It’s safe to say at this point that pretty much every superhero fanboy and casual movie fan has a pretty well-rounded vision of who they think Captain America is and what he really stands for. To begin with, there’s the true-blue patriot who runs into harm's way to protect his beloved country from all threats big and small. Cap’s also commonly looked at as perhaps the most somber and humorless of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s good guys He’s even famous for making sure everybody watches their "language.”
This goody-two-shoes image may seem corny, but also provides a sense of security. If Steve Rogers is on the job, we all just know everything’s going to be all right. But what happens when this carefully-crafted persona falls apart? What could really poke holes in such a perfect fictional personality? Why, real life, of course!
Blurring the lines between the actor and character is always a tricky proposition, but it happens. When some movie star gets exposed as a criminal, for example, it’s hard to go back to their films and see them in favorable lights. Fortunately, Chris Evans has never disappointed us so severely. In fact, by all accounts, he seems to be a good guy. Still, there are other, more innocent off-screen moments which can affect how we look at our favorite star-spangled hero, and even the other characters who appear in his films.
Here are 20 Behind-The-Scenes Photos That Completely Change The Captain America Movies!
Cap and Crossbones Are Actually Pals
Nothing make us more upset than when we find out that our most reliable do-gooders are in fact friendly with supervillains! Case in point: that whole regrettable “Captain America was working for Hydra the whole time” thing in the comic books. Fans were enraged that the same guy who fought the Nazis ever since WWII was in fact a Nazi all along.
This shot of Cap having on-set fun between takes on the set of Captain America: Civil War really sends shivers down our spines. The thing is, a lot of actors will go out of their way to stay in character. A famous example would be during the shooting of the comedy classic Animal House. John Belushi and the rest of the “Delta” cast made it a point of being jerks to the actors who played their “Omega” house adversaries. They would make fun of them, not let them sit at the same lunch table, and play practical jokes on them. This cohesion came through in the film.
Maybe these Cap/Crossbones actors should have gone a little method as well, because this shot is just jarring. It’s a trick, Cap! Get away from him! To be fair, that Cap looks more like the stunt double than it does Mr. Evans.
Cap Can Be Pretty Graceless
When reading the classic comic books from the '60s from which the Marvel Cinematic Universe originated, panel by panel of action is depicted as superheroes in fantastic and improbable gymnastic-like bursts of energy. Regularly contorting the human (or metahuman) body is one of those eye-catching features which made the source material so memorable and perfectly adapted for film. Most of the time, we see those “superhero poses” replicated in the movies. But not this time.
Look at this “action shot” from Captain America: The First Avenger. In this scene, Cap is zip-lining down to a moving train, but this shot in a green screen room, looks, well, underwhelming.
Rather than a graceful athlete, he looks like a wet noodle dangling from a plastic fork.
It could just as well be a snapshot of your scrawny younger sibling sliding down an attraction in Las Vegas. How about we put some muscle into it, Cap? For the love of Agent Carter, he looks like he’s bored! Where biceps should be flexed, and hamstrings primed for conflict, we find instead a lifeless worm on a hook. Memo to movie choreographers, never let images like this get out, it just blows our whole image of super tough guys.
The Real Skinny Steve
Anybody who ever read any of the original Captain America comics knows that before he got transformed by the super-soldier serum (or full out procedure in the movies), Steve Rogers was a youngster barely old enough to serve in the military. Not only that, every cliché in the book was used to describe his lack of brawn. He was called a weakling, a pushover, a bag of bones.
In Captain America: The First Avenger, the filmmakers did an expert job of relaying this pre-Cap Rogers with the use of some clever and effective CGI. The illusion of this slight if patriotic lad becoming the burly butt-kicker we all know was pulled off beautifully. It wasn’t just that he got stronger: Steve matured in that lab. He was older. Unfortunately, this behind-the-scenes image kind of ruins the illusion.
Seeing the actor playing the “body” of young Mr. Rogers exposes that he wasn’t a kid at all.
That scrawny stand-in was obviously longer in the tooth, much closer to 30 than he was to 18.
It kind of hurts that element of the Captain America character and makes us all look at “weaker Steve” in a very different light indeed.
Hugo Weaving May Really Be The Red Skull
Few villainous faces throw more dread into the heart of Marvel fans than does Captain America’s arch nemesis, The Red Skull. His deformed visage is unmatched in any superhero universe. Even Doctor Doom’s legendarily scarred features from Fantastic Four were kept hidden behind an iron mask. For the Skull, it is as if the very twisted ugliness deep within his soul has found outward expression right on the ol’ kisser.
