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Comic Fanboy Dreams - Captain America and The Avengers!

by Roman Chavez
June 15, 2008

I believe it's safe to say that the majority of us thoroughly enjoyed Iron Man. I felt that it was a fanboy treat. We saw Robert Downey Jr. give an amazing performance as the booze drinking, lady-loving Tony Stark. Terrance Howard made a good James Rhodes, hell we even got to see Harold "Happy" Hogan (Tony Stark's head of security) played by director Jon Favreau himself. There were nods to War Machine and a very possible Avengers movie in the making. I say "possible" because, as you know, we as fans have been given hope in the past about comic book movies that we want to see and it just never happened. I have very little doubt that an Avengers movie will not be made, but I will hold my excitement until I get a teaser. With that, let's take a look at what I think would be the perfect series of upcoming comic book movies.

Let's kick this off with a little back story on The Avengers. They first appeared in 1963 in The Avengers #1 produced by Marvel Comics. The team consisted of the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and the Wasp. Mind you, some of these superhero names may sound goofy but all of the characters are pretty cool. Almost immediately by issue #2, the Hulk leaves the team, Ant-Man becomes Giant Man and by the time we get to issue #4, the team gets its most recognizable character - Captain America. It's explained that in the final days of World War II, Captain America was on a mission to stop an experimental drone plane created by the Nazis. The plane explodes and he falls into the icy waters of the North Atlantic. His body, flash frozen on impact, is kept alive by suspended animation. He is found some 20 years later by Prince Namor aka Sub-Mariner, and given to the Avengers. He thaws and the rest is history.

This is when the team really comes together. Captain America eventually becomes the team leader and probably the most respected superhero of all time. The Avengers team changes from time to time, like most superhero teams do, but you always have what's referred to as the "big three" of the Avengers whom of course are Captain America, Iron Man and Thor. We are going to need at least two of those three movies before an Avengers franchise can take place. We got Iron Man this summer, and we already know that Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America are both set to arrive in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Being a huge fan, I often talk about movies with everyone I know to get a general feel on how a particular film was received by the audience. I must have talked to at least 20 to 25 people about Iron Man and I heard only one negative comment about it. Needless to say, that's a pretty good reception for the film - and I only have about five serious comic book fan friends. While talking about the film with our fearless leader Alex, I gave him some of my hopes and ideas for The Avengers and Captain America films and how I think that they should play out. Mind you, this is just what I think and have no idea what's in the heads of the higher ups at Marvel, but it's fun to dream.

We have confirmation on a Captain America movie set to take place in World War II. It could almost be an epic war movie like Saving Private Ryan with a superhero twist. They could have Cap fighting in the war with his sidekick Bucky Barnes. Maybe the Nazis have been working on their own super soldiers to combat America's growing number of heroes. There are any number of comic book Nazi super geniuses that could be the villain in this film, namely, the Nazi Baron Heinrich Zemo. And of course, it could end with the climactic scene where the Nazi's launch the "drone plane" and Cap and Bucky head out to stop it. The plane explodes and Cap is thrust into the freezing waters of the North Atlantic to be lost in the deep until the fates believe that he is needed once again.

Now, for The Avengers movie, you don't need to necessarily stick to that original team of Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp to make a good movie because in my opinion, Hulk and Thor really don't need a team to take on villains. My personal line up would consist of other Avengers throughout history like Hawkeye, Vision, and Tigra, along with Captain America, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp. However, for the first film in the series, I would not have Captain America in it. I know, some might say that's crazy but I will get to why later on. At this point in time, the Iron Man, Captain America, and Ant-Man movies should have been completed anyway, so their origins will already be known. Hank Pym (aka Ant-Man) or Tony Stark could be building a Vision prototype in one of their films or in the first Avengers movie. So that would only leave Hawkeye and Tigra left to do a background story on.

As far as a villain is concerned, I am really not sure who would be the best to adapt from comic book to silver screen. I trust Marvel's judgment now that they have taken the reigns of these franchises. There are so many to choose from that I just don't know who would be best. Obviously the team would take on the villain and win, but I would like it to be a sloppy victory, like they were missing a certain key element of the team. Therein lies the big reveal at the end of the credits. I want to see a S.H.E.I.L.D. vessel or some sort of fishing boat find a big block of ice and have the camera pan over it and all the audience would see is a bit of Captain America's shield. This would be the perfect set up for the second film.

In The Avengers 2, we would see S.H.E.I.L.D. dealing with this huge discovery of Captain America and having to bring in experts like Tony Stark and Hank Pym or maybe even Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four) in to inspect the body. Cap comes back to life, believing that he has been captured by Nazis and fights his way out to see that it is not the 1940's anymore. Cap having to deal with this life in a new time would be a good underlying tone for the film. He would still want to be a symbol for America and strive to uphold our nation's ideals.

