Marvel @ The Movies – Part 1: The Captain America Republic Serials (1944)

Originally Published at Superfriends Universe

Hello all. Welcome to part 1 in what I hope to be an ongoing series looking at the history of Marvel Comics on the big (and sometimes small) screen. Enough introductions, you’ll get it as we go along.

We’re going to start with the first Marvel Comics property to ever hit celluloid: the iconic Captain America.

CHARACTER HISTORY
Captain America first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 in March of 1941, published by Timely Comics (the predecessor of Marvel Comics). Created by Joe Simon and the legendary Jack Kirby, Captain America was a star-spangled hero conceived in response to the ever increasing threat of Nazi Germany. Long before the United States was officially involved in the war, Kirby and Simon created Captain America as a political statement. The character even appears on the cover of the first issue punching Adolf Hitler in the face.

Captain America started out as Steve Rogers, a skinny 4F weakling who just couldn’t cut it in the military. His heart and patriotism for his country made him the perfect candidate for the Super Soldier experiment and was injected with a serum that made him the peak of human physical fitness. He dons a red, white and blue costume, and, along with his kid sidekick, Bucky, fought enemies foreign and domestic… all in the name of the U.S. of A. In 1944, Republic Pictures licensed the character for a 15-Chapter movie serial to be played at matinees for children, following in the cinematic footsteps of his comic book and pulp counterparts Zorro, Tarzan, Flash Gordon and Dick Tracy.

THE MOVIE VERSION
Republic Pictures made many drastic changes to the character, much to Timely Comics’ ultimate displeasure. Gone was the secret identity of US Army Private Steve Rogers, instead replaced by US District Attorney Grant Gardner. The Super Soldier serum played no part in the character’s origin. He does not carry his famous shield, and instead carries a gun. No Bucky. And despite the fact that Nazis could have provided perfect on-screen villains at a time that America was at war with Germany, they were not featured in any way. In fact the only thing that makes this film “Captain America” is the title and costume. Everything else was completely replaced. Dick Purcell plays our lead, and overall he’s pretty hammy in the role.

THE VILLAIN
No Red Skull folks. No Adolf Hitler. No Nazis. No Japanese villains either. Sorry. Instead the villain was the generically named “Scarab.” The Scarab uses a purple poison gas to hypnotize his enemies and force them to do his bidding.

THE PLOT
This being a movie serial, the plot takes a long time to unfold over the cliffhangers that happen at the end of every chapter for fifteen chapters. Long story short, The Scarab is really Dr. Maldor, a scientist who is getting revenge on members of a Mayan expedition, that somehow gained all of the members fame and fortune. Fame and fortune, that is, for everyone except Dr. Maldor. Dr. Lyman, the last remaining member of the expedition has developed a new mining technology he calls the Dynamic Vibrator (seriously), but The Scarab has now found a new use for: to cause death and destruction by simulating earthquakes. The mayor calls in District Attorney Grant Gardner to investigate, but really it’s Captain America who ultimately saves the day.

OTHER CHARACTERS
The only other notable character would be Gail Richards (Lorna Gray), Grant Gardner’s secretary, who’s only purpose seems to be getting rescued by Captain America.

THE VERDICT
The 1944 Captain America serial isn’t bad for what it’s supposed to be: silly 15 minute chapters to entertain children. It gets points for the very well-staged fight sequences, but ultimately the film bears little to no resemblance to the Captain of the comics, and really any other comic book vigilante could have been slipped in without any noticeable difference.

GRADE: C

WHERE CAN YOU WATCH IT

Believe it or not, you can buy the complete serial on AMAZON.

Enterprising comic geeks have also uploaded the chapters on YouTube:



NEXT TIME: Spidey swings into action in the swingin’ 70s!

Iron Man (2008)

IRON MAN

Jon Favreau

2008 • 126 Minutes • 2.35:1 • United States

Color • English • Paramount

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow

Writers:  Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway based on characters created by Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby

Producers: Avi Arad, Kevin Feige

Cinematography: Matthew Libatique

Awards and Honors:

Academy Awards

Nominated: Best Achievement in Sound Editing

Nominated: Best Achievement in Visual Effects

American Film Institute

Official 2008 Selection

BAFTA Awards

Nominated: Best Special Visual Effects

Essential Films

#15 - 25 Greatest Summer Blockbusters

#66 - 100 Greatest Movie Heroes (Tony Stark)

#5 - Top 25 Superhero Movies

Hugo Awards

Nominated: Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form

People's Choice Awards

Nominated: Favorite Action Movie

Nominated: Favorite Movie

Nominated: Favorite Superhero

Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk.

Iron Man 3 opens in theaters tonight at midnight nationwide and will start raking in millions of dollars in what will probably be the biggest financial success of the year. Will it end up being an artistic success as well? That remains to be seen. In the meantime, let us look at the first film in this powerhouse franchise that will surely remain in the public consciousness for years to come.

