5. Captain America: The First Avenger

Release Date: July 22, 2011

Starring: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones, Toby Jones, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Stanley Tucci, Richard Armitage, Derek Luke, Neal McDonough.

Director: Joe Johnston (The Wolfman, Hidalgo)

First Time I Saw It: In theaters, probably in the middle of the day on a Tuesday. Being unemployed was the best/worst. I’d generally enjoyed the Marvel movies up to that point, but this is the one that made me a fan. I’ve seen every movie since on opening night or at midnight screenings.

Importance in the Marvel Universe: While Iron Man 2 was the first film where someone said the word “Avenger,” this installment is the one that made the imminent team-up movie seem like it might be more than mindless action (though it still kind of is). Iron Man is enjoyable because Robert Downey Jr. is charisma personified and Thor is fun because it’s a baroque family drama in space. Marvel doesn’t talk about The Incredible Hulk. Captain America is the first movie that created a hero that you really wanted to root for. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) wasn’t born expecting to rule the world, he’s just a good man who wants to help people any way he can. That’s why he’s the MCU’s moral center.

Why I Love It: Because Marvel took a risk and made a period piece. And it’s a damn good one too. The movie doesn’t shy away from its World War II setting. The clothes, the Nazis, the dialogue—they all give a great sense of place completely unconnected to the four previous films. What really makes the movie stand out, though, is its outlook. It’s not quite the old fashioned, perhaps naive, patriotism of it, it’s that Steve Rogers is perhaps the only character in the MCU who didn’t have to learn to be a hero. He was already a hero, his journey is about finding a way to do something heroic. Despite the physical upgrade, Steve remains the same stand up guy throughout. A lot of the credit goes to Chris Evans. The actor fought to play both versions of the character (Marvel originally considered using a different actor for pre-serum Steve) and he’s great at both. He seamlessly transitions from runt to super soldier (emotionally, not physically, of course), all the while keeping the character likable, clever and brave even as he slowly becomes more confident. He’s an American hero for a time when having national pride has never been more complicated.

And if all that weren’t reason enough to love it, this movie gave us arguably the best heroine of the MCU: Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter. Fierce, sexy and just as interesting as the hero she falls in love with, there’s a reason she’s the star of the best Marvel show to date. I said it.

Best Moment: In terms of action-y comic book moments, this movie’s top scene comes when newly beefed up Steve runs through the streets of Brooklyn to catch the Hydra agent who killed Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci). Suddenly, the small, sickly man we’ve known the rest of the movie has a body to match the fierceness of his will. He moves like a human tank and it’s not until he’s punched through the window of a submersible and the Hydra agent inside has killed himself that Steve realizes what he’s become. It’s a complete summation of the character—but I don’t think it’s the best moment in the film.

That comes before, just after Steve emerges from his little transformation pod and Peggy is so overwhelmed by the beautiful male specimen in front of her, she quickly reaches out and touches his muscular chest. Atwell has said the moment was unscripted, that what we see is her natural reaction to seeing her costar shirtless for the first time. And who could blame her? Who wouldn’t want to reach out and touch Captain America? –Marisa Carpico

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