I would have Cap observing the Avengers in action and notice their lack of leadership and instinctively jumping in to help out. This would be that missing piece the team needs. But with this I would have some tension build between Hawkeye and Cap. Hawkeye would be skeptical from the beginning, thinking "Who the hell is this guy and who made him the boss?" The villain in this story should be Red Skull. Red Skull is a Nazi madman trained by Adolf Hitler himself. This would be a great blast from the past for Captain America. And it would raise questions like "Is this the same Red Skull from WWII?" and "How did he survive this long?"

These are just a few of the ideas I had for the stories in these upcoming films. I'm sure my choice of Avengers team roster may confuse some people, but it's just what I would like to see if it were up to me. I just love comics and would love to see these films plotted in a cool way that leaves us wanting more in the end. Don't like my Avengers line up? No problem, just leave a comment with your favorite team in Marvel history or create your own fantasy dream team. This has been a thought from Roman's Land, where I don't write comic book universes, I just want to live there.

Filed under Discuss, Editorial, Opinions

From around the web:

Tirrell

I like your idea for 2nd Avengers. However the 1st i dunno
Garrett.king

Honestly, I've never been slightly interested in Captain America. He's always been annoying to me. But the way you put it actually makes me want to see this play out. I'll pick up a copy of Avengers (or The Ultimates, respectively) on my way home from work tonight. thanks for boosting my interest in this. The more Marvel I love, the better.
chrisUK

what happened to the Hulk director putting the cut 'Hulk meets captain america' scene on the internet?
darrin

they should finish the trilogy for iron man and the incredible hulk because everyone would get tired of comic book films. i for one is already tired. i need something original and not some adaptation or some sequel
Sentinel of liberty

Sorry but Cap has to be in the first Avengers movie. They are setting the story up for it after all, it would be crazy not to. Plus there is no way of telling if their will be a second Avengers movie with the main cast. Who says the guy who plays Thor would want to be in a sequel? Who says that RDJ would not get a big head and want to much money? We never know, the first film will make the money but that does not mean the main cast will come back and the team always feels empty if Cap is not there. They are going to go the Avenger route, and that is basically the way I want it with a touch of the original comics. I would love to see Loki messing with Hulk making him see things and then the Avengers fighting the Hulk. If not this then it should be the Skrulls so they could take the place of the Chitari in the Ultimates storyline. Just leave out the parts where Ant-man beats his wife, wasp and Cap date, and the part where Hulk kills 800 innocent civillians.
Nick

Idk if they could hold off Captain America being in the first Avengers, they already showed his shield in Iron Man and there's supposed to be a scene with him in Hulk that was cut from theatrical release. Either way it all sounds good, I was just happy to see they continued to tie in the Avengers at the end of Hulk.
jason_md2020

I would just love for the Avengers to do a press conference, and have Tobey Maguire in a cameo snapping pics for the Daily Bugle. Put your Hawkeye/Cap argument in the scene, allowing Stark to be a smartass about the whole thing. Meanwhile Banner has to leave cause the tension is a bout to piss him off... Just a thought...
T Robert T

Cap and Thor are too important not to have in an Avengers movie. I hate to say it, but besides the big 3 the (classic) Avengers roster has always been kinda weak. Ant-Man? The Wasp? Tigra? These are characters that are pretty boring in concept and would definitely suffer in an ensemble cast where they wouldn't get enough characterization to be interesting. Even characters like Hawkeye and Vision would be tough to make work in that setting. You need the big flashy heavy hitters because only the true comic book fans are going to appreciate the rest. There just wouldn't be enough room in the movie to make them work. I was wondering how they would make Cap visually interesting on the big screen, but after seeing Blonsky bouncing around hopped up on super soldier serum I'm starting to get excited. Thor shouldn't be too hard with the right special effects and we already know how sexy Iron Man and the Hulk look. I know they were founding members but Hank and Janet are not going to have much appeal next to them. My roster would be Cap, Iron Man, Thor, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver. I like the idea of Loki as the bad guy manipulating the Hulk, mostly because seeing the Avengers and the Hulk face off would be amazing.
damuh_yuzah

i say keep it simple.hulk, thor, cap and iron man would do. cap back story set in WW2 while thor's back story set up in asgard....fast forward to present, red skull lives on, using nazi witchcraft he gets loki to aid him (or serve him) in world (midgard) domination....they manipulate hulk, in the end hulk turns against them, joins the avengers with the film's climax captain america sacrificing himself in order to save the world (they can always bring him back) just my two cents....
omega

i wuld have the basics. hulk, ironman, thor, Cap and maybe Hawkeye or Ant-man( but change the name) but im starting to be a bit skeptic. so far these comic book movies are being successfull becus they are realistic. Iron man was good becus it was realistic. Same with Hulk...even though he turned from human to giant grean monster, but it had realistic components with in the movie. im just really hoping that this doesnt turn out to be like the Fantastic four cus those movies werent good at all. BECUS THEY WERENT REALISTIC exspecially the second one. tho i would like to see Galactus(not a big storm thingy) fight the avengers.
kikakik

