What if Captain America was the first MCU film? Would it make that much of a difference?
Enter Iron Man. Bringing the world a story set firmly in our world that was simultaneously a critique on the politics of war and weapons manufacturing and an epic action thriller, Marvel Studios proved that maybe they did know what they were doing. It was well-acted and well-directed, despite the uncertainty surrounding choosing the director most people at the time thought of as “the guy who directed Elf.” Once this film proved successful, the whole MCU based its tone and aesthetic on Iron Man. Sure, each film is different, but it’s always tried more so to experiment with the moral gray areas of the real world rather than the black-and-white, good-versus-evil stories of previous incarnations.share
That’s also why Captain America: the First Avenger was so surprising. It actually is pretty much the good-versus-evil story you’d expect. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a naive film by any means; it’s a throwback to the likes of Indiana Jones, and a fantasy of an idyllic world in which the “bad guys” are cartoonishly evil. Rotten Tomatoes puts it the best: “With plenty of pulpy action, a pleasantly retro vibe, and a handful of fine performances, Captain America is solidly old-fashioned blockbuster entertainment.” While it was revolutionary for being a successful superhero period piece, it was also revolutionary for being… not revolutionary at all. And that’s great as a breath of fresh air before the MCU hit The Avengers, but if it came first, it would have fundamentally changed the MCU.