Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

, a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

created by

Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (born Hymie Simon; October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books ...

and

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

who appears in

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

produced by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

, has appeared in multiple films since the character's inception in 1940.

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...

released a fifteen-part Captain America serial film in 1944 that was the first film to feature a Marvel Comics character, though it deviated significantly from the comic book source material. Two made-for-TV films, ''

'' and '' Captain America II: Death Too Soon'', aired on the American broadcast television station

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

in 1979. A feature-length film directed by

Albert Pyun Albert Pyun (May 19, 1953 – November 26, 2022) was an American film director who made low-budget B-movies and direct-to-video action films. The Independent Film Channel said that Pyun "has carved out a unique niche as a director of low-budge ...

was originally planned for a wide theatrical release in 1990, but received only a brief theatrical release in the United Kingdom before being released in the United States as a

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

film. Marvel began to produce films independently in 2005, launching a

shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where one or more writers (or other artists) independently contribute works that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, charact ...

of superhero films referred to as the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

(MCU). A trilogy of Captain America films written by

Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely Christopher Markus (born October 16, 1969) and Stephen McFeely (born February 24, 1970) are American screenwriters and producers. McFeely and Markus are the first and second most successful screenwriters of all time in terms of U.S. box office ...

and starring Chris Evans as the title character were produced as part of the MCU in the 2010s: '' Captain America: The First Avenger'' (2011), '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' (2014), and '' Captain America: Civil War'' (2016). The character also appeared in the ''Avengers'' series of

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...

films, beginning with ''

The Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

'' in 2012. A fourth MCU film starring

Anthony Mackie Anthony Dwane Mackie (born September 23, 1978) is an American actor. He gained wide recognition for portraying Sam Wilson / Falcon / Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with the film '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier ...

as Captain America, '' Captain America: Brave New World'', released in 2025. While pre-MCU Captain America films often faced troubled productions or limited audiences, the MCU Captain America films have been critical and commercial successes. They have collectively grossed over $2.2 billion worldwide, with ''Civil War'' being the highest-grossing film of 2016. ''The Winter Soldier'' was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

s in 2014.

Early films

Serial film (1944)

In 1944,

released a fifteen-part

serial film A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

starring

Dick Purcell Richard Gerold Purcell Jr. (August 6, 1905 – April 10, 1944) was an American actor best known for playing Marvel Comics' Captain America in the 1944 film serial, co-starring with Lorna Gray and Lionel Atwill. Purcell also appeared in f ...

as Captain America. Based on the comic books published by

Timely Comics Timely Comics was the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely P ...

– the corporate predecessor to

– it is the first film to feature a Marvel Comics character. The serial deviates significantly from the comic book source material: the civilian identity of Captain America is

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Grant Gardner rather than

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Steve Rogers, the character's superhuman enhancement origin story and

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

villains are omitted, and the character uses a gun rather than his iconic shield. Timely had little creative involvement in the film, and objected to Republic's treatment of the character. ''Captain America'' was produced at a

negative cost Negative cost is the net expense to produce and shoot a film, excluding such expenditures as distribution and promotion. Low-budget movies, for example '' The Blair Witch Project'', can have promotional expenses that are much larger than the ne ...

of (), making it the most expensive serial ever produced by Republic; it was additionally the final superhero serial the company ever produced. It was re-released in 1953 under the title ''Return of Captain America''.

CBS made-for-TV films (1979)

In 1979, two ''Captain America'' made-for-TV films starring Reb Brown as Steve Rogers aired on the American broadcast television station

. The first, titled ''Captain America'', was directed by

Rod Holcomb Rod Holcomb (May 28, 1943 – January 24, 2024) was an American television director and producer, best known for directing the pilot and finale of '' ER''. Holcomb directed episodes of numerous television series, including '' Quincy, M.E.'', ' ...