Your hopes for the Avengers film seem to have already been made by Marvel in their Ultimate Avengers animated film. Right down to where Steve wakes up and believes that he is captured by the Nazis and is faced with the reality of no longer living in the 1940s to the part where he realizes he needs to become the leader of the non-cohesive team. Apart from Red Skull as the villain this movie has already been made, but I'm sure studios wouldn't mind recycling it into live action to make the extra buck.
david

Avengers: Thor Hulk Wasp Ant-Man Iron Man Villian: Probalby doesnt matter Ending: Villian loses, SHIELD finds Captain america in iceberg. Avengers 2 Thor Captain America Wasp Ant Man Iron Man Villian: Hulk after leaving the Avengers Ending:Dont know
Tyler

I would like to see Cap in the first Avengers movie. As he after waking up and Iron Man would be the first members. Having them recruit the other members and maybe chasing down hulk in the beginning and then having Hulk join at the end to encounter a bigger villian. I am excited to see how the Cap movie plays out. I want it to be a mix of an epic WW2 movie along with a spice of the marvel universe.
PimpSlapStick

I think they simply need too follow the Ultimates storyline, but tone down the darker elements (Ant-man beating on Wasp, Hulk genocide...etc...) Use the entire team roster of Cap, Hulk, Thor Tony, Giant-man&Wasp with the exception of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch I think they should be introduced in a X-men movie first, plus at the end of the day mutants have been done to death. Now with that the other characters the should be apart of the team is Hawkeye, Black Widow, Falcon and Vision, my thinking on it and what has been established in the Ultimates comic is that Nick Fury doesn't fully trust Ironman, Thor and the rest (Mainly due to them being non-military, independent thinkers..) so he brought in Hawkeye and Black Widow who are apart of his 'black Ops' division of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Falcon on the Intelligence/Science division. Vision would be a creation of the combined efforts of Tony and Hank Pym(Giant-man) and would play more of a support role until the climatic battle (Ending) Hawkeye,Widow and Falcon would add tension and conflict because they are Fury's 'Watch Dogs' so while Cap, Ironman, Thor etc...are purely altruistic in their efforts, Fury's additions to the Avengers are both his eyes and ears for whats going on and to make sure his/SHIELD's objectives are met dispite any unforseeable complications of working with essentially "civilians,unstable scientists,playboy millionaires,out moded super soldiers and a delusional nutcase with a hammer." Just my two cents
qwerty

Cap movie should end with him being found in ice by SHIELD. Avengers movie should be about the team (Iron Man, Thor, Ant-man, Wasp, Cap) subduing the Hulk and getting him to join them.
Caged Wisdom

Well lemme chip in my 2pence in here. I am quite a fan of Marvel comics and so far their 2 excellent movies so here goes: Captain America: Its gonna be quite hard for whomever actor is chosen to play captain america seeing as they will be required to make a captain america movie as well as being the forefront member in the avengers. Not to talk of working with what may be 2 directors, 2 scripts and what may well be a few crossovers in the other Marvel movies.. Good luck whoever is picked. the role may well make or break said actor.. The Lineup: Captain America obviously Iron Man Hulk Thor Ant-man Wasp Now, so far the castings have been excellent. I am extremely anticipating who will play Captain America, but less so the other characters. The Avengers movie: This is looking to be a highly complex and HUGE undertaking. I am kinda dissapointed with Marvel for coming out and announcing release dates for movies WITHOUT directors, cast, script...WTH? am i the only one who sees a huge problem with that. In fact, reading Jon favreau's myspace blog reveals that he was not consulted about the release date for Iron man 2. (Although i love that both he and louis leterrier want to direct The Avengers movie....) Still, the plot for the movie could work thus; Hulk fights with iron man, leading inadvertently to the discovery of Cap and his subsequent thawing from the Cap America movie..(All in the first Act) Cap sits out while the rest of the gang take on supervillians and notices their lack of leadership and takes over (Act 2) Red Skull and Loki join forces to battle the avengers..we could have scenes where Loki manipulates the hulk during the no doubt HUGE fight scenes and therefore a mass brawlout would ensue. (Act 3) P.S: I dont know if its ever been done but could marvel hire all the previous directors who worked on the single movies a la Jon Favreau, Louis Leterrier etc etc to work together on the Avengers movie or will it turn out to be too much of a hustle because i think each of the directors (both of them ) have shown to be very good in certain areas. Favreau being especially good with pacing and storytelling while Leterrier is excellent with action scenes...i cant picture anyone else i would want directing a mass all-out Avengers v supervillans brawl fight scene.
Ricky

