Before there were Avengers, multiverses, and all that post-credit homework, there was a scrawny Brooklyn kid with a major glow-up and a whole lot of heart. Jill Elizabeth and TJ Blackwell dive into "Captain America: The First Avenger," the film that lays the groundwork for not just a superhero, but an entire ethos. They kick off their discussion by exploring how this origin story captures the essence of bravery and sacrifice during World War II, while also unpacking the complexities of Steve Rogers as a character—patriotic yet flawed. With a mix of nostalgia and critical analysis, they banter about the film's impact on the MCU and how it sets the stage for the characters we know today. So buckle up for a laid-back chat that's equal parts insightful and entertaining, perfect for a drive-in summer vibe!

In this engaging episode of Systematic Geekology, Jill Elizabeth and TJ Blackwell delve into 'Captain America: The First Avenger,' exploring the film with a relaxed and witty tone that perfectly suits the Summer Drive-In theme. The duo paints a vivid picture of Steve Rogers' transformation from a scrawny kid to the ultimate symbol of American heroism, all while maintaining a light-hearted banter that keeps the conversation lively. Jill sets the scene by playfully contrasting the film's simpler narrative style with the complexities of today’s MCU, where post-credit scenes have evolved into intricate setups for future films.

As they unpack the film's themes, Jill and TJ skillfully navigate the moral ambiguities of Captain America’s journey. They highlight the stark realities of World War II depicted in the film, juxtaposing Steve's noble intentions with the grim consequences of war. Their discussion on the character dynamics between Steve and Red Skull reveals a deeper commentary on power and responsibility, with TJ humorously noting that both characters, despite their opposing paths, are ultimately shaped by the same super soldier serum. This clever analysis prompts listeners to reflect on the nature of heroism and the choices that define us.

Towards the conclusion, Jill and TJ pivot to the legacy of Captain America within the context of modern values, pondering how the character’s ideals resonate in today’s society. Their thoughtful insights invite listeners to engage with the film on a personal level, considering what Captain America represents beyond the screen. With a perfect blend of humor, nostalgia, and critical analysis, this episode not only entertains but also encourages a deeper appreciation for the storytelling that shapes our understanding of heroism.

Takeaways:

• Before the Avengers came along, there was a scrawny Brooklyn kid who became Captain America, showcasing that even the underdogs can shine bright.
• The podcast dives into the origins of Captain America, highlighting his evolution from a weakling to a super soldier amidst the chaos of World War II.
• A discussion emerges about the moral complexities of Steve Rogers as a character, posing the question of whether he's truly as noble as he seems.
• Jill and TJ reflect on the significance of the film within the MCU, emphasizing how it introduced pivotal characters like Bucky and Peggy Carter, whose stories continue to resonate.
• They humorously dissect the lack of impactful post-credit scenes in 'Captain America: The First Avenger', critiquing how it contrasts with the MCU's current trend.
• The hosts debate Captain America's portrayal as an American ideal, questioning whether his character truly embodies the values of the nation as it stands today.

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Be sure to check out our merch, find extra content, and become an official member of Systematic Geekology on our website:

https://systematic-geekology-shop.fourthwall.com/

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Listen to the rest of our Prequels Summer Drive-In:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/c59b93c5-6aed-48ee-8e63-200ce912ffaa

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Listen to more of our Marvel episodes:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/fb519d38-2d9b-4f82-b041-81b81613543c

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Check out other episodes with Jill:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/93b2d7c5-1f3a-4fdb-8d87-350f6ca167b9

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Don't miss any of TJ's episodes:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/f4c32709-d8ff-4cef-8dfd-5775275c3c5e

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Systematic Geekology

Our show focuses around our favorite fandoms that we discuss from a Christian perspective. We do not try to put Jesus into all our favorite stories, but rather we try to ask the questions the IPs are asking, then addressing those questions from our perspective. We are not all ordained, but we are the Priests to the Geeks, in the sense that we try to serve as mediators between the cultures around our favorite fandoms and our faith communities.

Before there were the Avengers, the Multiverses, and post credit homework, there was one small Brooklyn boy with a major glow up and a patriotic punch. Welcome to Systematic Ecology. We are talking today about Captain America, the first avenger in our Drive Thru series.

