PHASE 1: Part 1: Captain America The First Avenger

Character History:

Captain America Comics #1 was first published December 20, 1940,a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor, and showed Cap punching Adolf Hitler; it sold nearly one million copies.  Captain America immediately became the most prominent and enduring character leading up to to and during World War II. 

This popularity drew the attention and a complaint from MLJ that the triangular shield Cap used was too similar to one of their characters causing Goodman to ask Simon and Kirby to sort it out and so together they created Cap's signature round shield for issue 2.

With his sidekick Bucky, Captain America faced all threats to the Allies. Stan Lee, contributed to the character in issue 3 for a text story "Captain America Foils the Traitor's Revenge".  Captain America soon became Timely's most popular character with his own a fan-club called the "Sentinels of Liberty"

Captain America was reintroduced in The Avengers #4 in March 1964. where it explained that at the end of World War II, Cap had fallen from an experimental drone plane into the North Atlantic Ocean and spent decades frozen, suspended in a block of ice.

Cap quickly became the leader of the Avengers. Following the success of other Marvel characters introduced during the 1960s, Captain America was recast as a hero "haunted by past memories, and trying to adapt to 1960s society"

Movie

Released: 2011

Director: Joe Johnston

Rating: PG-13

Starring:

Chris Evans as Captain America / Steve Rogers

Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter

Sebastian Stan as James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes

Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Chester Phillips

Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt / Red Skull

Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark

Richard Armitage as Heinz Kruger

Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

Toby Jones as Dr. Arnim Zola

Neal McDonough as Timothy 'Dum Dum' Dugan

Derek Luke as Gabe Jones

Kenneth Choi as Jim Morita

JJ Feild as James Montgomery Falsworth

Bruno Ricci as Jacques Dernier

Story:

Sickly but determined Steve Rogers wants to do his part and join America's armed forces, but the military rejects him because of his small stature. Finally, Steve gets his chance when he is accepted into an experimental program that turns him into a supersoldier called Captain America. Joining forces with his best friend Bucky Barnes and British intelligence worker, Peggy Carter, Captain America leads the fight against the Nazi organization, HYDRA.

Though this is technically the 4th movie to be released in the MCU  it is the first movie within the Marvel timeline, I will point out some notable moments throughout the watch, so here we go!  we have loaded up the Movie and we ready the clock....

Start Time

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The movie opens in Trondheim, Norway and allows us the first Marvel guest Cameo in David Bradley:

Marvel Cameo 1:

David Bradley

David Bradley is a familiar face to many, mainly as Walder Frey the utter B****** that orchestrated the Red Wedding in Game Of Thrones but Bradley has also appeared as Argus Filch in the Harry Potter Movies, he has also starred as an incarnation of The Doctor in Doctor Who.  My personal favorite of his roles was as Abraham Setrakian in Guillermo Del Toro's bio-Vampire series The Strain, a show which i felt deserved a lot more love than it got

this opening scene also gives us our first look at the movies villain, Johann Schmidt / The Red Skull, played by Hugo Weaving looking for the movies MacGuffin The Tesseract.

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The next stand out point comes 10 minutes into the movie in the first scene i feel gives us a glimpse in Steve's personality, determined despite his size and sticks up for people even when that puts him at odds with people twice his size this scene also gives us our first glimpse at Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Caps best friend.

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Just 1:40 later we cut to Stark Industries Expo where we get a few extra little Easter eggs, cameos and character introductions

First up we have the blink and you'll miss it inclusion of the original Human Torch, (not Johnny Storm from the Fantastic Four) which contrary to the name is actually a android, the character first appeared in Marvel Comics #1 back in October, 1939

Marvel Cameo 2:

Jenna Coleman

2nd cameo here, when Steve and Bucky arrive at The Stark Industries Expo they are escorting two young ladies one of which is Jenna Coleman who has also appeared in Doctor Who as companion Clara, and is currently the lead role in ITV drama Victoria

This scene is also where we're introduced to the young incarnation of Howard Stark played by Dominic Cooper portraying a spoilt rich billionaire playboy exactly how Robert Downey Jr will portrays his son Tony, small note the flying car that he is previewing will be the prototype to Phil Coulson's car Lola in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

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In a recruitment centre located at Stark Expo we are introduced to S.S.R (Strategic Scientific Reserve) scientist Dr. Abraham Erskine played by Stanley Tucci.  now this character is in my view one of the most important characters in the M.C.U and although he may not be around for long in the movie, his legacy will form the back bone of some of the other MCU characters, including, Hulk and Abomination as many other orginisations attempy to replicate his work.

