Captain America: The Great Gold Steal (1968) Captain America: Holocaust For Hire (1979) Captain America: Liberty's Torch (1998) The Death of Captain America (2014) Captain America: Dark Design (2016)
Since the 1940s, the comic book character Captain America has been presented in a wide variety of other media, including serial films, feature films, animations, and video games.
In the 2008 direct-to-video film Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, Captain America and the Black Widow's son, James Rogers, voiced by Noah Crawford, is the main protagonist. James is a skilled martial artist like his parents and, by the end of the film, is the de facto leader of the group. He wields a wrist device that projects energy constructs of his father's shield, but it is destroyed by the Iron Black Widow. James then uses the original shield in the final battle with Ultron. Captain America however was killed by Ultron prior to the events of the film.[1]
Peter Fonda in 2009 on a ″Captain America″ style chopper
In the 1969 movie Easy Rider, the character of Peter Fonda (1940-2019) is part of a motorcycle stunt riding duo dressing as ″Captain America & Billy″, wearing a Flag of the United States patch on the back of his leather jacket, with his helmet and motorcycle tank also being painted in ″Stars and Stripes″. Since, his Harley-Davidsonchopper is called ″Captain America″. The original bike was stolen, numerous replicas have been made, and Fonda himself occasionally reprised his ″Captain America″ role.
1970s
Captain America appeared in two 1979 live-action television movies that aired on CBS: Captain America, which aired January 19, 1979, and Captain America II: Death Too Soon, which was broadcast on November 23, 1979, both starring Reb Brown in the title role. This version is a former Marine turned artist whose father was a government agent in the 1940s, receiving the Captain America moniker due to his patriotic attitude. After receiving potentially fatal injuries in an accident, Rogers is given an experimental chemical formula called the FLAG (Full Latent Ability Gain) formula, which not only saves his life but also enhances his body with heightened strength and reflexes. These new abilities lead Dr. Simon Mills (Len Birman), the research biochemist and intelligence official who had told Rogers about his father, to recruit him and give Steve a costume based on his drawing. As Captain America, Rogers uses a specialized van which houses a modified motorcycle. Its functions include a rocket thruster, a reduced-noise stealth mode, and a hang glider structure which can allow the bike to glide to the ground with some forward momentum, although it must be jettisoned upon landing. The bike has a round windshield, described as being made of "Jet-Age plastics," with concentric circles that alternate between red and transparent around a centered star, blue in color. He is able to detach this, and he uses it as his shield on foot.[3]
In Captain America II: Death Too Soon, Brown's Steve Rogers is first shown sketching a portrait of a Mrs. Shawn (Susan French), who complains to him about a gang of muggers who have been stealing the proceeds from cashed Social Security checks; she denies having cashed her most recent one. He bids her to do this to set a trap for the muggers, and then he springs it as Captain America. In the meantime, a free-lance revolutionary terrorist calling himself General Miguel (Christopher Lee), planning to fight an unspecified war, kidnaps a Professor Ian Ilson (Christopher Cary) and forces him to resume his research in manipulative gerontology. Ilson has managed to formulate both a chemical that accelerates aging and the antidote to the same chemical, and Miguel, posing as the warden of a prison in Oregon near Portland, plans to use the chemicals in question to hold Portland hostage for a multimillion-dollar ransom. Ultimately Brown's Captain America and Lee's General Miguel directly clash face-to-face, and when Miguel throws a glass bottle of the aging accelerant into the air, hoping it will shatter against Captain America's body, the Captain throws his shield into the air, where it shatters the bottle in such a manner that the aging accelerant splashes Miguel instead, aging him to death.
Both of these films were released on DVD for the first time together in 2011 from Shout! Factory.
1980s
Captain America appears in the Spider-Man episode "The Capture of Captain America", voiced by George DiCenzo.[3]
Captain America also appeared in a 1980 public service announcement on energy conservation, in which he battled the Thermal Thief, the Wattage Waster, and the Cold Air Crook.
An alternate version of Captain America appeared in the episode "One Man's Worth". In a timeline in which Charles Xavier was murdered before founding the X-Men, Captain America is the leader of a task force of superhuman mutant hunters fighting a war against Magneto's Mutant Resistance.
Captain America appears in Spider-Man, voiced by David Hayter.[3] This version was trapped in a dimensional machine alongside the Red Skull during the end of World War II, before being freed in the present day.
Captain America makes non-speaking cameo appearances in Fantastic Four.