The striking foundation for this unforgettable sight is the excessively bony nature of the Hydra leader’s head. Which brings us to Hugo Weaving. Now, we are certainly not criticizing the great Australian actor! He has graced many a film with his distinctive look, from Mr. Smith in The Matrix to Elrond in The Lord of the Rings.
Just check out his cheekbones and forehead. One can be forgiven for seeing how well it lines up with the fictional Johann Shmidt’s phrenology. We need to face facts: Hugo’s face just looks a little too much like the Red Skull even before we get to the makeup. We can even go so far as to say he was practically born to play the part!
We’re ready to blame the Cosmic Cube for bringing this bad guy into our reality from that other universe where the Avengers are real and so is everybody from Hela to Thanos.
The Heroes Are Really Human Action Figures
It all begins so innocently for many of the nerds in the world. First, they see their favorite superheroes on TV or in the movies. Perhaps they are initiated by network cartoons like Young Justice or a friendly Spider-Man trilogy. Next thing you know, they may be seeking out Batman comics, or a Wonder Woman graphic novel. Inevitably, the hooked geek will soon be getting into some toys. With those lines of comic book character action figures comes hours and hours of staging epic battles as kids pose their good guys and bad guys into an endless series of conflicts. Then, many of us grow up. But not the directors of superhero movies, as this image shows.
Yes, here we see none other than the Russo Brothers actually posing living human beings for Captian America: Civil War. In this case, Black Panther is being articulated into a fight moment with Winter Soldier. Truly, all the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies are nothing more than an excuse for really old kids to keep on playing with their dolls - we mean action figures! Not dolls!
That being the case, seeing this posable humanity bent to the will of filmmakers gets us thinking to how all that on-screen drama really may have been happening in our childhood bedrooms all along.
Iron Man’s Suit Ain’t All That
Ever since Iron Man first graced the pages of Tales of Suspense, fans have had to seriously suspend their disbelief when it comes to just how in the heck that metal suit articulated so easily. As we all know, metal tough enough to deflect bullets doesn’t easily bend at the elbows and knees. The first iteration of his armor looked like a tin can with some hard-to-understand joints for his movement. By the time artists switched Stark’s wardrobe from the dull grey refrigerator-like style to the gold and red beauty we’ve all come to love, the idea of jointed metal was totally done away with: the impervious alloy just bent for Tony, no problem.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe took pains to remedy this, giving ol’ Shell Head more believable flexibility with clear ball-and-socket setups. It’s a sleek and fully functional shield for our hero’s body. Then we see this on-set picture. Notice how shabbily the costume is put together.
This doesn’t look like something that could take a punch from The Hulk.
Actually, it kind of reminds us of a cheap Mardi Gras garment, wwich kind of makes all those ridiculous fight scenes a little less realistic.
Falcon’s Wings Could Have Stuck to the Comics’ Version
When we finally got to see Sam Wilson, aka The Falcon, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, comic book fans could not have been happier. As Cap’s loyal partner, he shared top billing with the star-spangled hero for many issues of the beloved title during the fabled Bronze Age of Marvel Comics. As kids, of course, nobody questioned just how in the heck those flimsy “wings” allowed Falcon to fly and maneuver with such agility (never mind his pet bird “Redwing” tagging along for his adventures). We just went with it because, let’s face it, that was a pretty cool design for a superhero.
Cut to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and, of course, Sam’s power suit needed to be more “realistic.” What we get is a bulky jetpack which in some ways may actually be even more unlikely, and frankly, just not as awesome to look at. But this green-screen shot of Falcon in action proves that things could have been different. This particular action shot would look beautiful with those original wings. One can imagine their sweeping grace and scaled-back utility of not having a huge metal apparatus as big as your own body hanging off your back.
We look at this now and will always understand: Falcon’s original look would have fit in very nicely indeed in the Captain America films.
Alternate Reality Cap Is a Total Movie Star
As discussed earlier, the image we all have of Captain America is pretty much a poster boy for righteousness, altruism, and perhaps above it all, a humbleness that keeps his extraordinary powers in check. He’s not interested in showing off or being rewarded for his deeds. For Steve, the service he provides for the good guys is reward enough, and that sort of selflessness is an inspiration for fans all over the world.