. Set in the late 1970s, the film focuses on Rogers as he receives superhuman enhancement and becomes the costumed superhero Captain America, a moniker formerly used by his father during the Second World War. Its sequel, ''Captain America II: Death Too Soon'', was directed by Iván Nagy and focuses on Rogers as he rescues a scientist who is forced by a terrorist (played by

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...

) to create a formula that causes rapid aging. Both films were produced as part of a partnership between Marvel and CBS to adapt Marvel properties for television, which also saw the creation of ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

'' (1977–1982), ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...

'' (1977–1979), and '' Dr. Strange'' (1978). ''Captain America'' and ''Death Too Soon'' were the final works produced by the partnership; plans to spin off the films into a ''Captain America'' ongoing television series were abandoned due to low ratings.

''Captain America'' (1990)

Producers

Menahem Golan Menahem Golan (; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israelis, Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He co-owned The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon specialized in producing low-to-mid ...

and

Yoram Globus Yoram Globus (; born 7 September 1943) is an Israeli–American film producer, cinema owner, and distributor. He has been involved in over 300 full-length motion pictures and he is most known for his association with The Cannon Group, Inc., an ...

The Cannon Group The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that investe ...

purchased the film rights to Captain America in 1984, and announced their plans to create a Captain America film with

Michael Winner Michael Robert Winner (30 October 1935 – 21 January 2013) was an English filmmaker, writer, and media personality. He is known for directing numerous action, thriller, and black comedy films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, including several c ...

as director that same year. Production stalled due to financial troubles at Cannon; Golan left the company in 1989 and carried the rights for the character over to

21st Century Film Corporation 21st Century Film Corporation Inc. was a theatrical distribution company formed sometime in the 1970s as a production company and distributor. Menahem Golan was CEO of the company from 1989 to the company's bankruptcy. History The company was f ...

, where he produced ''Captain America'' in 1990 with

as director. Starring

Matt Salinger Matthew Douglas Salinger ( ; born February 13, 1960) is an American actor known for his appearances in the films ''Revenge of the Nerds'' and ''Captain America''. Early life Salinger was born February 13, 1960, in Windsor, Vermont, to author J. D ...

as Steve Rogers, the film follows Captain America as he faces the villainous

Red Skull The Red Skull is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by France Herron, Jack Kirby, and Joe Simon, the character first appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 (March 1941), in ...

(

Scott Paulin Robert Scott Paulin (born February 13, 1950) is an American actor and director. He is known for playing Deke Slayton in the film '' The Right Stuff'' (1983). He has also acted in films including '' Cat People'' (1982), ''Teen Wolf'' (1985), '' ...

) during the Second World War, becomes frozen in ice, and is revived decades later to face Red Skull again. While originally planned for a wide theatrical release, ''Captain America'' received only a brief theatrical release in the United Kingdom in 1990, and was later released in the United States as a

film in 1992.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Title roles

Chris Evans filming Captain America in DC

''Captain America: The First Avenger'' (2011)

Marvel began developing a Captain America film in 1997, with

Mark Gordon Mark Gordon (born March 14, 1957) is an American politician serving as the 33rd governor of Wyoming since January 7, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as state treasurer; then-governor Matt Mead appointed him to th ...

and Gary Levinsohn as producers and Larry Wilson and

Leslie Bohem Leslie "Les" Bohem (born 1951) is an American screenwriter, television writer, and former bassist. He is the son of screenwriter Endre Bohem. Biography Bohem played bass in the 1980s with the pop groups Sparks (band), Sparks and Gleaming Spires. ...

as scriptwriters.

Artisan Entertainment Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until i ...

were brought on as financers in 2000, but production was stalled by a lawsuit between Marvel and Captain America co-creator

over the ownership of Captain America copyrights that was settled in 2003. Marvel began to produce films independently in 2005, planning a

of superhero films referred to as the

(MCU), and hired screenwriter

David Self David Christopher Self (born January 8, 1970) is an American screenwriter best known as the author of the screenplays for the films '' The Haunting'' (1999), '' Road to Perdition'' (2002), and '' The Wolfman'' (2010). Early life David Self was bo ...

in 2006 to write the screenplay for what would become ''Captain America: The First Avenger''.