Tony Stark is a billionaire genius playboy who has everything he could ever want: money, power, women, gadgets, robots. Everything. He made his fortune inheriting his father’s company, Stark Industries, and is the top weapons manufacturer in the world. While demonstrating the power of his latest weapon of mass destruction to the U.S. military in Afghanistan, he is kidnapped by insurgents and forced to build them their own version of the weapon. Instead, he builds something better: the ultimate weapon as a modern suit of armor. After escaping from his captors, he sets out to use his weapon for the good of mankind, instead of for profit. 

What makes the Iron Man film so fascinating is that for decades he was not an A-list character in the minds of comic book fans. While he was certainly treated as important within the context of shorelines, as far as sales went, Iron Man always ranked behind Spider-Man, X-Men, Wolverine and the Fantastic Four. This film brought him not only back to prominence within comics, but the character is clearly A-list material in cinemas as well, ranking up there with Spidey, Wolverine, Batman and Superman. This is all thanks to one of the most finely crafted action films in recent memory. 

One of the film's biggest accomplishments is the fact that it is one of the most perfectly structured blockbusters in history, rivaling Jurassic Park and Raiders of the Lost Ark.  The film packs in action sequences at the right beats and while it has impressive visuals, it doesn't overload your senses with CGI. It uses CGI as a tool instead of a crutch.  On top of this, the script is masterfully crafted.  Tony Stark has a logical character arc: selfish billionaire playboy who sells weapons of mass destruction to the highest bidder (in this case, the United States government) gets captured by terrorists, sees the error of his ways and after a dramatic escape he turns his life around. He uses his genius and fortune for good, and while ultimately creating another weapon, he then becomes that weapon as force for peace and good. By the end of the film, the audience is cheering for the same man that at the beginning of the film, who if not for his charm would be completely despicable.  

Of course, would you cheer for Tony if he were not played by the incomparable Robert Downey Jr.  It seems amazing that at one time, the studios did not want Downey for the role, wanting a younger and more marketable actor for the role. Now the role and the man are inseparable.  What makes the film work is that Downey imbues the role of Stark with so much charm that even at his worst, the audience still likes him.  Stark is everything the audience admires and wants to be: rich, succesful, intelligent, charming, and by the end of the film, heroic.  The audience roots for Stark's redemption, and poetically, the role of Stark redeems Downey, who for years before this film's release had been the scrutiny of the tabloid press for his well-publicized substance abuse problems.  What could be a better fit for an actor? 

Robert Downey Jr. breathed life into an all but stale character and making him one of the most The Avengers, the billion-dollar grossing film that is currently the 3rd biggest film of all time.  Iron Man was followed by that summer's Incredible Hulk, then Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. Each film stands on its own, but also tied together to build towards The Avengers. This had never been attempted before, and it's amazing that it worked so well. Iron Man 3 kicks off "Phase 2" of another set of movies, but one has to wonder if The Avengers films are part of an even larger scheme.  

bankable characters in the world. Iron Man is one of the most important comic book films in history, and helped kickstart a grand scheme by Marvel Studios to attempt something that had never been before. Marvel kicked off the Iron Man franchise, but also made that franchise part of an even bigger franchise when during the end credits, a hidden Easter egg sequence reveals plans for what would ultimately lead to

A franchise within a franchise... an audacious but wildly successful idea, and Iron Man was the genesis. From a C-List character to an A-List blockbuster (and a damn good one at that), Iron Man will forever be essential entertainment.  

Captain America – The First Avenger (2011)

READ THE ESSENTIAL FILMS ON SUBSTACK

MOVIE: Captain America: The First Avenger
RELEASE DATE: July 22, 2011
DIRECTOR: Joe Johnston
SCREENPLAY: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely based on characters created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
CAST: Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones, Neal McDonough, Stanley Tucci

Captain America is the 5th film in Marvel’s Avengers Phase One series of comic book adaptations, a never-before-attempted crossover of movie characters culminating in a big screen climax known as the record-breaking THE AVENGERS. While it’s the 5th film in the series, it serves almost as a prequel. Not only because it is set in the 1940s during World War II, but without this film, none of the events in the other films are possible. The film blends superhero action with a little fantasy and some out there sci-fi goofiness that actually creates a solid superhero film. It tells the story of Steve Rogers, a frail weakling that wants with all his heart to join the military, not because he wants to kill Nazis, but because he “doesn’t like bullies, he doesn’t care where they’re from.” This is the very essence of the Marvel Comics character, Captain America, and the filmmakers did right by him. It’s this quality that makes Rogers the perfect candidate for the secret Super Soldier experiment that turns him into a perfect human physical specimen. Soon after, Captain America joins the frontlines, leading special ops teams to take down the operations of the villainous Red Skull. What makes this film memorable is the style. The cinematography of the film by Shelly Johnson really captures a nostalgic quality that only helps bring the visual design of the film to life. The production design and costuming add to this element as well, and the film looks and feels like an old 1940s comic book come to life. An underrated comic book film with phenomenal performances by Evans, Tommy Lee Jones and Hayley Atwell.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER is available on DVD, Blu-Ray and Digital Download. It is currently available for streaming via Netflix and Amazon Prime.

MORE CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER
Click here to listen to the Forced Perspective Review of the Film
Click here to check out The Top 25 Superhero Movies