We want to be more like Cap because Cap is a better version of the best in us. In other words, he’s pretty much the opposite of a typical narcissistic movie star. This makes this behind-the-scenes picture kind of a huge bummer. Check Chris Evans out. He could not be more out of character.
Between that Hollywood smile and those swanky sunglasses, the whole shot feels more like he’s facing the Red Carpet instead of the Red Skull!
Is it too much to ask for our well-paid actors to maybe stay in character a little bit more? We really just don’t need to see these alternate reality version of our perfect superheroes! To be fair, Chris Evans does seem to be a pretty decent fellow in his private life and we have no problem with his being totally human. It just that in this unfortunate image, he’s wearing Cap’s costume and it just blows our beloved illusion right out of the water.
Spidey Could Be a Gun Slinger
How many superheroes have as many nicknames as Peter Parker’s alter ego? Over the years, his friends and colleagues have called him everything from Web-Head, Spidey ,and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, while his arch foes hurl insults like “Insect!” or “Arachnid!” Of course, his biggest anti-fan J. Jonah Jameson loves calling him a freak or menace!
However, there’s one very curious moniker that sticks out, as it were: Web-Slinger. Yes, it’s accurate. He does indeed sling webs. Of course, the name is a take on the Old West cowboy heroes who were often referred to as “gun-slingers.” In this image of Spidey on the set of Captain America: Civil War, actor Tom Holland has the pose down. If it weren’t for the costume, one could be forgiven if they thought he had been cast in The Dark Tower instead of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Seriously, this picture could be the perfect excuse to make the next Spidey adventure a time-travel epic sending him to the OK Corral.
We could even have the Punisher hanging with him and make Kraven and Tombstone the bad guys. Come on, seeing such silliness on film would be great! Tony Stark may well be upgrading his next Iron Spider suit with a pair of six-shooters.
Is Cap Insecure?
Iron Man and Captain America have always squared off against each other in the MCU. The nonstop bickering between the two hardheaded alpha males began in The Avengers, kept on going in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and came to a bitter conflict in Captain America: Civil War. Hell, these two tough guys are so deeply in pointless competition, Tony Stark wouldn’t even pick up the phone to call Steve Rogers when the universe was faced with intergalactic destruction in Avengers: Infinity War!
We would like to think that such juvenile conflict is just a matter of adding drama to a story. But this shot of Chris Evans clearly covering up his in front of Robert Downey, Jr. gives fans the impression that maybe, just maybe, Captain America is totally insecure about his masculinity. Were the actors goofing around? Not likely, those are pretty serious faces they got on. Could Cap’s hands just happen to be covering there by coincidence? There are no coincidences in these movies. It’s all planned out. Now we know for a fact, Captain America might not be afraid of bullets, bombs and supervillains, but he is totally scared f what Iron Man may catch a glimpse of in the locker room.
Spirit of Cap Is More Real Than We Think
Finally, we get an image of behind-the-scenes Cap that reinforces that heroic image we all know and love rather than destroy it. Filming Captain America: Civil War in Atlanta, Georgia during the long hot summers can take its toll on overheated humans. Shoots can easily go over 12 hours, with many of those seeing dozens of extras stuck in the oppressive temperatures which the southern states of the USA are so well known for.
What to do for all of those dehydrated day players, who if they’re lucky, are getting a couple of hundred of dollars each just to be nameless extras in the background of these epic battle scenes? Pass out lots and lots of water, of course!
In this behind-the-scenes image, we get a good look of our favorite star-spangled superhero personally handing out supplies to the weary extended cast sweating out in the humid heat.
It’s not Chris Evans doing the work, but his stunt double. That works for us just fine. Now we can go back to seeing Cap as the selfless protagonist concerned with the underdog’s struggles and we could not be more grateful for that.
Superhero Fights Are Really Breakdancing
One of the toughest jobs in any film that features physical conflict is the choreographing of fights in front of the camera. As anybody who has ever witnessed a real-life street brawl knows, those cinematic fisticuffs never look quite like authentic throw-downs. This is especially true in superhero movies.
More than a boxing match or even the MMA, these battles are something more akin to ballet or some other dance. As this on-set image captures, it’s more specifically like breakdancing. The inaugural scene from Captain America: Winter Soldier finds Steve Rogers facing Batroc the Leaper in a typical superhero slugfest.
