History Fridge / CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger

* The Red Skull tells Captain America he's a great fan of his movies. The Nazis invented modern propaganda after all, so far from hating the corny aspects like the frontline soldiers in Italy, it would make perfect sense to the Red Skull that a SuperSoldier is being used for propaganda as well as combat (not knowing that Steve was ''only'' being used for propaganda). The propaganda movies are about an invincible super soldier with strength beyond what any normal man could reach taking down the Nazis. It's exactly what Red Skull wants to do. It also serves as a parallel to the rumors of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler watching the Creator/CharlieChaplin film ''Film/TheGreatDictator''.

*** Creator/SebastianStan (Bucky) is given the 'three workers', hinting not only for being part of the BandOfBrothers Howling Commandoes, but also--[[spoiler:especially considering 'workers in 20th century art' have been more identified with social realist icons--his eventual conversion into the (manufactured) Soviet bogey '[[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier The Winter Soldier]]']].

** Similarly, the chosen WW2 propaganda symbols for some of the cast credits is quite a propos:

*** Creator/SebastianStan (Bucky) is given the 'three workers', hinting not only for being part of the BandOfBrothers Howling Commandoes, but also--[[spoiler:especially considering 'workers in 20th art' have been more identified with social realist icons--his eventual conversion into the (manufactured) Soviet bogey '[[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier The Winter Soldier]]']].

* The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent had visible bra lines showing through her shirt, which were noticeably absent from Peggy Carter ([[TheMoreYouKnow late 1930s bras had wider straps and looked]] more like [[http://www.fashion-era.com/images/AdornCorsetry/kesmarb.jpg this]]), which should have set off a few early warning bells about what ''decade'' it was. Steve, [[ChasteHero being who he is,]] [[FailedASpotCheck really isn't likely to]] ''[[WomensMysteries get]]'' that but he does look at her chest for a few seconds when dropping his gaze, [[OhCrap gaining a suspicious expression]].

* The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent had visible bra lines showing through her shirt, which were noticeably absent from Peggy Carter ([[TheMoreYouKnow late 1930s bras had wider straps and looked]] more like [[http://www.fashion-era.com/images/AdornCorsetry/kesmarb.jpg this]]), which should have set off a few early warning bells about what ''decade'' it was. Steve, [[ChasteHero being who he is,]] [[FailedASpotCheck really isn't likely to]] ''[[WomensMysteries get]]'' that.
* Take a close look at just ''where'' Schmidt picks up the Cosmic Cube: Tønsberg. Which ''Film/{{Thor}}'' established was the site of a major battle in the Asgardian/Jötun War. The few surviving humans would have had first-hand experience just how dangerous the powers Asgardians and their like are dealing in can be to humans, and a great reason to feel indebted to the Asgardians. In other words, the perfect start for an AncientTradition guarding a (seemingly, at least) Asgardian relic.

* Rogers rejects the team Col. Phillips wants to assemble in favor of asking the [=POWs=] he rescued to return to the front. Not only did he see them in action and approve of their tenacity, but he would have compared them subconsciously to the men he went through boot camp with. There ''was'' a way besides CuttingTheKnot to get that flag off the flagpole - they could have ''helped'' each other. Brawny guys like Dum Dum Dugan on the bottom. Mid-sized guys further up, bracing themselves against the flagpole. Rogers, the "ninety-pound asthmatic" determinedly crawling up the pile to retrieve the flag. "[[ExactWords Whoever brings me that flag gets a free ride back to base with Agent Carter!]]" No reason it couldn't have been ''everyone'' presenting him with the flag, and refusing to abandon the others. Instead they were [[TallPoppySyndrome yanking each other off the flagpole like crabs in an open bucket.]] '''''That''''' is why he wanted those weirdos - they worked together almost instinctively despite not only being from different units, but different ''countries.''

* The "Vita-Rays" are a bit dumb-sounding and vague until you realize that this was probably the point. Erskine was trying to keep the super-soldier creation process known only to himself, so it makes sense that he'd hide not only the formula but the name of the radiation involved as well. This is typical operating procedure for some secret government projects. The use of "tank" to mean a tracked armored vehicle with at least one powerful gun came about because the British were attempting to fool the German Empire into thinking it was a mobile water tank. It's good for keeping eyes away from your project by hoping your enemies think it's just something boring they can easily take care of later, or, in the case of the Vita-Rays, not fully sure what it is and maybe it is just a distraction because it's got a stupid name.

