Countdown to Avengers Endgame: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

We’re in the Endgame now. Just 12 days to go before Marvel Studios unleashes the biggest theatrical event in a generation (if not ever), capping off a story that is 11 years and 21 films in the making. There’s no denying that what Marvel has done here is unprecedented. As we approach the big day lets take a look back at the films that lead us here.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a political spy thriller with super heroes. In hindsight it seems like an obvious choice but many questioned if Marvel could even do anything interesting with Captain America in a solo film post WWII. The result was arguably the best single MCU film at the time and still one of the best after 21 films. It looks great, it’s well edited with fun action sequences and a fantastic cast.

In additional to Cap the movie features Black Widow, Nick Fury and introduces The Falcon (among many other characters that will re-appear in the MCU). Winter Soldier is the first MCU film to truly feel post-Avengers in that the relationships built in that film have a direct impact here. After watching Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World in theaters I remember many commenting, “Where were the rest of the Avengers?” and while not all of them make an appearance in Winter Soldier the fact that any of the other characters showed up seemed enough for most fans. Plus pairing Captain America’s ‘always do what’s right’ persona with Black Widow’s ‘always operating in the gray’ was a great mix.

There are so many great scenes in this film too. The opening scene of Cap and team taking the hijacked ship. Fury’s chase scene. Falcon and Cap bonding over shared experience. Widow and Cap eluding SHIELD goons. The bridge escape scene, the big speech in the shield headquarters, Widow/Fury’s reveal to the Council, and so on. Most films would kill for half as many memorable scenes as The Winter Soldier has.

The Russo Brothers also did a great job of maintaining that character element that makes Steve Rodgers/Captain America work. I mentioned previously that I love how the MCU has handled Captain America and that didn’t stop with his first film. Choosing the right but hard option, willing to sacrifice it all and understanding that it isn’t just about the end but how you get there that matters. Doing the right thing when it feels like the world is standing against you. This is the Captain America character at its very core and the Russo Brothers clearly got that.

Next up is another MCU favorite with good reason, The Guardians of the Galaxy.