In this behind-the-scenes shot, it's pretty obvious that these guys could be showing off their skills during an MC battle on stage at a rap concert.
Looking back at a lot of these fights, the breakdancing thing becomes harder and harder to unsee. Now, go back to the Batroc scene, turn off the sound, and throw on your favorite hip-hop record. Totally works, doesn’t it? And it’s not just this scene - feel free to test this theory with just about any head to head clash in the Captain America series. These guys aren’t kicking butt, they’re getting served!
Civil War/Top Gun Crossover?
After decades of waiting, 2019 is finally delivering a sequel to one of the most popular Tom Cruise films of all time. In the works since at least 2010, the 1986 fighter pilot classic Top Gun will see a follow-up with Top Gun: Maverick. As of this writing, it’s not clear who will be costarring with Mr. Cruise as those details are still under wraps. Will Kelly McGillis come back as Charlotte? How about Val Kilmer as fellow hotshot “Iceman?” This awaits to be seen.
However, this off-set picture of Chris Evans has us wondering if he wasn’t auditioning for a role in the highly anticipated sequel. Just look at the dude. He’s simply screaming, “I’m a fighter pilot, Tom!” We would not be surprised at all if he were to be cast alongside Cruise as a flyboy. It makes even more sense when we realize that Captain America, too, is in the military. He knows how to pilot everything from a WWII bomber to the most modern Quinjet in The Avengers.
Wait a minute! Does the Top Gun world somehow fit neatly into the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Don’t call it a conspiracy theory, Evans has obviously let this Cap out of the bag!
Some Stunts Are More Superheroic Than Others
Audiences are now so deeply seeped into the modern era of CGI that it’s pretty much expected that all of those death-defying moments captured on film are actually lensed in the relative safety of a state-of-the-art green screen soundstage. Still, that doesn’t mean the era of truly dangerous stunt work is a thing of the past. Let’s face it: knowing that stuntmen and women are really putting their lives on the line for the sake of an epic fight scene can add a whole lot of stakes to the viewing experience. It is in that spirit that we happily share this image of Black Panther being shot for Captain America: Civil War.
Just look at the stuntman. He’s really dangling from a very dangerous height, several stories up in fact, and yes – if anything goes wrong, he may fall. And that’s not theory. In 2017, two stunt players lost their lives in a single month. Stuntwoman Joi Harris perished riding a motorcycle for Deadpool 2. Then stuntman John Bernecker fell 30 feet onto concrete while shooting a scene for The Walking Dead. It’s a very real danger.
In this case, Black Panther’s stunt double is risking it all for our amusement, making the illusion that much more real.
Healthy Peggy
One of the most heartbreaking aspects of the cinematic drama Captain America goes through is the love he and Agent Peggy Carter experience. Meeting in Captain America: The First Avenger, the two are positively mad for each other, but of course, fate plays a cruel trick on them. Cap disappears and is presumed lost whilefighting The Red Skull at the end of that movie, only to have fallen into a frozen suspended animation for decades.
When he comes back to the 21st century at the same age he was in WWII, Agent Carter has aged. Reunited in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the two erstwhile lovers have just enough time to share a moment while the elderly Peggy lies in her bed. Sorry lovers, providence is not on your side.
Of course, this behind-the-scenes shot of actress Hayley Atwell in her “sick and old” makeup kind of ruins that whole vibe as she is clearly healthy, not only walking normally, but smiling.
Can it be that Carter just isn’t into Steve Rogers that much anymore and this whole thing is just a way of breaking up with him? Clearly, the age difference isn’t working for her and this fakery is her solution to the problem.
Winter Soldier's Arm Mold
Earlier we blew holes in the structural integrity of Iron Man’s armor. Now it’s time to rip away the metal arm of Bucky Barnes, aka Winter Soldier. As we all know, Captain America’s WWII sidekick started out as his best friend in civilian life, and went on to be a programmed drone for Hydra, coming close to terminating his buddy Steve Rogers. Thankfully, Winter Soldier was redeemed and became one of the good guys, as we all saw in Avengers: Infinity War.
Let's get back to that bionic arm: his signature weapon that allowed him to fight Cap to a standstill – this off-set image kind of makes the thing look a lot weaker than we would like. Seen here during the makeup application process, the limb looks more like shiny plastic than it does stainless steel. How in the world could this flimsy appendage really be any threat to a Marvel superhero? It’s unfortunate to have our bubble burst in such a diminishing way, but hey, what’s Hollywood all about if not faking it till you make it?
