“You must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man.”
– Abraham Erskine (Captain America: The First Avenger)
The first time I saw Captain America: The First Avenger was when I was returning to my base when my deployment was concluded. We were in Qatar for a little over a week with nothing to do and one of my buddies told me that it was playing at the base theater. I liked superhero movies but wasn’t super into Marvel. Given that there wasn’t anything better to do, I went.
Captain America was truly something else. I am not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t what I saw on the big screen that night. This was nothing like your other, super macho, always get the girl with smooth talk kinds of movies. The dude was a skinny dork with some next level social awkwardness that made me laugh. I suppose that’s what made it special.
Sure, he eventually became big and strong, but this was still something different. That is why I selected this quote. There was never that moment of him forgetting who or what he was. Captain America maintained his humble nature throughout the entire franchise and never deviated from being a righteous and positive role model for all.
It was also a view of the times. Captain America took place during World War II and while I would be far out of bounds to say that Americans always did everything right at the time, they were not far off from that fighting spirit during a time of need. He embodied the fighting spirit of a lot of the brave men and women that served during the time and it was a pleasure to see a hero whose strength amplified his morality as well.
Journeyman's Legacy 