And as you know, the theme for our year is the faces behind us. You are listening to Jill, Elizabeth and I am joined by TJ Blackwell.

Allegedly awesome.

And we're here to talk about the movie. Let's just jump right in if that's okay, tj.

I will. You know what? It's not okay. It's not okay to me.

Just because the post credit homework scene thing was really funny to me because the post credit scene for this is God, nothing. It's just like. So it's fun to go back and see what they are and now they're in everything. I also watched Hoppers today.

I had way too much time on my hands.

Fun, great movie.

And the post credit scene is just nothing. But why does it have one? It has two, actually.

There's two.

There's two.

Okay. Yeah. Fun.

Marvel effects on the. On Hollywood at large.

I love it. And I love the MCU in all of its phases. So imagine, tj, that we just left the drive in. We have seen this film for the very first time.

Time.

What would your initial first reaction be?

Oh, that was awesome. I hope every Marvel movie is like that.

I'm sorry, they are not.

Yeah, yeah, they're not. Because I watched it earlier and I was like, man, so many people die in this. They kill so many people.

I know. Okay, we will get into that. But so you love it. You think it's an awesome movie. Would you mind just summarizing it like in a minute or less?

What is Captain America?

Captain America First Avenger is the origin story of Captain America. At the very beginning, they find him in the iceberg.

And then we cut back to young Steve Rogers, scrawny, asthmatic, trying to enlist in the army, gets recruited into the super soldier program, becomes Captain America saves the day, Beats Red Skull, gets frozen.

Perfect. That's the synopsis. And in the process, a whole lot of people die.

A whole lot of people. It is World War II. So, like, they don't really shy away from it. They just kill a ton of people, man.

Red Skull, like, actually is just disintegrating people, right?

Oh, my gosh. I read something as I was preparing to talk to you about this movie because I didn't rewatch it, but I've seen it probably six times.

Minimum of six times.

And this Commentary that I heard really contrasted Steve Rogers and the Red Skull as if they're the same character, just different faces of the same character. What do you think of that analysis?

I think it, I think it works because Red Skull says something like that even in the movie, that they're similar. But Steve is just too nice. He's on the wrong side. He could have all the power in the world. He just doesn't want to.

Yeah, yeah. And we've talked a little bit in this series about the faces behind us.

And one of the themes I always see in the movies that we're doing is that whatever it is that causes, like, for Steve Rogers, it's the super soldier serum is the thing that brings out his true self.

Like, if he was a bad guy, it would have made him worse because he seems to be a courageous, brave, you know, fighting on the behalf of the downtrodden. It brings out those characteristics in him. Whereas, like, the Red Skull was enhanced and it brought out his ego and power hungry ness.

Would you agree with that?

Yeah, definitely. And it, it really, it's just, it's funny, it feels lower stakes than, you know, most MCU movies do these days. But it's. It's literally World War II.

Right.

But it's so human. Like, like, this is Steve Rogers. We picked him because he is a great person.

He, like, even when he's getting tested, he's trying to get into the army. They're like, do you want to kill Nazis? And most people, you know, think the immediate answer is, yeah, of course.

Steve Rogers says, I don't want to kill anybody. I just don't like bullies.

However, he does kill a lot of people.

I mean, they may have died, but he doesn't, he doesn't shoot anybody. We could have died because maybe not.

In this film, but we've seen Civil War and Winter Soldier and Steve. I think there's a lot of lives that are lost at the hands of Steve Rogers.

Yeah, I think it's easy to forget that it doesn't really take that much to kill a person if you're built like that and throwing something at their head.

Right. Or throwing them off of buildings, against walls.

Yeah, that can do it. You can fall down the stairs and that's it. This is true. You know, but in his heart, he doesn't want to kill those people.

He's not trying to kill them. They're just dying because they're not strong enough. That's not his fault.

Are you in the camp? Do you like Captain America? Is he like one of your favorite characters in this universe.

I wouldn't say that. I do like him, but he's not my favorite. But I appreciate what he stands for.

Okay.

The stick up for the little guys. I'm a little guy. That's me. He's sticking up for me.

