other comments before I posted mine… didn't realize others had already referenced Brubaker's storyline AND that you'd already responded! I didn't mean to be beating a dead horse, honestly.
We're all entitled to our opinions, even if yours IS wrong!
That was a little joke!
Well if your going to pick the wrong actor to portray Capt. America, at least make the story good………
If that were true, Mike, A lot of great cinematic characters wouldn't exist – including Heath Ledger's Joker, which was more a spawn of Heath's research and choices as an actor than Nolan's script.
Ledger came up withe the “rotting face” makeup, the “ventriloquist” disembodied voice of The Joker – he even used (I believe it's Brian Azzarello's “Joker Diary”) to study the Joker's demented thought process.
Movies are collaborative efforts – not director dictatorships. Directors often trust actors to build their characters – remember, a director has much more than just one character to worry about.
So I'd have to disagree with your viewpoint
If that were true, Mike, A lot of great cinematic characters wouldn't exist – including Heath Ledger's Joker, which was more a spawn of Heath's research and choices as an actor than Nolan's script.
Ledger came up withe the “rotting face” makeup, the “ventriloquist” disembodied voice of The Joker – he even used (I believe it's Brian Azzarello's “Joker Diary”) to study the Joker's demented thought process.
Movies are collaborative efforts – not director dictatorships. Directors often trust actors to build their characters – remember, a director has much more than just one character to worry about.
So I'd have to disagree with your viewpoint
No worries Scott. Like Kofi said, I definitely considered Brubaker, but I decided to go in a different direction. While the stories are well-written, Winter Soldier is a Bucky-focused arc, and I didn't want to include the death of Captain America, because that felt like an “event” comic rather than something organic to Cap as a character.
Does that make sense?
LOL Fair enough.
i like your point and evidence, but can we ever convince ourselves that Chris Evans is anywhere near the performer Heath Ledger was? When I hear Chris Nolan talk about DiCaprio reinventing the character in Inception and helping guide his story arc, i am thoroughly impressed. But we are talking about fantastic actors, and while I think Chris Evans is coming along as one, he's still not necessarily a hardcore actor. He stays in the puffy, cream-filled world of action and hasn't proven to me that he can create his own persona…I love him in Sunshine, but sometimes i wonder how much Evans that was and how much Boyle it was.
at the same time, i agree that no director can tell an actor what to do, he can only guide him. and the actor has to know his character. but in this case, i wonder if that character cannot exist until a script is done. and then he learns the character written and adapts from that, rather than only adding
If you want to see a different side to Evans check out London. You'll be surprised.
It looks like I have some reading to do myself.
Yup, back to the reading board for me. Some of these titles are behind my time, and difficult to find.. but he should do as much reading as possible. Along with the top 5, he should read any and all material, comics, and even talk with Stan Lee himself to see what and how he can incorporate some of Cap's character in depth.