The parts that are hard to follow from the film alone, explained with a story summary, a character map and key terms.
Released
2011
Runtime
124 min
Set in
1940s
Good to know before watchingNo spoilers
It's the earliest story in the timeline
It's set during World War II in the 1940s. It came out in 2011, but if you follow the MCU in story order, this is where it starts.
It's about heart more than strength
Steve starts out small and weak. His refusal to back down is exactly why he gets chosen.
Watch the glowing blue cube
The blue cube the villain takes, the Tesseract, keeps turning up across the MCU.
Stay until after the credits
Stay to the very end for footage that leads into The Avengers.
Character mapSpoilers
Who's who in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), with Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter at the center. Friends are above, enemies (Hydra) below.
Because of copyright, we can't use stills, posters or any other images of the characters as they appear in the film. All face photos are freely licensed photos of the actors themselves (non-human characters are original illustrations made for this site; people without a photo are shown with initials).
Drag to move, pinch (or scroll on a computer) to zoom. Tap a person to read about them.
Face photos are freely licensed photos of the actors from Wikimedia Commons, cropped to a square and resized. Non-human characters are original illustrations made for this site, and people without a photo are shown with a placeholder (initials).
In the present-day Arctic, a huge aircraft is found buried in ice. Inside is a round shield with a star. The story then jumps back about 70 years.
2. A young man the army won't take
New York in the 1940s. Steve Rogers is small and often sick, and keeps failing the army's medical exam. He won't give up, and his best friend Bucky always looks out for him.
3. Meeting Dr. Erskine
Dr. Erskine sees Steve's strong heart and picks him for the super-soldier program. In training, Steve throws himself on a grenade (a dummy) to protect the others, proving the doctor right.
4. Success and tragedy
The experiment works and Steve gets a big, strong body. But right after, a Hydra spy shoots Dr. Erskine, who dies. Only he knew how to make the serum, so Steve is the only super soldier.
5. From stage act to real hero
The army keeps Steve off the battlefield and puts him in shows as Captain America. In Italy he learns Bucky's unit has been captured by Hydra, ignores orders, goes in alone, and frees many prisoners.
6. The Howling Commandos
Steve forms a team with the soldiers he rescued and, with his new round shield, attacks Hydra base after base. But during a mission on a train, Bucky falls into a ravine.
7. The final battle
Red Skull tries to attack American cities with a giant aircraft loaded with bombs powered by the cube. Steve gets aboard and fights him. Skull touches the cube and vanishes in a beam of light.
8. A promise to Peggy, and the present day
To stop the bombs, Steve crashes the plane into the Arctic ice. Over the radio he promises Peggy a dance, and then the line goes dead. When he wakes, he's in New York about 70 years later.
A glowing blue cube with enormous power. Red Skull uses it to build powerful weapons. It appears in many later MCU films.
Hydra
A secret organization that started as the Nazis' science division, led by Red Skull. It breaks away from the Nazis and aims to rule the world itself.
Super Soldier Serum
The formula Dr. Erskine created to make people stronger. It amplifies not only the body but also what's inside a person.
SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve)
The secret U.S. unit that chooses Steve. Colonel Phillips commands it, and Peggy is part of it.
The vibranium shield
The round shield Howard Stark provides. It's made of vibranium, an extremely tough metal that absorbs impacts.
The Howling Commandos
The team Steve forms with soldiers he rescued from a prison camp, including Bucky and Dugan.
Captain America
Originally the character Steve played in shows to sell war bonds. It later becomes the name of a real hero.
Confusing parts, explainedSpoilers
Contains spoilers about the ending.
Why is Red Skull's face red?
He injected himself with an earlier, unfinished version of Dr. Erskine's serum. He got stronger, but his face turned into something like a red skull. He normally hides it under a mask.
Why is Steve the only super soldier?
Dr. Erskine, the only one who knew how to make the serum, was killed by a Hydra spy right after the experiment, and the remaining serum was destroyed. No one could make another.
Why did Dr. Erskine choose Steve?
The serum amplifies whatever is inside a person. The doctor believed someone who knows weakness and stays kind was better than someone who is already strong.
What happened to Red Skull?
At the end he touches the cube and is pulled away in a beam of light. This film doesn't say where he went.
Is Bucky dead?
In this film he falls from a train into a ravine and is lost. Steve believes he's dead. What happened to him matters a lot in The Winter Soldier.
How is Steve still alive after 70 years?
He was frozen in the Arctic ice, and the super soldier serum kept his body intact.
Why was the room old-fashioned at the end?
S.H.I.E.L.D. made it look like the 1940s so Steve wouldn't be shocked when he woke up. But he recognizes the baseball game on the radio as an old one and runs outside.
Easy-to-miss details
Howard is Tony's father
The inventor Howard Stark, who provides Steve's shield, is the father of Tony Stark from Iron Man. His flying-car demo at the expo feels a lot like Tony.
His first shield isn't round
During the stage shows Steve carries a shield with a pointed bottom. The famous round shield only comes later in the film.
Skinny Steve
The small, pre-experiment Steve was created by using visual effects to make actor Chris Evans look smaller.
Stan Lee's cameo
Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee appears as an officer at the medal ceremony.
The cube keeps mattering
The cube that sinks into the ocean becomes the key to the story in several later films.
The ending and post-creditsSpoilers
After the end credits
After the end credits, a teaser for The Avengers plays, starting with a scene of Steve and Fury in the present day.
