Captain America has been an icon of American pop culture since 1941, when he was introduced to Captain America Comics #1 from Timely Comics. It was Joe Simon who designed the character and Jack Kirby’s brilliant artwork that brought him to life. Before joining The Avengers adventures in the 60s, Cap was a noted fighter against the Axis powers throughout World War II and Russia in the 50s. Eventually taking on the role of leader of the super A vengeful group in the Marvel Comics Universe, Captain America would go on to have hundreds of adventures and be part of some of the most iconic story arcs in comic book history. Even developing his own moral philosophy praised by many.
There have been screen versions of Cap dating almost as far back as the character himself, with the first dating back to 1944. Before Captain America could realize his true potential on the big screen, two other versions of the character made their way. debuts in 1979 and 1990. However, it was the birth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008 and the boom in popularity of superhero movies that gave us our most recent portrayals of Captain America. Each actor brought something new and different to the classic character, but which is the best Star Spangled Man With the Plan?
6/6 Reb Brown
The 1979 made-for-TV movie titled quite simply, Captain Americais an extremely loose adaptation of the character. Reb Brown plays the main character of Steve Rogers…Captain America. In this adaptation, Rogers is the son of a 1940s war hero who earned the nickname “Captain America” during World War II. This version of Steve Rogers moves away from his military background and makes him a living artist in the back of his conversion van who receives a serum after being badly injured that gives him the traditional Captain America’s super strength. Brown’s performance as Cap in this version is adequate for the time period in which it is released, as apart from Richard Donner. Supermansuperhero movies were either non-existent or heavily leaned towards campiness.
5/6 Matt Salinger
- Columbia TriStar Home Video
Much of what was said for Reb Brown can also be said of Matt SalingerThe depiction of Captain America in the 1990 version of the same name. Where Salinger trumps Brown, however, is in the fact that this film is much more faithful to Steve Rogers’ Captain America comic roots. This includes a much sharper backstory and the appearance of Cap’s nemesis, Red Skull. The movie also improves on the country character of the 1979 version. Not much, but throughout this movie you can see progress being made in the superhero genre.
4/6 Dick Purcell
Both the 1944 film and the character’s first on-screen version are steeped in all sorts of movie lore. Produced and published by Republic Pictures, known for its film series. Captain America was the first theatrical release tied to a Marvel character; it was also the most expensive series ever produced by Republic, and unfortunately it was also the last. Divided into 15 chapters, this version featured Dick Purcell as the titular hero. Similar to the 1979 version, Dick Purcell does not play the Steve Rogers version of the character. Purcell gives such a good performance for a 1940s series that you’ll never see and considering the history surrounding the film, that’s enough to land it 4th on this list.
3/6 Anthony Macky
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The new actor at the dawn of the Stars and Stripes is Anthony Macky. He is also one of the first live action Caps not named Steve Rogers. Fans have come to know and love Mackie’s portrayal of Sam Wilson, aka The Falcon, as he fought alongside Cap and the other Avengers since 2014. We get our first glimpse of Sam taking over from Steve. Roger in the latest episode of Disney. + series, Falcon and the Winter Soldier. With a sleek new suit and shield courtesy of his running mate Bucky Barnes and Wakanda’s vibranium, the small sample size we’re getting from Mackie as Captain America is enough to keep any fan excited as we head towards the next installment of the franchise, Captain America: New World Order.
2/6 Wyatt Russell
Falcon and the Winter Soldier introduced us to not one, but two new Captain Americas. We’ve already covered Anthony Mackie’s take on the character, but that’s Wyatt RussellCaptain America’s version of Captain America that really takes Cap to the darkest iteration fans have seen. Having auditioned for the first film, Captain America: The First Avenger before Chris Evans was cast, Russell always wondered what it would be like to play Cap, and he finally got his opportunity. At the beginning of the Disney+ series, it says that Steve Rogers is gone, where to go, you will ask? Well, it’s not really touched on and the last time we saw Steve was an old man passing the mantle to his friend Sam Wilson. It is Sam, who, out of respect for Steve, hands over Cap’s shield to the United States government for display for all to see.
However, despite Sam’s good intentions, the government has other plans in mind as they introduce Wyatt Russell’s character, John Walker, as Captain America’s new shield…and all. Walker, who is a veteran with PTSD. While working as the new captain, Walker gets his hands on a vial of super-soldier serum and decides to ingest it to enhance his combat and strength. Walker, now filled with serum, continues to beat a man to death with the famous shield after his friends die at the hands of another person. This leads to the most visceral scene in MCU history as Walker stands over the man he killed, clutching a blood-soaked shield. This is the event that leads to Walker being stripped of the Captain America moniker which is eventually taken over by Sam Wilson. Russell plays the lopsided Captain America to perfection, something we’ll see more of in the next one. Love at first sight film.
1/6 Chris Evans
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Come on, was there ever any doubt who would finish first? Chris Evans took on the role of Steve Rogers Captain America in the 2011 film, Captain America: The First Avenger, and went on to star in six additional films while having cameos in two more. While he certainly had some of his best outings before Captain America, it’s been the role that has defined him for a generation. There isn’t a second throughout his time playing the character that fans aren’t entirely convinced that Chris Evans is Captain America, because he plays the role perfectly. Fans got to take an eight-year journey with Chris Evans’ Captain America before his farewell to Avengers: Endgame and the later passing of the role to Anthony Mackie. When the character called for comedy and a light touch, Evans delivered. When it called for seriousness, pain and grief, he made us feel what the Cape felt. Simply put, we could watch Chris Evans do this all day.
