Captain America: The First Avenger takes viewers back to World War II era

A scrawny young man from Brooklyn becomes a star-spangled defender of America in “Captain America: The First Avenger.”

Steve Rogers is a patriotic but underweight young man who volunteered for a secret government experiment. The results of the experiment turned him into a super-soldier. In the comics, where he was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in 1940, the hero was ready-made to battle Adolf Hitler and the Axis powers of World War II.

The film “Captain America: The First Avenger” will take viewers back to those early days of the Marvel Universe.

Rogers (Chris Evans) is joined by Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) as they face off against the HYDRA terrorist organization, led by the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).

Chosen from a long list of potential Captains, Evans turned down the role three times before agreeing to become Marvel’s centerpiece hero. He told Entertainment Weekly he’s glad he overcame his fears to sign up as the Star Spangled Avenger.

“When I first put on the suit, I was absolutely terrified. But once I started working, I could just see this was going to be a good experience. Then I started going, ‘Wow. This is really cool,’” he told Entertainment Weekly in October. “I can’t believe I was almost too chicken to play Captain America.”

Joe Johnston, who directed a well-reviewed superhero period piece more than 20 years ago with “The Rocketeer,” is directing the film. The movie leads into 2012′s “The Avengers,” which will feature Captain America, Iron Man and Thor and is being directed by Joss Whedon. While it is a piece of that larger Marvel mythology, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said at Comic-Con International in 2010 that all of the Marvel films have to work independently, as well.

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