What I'm wondering is how they're going to pull off this Avengers movie financially. RDJ, and Edward Norton alone are pretty pricey actors, and if the rumors are true and they get a guy of Leo's stature for Captain America just the budget for the main stars would be high. Then you factor in the special effects. It's not like the X-men or the Fantastic 4 where they had middle weight actor/actresses and some added effects. These are big names, and these are characters that are almost 100% CGI (Hulk and Ironman are at least) when they're in their full out super hero glory. In order to really make an explosive Avengers movie, it could honestly end up being the most pricey movie ever made. It would be awesome....but still risky, and pricey. And not to continue being a downer, but considering how hollywood seems to ride trends until they're dead and they start suffering catastrophic losses.....How long can this super hero trend last? I love the comic book movies and I get kind of giddy when a new one comes out, but it's only a matter of time before the market gets saturated with super hero's and with the list of comic book movies in the making I'd say that time is going to be right around the time this movie is slated to hit theaters. Another 2-3 summers of 3-5 super hero movies is about all the American public is going to handle. We didn't even handle the disaster movie faze in the late 90's, early 00's for that long. With that said I think you have to have Captain America in the first film. May not be a fan boys ideal story line, but if Captain America can prove to be as big as they hope (which could be tricky because I think he could be a hard sell) the movie won't do half as well without him in the film. Now if the Cap movie doesn't do well, I say leave him out and save him for a sequel. But otherwise considering the points I mentioned above if they don't throw everything they have at us on the first film, it could prove to be the first casualty in the downfall of the comic book movie craze.
http://luna.typepad.com juansolo

I'm inclined to say, the more they follow "The Ultimates" Volume 1. (The Captain America Solo movie already leans this way) The better it will turn out. Grey Hulk is a good adversary. well, at least for one of the fight sequences.
Joe

Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye and Vision are the main heroes that I would have to see in the Avengers to be truely happy. Although, some of those could be added if they were planning on dojng a sequel. Their best villains would be Red Skull and Baron Zemo. Also I dont see how Captain American could workout with the Avengers who's setting is in the present time of 2008 if he is supposed be around in world war 2 unless they say his grand child finds his old suit and he becomes the new Capt. A.
http://www.comicvine.com G-Man

Nicely written. I'm praying that Marvel continues the roll they're on. Let's hope they don't mess things up. And I gotta say it's pretty cool that you linked to our site (Comic Vine).
dc comics

cap is frozen in time then thawed out in present time thats how it wokers bumb azz
Luke

Jensen Ackles for Captain America. He has all the right stuff; toughness, humor, the right face, and he is a great on Supernatural. I think he would be perfect. Daniel Craig or Viggo Mortenson should be Red Skull. Both are awesome actors, and have history of being tough guys on movies. I don't know who should play Thor. Loki should be played by Mathew Marsden. I also have an idea for Odin. Except yo would have to die his hair white, but I don't know his name. He was on 300 he was the Captain. His name is Vincent Regan. He was awesome in 300, just die his hair white, make him look older and he would be the perfect Odin. --------------------------------------------My Captain America Cast------------------------------------------ Steve Rogers/Captain America- Jensen Ackles Red Skull- Either Daniel Craig or Viggo Mortenson ----------------------------------------------My Thor Cast------------------------------------------------------ Thor- I don't have anybody in mind. Loki- Mathew Marsden Odin- Vincent Regan
Zane

CAPTAIN AMERICA/STEVE ROGERS: Jason Statham Sick Steve rogers: DJ Quails Bucky: Jensen Ackles Thor: Brock Lesner (thor does not talk much anyway)
Josh

I still havent noticed any Captain America guest appearance in The Incredible Hulk... Seen it twice. I did see Iron Man (Tony Starks) talking about "a team" meaing the avengers... Did anyone else notice that the villain Egghead (a villain in the avengers) probably is the doctor that has Hulk's blood drip on his head and his head starts changing and growing. They never show him again after showing that and him smiling... what do yall think? And if Captain America is Will Smith he definitly wasnt in The Incredible Hulk because I definitly wouldve noticed... Plus he is already Hancock.. I doubt they will give him Captain America too... And definitily no Leonardo Defagio for him either. My line up for the avengers would be.... Captain America Thor Iron Man Hulk Spider Man Gambit and they pwn all!
DAT

Captain America – Jason Statham Iron Man – Robert Downey Jr. Thor – Kevin Nash Hulk/Banner – Luke Wilson Hank Pym – Aaron Eckhart Wasp – Eva Longoria Hawkeye – Jensen Ackles Black Panther – Terrence Howard Vision – computer generated character Scarlet Witch – Kate Beckinsale Quicksilver – James Marsters