Chapter 4 Captain America the first avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger
Tony's point of view
The paramount logo appears on screen
In the present day, researchers in the Arctic Circle uncover the buried wreckage of a large, wing-shaped aircraft. While investigating the aircraft's interior, two of the researchers discover a frozen, circular object with a red, white and blue motif.
"That is where they found you?" my father asked
"Yes. Peggy I still owe you a dance don't I?" said Steve
"You would… but, when I realised that you were not coming back…" My mother replied, she looked decidedly sheepish. Dad put his arm around her, then he changed his mind and pulled her onto his lap.
"Peg let you go once she realised you would likely never be coming back. She had a difficult ordeal at the hands of several of the more… misogynistic SHIELD officers. Jack Thompson especially. He was jealous because we… well you will see and we will explain what actually happened when the film shows it. I stepped up to take care of Peggy after what happened and we realised that we are soulmates. As a result of that, Peggy bore a daughter out of wedlock. We will fill in the blanks but we don't want to spoil anything. About 18 months after Jane arrived, Peg and I married, in secret and… in 1970, we were blessed twice more. The delivery and the recovery from it were rough on Peg, we weren't sure she would survive."
"Wait a minute Mr Stark, how did Mrs Stark bear twins in 1970? She would have been... "
"We had what Steve had… Colonel Phillips insisted on using several SSR recruits. Peggy, Angie, Daniel Sousa and… me."
"The super soldier serum meant that we could conceive later. Unfortunately it also had consequences."
"Exactly. We had twins… the scan showed only one child though… it wasn't until my labour began that Dr Turner realised I was having twins and that delivering the second twin naturally would be so dangerous. I haemorrhaged after delivering Tony and I had to have an immediate emergency C-Section. I was lucky we had decided to have a hospital birth. If we hadn't I would have almost certainly bled to death. After the other child was delivered, I had an immediate hysterectomy Howard was told I might not make it… so he decided that the other twin — Arnold Edwin Stark — should live with his godparents. Daniel and Angie Sousa while Obie and Maria helped Howard and I to raise Tony. They couldn't conceive… Angie died of Leukaemia when Arnold was 8. Daniel was so grief stricken that he sent Arnold to boarding school in New York."
"Right. I am glad he did that. I learnt to be self-sufficient." said a voice. The owner of the voice stood up and walked over to me.
"How are you brother? I don't think we've met yet, my name is Arnold Edwin Stark and I am your twin brother."
"I'm glad to meet you Arnold, My name is Anthony Edward Stark and I am… as I understand it 45 minutes older than you"
"That is correct"
I hugged my brother, and he reciprocated
"You have a niece and nephew that you haven't met yet."
"As touching as all of this is, we are rather pressed for time so, if we could resume watching the film…"
"Of course, We'll discuss this more at the first break OK?"
"Sure"
In March 1942, HYDRA forces led by Johann Schmidt invade a stone church in Tønsberg, Norway, seeking a mysterious cosmic artifact known as the Tesseract, which possesses untold powers. Upon discovering the true Tesseract, Schmidt has the Church Keeper who guarded it killed, along with everyone else in the village.
"Wow… he seems evil" said Pepper
"He is," Dad replied and Steve nodded along.
"He's the reason I ended up, as Tony would say, 'doing time as a capsicle' you'll understand what that means later"
In 1943, Steve Rogers was once again rejected for military duty on the battlefields of World War II, despite making multiple attempts at different enlistment offices, due to his frail physical appearance and numerous health issues. While attending Stark Expo with Bucky Barnes, Rogers attempts to enlist again. After overhearing Rogers' conversation with Barnes about wanting to help in the war, Abraham Erskine allows Rogers to enlist as a candidate of Project Rebirth, a "super-soldier" experiment being conducted by the Strategic Scientific Reserve under the supervision of Erskine, Chester Phillips, and Peggy Carter.
"I got a similar version of the serum… but it had been HYDRAfied by the time I got it" said Bucky. "So I basically turned out the same as Schmidt"
"But you were redeemable" said Strange "Schmidt was not"
"Exactly" said Rogers "Buck… the law changed in 1968… and now…"
"Let's discuss it later Steve… Metatron looks a bit antsy."
During basic training, Phillips is unconvinced by Erskine's claims that Rogers is the right person for the procedure but relents after seeing Rogers commit an act of self-sacrificing bravery. The night before the treatment, Erskine reveals to Rogers that Schmidt underwent an imperfect version of the procedure and suffered negative side-effects due to his inner ambition for power and obsession with becoming a "superior man". However, he reassures Rogers that he chose him because he believed Rogers was an inherently good man and one that, because he had been weak his whole life, would not lose respect for the strength he would gain.
