Captain America: The First Avenger

One of the most simplistic Marvel movies that I’ve seen, and all the better for it.

Breaking continuity with The Fantastic Four, Chris Evans this time becomes the hero in the red, white and blue fancy dress, but ironically no actual cap. For decades now superhero movies have sought to rationalise the plainly ridiculous costumes that the comics have drawn their main characters wearing, but this explanation soars over them all. Cap’s costume design is a costume – inherited from his initial career as the US military’s poster-boy. Genius. Was that in the original comic? I’ve no idea.

Not quite breaking continuity with Iron Man 2, Dominic Cooper becomes a younger version of Tony Stark’s dad. In a movie where all the characters are so easy to get a handle on, this can only make things even easier.

Embracing continuity with Iron Man, Samuel L Jackson returns briefly as Nick Fury, not just to close the film, but also in the final post-credits tag. In fact, hang on, thanks to the fantastic trailer for the following year’s Avengers movie, we also get Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark Jr, AND Chris Hemsworth as Thor!

How’s that for making me leave my local Auckland cinema on a high?!?

I’m well impressed with the way that Marvel have strung this build-up out. For all their millions of dollars, films have always been the poor relative of TV when it comes to a (cough) bigger picture. Stories in real life always take place in a much broader, more complex context, and Marvel Comics have done so well to reflect this with their shared universe down the decades. How wondrous that someone has finally seen fit to attempt to transfer this rare quality across media.

Oh. But, hang on second. Wasn’t superrich security guard Larry King poisoned in The Incredible Hulk?

Oh that's right, this is set in the 1940s. So this guy must be his dad:


(available here)
(with thanks to Herschel)