There’s been a ton of great Captain America movies over the last few years, but they’re far from the first. Check out some of Chris Evans’s predecessors below!
Let’s look back at previous times Captain America graced the silver screen and “marvel” at how far he’s come. Some of these films have stood the test of time better than others, but all had some part in the way that the Cap has evolved over time:
1. Captain America 1944
This one stars Dick Purcell as Cap. He still rides a motorcycle, but in this one his alter ego is Grant Gardner. It’s a serialized cinematic version where Captain America hunts down the Scarab and his minions who poison their enemies and destroy buildings with a stolen device that uses vibrations to wreak havoc.
This must have looked awesome in the 1940s, but at about nine minutes in it feels like a goofy man in pajamas is just beating old-timey gangsters to death.
2. Captain America 1979
This 1979 made-for-TV movie featured Reb Brown as Captain America, complete with everything you’d expect from a show made during the late ’70s. In this adaptation Brown plays Steve Rogers, whose father was a government agent in the 1940s. His father’s zeal for America earned him the nickname “Captain America” and despite the fact that this name was used to ridicule his father, Rogers assumes the moniker. His strength and agility are boosted by a super steroid (you read that right). Cap drives around in a van (this is the 70s after all) which launches a high-tech motorcycle.
This film spawned a made-for-TV sequel called Captain America II: Death Too Soon.
3. Captain America 1990
This version’s plot is eerily similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Captain America: The First Avenger, complete with Red Skull, dramatic super serum scene, and an ice-watery doom. This one has the added bonus of Ned Beatty in giant eyeglasses. Cap is played by Matt Salinger who looks like your dad in a skin tight onesie catching a frisbee.