Hopefully, we’ll never get a behind-the-scenes look at the true nature of Captain America’s shield. Really, we could just not handle having that weapon be anything less than pure vibranium.
Black Widow and Her Stunt Double
We’ve already sung the rightfully earned praises of the unknown stuntwomen and men who risk their necks for our amusement, but there’s something unsettling about them as well. After all, we need to buy that our on-screen superheroes really are that heroic. The truth is, fans don’t really want to see those stunt doubles. A part of us just has to believe that Chris Evans really is Captain America. Or, in this case, that Scarlett Johansson really is the Black Widow.
Don’t get us wrong: Johansson plays the character perfectly. She owns the role of Natasha Romanoff lock, stock and barrel. Thing is, when we see a candid shot of Johansson standing right next to her stunt player alter ego, it kind of dulls that superhero sheen for all us uber geeks. Can’t we just keep these two apart when in public? Must our illusions be so vexingly tested?
There is no Scarlett Johansson . There is no stuntwoman. There is only Black Widow! All those shutterbugs out there need to stop ruining that for us fans! And before anyone asks, yes, it’s perfectly reasonable to still believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny too. No matter how old we are.
Which Vision and Scarlet Witch?
Along with Captain America, perhaps the most humorless and stoic Marvel Cinematic Universe characters are Scarlet Witch and Vision. They are very serious, rarely smile, don’t crack many jokes, and may well have the most dramatic relationship of any super-couple in the MCU. It may be partially because they have such god-like powers. After all, Wanda Maximoff has the ability to move stuff with her mind and Vision’s natural stance is floating several feet off the ground.
These crucial character features are erased instantly with this image from yet another green screen soundstage.
First of all, Elizabeth Olson is obviously cracking up in this candid snapshot, so the whole stone-faced veneer is gone. Then we can see that Vision doesn’t float at all, it’s just Paul Bettany standing on a box! Never mind that he loses his whole “I’m really an android” vibe in the process. Oh, by the way – where the heck is his cape?
As far as we are concerned, these two are not our favorite superheroes anymore. Clearly, they are just two Hollywood luminaries having way too much fun when they’re supposed to be saving the world for us normal humans. Thanks a whole lot, set photographer!
Zemo and Tony Eating Together
Another entry in the “why is my favorite superhero totally chilling out with a nefarious supervillain like they’re BFFs?” category has been uncovered. We already saw Captain America yucking it up with Crossbones, but now we have Iron Man breaking bread with Helmut Zemo? Come on!
Let’s be clear about this: Zemo was the main manipulator behind the scenes that made the central conflict in Captain America: Civil War happen. It was his evil plan that had Tony Stark and Steve Rogers at each other’s throats. Yeah – Zemo literally broke up the band!
Why in the heck do we have this behind-the-scenes shot of Robert Downey Jr. and Daniel Brühl eating lunch together? Just how much of a fool is Iron Man, anyway? We don’t care that these two are actually “actors,” they should be having a food fight to stay in character, not sharing a table like nothing at all has transpired!
Clearly, these photos depict Brühl giving his co-star a sampling of German cuisine, but since fans love to believe Robert Downey Jr. and Tony Stark are secretly the same person, seeing him break bread with Zemo's doppelganger definitely makes us see Captain America: Civil War in a completely different light.
Captain America's Stunt Double
We will say it again – thank god for these fearless and committed stunt doubles for delivering unto us our favorite comic book heroes in the flesh for these marvelous live-action films. We’ve been waiting our whole lives for this and your generous sacrifices are mightily appreciated. Nonetheless, it's jarring every time we see these stunt performers in their characters costumes without the mask.
Let’s not pretend that this stand-in for Chris Evans isn’t a good looking gentleman, ut he simply does not telegraph the essence of Cap. We've spent the last 8 years seeing Chris Evans as Captain America in every depiction of the character in the MCU. So, no way, this is not the face of Captain America and we wish we never saw this particular snapshot of the man. Now every time we see Cap doing something death-defying, this is the face we will see in our brain. As a result, we will have to work that much harder to fight for our suspense of disbelief in order to sit back and enjoy our beloved Captain America movies!
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Do you have any game-changing behind-the-scenes photos to share from the Captain America movies? Leave them in the comments!