"Colonel Phillips learnt the hard way that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover or a soldier by his appearance" said Dad "How he treated Peggy.. Was rather unforgivable. He allowed her to join but made her path really difficult"
Back in Europe, Schmidt and Arnim Zola, using one of his machines, successfully harness the energies of the Tesseract, intending to use the power to fuel Zola's inventions. Meanwhile, Schmidt, having discovered Erskine's location, dispatches an assassin to kill him.
"Jerk weed. What did Dr Erskine do to deserve that?" I hissed
In New York City, Erskine subjects Rogers to the super-soldier treatment, putting him in a special chamber where he is injected with the Super Soldier Serum and dosed with "vita-rays". Rogers emerges from the chamber taller and with an enhanced physique.
"Were you impressed, Peg?"
"Howard I…"
"Hey, listen, it's OK if you were OK? I was…"
"Yes, I was rather impressed."
"You were far more impressed when I came out of the machine, though, right?"
"Yes."
After witnessing the success of the experiment, one of the attendees reveals himself to be Schmidt's assassin, Heinz Kruger, who shoots Erskine, killing him. Kruger grabs the last vial of the Super-Soldier Serum and escapes the facility into the streets of New York.
"So are we going to see the super soldier serum put to the test or what?" Pepper asked
"You'll see"
Rogers runs after Kruger, using his new strength and stamina to run down Kruger's car on foot. Despite attempting to escape in a submarine, Rogers manages to catch Kruger, but the vial of Super Soldier Serum is broken in the process and the assassin immediately commits suicide by cyanide pill before he can be interrogated for information.
"Damn his oily hide" Steve cursed
I tented my fingers in order and said,
"Excellent"
"D'oh!" yelled Peter
"Did you know that in the television scripts for The Simpsons D'oh is written as Annoyed Grunt? The word itself has made it into the Oxford English Dictionary. It went in on June 14th 2001." said Constance
"That date is awfully familiar" said Vince
"It's your friend's birthday, and Flag Day." Constance replied
"Aaaah! Thank you Constance" said Vince
With Erskine dead and the super-soldier formula lost, the SSR is ordered to join the war and engage HYDRA directly; however, Philips decides to leave Rogers behind and allow scientists to study him in an attempt to rediscover Erskine's formula.
"I am not ashamed to admit. That made me angry " said Steve
"Yeah, and making Steve angry is ill-advised."
"So is making Bruce angry… never ever EVER make Bruce angry"
Senator Brandt approaches Rogers and instead offers him the chance to tour the nation for the USO to promote war donations, using his image as the strong, ideal soldier as a symbol for the public to rally behind, which Rogers accepts.
"Howard, do you think they are building to what I think they are building to?"
"Yes… if it is…"
"It is"
During his work for the USO Rogers perform in scripted stage shows as the star-spangled character "Captain America". As Rogers continues touring across the country Captain America gains great popularity among the public, leading to increasingly more elaborate shows as well as making appearances in film strips, comic books, and other memorabilia.
"Oh no…. Oh NO! Please NO! Not this… anything but this" Steve cringed
Mom and Dad were both doubled over, in total hysterics.
"What?"
"You'll see."
Who's strong and brave, here to save the American Way?
Who vows to fight like a man for what's right night and day?
Who will campaign door-to-door for America?
Carry the flag shore to shore for America
From Hoboken to Spokane
The Star Spangled Man with a Plan!
… We can't ignore there's a threat and a war we must win
Who'll hang a noose on the goose-stepping goons from Berlin?
Who will indeed lead the call for America?
Who'll rise or fall, give his all for America?
Who's here to prove that we can?
The Star Spangled Man with a Plan!
… Stalwart and steady and true,
(See how this guy can shoot, we tell ya, there's no substitute!)
Forceful and ready to defend the Red, White, and Blue!
Who'll give the Axis the sack and is smart as a fox?
(Far as an eagle will soar)
Who's making Adolf afraid to step out of his box?
(He knows what we're fighting for!)
Who waked the giant that napped in America?
We know it's no one but Captain America
Who'll finish what they began?
Who'll kick the Krauts to Japan?
The Star Spangled Man with a Plan!
(Who's strong and brave, here to save the American way?!)
The entire room dissolves into hysterical fits of laughter.
"Capsicle, we are SO playing that on your birthday every year!"
"OK Tony. So long as we can play the Star Spangled Banner too… It's not just my birthday, you know."
"Sure we can."
Although Rogers is happy to be contributing towards the war effort, he grows increasingly weary of being paraded around while not being able to have a more direct role alongside those actively fighting.