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We are introduced to Arnim Zola a prominent supervillain in the M.C.U and though he is a henchmen here his work and overt devious self preservation will form the basis of the sequel.

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we're introduced to Marvels first kick ass female protagonist Agent Peggy Carter played by Hayley Atwell, a tough British spy and member of the S.S.R who are helping Dr. Abraham Erskine in his super soldier programme

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Next up is the introduction of Colonel Chester Phillips played by Tommy Lee Jones, another major protagonist of the movie and member of the S.S.R, a stone faced, dry and sarcastic commanding officer,

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The next major point of the movie is Dr Erskine's procedure to turn Steve into the super soldier they hope he will be the build up shows the extent of the S.S.R's secrecy and 

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Next is our first glimpse of the super serum, the basis of  most of the atomic age heroes, as replicating Erskine's work becomes a driving force of many organisations!

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Here we get to the final product with the reveal of Steve Rogers which is great because we no longer have to see the shaky CGI of Chris Evans face pasted on the scrawny guys body!

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Next we get a first look at the Hydra's ability to infiltrate all aspects of society with Agent Krueger gaining entry to Erskines presentation and creation of Captain America and assassinating the scientist while trying to steal his formula.  This is a defining moment for Cap as it gives him his first real exposure to Hydra, and the subsequent scene also allows Cap a chance to use his powers for the first time before the final remaining vile of Erskines Super Soldier serum is lost forever.

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From this point we get a break from anything important to bring up, but we do get an impromptu dance number!!

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Cap finally gets his wish in going to war but it is not how he expected or Dr Erskine wanted, he has become a laughing stock and a far cry from what was expected of him......

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We are introduced to the Howling Commandos who will go on to be Caps own special forces squad the members include: 

 Dum Dum Dugan

Gabriel Jones

 Jacques Dernier

 Montgomery Falsworth

Jim Morita

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Cap finds his friend Bucky, who appears to be the subject of experiments by the Red Skulls lackey Arnim Zola.  Cap liberates his friend and includes him in the Howling Commandos

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The first appearance of Red Skull in his true form, the failed experiment to create a working super serum, note the Mission Impossible mask remove!

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Stan Lee cameo alert!!  Stan appears as a general in the audience celebrating Cap's heroism.  'I thought he'd be taller'

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Marvel Cameo 3:

Natalie Dormer

The 3rd cameo of the movie is Natalie Dormer, most famous for playing Margaery Tyrell in the TV show that never guarantees a contract, Game of Thrones, she plays an opportunistic Private,




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The scene where Cap finally gets his most iconic item, his shield, made by Howard Stark using their entire supply of Vibranium the strongest metal known

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Next comes one of my favorite parts of the movie where Cap and The Howling Commandos tear their way through Hydras facilities in a cool montage.....

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Jumping onto a hydra controlled train, in an attempt to seize Zola.  Cap and Bucky jump aboard, but Zola is expecting them, the ensuing fight ends with Bucky falling to his death, a sad scene that gives Cap a renewed hatred of Hydra

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Having lost Bucky and captured Zola Cap leads The Howling Commandos in an assault against Red Skulls main facility where he is planning to launch his masterplan against the world. 

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Making it onto the giant Bomber, Cap fights his way through the remaining pilots/henchman stopping them from breaking away fro the main bomber.

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 We have reached the final fight, between Cap and Red Skull, the first time Rogers has faced someone equal to his abilities, with his strength and agility the literal fight of good versus evil in the MCU.

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 With Red Skull defeated, he steps across the cockpit to the cube, picking it up and in an instant and a flash of light he is disintegrated and fired upwards into the galaxy.  is he dead? probably not, we learn the cube is the Tesseract or the Space Infinity stone and can transport anyone or anything anywhere in the universe in an instant, so the odds that Red Skull is dead, in my opinion are pretty low, is he running a planet of Hydra converted aliens?.......maybe!

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 After Cap and Peggy say their goodbyes and the Bomber crashes into the ice, Howard Stark launches a quest to find Cap but in doing so comes across the Tesseract at the bottom of the ocean.

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 We  find Cap awake a alive recuperating in New York but very quickly he realises that all is not what it seems.  figuring that he must have been captured by Hydra Cap quickly breakout and goes on the run but he really is in New York just 70 years in the future

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The voice from the amassing crowd of people turns out to be SHIELD director Nick Fury, apologizing for the deception as he wanted to break the news of Caps extended sleep to him

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the post credit scene is simple, its a scene lifted from the first Avengers movie, its an interaction between Cap and Fury where he is told of a very important mission

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