Do you see yourself in Steve Rogers?

I wish. At all. I mean, sometimes, you know, I like to help people. That's about as far as it goes. Like, I do really like to help people, and that's about it.

I'm not a hero.

Okay.

Yeah, but he says that too, so maybe. Yeah, it's hard not to like.

Yeah, I guess he's not. He, like, for me, he's my least favorite Avenger. I did like this movie though, and I really liked this film when it came out.

Oh, I forgot to ask you that. So what is your original relationship with this movie? Like, what was the first time you saw it?

Probably in theaters. I don't remember much from when I was young. I was 11 when this came out, so I probably saw it that early.

I know the first movie I remember seeing in theaters was Iron Man 1 and because that came out like my birthday weekend. So this was probably a similar thing.

Right.

The first time I remember watching it, like, and remembering it to date, it was a few years ago, just, you know, me and some buddies during COVID Like, let's watch all the Marvel movies.

Sure.

So we did. Of course we did. And it's.

Did you chronological order?

Oh, yeah. Release order, not cross release.

Okay, got it.

Yeah, yeah. And we start with the Incredible Hulk. So that's fun. But that was it. That was. I don't know, I just.

Like, at a certain point my brain was just like, hey, forget everything. Forget it all. Redo all of it. So that's where I'm at for a lot of things and this was one of them. So it's cool. It's kind of fresh.

I've seen this before, but I definitely don't remember that, you know?

Oh, okay.

Yeah. Makes a lot of things more exciting.

Mm.

Yeah.

I've gone through with my kids a couple of times watching all of the MCU movies and we've tried it in different order. Like we've just gotten a couple different people's suggestions of doing release order or chronological order.

It's fun to see how far the MCU has come when you go back and watch like this and the first Iron Man.

Yeah. Yeah. It's wild. Cuz I'm not. I'm gonna sound like a Marvel Cinematic Universe hater. I'm not go for it. Not really.

But they used to feel like real movies.

Mm.

They don't feel like that anymore.

What does it feel like to you now?

It feels like now it feels like another part of the mcu. It doesn't feel like a real movie, you know?

Right.

Like, oh, it's Russo Brothers, it's phage. It's. Sure, whatever.

Yeah, yeah. That makes sense to me. And I feel like this is a. Was it. And there was an idea of what the MCU could become.

But honestly, when they made this movie, it was just a standalone movie, which. With perhaps some other movies that would follow, but they didn't have any guarantee that they were going to build what has been built.

So I feel like of all of them, this might be the best standalone movie with its own beginning, middle, and end.

Yeah, I think so. Because if you watch this, you're not going to miss anything.

Right.

You're. You're not going to be left in the dark about anything at all. Except maybe the Tesseract, but that's kind of hand wavy.

You can ignore that anyway, for sure. You suspend your disbelief. It's a magic rock. Nazis loved that. That's believable.

Yeah. Yes. And it's. It also, like this theme that we have this year, the faces behind us.

If you are really immersed in the mcu, you get introduced to so many characters and so many themes that are going to be with us for the next. My goodness. 15 Years. 8, 16 Years.

Yeah. Which is absolutely wild. But it was really funny to see Buggy.

Yes.

Hey, that's. He's like a huge part now. He's like. Yeah, he's the Winter Soldier.

Yeah, he's the main guy. Main guy. Yeah, absolutely. And he's just like the sidekick friend in this.

And then we also get Peggy and before she had a whole show, Agent Carter, which is obviously the Tesseract. Yeah, that's good.

Um, we're also getting introduced to the Red Skull and Hydra, which, you know, I don't think we had an idea what big role Hydra was going to play in the MCU either.

Yeah, it's just good. It's all good. Just enough there. And it really shows off who Captain America really is.

And you don't get a lot of that in the MCU anymore because so often they're pushing for the ensemble.

Yeah, I have a little bit of a disagreement with you there, because I don't think he's actually as good as we think he is. No, he's from Boston and that.

Oh, he's from Queens in this. Sorry, he's from real life. He's from.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Brooklyn.

Yes, Brooklyn.

So, like double.

And I feel like he doesn't evolve. And I don't. I don't actually think he's as good as we think he is.

