SUMMARY
Captain America’s first movie in 1944 was a significant moment in comic book history, predating the MCU’s version by 67 years.
The 1944 film made changes to Captain America’s character, with no reference to WWII despite its release during the war.
Captain America’s 1944 movie release date holds historical significance, preceding most of the hero’s own fictional timeline.
The first-ever Captain America movie marked a key moment in comic book history, preceding the MCU’s Steve Rogers introduction by no less than 67 years. Most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 33+ movies take place in the present day, with certain characters’ origin stories taking place several years, or sometimes decades, before the Infinity Saga. Despite the MCU’s modernization of Marvel Comics’ extensive library of characters, one hero whose real-life origin can’t be changed is Captain America. Transformed into the First Avenger to fight in the war, Captain America is inherently tied to World War II.
One of the earliest events in the MCU’s chronological timeline is Captain America’s origin story in World War II, where Steve Rogers earned his powers in Dr. Erskine’s Project Rebirth, provided morale to the U.S. troops, and (seemingly) defeated the Red Skull before crashing in the Arctic. Captain America’s earliest MCU adventures took place in 1943, several decades before Captain Marvel’s arrival and the Avengers’ sudden appearance during Nick Fury’s “big week” heralded the rise of superheroes in the present. Curiously though, Marvel’s very first movie predates half of Captain America: The First Avenger‘s fictional events.
The Original Captain America Movie Was Released Before The End Of WW2
Captain America Is One Of The Earliest Superhero Movie Stars
Before Marvel there was Timely, the leading publisher of pulp comics in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Timely introduced several superheroes in its Marvel Comics line, including the Human Torch, Namor the Submariner, and Captain America — three of the characters who led Timely to be fully rebranded into Marvel. Captain America, in particular, became an industry-changing phenomenon, thanks in part to the relevance of Steve Rogers’ fight against the Nazis during WWII. Four years after his comic book debut, the movie studio Republic brought Captain America to the big screen for the first time ever in 1944.
On September 2, 1945, just one year after the Captain America serial finished its release, World War II concluded.
Directed by Elmer Clifton and John English, Republic’s Captain America was a serial film (or episodic movie) starring Dick Purcell as the titular hero. Instead of the traditional Super Soldier Steve Rogers, Purcell’s Captain America is District Attorney Grant Gardner, who investigates a deadly chemical called the “Purple Death”. Captain America finds out that the evil Dr. Maldor a.k.a. the Scarab is using the Purple Death to exact revenge on his former colleagues after they took credit for his scientific research. On September 2, 1945, just one year after the Captain America serial finished its episodic release, World War II concluded.
According to Marvel Comics, Wolverine also participated in the war.
What The 1944’s Captain America Movie Release Date Means For The Movie
Republic’s 1944 Captain America Film Preceded Most Of Captain America’s History
The 1944 Captain America serial film made several changes to the star-spangled hero. Apart from the Steve Rogers identity, Republic’s film also switched his iconic shield for a run-of-the-mill revolver, and Captain America’s Super Soldier abilities were dropped altogether. Despite the serial film’s release in the midst of World War II, Captain America made no mention of the war — or the protagonist’s military background, for that matter. Still, the fact that a Captain America movie was released soon before 1945 is impressive, as World War II has been an essential part of Captain America’s comic book history for 80 years already.
In fact, Republic’s Captain America serial film released its final episode just a few months before D-Day, the Allies’ most important operation that put the odds in their favor. That means Captain America was already making comic book movie history even before World War II had shown any hints of ending. Had the serial film taken a more faithful approach to the source material, it still wouldn’t have been able to adapt the full context of Captain America’s battles, let alone most of the important events in Captain America’s lore, such as his apparent death in the Arctic.
How The Original Captain America’s Release Date Makes The MCU Origin Story More Significant
The MCU’s Captain America: The First Avenger Isn’t Simply A Period Movie
Captain America: The First Avenger introduced Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers as a failed soldier prospect who fought his way up to Super Soldier celebrity in 1943. It’s the idea of serving his country in the war that makes the otherwise ineligible Steve Rogers the perfect candidate for Project Rebirth, and it’s his experiences in the field that shape Steve Rogers’ selfless yet critical outlook for the rest of Captain America’s MCU journey. Republic’s 1944 Captain America serial film couldn’t have explored any of these elements, but an MCU movie released almost 70 years later did.
Nowadays, Captain America’s “man out of time” conflict is just as important to his story as the war, and he has spent much longer as an unfrozen veteran than he did embodying the Allies’ efforts. Captain America: The First Avenger is a period movie that honors his roots at the beginning of the character’s multi-movie MCU arc. At the same time, the MCU’s Captain America origin movie is the spiritual continuation of a film that was contemporary with the real-life events the MCU movie is based on.