In the 1990s, a planned Captain America animated series from Saban Entertainment to air on Fox Kids proposed that Captain America's true name was Tommy Tompkins, with "Steve Rogers" being a cover name assigned to him by the U.S. Army. The Red Skull would appear as the main antagonist. The series was cancelled in pre-production due to Marvel's bankruptcy.[6][7][8]
2000s
Captain America appears in the X-Men: Evolution episode "Operation Rebirth". This version suffered cellular breakdown due to a defect in the super soldier serum, forcing him to be put into stasis until a cure can be found. Additionally, he previously worked with Wolverine to liberate a POW camp, where he saves a boy named Erik Lehnsherr, the future Magneto.
Captain America appears in The Super Hero Squad Show voiced by Tom Kenny.[9] This version is a member of the titular group who is heavily nostalgic for the 1930s and 1940s, and occasionally even forgets he is no longer in them.
Captain America is featured in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, voiced by Brian Bloom.[10][11] His frozen body is initially found and thawed out by the Avengers in the episode "Living Legend", and he joins the team at the end of the episode. At the end of the first-season finale, "A Day Unlike Any Other", Captain America is captured and replaced by a Skrull. In season two of episode "Prisoner of War", Captain America was held captive in the Skrull ship for two months, after which Captain America freed and helps others captive to escape from the Skrull ship. In the episode "Secret Invasion", Captain America returns to Earth and assists the Avengers in battling the Skrulls. In "Code Red", Iron Man officially makes Captain America the leader.
Captain America appears in the television special Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Avengers Reassembled, voiced again by Roger Craig Smith.[13]
Captain America appears in Marvel Future Avengers, with Kazuhiro Nakaya and Roger Craig Smith reprising their roles in the Japanese and English dubbed versions from Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers and various Marvel media respectively.
2020s
A mural graffiti of the Steve Rogers incarnation appears in the Disney Television Animation series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2023). The Sam Wilson incarnation of the character makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the episode "Today, I Am a Woman".
Captain America appears in the X-Men '97 episode "Bright Eyes", voiced again by Josh Keaton.
Captain America appears in Avengers Assemble, voiced once again by Roger Craig Smith. Matthew Mercer was originally supposed to take over the role in Season 3, but instead Smith maintained it.[15] In the first episode, Captain America is apparently destroyed by his enemy Red Skull, but it is then revealed that Red Skull captured him so he could body switch with Captain America, since he was dying and needed to switch bodies with him because of the super-soldier serum in him worked. Captain America then rejoins the team after Red Skull's defeat.[16]
Captain America appears the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., voiced again by Roger Craig Smith.[17] He has made a brief cameo appearance in the episode "Monsters No More".[18] He later reappears in "Guardians of the Galaxy" along with the Avengers being Skrulls in disguise. In "Days of Future Smash: Year of the Hydra", He appeared in the past fighting alongside a time-traveling Hulk during World War II to stop The Leader and Red Skull from recreating Dr. Erskine's super soldier serum and augmenting it with gamma radiation. Simultaneously in an alternate future timeline, Captain America fights to save the world as it was taken over by Hydra and run by The Leader. In this timeline, Captain America was never frozen but despite being in his late nineties, the super soldier serum in his body appeared to retard his aging, still in peak physical condition and appearing only in his mid/late forties. Ultimately, Hulk and past-Captain America stop The Leader, returning the timeline to its original settings.
Captain America appears in the Spider-Man episode “School of Hard Knocks”, again voiced by Roger Craig Smith.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Captain America briefly appears via stock footage in the pilot episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. In November 2013, Jed Whedon, the co-creator of the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., said that there were plans to reference events from Captain America: The Winter Soldier in the show.[19] In March 2014, a promotional logo for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. surfaced which features an image of Captain America's shield,[20] teasing the series of episodes dubbed "Uprising".[21]
In April 2016, ahead of the release of the Captain America: Civil War film and after the final season of Agent Carter, ABC aired an official Marvel documentary entitled Captain America: 75 Heroic Years, exploring Captain America's history and featuring Chris Evans, Stan Lee, Steve Engelhardt and more.[22]
Captain America was referenced several times in Jessica Jones for his involvement in the Battle of New York. In Episode 5 "AKA The Sandwich Saved Me," a child can be seen running around in a Captain America costume.
In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson gives up the shield after the events of Avengers: Endgame and the US government hands the shield and the mantle of Captain America to John Walker. After he kills a member of the Flag Smashers in view of the public, Wilson and Bucky Barnes take the shield from Walker and he is stripped of the Captain America title by the government. Wilson then decides to take the mantle of Captain America after witnessing the injustice visited upon Black Super Soldier Isaiah Bradley by the government. The series ends with the title card Captain America and the Winter Soldier.
Alternate versions of Captain America/Steve Rogers from the multiverse appear in the animated series What If...?. He is voiced by Josh Keaton, replacing Chris Evans for the show.