Joe Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston II (born May 13, 1950) is an American film director, producer, writer, and visual effects artist. He is best known for directing effects-driven films, including '' Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' (1989), '' The Rocketeer' ...

was brought on to direct the film in 2008, who hired

to rewrite the script. Actor Chris Evans was cast as Steve Rogers in 2010, signing a six-picture deal with Marvel to appear in three ''Captain America'' films and three ''

Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

'' films. The film focuses on Rogers as he confronts the Red Skull (

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is a British actor. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) and has been recognised as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia. Born in Colonia ...

) during the Second World War. ''The First Avenger'' with was filmed from 2010 to 2011, and released in July 2011.

''Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' (2014)

Markus and McFeely were hired to write a sequel to ''The First Avenger'' in mid-2011, which was publicly confirmed by Marvel to be in production in April 2012.

George Nolfi George Nolfi (born June 10, 1968) is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut in 2011 with sci-fi action, romance thriller, ''The Adjustment Bureau'' starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. Early life Nolfi was born in Boston. He grad ...

F. Gary Gray Felix Gary Gray (born July 17, 1969) is an American director and producer. Gray began his career as a director on numerous critically acclaimed and award-winning music videos, including "It Was a Good Day" by Ice Cube, " Natural Born Killaz" by ...

, and brothers Anthony and Joseph Russo were among those considered by Marvel to direct the film, with the Russo brothers ultimately signed to direct in June 2012. The plot of the film is broadly inspired by the Winter Soldier story arc in the ''Captain America'' comics written by

Ed Brubaker Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...

, which sees Steve Rogers uncover a conspiracy involving his former partner

Bucky Barnes James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Originally introduced as a sidekick to Captain America, the character was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and first appeared in '' ...

(

Sebastian Stan Sebastian Stan (born August 13, 1982) is a Romania-born American actor. Known for his work in both blockbuster and independent films, his accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Silver Bear, in addition to nominations for an Academy A ...

, reprising his role from ''The First Avenger''), now a brainwashed assassin known as the Winter Soldier. Filming took place in 2013 and 2014, and the film premiered in March 2014. At the 2014

s, ''The Winter Soldier'' was nominated for Best Visual Effects.

''Captain America: Civil War'' (2016)

Markus and McFeely began writing a sequel to ''The Winter Soldier'' in late 2013, and the Russo brothers, Markus, McFeely, and Evans were publicly confirmed to be returning for the film in March 2014. In October 2014 it was announced that

Robert Downey Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965), also known as RDJ, is an American actor. One of the highest-grossing actors of all time, his films as a leading actor have grossed over $14 billion worldwide. In 2008, Downey was named by ''Time ...

had been cast in the film, reprising the role of Iron Man / Tony Stark that he played in the 2008 film ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

''. With the announcement of Downey's casting, Marvel confirmed that the film would adapt the comic book series ''

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

'' by

Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series ''The Authority (comics), The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ext ...

and

Steve McNiven Steven McNiven is a Canadians, Canadian comic book artist. He first gained prominence on CrossGen's ''Meridian (comics), Meridian'', before moving onto books such as ''Ultimate Secret'', ''Marvel Knights 4'', The New Avengers (comics), ''New Aven ...

, which sees Captain America and Iron Man lead competing factions who respectively oppose and support efforts to regulate the actions of superheroes. Filming for ''Civil War'' occurred in 2015, and the film was released in April 2016. ''Civil War'' was the highest-grossing film of 2016, grossing over $1.1billion worldwide.

''Captain America: Brave New World'' (2025)

''Civil War'' was Evans' final contracted standalone film as Captain America, and concluded the trilogy of Captain America films starring the actor. In 2021, Marvel released the television miniseries ''

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ''The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' is an American television miniseries created by Malcolm Spellman for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Sam Wilson / Falcon and Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier. ...

