100 Movies Every Catholic Should See #67: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Directed by Joe Johnston. Starring Chris Evans, Haley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Tommy Lee Jones, and Hugo Weaving.
Every classic superhero is, in one way or another, a Christ figure. They are persons with superhuman abilities who take on the mantle of protector of humanity, squaring off against the forces of evil and death and ultimately proving themselves willing to sacrifice themselves for the salvation of others. Of course, in this post-Christian day and age our pagan cultural forces have done everything possible to subvert this story, to muddy the waters around good and evil and introduce “complex” and “morally gray” heroes for us not to look up to but to consume. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has not led this charge towards less heroic superpeople (I blame The Boys, Invincible, and anything James Gunn has touched) but it certainly seems to have been swept along by it in recent years.
Which is a true shame, because at its roots the MCU showcased the mythic and heroic side of superheroes with a truly amazing consistency. Their original Avengers lineup includes Iron Man, a self-centered man who must overcome his vices and put his life on the line for others; The Hulk, who must control his passions and put them at the service of his intellect and will; Thor, the fallen demigod who must prove through sacrifice and love that his heroism is not simply a function of his great physical power; Black Widow, the redeemed assassin working to balance the great evil she did in the past by devoting her life to penance and good works; and Hawkeye, the avatar for the common man swept up into a world greater than himself but keeps the others grounded in what really matters.
And then of course, there is the moral leader of the group: Steve Rogers, Captain America.
Captain America is a moral paragon, wildly out of place in this day and age. Indeed, he is created a superhero precisely because of his evident dedication to truth and virtue. Unlike other superheroes, who are often born with their powers or gain them by chance or build them up through training, Captain America is chosen to receive powers through a moral fortitude and commitment to the good that he pursues without any promise of reward. Steve Rogers is a short, scrawny, sickly man who nonetheless considers it his duty to stand against injustice and bullies. He loves his country and wants to fight in World War II, but is rejected over and over. His perseverance is rewarded, however, by Dr. Abraham Erskine, who sees his virtue and believes he might be the right person to be given great power: “A strong man, who has known power all his life, may lose respect for that power, but a weak man knows the value of strength. And knows compassion.” As Erskine says this on the eve of giving Steve superhuman abilities, it recalls the words of God to St. Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”1 Erskine can make Steve strong, but that moral character is harder to infuse, and thus it will be the physically weak but morally strong man through whom those who value strength over virtue will be brought low.
Through the actions of the enemy, Erskine is killed and Steve is the only man blessed with these new powers. This only gives him more of a sense of the responsibility he has to use his power in defense of the weak, and he chafes at the largely PR duties he is given by people who think he is not enough. When given the chance, however, he puts his life on the line to save hundreds of others, redeeming captured comrades and inspiring hope in his fellow Americans. In all of his battles against the demonic Hydra2 he fights in the front line, providing an example of courageous and virtuous leadership that his men are eager to follow. His virtuous leadership culminates in his Christ-like self-sacrifice at the film’s climax, laying down his life to save the world. His responsibility, given to him with his powers by Erskine, calls him to give up his life and with it the possibility of future service, his friendship with his fellow soldiers, and his love for Agent Carter. In a beautifully emotional scene (blessedly not undercut by the Whedonisms of the later MCU) he says goodbye to his love, comforting them and trying to keep their hope alive to the very end. Of course, he also rises from the grave like Christ as well, ready to continue putting the needs of others before his own safety and happiness in a new era.
One last aspect of Captain America that I want to discuss, especially since this is the movie we chose to discuss the day after the 4th of July, is the America of it all. We unfortunately seem to be at a low ebb of patriotism in the United States at the present moment, and some readers of this Catholic blog might ask what Brooklyn has to do with Jerusalem. However, going back to Aquinas (and really back to Sts. Peter and Paul) the Catholic Church has considered patriotism, rightly understood, to be a virtue and a duty of a Christian. Joe Heschmeyer at Shameless Popery released an excellent video on this topic for the 4th of July, so I would encourage you to check that out rather than dwelling on it too much here, but suffice it to say that there is truly something very beautiful about an America hero who is proud to wear the Stars and Stripes across his chest as he goes into battle. Later movies would tone down the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan aspect of Steve Rogers’ character, but this one is draped in Americanism in a way we don’t often see in modern Hollywood. It gets away with it because it is a World War II film, and Hollywood seems to allow “America good” as a corollary of “Hitler bad” in such movies. Captain America, even though he leads an international coalition into battle, fights for America and displays uniquely American virtues (and sometimes flaws, as the Red Skull points out near the end). His pride in his patria and love for its citizens, symbols, and values are refreshing to see on screen and are a true throwback to the simpler era of storytelling that many of director Joe Johnston’s films represent.
100 Movies Every Catholic Should See is proud to include on our list movies from every era and genre, representing the universality of our faith and the beauty and diversity of storytelling. It is fitting, then, that Captain America: The First Avenger represents our second superhero film, one which can communicate to a very broad audience themes of virtue, moral strength, courage, leadership, patriotism, and self-sacrifice that are so crucial to our development as Catholics. I began this essay by positing that all classic superheroes are Christ-figures; Captain America in this film is perhaps the purest superheroic Christ-figure ever put to screen (with the possible exception of Superman). His incorruptible virtue and commitment to self-sacrifice make him a shining beacon of light and hope in a world painted with shades of gray. Thank you, Captain Rogers, and God bless America!
2 Corinthians 12:9, Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition
Obsessed with the pagan and the occult, while Captain America is the only canonically Christian hero in the MCU.