If you had asked the viewing public two years ago what they thought of the Avengers or Captain America and they would stare straight past you as if nothing but air had exited your mouth. Yet the media is all aflutter for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes hitting the big screen.
The excitement started with the unexpected success of Iron Man, the film that no one expected to be as much of a hit as it was. Hidden in the film was a bit of an ‘easter egg’ for fans to spot, Captain America’s shield resting on Tony Stark‘s work table.
Cap's shield appears in Stark's lab as a joke
The shield appears to be half-constructed, which is very confusing as Captain America possessed the weapon in WWII. This would not be a real issue if news had not broken that the forthcoming Captain America movie would take place in World War II. So… what’s the deal?
It turns out that the shield’s inclusion was a joke on the part of film makers, but afterwards the go-ahead to develop a Thor, Ant Man, Captain America and finally an Avengers film where all of the characters would converge as a super hero team.
So… was this just a hint of things to come?
... or is it a joke?
With next week’s Incredible Hulk DVD release we can be sure that these are hints of Captain America‘s arrival in the Mighty Marvel Movie Franchise. In the new opening sequence keen viewers will spot the sleeping frozen body of the star spangled patriot in the foreground, made all that more striking by the hazy image of his shield.
Cap humble guest spot in The Incredible Hulk DVD
The next question is… who will play the pivotal role of Captain America??
A character created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Cap made quite a stir when he was re-introduced in Avengers #4 where he brought some much-needed decorum to the group. Cap was such a strong character that the ‘stars’ of the title left, making way for lesser known characters (Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver) to act as one of the more unusual Avengers line-ups in the comic book’s history.
Who would look good in this outfit?
So what actor can carry such a strong role? So far rumors of the sleepy Matthew McConaughey, fey off-off-off Broadway star John Barrowman, Brad (am I still acting?) Pitt and ‘watch me make another terrible film’ Wil Smith have all arisen… resulting in nothing short of panic from fans. There is nothing wrong with Cap being a ‘hunk’ or being African American but the audience needs to invest in the character rather than the actor and while McConaughey may not have much in the way of stepping outside of his role, he will certainly put movie goers to sleep.
But enough of my rambling. What do you, the reader, think?