* Cap and company fighting Hydra rather than straight up Nazis. It might have come off as disrespectful to the real heroes of World War II to have Captain America winning fights against a very real enemy. Adding an element of a secret front to the war subverts the ReedRichardsIsUseless problem and establishes him as a folk hero, someone who was there, but mysterious because dealing with this secret underbelly of super science.

* Post-''Infinity War'', it becomes much more clear why the Tesseract activated and swept Schmidt away into distant space like it did. It could sense that its sibling, the Soul Stone, needed a suitable Keeper on Vormir: someone who ''couldn't possibly'' acquire that particular Stone for themselves. More so than anyone it'd encountered in who-knows-how-long, and probably more so than whomever the previous Keeper might've been, Schmidt made the ideal Keeper because, covet the Stones' power though he might, there was '''absolutely nothing''' that he loved.

* The super-soldier serum may have made Steve stronger and faster, but he remained {{Adorkable}}, with little charisma to speak of. The stage shows he starred in took care of that; he went from needing cue cards taped to the back of his shield, to the charismatic hero figure he was destined to be.

* When Armin Zola, the scientist, visits Johann Schmidt, the ComicBook/RedSkull, Schmidt's face is in shadow. An artist is painting a portrait of him, and his palette consists mostly of chunky, deep red paint. The artist also looks visibly disturbed. Makes sense about halfway through the movie, when Johann takes off his mask.

* Post-''Infinity War'', it becomes much more clear why the Tesseract activated and swept Schmidt away into distant space like it did. [[spoiler: It could sense that its sibling, the Soul Stone, needed a suitable Keeper on Vormir: someone who ''couldn't possibly'' acquire that particular Stone for themselves. More so than anyone it'd encountered in who-knows-how-long, and probably more so than whomever the previous Keeper might've been, Schmidt made the ideal Keeper because, covet the Stones' power though he might, there was '''absolutely nothing''' that he loved.]]

** Moreover, the fact that Steve considers himself "just a kid from Brooklyn" - i.e. just a regular guy - is probably ''why'' he's the only recipient of Erskine's serum or later attempts to replicate it who (unlike Schmidt, Blonsky, or Banner) still looks 100% ''human'' while under its effects. Even Banner only looks normal when his serum-born Hulk side is suppressed.

** Moreover, the fact that Steve considers himself "just a kid from Brooklyn" - i.e. just a regular guy - is probably ''why'' he's the only recipient of Erskine's serum or later attempts to replicate it who (unlike Schmidt, Blonsky, or Banner) who still looks 100% ''human'' while under its effects. Even Banner only looks normal when his serum-born Hulk side is suppressed.

** Moreover, the fact that Steve considers himself "just a kid from Brooklyn" - i.e. just a regular guy - is probably ''why'' he's the only recipient of Erskine's serum or later attempts to replicated it who (unlike Schmidt, Blonsky, or Banner) who still looks 100% ''human'' while under its effects. Even Banner only looks normal when his serum-born Hulk side is suppressed.

* When Armin Zola, the scientist, visits Johann Schmidt, [[spoiler:the ComicBook/RedSkull]], Schmidt's face is in shadow. An artist is painting a portrait of him, and his palette consists mostly of chunky, deep red paint. The artist also looks visibly disturbed. Makes sense about halfway through the movie, when [[spoiler:Johann takes off his mask.]]

* Bucky's body is never shown; he falls into icy terrain, [[spoiler: and just like with Steve, he's found by Soviet soldiers still in the ice and is used to create The Winter Soldier.]]

* Part of the reason why Steve is so immediately disoriented and afraid when he first wakes up in 2012: the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are wearing heavy black armor, not too immediately dissimilar from Hydra armor, and the technology he encounters as soon as he breaks out is highly advanced beyond what he's familiar with, beyond, again, Hydra technology. Even if he doesn't ''think'' they're Hydra, he's going to be drawing some automatic and very emotional connections to Hydra regardless. [[spoiler:Good instincts, too; [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier Hydra had thoroughly infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.]]]]

* If you look closely after Bucky has been rescued, you can see bruises on his right cheek and temple. [[spoiler:The same places where the memory suppressing machine electrocuted Bucky in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''.]]

