I'm a big Ironman buff, thanks to my love for Robert Downey Jr, but found the MCU movies to be severely lacking in the storytelling department. I only enjoyed the first one from Jon Favreau. But let's shelve that discussion for another day. Today I want to talk about my favorite Marvel superhero trilogy that I feel has the best and most fleshed out character arc of the triumvirate of Ironman, Thor and, as the title of the blog hinted at, Captain Steve Rogers, aka Captain America!
I must admit that I was a little hesitant at the beginning as I didn't really enjoy Chris Evans performance as Johnny Blaze in Fox's insipid Fantastic Four movies. In fact I didn't even catch 'The First Avenger ' on the big screen! So imagine how I felt when I got to watch this for the first time. Evans made me eat my words with his incredible performance. He was the embodiment of everything Captain America is, humble and
courageous (He throws himself on a grenade to save everyone, showing how selfless he is. This character trait is what defines him and makes him the perfect candidate for the super soldier serum). This first chapter follows Steve's transformation from starry-eyed scrawny kid to superhero. He is originally used as a poster child for the army, doing roadshows. But when he realizes that he might be able to save his friend Bucky, he takes charge and proves his worth. Together with Bucky, they take on Red Skull and Hydra. The supporting cast, Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), Tommy Lee Jones and Hugo Weaving (Red Skull) all give stellar performances.
If you enjoyed it the first one, the second installment is even better, with many regarding this to be the best of the three. This one explores Bucky's reappearance as a pawn of Hydra. Turns out Bucky didn't die in the fall in the first movie and was experimented on and transformed into the mindwiped assassin with superhuman strength and a bionic arm, an entity known as the Winter Soldier. It's up to Cap to turn his best friend back to the light side. Sebastian Stan takes center stage in this sequel and gets to explore the darkness in his mind. While not as deep dived as Steven Grant -Marc Spector psyche in Moonknight, Stan plays the conflicted role perfectly.We also see the introduction of Anthony Mackie's Falcon.
The final installment of the trilogy adapts the Civil War story arc from the comic books, but on a much smaller scale. No X Men yet in the MCU yet! We do get the introduction of Tom Holland's Peter Parker and the late Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa. Many regarded this as Avengers 2.5 as it features all the main Avengers from Age of Ultron. Following the fallout from the events in Sokovia, the US government decides that the Avengers have to be regulated and to be held accountable. It so happens that at a UN meeting, a terrorist attack leaves the king of Wakanda dead. T'Challa takes on the mantle of the Black Panther and vows to hunt down the perpetrator. Video evidence points to our ambiguous friend Bucky. Tony Stark is convinced that he is Bucky, but Steve Rodgers trust his reformed BFF. This splits our band into team Stark and team Rodgers. Turns out they have all been played by by Baron Zemo who blames the Avengers for the death of his family during the Sokovia incident. The fallout between former friends Tony and Steve has far reaching consequences going into Infinity Wars.
Overall I really enjoyed the whole Captain America and Bucky Barnes story arc. Both characters felt really fleshed out. The choice of the stories are far meatier compared to the Ironman and Thor trilogies. I would attribute this to the expert direction of the Russo brothers who directed the second and third movies, as well as the incredible Infinity War and Endgame movies. This trilogy is essential watching in my opinion!
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