'' on the streaming service

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

, which depicts the mantle of Captain America being assumed by Sam Wilson (

, who first appeared as the

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

in 2014's ''The Winter Soldier''). ''Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' head writer

Malcolm Spellman Malcolm Spellman is an American screenwriter and producer best known for his work on ''Empire'' (2015), '' The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' (2021), and '' Captain America: Brave New World'' (2025). Career In March 2010, Spellman started his ...

and series writer

Dalan Musson Dalan Musson is an American screenwriter and actor best known for his work on '' Iron Sky: The Coming Race'' (2019), ''The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' (2021), and '' Captain America: Brave New World'' (2025). Career In 2005, Musson started ...

were confirmed to be writing a fourth ''Captain America'' film in April 2021, which was formally announced in July 2022 with Mackie as star and

Julius Onah Julius Onah (born February 10, 1983) is a Nigerian-American filmmaker.
He has direct ...

as director. Announced under the title ''Captain America: New World Order'', the film was retitled ''Captain America: Brave New World'' in June 2023. Filming occurred from March to June 2023, and ''Brave New World'' was released in February 2025.

Ensemble and supporting roles

By 2003, Marvel had conceived a

film based on the superhero comic team, the Avengers (comics), Avengers, who were all to be established in their own individual films first. By 2008, Evans had signed a six-picture deal with Marvel. Once Evans had appeared as Captain America in ''The First Avenger'', filming for what would become ''

'' (2012) began in 2011. After starring in ''The Avengers'', Evans reprised the role in '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'', '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), and '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019). The latter two were originally planned as a two-part film, but were later separated into two distinct films that were shot

back-to-back Back to Back or back-to-back may refer to: Film and theatre *Back to Back (film), ''Back to Back'' (film), a 1996 American action film *Back-to-back film production, the practice of making two films as a unified production *Back to Back Theatre, ...

in 2017; as this arrangement exceeded Evans' original deal with Marvel, the actor renegotiated his contract with the company to appear in ''Endgame''. Throughout the films, Captain America helps to defeat various supervillains including

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

Ultron Ultron () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, the character first appeared as an unnamed character in ''The Avengers (comic book), The Avengers'' #5 ...

and

Thanos Thanos () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 (cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Devia ...

. Mackie is set to reprise his role as Captain America in '' Avengers: Doomsday'' (2026). Evans has also portrayed the character in various post-credits scenes and

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

s including '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013), ''

Ant-Man Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, his first appearance was in '' Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) as Dr. Henry ...

'' (2015), '' Spider-Man: Homecoming'' (2017), and '' Captain Marvel'' (2019).

Animation

Captain America has appeared in the following animated films: * 2006 – '' Ultimate Avengers'', voiced by Justin Gross * 2006 – '' Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther'', voiced by Justin Gross * 2008 – '' Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow'', unvoiced * 2014 – '' Iron Man and Captain America: Heroes United'', voiced by

Roger Craig Smith Roger Craig Smith is an American voice actor. He is known for his voice roles in video games such as Chris Redfield in the ''Resident Evil'' series (2009–2017), Ezio Auditore da Firenze in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series (2009–2011), Kyle C ...

* 2015 – '' Marvel Super Hero Adventures: Frost Fight!'', voiced by

Matthew Mercer Matthew Christopher Miller, known professionally as Matthew Mercer or Matt Mercer, is an American voice actor, game designer and gamemaster. He has been an active voice-over artist in video games and animation since 2002. Notable animation cre ...

* 2018 – '' Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Black Panther – Trouble in Wakanda'', voiced by Roger Craig Smith * 2018 – '' Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors'', voiced by Roger Craig Smith * 2023 – '' Lego Marvel Avengers: Code Red'', voiced by Roger Craig Smith

Personnel

Cast and Characters

Crew

Home media release

Reception

Box office performance

Critical and public response

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Disney franchises Film series introduced in 1944 Marvel Entertainment franchises