By Andrew A. Smith
McClatchy Newspapers
April 1, 2014 -- Last week, the box office charts domestically and internationally were topped by different American movies – and both have comic-book roots.
The big hit was Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which racked up $75.2 million overseas in its opening weekend, a week before its April 4 premiere in the U.S. Given that the first Captain America movie earned almost $194 million internationally, it’s almost amusing to remember that Marvel initially planned to call that movie The First Avenger in certain countries that bear little love for the U.S. Evidently, having “America” in a movie title is no impediment to boffo box office.
Given the enormous amount of information available on The Winter Soldier, it seems almost preposterous that anyone doesn’t know by now what that character’s real name is. For example, the Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe TV special on ABC March 18 revealed who the character is. And even someone who has never read a comic book but has paid attention to casting in the two Captain America movies should guess who The Winter Soldier is.
But, OK, I’ll have to pretend it’s a big secret – because, for comics fans, that cat’s already out of the bag. This movie is based on a story that ran in Captain America comics from 2005 to 2007, so regular readers already know the broad outlines. Besides, there’s lots of other stuff in Winter Soldier to talk about.
For example, this movie introduces Sam “The Falcon” Wilson, a character who has been Steve “Captain America” Rogers’ best friend and frequent partner since his introduction back in 1969. In the comics, Wilson has a high-tech, red-and-white, winged flight suit, and a rapport with birds (especially his pet falcon, Redwing) that borders on telepathy. He’ll apparently just have the high-tech, winged flight suit in “Winter Soldier” – but gun-metal gray instead of circus colors, more in tune with the political/espionage vibe of the movie.
Comics fans are jazzed about this, because Falcon has been a major player in Captain America comics for decades. Falcon will be played by Anthony Mackie in the movie – but, unlike Fox’s upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, Marvel Films isn’t “colorizing” its cast to sell tickets: The Falcon has always been an African-American. Marvel has been a trailblazer in heroes of color going back to Black Panther (1966), and The Falcon is reflective of that.
There appears to be less camaraderie between Cap and another African-American star in the movie, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson. That, too, is straight out of the comics – Fury has been in the world of espionage for so long that even he’s not sure when he’s lying any more. Nobody in the comics really trusts Fury, nor should they. He’s on the side of the angels, but he’s an ends-justify-the-means kinda guy, which doesn’t sit well with straight arrows like the Star-Spangled Avenger.
Plus, the presence of Nick Fury means more scenes with Samuel L. Jackson, which is always a treat.
Then there’s Natasha “Black Widow” Romanoff, who has a star turn in this movie – and it’s not what you’d expect. The easy path for the moviemakers would be to establish a romance between Steve and the Widow, but instead they’re contrasting the characters. As Chris Evans, who plays Captain America, says in one of the interviews released by EPK.TV, the Black Widow has pretty questionable morals and “makes her living by lying,” whereas Captain America is “a Boy Scout.” That means they may not always be chummy.
But there will be romance, in the form of Cap’s long-time lady love in the comics: Sharon Carter, Agent 13 of S.H.I.E.L.D. (played by Emily VanCamp). In the first movie, as in the comics, Cap’s girlfriend in World War II was Strategic Scientific Reserve Agent Peggy Carter – and the identical last name is no accident. Hold onto your heart strings, because Hayley Atwell – who played Peggy in the first movie – is in this one … and it’s not a flashback.
And yes, there’s still more! We’ll see S.H.I.E.L.D. Deputy Director Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) again, who had some face time in The Avengers. S.H.I.E.L.D. Jasper Sitwell (Maximiliano Hernandez) drops in from TV’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Red Skull henchman Dr. Arnim Zola (Toby Jones), another veteran from the first movie, has a role to play.
Plus, a character named Georges Batroc appears, which is inside joke for comics fans. One of Cap’s longest running (and often silliest) foes is Batroc the Leaper, a savate expert with an outrrrrrrageous French accent. I doubt Batroc will be “ze Leapair” in zis movie – uh, I mean, this movie – but it’s already a good gag.
And then there’s Robert Redford, who plays a S.H.I.E.L.D. official named Alexander Pierce. From the previews, it’s difficult to judge just what his role will be, except that he’s a bigwig. He does exist in the comics, but not in a major role, so in this case comics fans and movie-goers are on a level playing field.
Will “Winter Soldier” be another hit for Marvel? The Magic 8-Ball says “All Signs Point to ‘Yes’.” The third Iron Man movie made more money than each of the first two, and the second Thor movie made more money than the first, and there’s no reason to believe “Winter Soldier” will break that trend.
Besides, as noted, this movie is more of a James Clancy kind of film than a superhero movie. And that contrasts nicely with the Thor movies, which are big-scale fantasy adventures, and the Iron Man movies, which are techno-thrillers. Marvel Films is replicating what Stan Lee discovered in the 1960s: Superheroes aren’t a genre, they’re a vehicle. You can tell any kind of story with superheroes, from romance to sword & sorcery to coming-of-age, with the Spandex and super-powers just adding spectacle and spice.
Meanwhile, I promised another comics-oriented film, the #1 film in the U.S. box office last week. I confess I’m cheating a bit, because that movie is Noah, which earned about $44 million on its opening weekend.
Yes, I’m quite aware that Noah is a story from the Bible, not comic books. Well, normally it is. But this movie is more spectacle than religious film, with the writers fleshing out what is a pretty sketchy narrative in Genesis with made-up villains, fallen angels/giants, various romances and other stuff …
… which you can also see in the graphic novel, written by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky and illustrated by Niko Henrichon (Pride of Baghdad), it’s an exciting and well-done adventure story that doesn’t require any Sunday School classes to understand or appreciate. That’s a minus for many church-goers, I know, but as a straight-up graphic novel it’s a lot of fun.
So if you squint a bit, it’s a clean sweep for comic-book films. The summer-movie thrill ride has officially begun!
Contact Captain Comics at capncomics@aol.com.
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