Captain America appears as a playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced by Trev Broudy.[25] He is seen mostly in the cut scenes with Spider-Man, Thor, and Wolverine. His costumes include his classic, Ultimate, WWII, and U.S. Agent outfits. A simulation disk has Captain America preventing Winter Soldier from launching missiles from the S.H.I.E.L.D.Helicarrier.[26] In the cut-scenes, he wears his Ultimate counterpart's costume.
Captain America appears as a playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, voiced by David Kaye. As in the storyline the game is based on, Cap leads the Anti-Registration forces against the Superhuman Registration Act, locked in the anti-registration team along with Luke Cage and Iron Fist.
Captain America appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2, voiced by Josh Cowdery.[28] Several variants of the character also appear, including his pilot attire, his Secret Empire counterpart, his Wild West counterpart, Capwolf, and Captain Avalon.
Captain America is parodied as "Captain Steroid" in Hollywhoot: Idle Hollywood Parody.[35]
Captain America appears as a playable character in Marvel Powers United VR, voiced again by Roger Craig Smith.[28]
Captain America appears as a playable character in Marvel's Avengers, voiced by Jeff Schine.[28][37]
Captain America appears as a playable character in Marvel Future Revolution, voiced again by Brian Bloom.[28] Many other versions of Steve Rogers from alternate realities also appear as NPCs, namely one who led a gladiator rebellion on Sakaar and one who became a thrall of Dormammu.
Captain America appears as a playable character in Marvel's Midnight Suns, voiced again by Brian Bloom.[28]
Captain America appears in the Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine motion comic, voiced by Trevor Devall.[28]
Captain America appears in the Wolverine versus Sabretooth motion comic, voiced again by Trevor Devall.[28]
Captain America appears in the Wolverine: Weapon X motion comic, voiced by Clay St. Thomas.[28]
Novels
Captain America was the subject of Marvel's second foray into prose book licensing: The Great Gold Steal by Ted White in 1968, following an Avengers novel in 1967.[39] This novel presented a different version of Captain America.[40] The novel adds a further element to the Super-Soldier process wherein Rogers' bones are plated with stainless steel. The character later appears in Captain America: Holocaust For Hire by Joseph Silva published by Pocket Books in 1979[41] and Captain America: Liberty's Torch by Tony Isabella and Bob Ingersoll published in 1998, in which the hero is put on trial for the imagined crimes of America by a hostile militia group.[42]
Live performances
In 1985, a musical about Captain America was announced for Broadway. The piece, written by Mel Mandel and Norman Sachs, never actually premiered, although recordings of the score have surfaced.[43][44]
In July 2016, Marvel and Disney announced that they would be unveiling a 13-foot-tall, one ton bronze statue of Captain America at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con. The statue, designed by artists at Marvel and Comicave Studios, would tour the United States before its destination in Brooklyn, the character's hometown in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The statue had a dedication ceremony at Brooklyn's Prospect Park on August 10, 2016, stayed there for two weeks before going to Barclays Center for a month, and has since been on display at a Bed Bath & Beyond complex at Industry City - it does not yet have a permanent home.[47]
Marvel Comics has held several trademark registrations for the name "Captain America" as well as the distinctive logos used on the comic book series and in the associated merchandising. An application was filed on August 10, 1967, for use in comic books and magazines and a registration was granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on August 13, 1968.[54] Marvel's parent company, Disney, received a design patent on Captain America's shield in 2018.[55][56]
Infringement case
The ScottishIndie rock band Eugenius was formerly known as Captain America and released the Wow (1991) and Flame On (1992) eps under that name. The threat of legal action by Marvel Comics made the band change its name.[57][58][59]
^Thomas, Roy; Sanderson, Peter (2007). The Marvel Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the World of Marvel. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Running Press. p. 101. ISBN978-0762428441. In 1966, television production company Grantray-Lawrence produced a series of five half-hour semi-animated shows under the banner title Marvel Superheroes. Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, The Mighty Thor, and Sub-Mariner all made their television debuts.
^Burton, Bonnie (June 5, 2018). "New Captain America patent could mean something big from Disney". Cnet.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. There's no official statement from Disney as of yet on what the new patent is for. Regardless, Disney filing a patent is a smart move considering design patents can be worth a lot of money.
^Robbins, Ira A. (1997). The Trouser Press Guide to 90's Rock: The All-New Fifth Edition of the Trouser Press Record Guide. New York, New York: Fireside. p. 244. ISBN978-0684814377. After the Vaselines, [Eugene] Kelly formed Captain America, which, following two ace singles, abandoned its moniker under threat of legal action from Marvel Comics and adopted his nickname, Eugenius, instead.
^Sprague, David (June 14, 1992). "The Name Game: Don't hold your breath..."Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. The band has been calling itself Captain America, but Marvel Comics, which has published the comic of the same name since 1941, says no go.