And he stands up for a lot of the ideals in our country, both fictional and in real life, that are. That are just ideas. Like, it's a great narrative, but when you scratch beneath the surface, it's kind of.

Yeah, there was. There was one. One minute there for. He's like the final fight scene with Red Skull, it was like, oh, man. Man, I'm cheering for the imperialist.

Well, because Red Skull's like, I've seen the future. There are no flags. And Captain America is not my future.

I mean, like, it's not that bad, you know, but he's Captain America, you know, he has to say that. But I did like, zoom out of it for a second, be like, huh?

Oh, now that I've seen the future.

Yeah. If he knew, he wouldn't have said that, I'm sure.

Right. Well, true. Because that's what we get in Captain America Civil War.

We do get to see his growth. We do get to see his growth. And he does change. Also. They. They could have done way funnier for like the welcome to the future bit at the end.

Just like throw them in, like the most high tech, modern, like just whatever Nick Fury can afford and just see what happens.

Yes.

That would have been super fun. That would make great.

Yeah.

Also, what are the odds that they pick a baseball game that he was at? You know, he's like, I was at that game. He didn't trick me for a second.

That's pretty good. I remember loving that part.

Yeah. But I don't know this. It is, to me still the best standalone that I can think of because it's either this or I guess we can count Spider man now.

But I like Thor for a long time. And Thor. Thor 1 and Thor 2 to me are just kind of rough. Little rough around the edges, especially on rewatch. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then Iron Man 1.

It's also really good. Oh, and Howard Stark. Howard Stark is Like, a major factor in the super soldier serum, and it's like a cooler way to tie the two together. Yeah.

At the time, that was, like, as tied together as they got.

Absolutely, absolutely.

What do you think of all the faces behind us that give us a glimpse into what's coming in the future, specifically around the character formation of Captain America? Who do you think is the. Like, the standout for you in this movie?

It's interesting because obviously, there are people that inspire him, but what inspires him the most is not a single person. It's his country. You know, it's the little guy. He's fighting for everybody who is underprivileged.

Well, not everybody, but, you know, he thinks everybody. So it's. It's an interesting one to do for the faces behind us because there are a lot of, you know, Agent Carter, Nick Fury, Bucky, Howard Stark.

But really what motivates him is not any of those people. If none of them were in Story. Well, except Howard Stark, his role wouldn't change. His mindset wouldn't change.

Or, we know, like, very little, at least. So are there faces behind Captain America? Is it America? Are we the faces behind him?

That's good. Oh, T.J. that's good.

Yeah, I think we are.

I think so, too. But I think, again, to go back to my critique of Steve Rogers as Captain America is. It's more of, like, the idea of Americans as the. The underdogs.

The unders.

Yeah.

The little guy.

Yeah.

Which in reality, in the world, that's not who we are. And it hasn't been who we are for a very long time.

Super long time. Super long time. Not even when he was, you know, skinny Steve. Correct. But, you know, it's not about us as a country.

You know, it's about the people in the country.

It's about the story of us.

Yeah. We were the underdogs 200 years ago.

Mm. Depending on who you ask, you know,.

So, you know, I just. I think he's a good character. That's all. Is he misguided? Sure. But if you can't celebrate an ideal America, can you do anything?

Like, is that not what we hope for?

It's a very patriotic thing to celebrate the ideal of America.

Yeah.

And that's the season we're in, actually. This is really nice that we picked this movie right at this time, as we get ready to celebrate the 250th birthday of America.

Yeah. Yeah. And since we have a couple of minutes, let's talk about what we're doing to Celebrate that. What do you mean?

What is a UFC fight on the White House lawn for? Like, sure, okay, it was cool. It was cool. But what. Why also, why wouldn't it be, like, closer to July 4th? Why was it the same weekend as.

There's like, so many things planned. Right.

Like, that was the Stanley Cup Final. The last game was Stanley Cup Final, which, I mean, to be fair, they could predict that that would be the last one, but it was show hands.

NBA Finals was the night before that. The World cup started that weekend.

Right.

You could have moved it a little bit also. Absolutely. Trashed the White House grounds, destroyed it. But it's not even like a super American sport.