"Not being able to actually fight got really old really really quickly." Steve admitted
Meanwhile, Schmidt unveils his new Tesseract-powered weaponry to three Nazi officers sent to oversee his operation but uses the weapon to kill the officers after they realize that Germany is among a list of Schmidt's intended targets. Schmidt uses this moment to declare his secession from the Third Reich, claiming that HYDRA could grow no further in Adolf Hitler's shadow and will now follow his agenda.
"It was bad enough dealing with the original Führer-monster" Dad muttered
"Schmidt belonged in a bug house!" said Steve
HYDRA continued to siphon energy from the Tesseract, using the stored energy to create a variety of weapons and integrated it into a range of vehicles and other technology, quickly giving the faction the potential to become a major threat to the war front, and the world at large.
"Thank heavens they did not succeed." said mom
In November 1943, while performing for active servicemen as well as encountering his colleagues from the SSR, Rogers learns that Barnes' unit was lost in a battle against HYDRA. Despite Philips' insistence on the futility of the situation, Rogers refuses to believe that Barnes is dead and becomes determined to mount a solo rescue attempt, receiving help from Carter and Howard Stark, who fly him behind enemy lines.
"Thank you for rescuing me." said Bucky
"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?"
Rogers manages to sneak into HYDRA's main factory where he finds and frees most of the captive soldiers who begin a riot and start escaping while Rogers continues on to find Barnes, who he discovers in a separate room where he was being operated on.
Bucky shuddered. Steve put his arms around his friend. I sensed something else between them, more than friendship.
Schmidt, seeing the prisoners escaping and Rogers moving through the facility, sets the factory to self-destruct to cover HYDRA's operations and evacuate to another facility. As the building begins to detonate, Schmidt confronts Rogers on a high catwalk where he makes light of his similarities to Rogers following their mutual use of the super soldier serum.
"The difference though was that I had morals and character and he didn't. He thought that Hydra and its predecessors and founders were the only ones who were right."
Schmidt expresses his belief that they have risen above the visage of normal humans before revealing his face to be a mask, removing it to display the red, skull-like face that earned him the sobriquet "the Red Skull". Schmidt and Zola make their escape while Rogers leads Barnes to the roof where they both barely manage to escape the factory themselves before regrouping with the escaped soldiers and marching back to base.
"Schmidt was suitably punished. His destiny lies within the realm of the Soul Stone and that's all I am allowed to tell you. The rest will be explained."
Following the liberation of the Allied prisoners, Rogers gains his superior officers' respect and acknowledgment as a soldier and is given high rank and the chance to fight as Captain America, as a key figure on the war front opposing HYDRA directly. Rogers recruits Barnes, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Jim Morita, James Montgomery Falsworth and Jacques Dernier as his personal team of Howling Commandos to take out the other known HYDRA operations. Howard Stark outfits Rogers with advanced equipment, including a durable, custom combat uniform and a circular shield made of vibranium. For the next two years, Rogers and his Howling Commandos lead a strong offensive, sabotaging various HYDRA operations, much to Schmidt's frustration.
"Get him, boys!"
In 1945, the team later assaults a train carrying Zola. Rogers and Barnes engage in a fight with the soldiers on the train, during which Barnes falls from the train to his apparent death, while Jones locates Zola on the train and captures him. Rogers is deeply affected by the loss of his best friend and is convinced by Carter to use his sorrow as motivation to put an end to HYDRA for good. Using information extracted from Zola, the final HYDRA stronghold is located and Rogers leads an attack to stop Schmidt from using weapons of mass destruction on the United States.
"Oh boy! That's why you had to crash the plane, isn't it?"
"Yes."
Rogers climbs aboard the Valkyrie, HYDRA's massive aircraft bomber, as it takes off. During the subsequent fight, a machine containing the Tesseract is damaged. Schmidt physically handles the Tesseract, which opens a wormhole into space, sucking him into it in bright light. The cube falls to the floor, burning through the plane and falling into the ocean. Seeing no way to land the plane without the risk of detonating its weapons, Rogers instead crashes it on the Arctic shelf while making a sorrowful goodbye to Carter, making a promise to take her dancing, knowing he would never be able to make the date. Stark later recovers the Tesseract from the ocean floor but is unable to locate Rogers' body or Schmidt's aircraft.
"Thank you Steve for attempting to sacrifice yourself to save the world."
"It was the least I could do, Howard. If I hadn't we would not be sitting here."
Rogers awakens in a 1940s-style hospital room. Deducing from an anachronistic radio broadcast that he was out of place, he flees outside into what is revealed to be present-day Times Square, where Nick Fury tells him he has been "asleep" for nearly 70 years. Stunned by this revelation, Rogers' only response is that he had a date.
"Maybe we should do something?"
"We will see"
Mid-credit scene…
A year later, Fury approaches Rogers, proposing a mission with worldwide ramifications.
"So that is how the team began?"
"Yes."