Like, that could have been baseball, could have been football. Could have been anything. Football on the White House lawn would have been so cool.

And probably trash it at the same level.

Yeah, yeah. But I don't know. I feel like less. They've really. Have you seen a picture? It's like, it's messed up.

I have not seen a picture post UFC fight. I mean, I saw the whole setup and was like, wow, that's a. That's a statement.

Yeah, it sure was. Having, like, the. The military, like the, you know, the armed forces, the Marine band, and like the armed forces choir, that was.

That was a cool way to celebrate the country. I still just don't understand why that happened. What's wrong with a fireworks show?

Yeah, I can't give you any insight to that. I am trying really hard to not make more people dislike me.

So choices were made for our country's birthday.

Some choices were made. And I would say, actually right along line with my critique of this film. It's a very American thing, right?

Yeah.

Destruction, violence, death, all very American things.

And we have a great story around that that always paints us as the good guy and makes the violence and death and destruction necessary when that's not reality. And I think that's summed up really well in a UFC Octagon on the way the cards.

I think all but one of the fight was an American fighter versus someone else.

Oh, okay.

Versus, like, you know, some other nationality. I don't remember the exact lineup, but I'm pretty sure one of them did not have an American fighter. Okay.

Also, one of the really ironic part is the only current. Until that event, actually, the only American UFC champion in any division was banned from the event because he's extremely critical of Donald Trump.

That's.

Yeah. So it was a perfect reflection of where we're at.

It feels very American. Yep. And very. Someone Moment.

Someone snuck him in anyway, escort him off. It was pretty funny. It's pretty cool.

That's good. Well, as we wrap up our discussion of Captain America and the United States 250 50th anniversary, I have to ask you, if you're going.

If we are going to the drive in together, what kind of flavored tea or lemonade are you taking with us? What are we drinking?

Blueberry.

Blueberry tea?

Yeah. Sweet tea. Either one I like, but, like, strawberry lemonade, I think is better. But blueberry tea is so good.

Oh, you've maybe unlocked a new level for me. I have never tried blueberry tea, so. So should I take actual blueberries and, like, muddle them, or am I going blueberry syrup?

I do syrup. I don't like the chunks.

Okay.

But if you like. Like, if you like sucking chunks of fruit through your straw, you should. You should definitely muddle them. It'll be a better flavor. I just. Okay.

I don't want to, like, muddle them and mix it and then strain it out and drink, you know, too much work. Too much work to avoid crushed blueberries. I'll just. I'll take the syrup.

Okay. All right. I'm gonna try it. I've actually do. You don't have Dutch brothers coffee where you are, do you? Okay.

We do not. Pretty recently, like, within the past year, they've started building them around here.

Okay. Pretty cool spot. They have great lemonades, and I think I might swing by and have them make me a blueberry lemonade this afternoon.

So thanks for that suggestion.

I might do the same.

I had shared this before with. I think it was Christian, that there is a sweet tea flavored vodka. There's a couple different brands.

The one I've had is not good.

Okay. The one I had was good. And I wish I could remember the brand because then I could tell you to try it.

But I had it with lemonade, so it was like a spiked Arnold Palmer. And that feels like a great, refreshing drink right now.

Oh, definitely. It definitely would be. I could see that. I think mine was level 99 or whatever. That, like, super cheap was awful. Terrible.

Okay, I'm open to trying it again, but that's it. The one I did was not good.

Okay, duly noted. Well, thank you. Thanks for coming and talking about Captain America First Avenger.

I just want to remind our listeners if you enjoyed this, please, please rate and review the show wherever you listen, and check out the show notes for a playlist of this whole series.

There's a lot of good movies on this series, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Temple of Doom at the end. We were gonna do both of those and we got turned down. Pray. You did pray, right? Yeah.

It's another great movie.

Yep.

Christian and I did pray. And then Kevin and I are hopping on next week and doing Willy Wonka.

That's so good. Also good. I feel like usually for a drive and I haven't seen all of the movies, this is the first time where maybe I just watch a lot of prequels.

I definitely do. Yeah. Yeah. So thanks for joining and we'll see you next time.

Yep. That's my sign off. Okay. See you next time.

Thanks. Bye. Bye.