* The Red Skull tells Captain America he's a great fan of his movies. The Nazis invented modern propaganda after all, so far from hating the corny aspects like the frontline soldiers in Italy, it would make perfect sense to the Red Skull that a SuperSoldier is being used for propaganda as well as combat (not knowing that Steve was ''only'' being used for propaganda).

* Red Skull says he's a fan of Cap's films. This may seem mocking, but think about it. The propaganda movies are about an invincible super soldier with strength beyond what any normal man could reach taking down the Nazis. It's exactly what Red Skull wants to do. It also serves as a parallel to the rumors of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler watching the Creator/CharlieChaplin film ''Film/TheGreatDictator''.

* Red Skull says he's a fan of Cap's films. This may seem mocking, but think about it. The propaganda movies are about an invincible super soldier with strength beyond what any normal man could reach taking down the Nazis. It's exactly what Red Skull wants to do. It also serves as a parallel to the rumors of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler watching the Creator/CharlieChaplin film TheGreatDictator.

* Hovering on the edge of Fridge Horror (and tipping over due to what we see in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''), when Steve finds him, Bucky is repeating his name, rank and serial number (to an empty room, because he's so out of it). According to [[TheLawsAndCustomsOfWar the Geneva Conventions]], this is exactly what a soldier's supposed to do when being interrogated. What edges it toward horrific is that in Hydra's case, interrogation can be assumed to mean torture and/or attempted brainwashing. Though it's probably TranslationConvention, this may also have implications of SwitchToEnglish for Hydra's higher-ups speaking in English instead of German if some of the mooks are actually brainwashed Allied soldiers.

** Schmidt and Zola were able to use the Tesseract to turn HYDRA into an NGOSuperpower. Howard Stark salvaged the cube, but doesn't do the same because he's one of the good guys. The Tesseract ''could'' be used to build powerful weapons, and would make building an empire simple via PhlebotinumDependence - any attempts to turn the technology against them would be futile as the Tesseract is the only way to power it. But powering the world was something else entirely. The arc reactor technology he struggled with to his dying day was his attempt to make the technology widespread - turn nuclear warheads into nuclear reactors.
** It also shows Howard's reasoning in deporting Vanko - HYDRA proved that the technology was easily weaponized, but Stark refused to follow in their footsteps and was deeply disgusted by Vanko's attempt to plunge the world into HYDRA-style Tesseract-powered warfare. Tony was less successful in protecting the technology from Senator Stern and Justin Hammer - the assholes only saw arc reactor tech as a weapon, never understanding how much havoc HYDRA wreaked with it - until Vanko cut loose.

* Hovering on the edge of Fridge Horror (and tipping over due to what we see in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''), when Steve finds him, Bucky is repeating his name, rank and serial number (to an empty room, because he's so out of it). According to [[TheLawsAndCustomsOfWar the Geneva Conventions]], this is exactly what a soldier's supposed to do when being interrogated. What edges it toward horrific is that in HYDRA's case, interrogation can be assumed to mean torture and/or attempted brainwashing. Though it's probably TranslationConvention, this may also have implications of SwitchToEnglish for HYDRA's higher-ups speaking in English instead of German if some of the mooks are actually brainwashed Allied soldiers.

* The "HEIL HYDRA!" salute looks like a doubling up of the Nazi salute, which is sort of cheesy... but their motto is "Cut off one head and two more will take its place." Something doubled-up makes perfect sense.
** Also consider what their plans are for the Nazi regime.
* Having Gabe Jones be the one to capture Arnim Zola wasn't just an attempt at giving him one scene of focus - it was twisting the knife in the wound. Nazi or HYDRA, they're Aryans after all.

* Perhaps a small, unintended bit of brilliance. When the Red Skull gets taken into the Bifröst, the effects almost make it look like he is getting burned. In addition, he gets taken away, rather than dying like the rest of HYDRA. In Greek mythology, the only way to keep a hydra's head from regrowing is to burn the stump after cutting the head off. Also, the last head of the hydra is immortal, and most myths state that it is pinned under a boulder to deal with that. Maybe not the exact same thing as transporting it to a different realm, but kind of an interesting connection.

* Schmidt mentioned early on that he'd been sent to the Swiss HYDRA base because he "no longer fits Hitler's Aryan vision". Which could mean either his Red Skull deformity or him being ''dark-haired'' (even before procedure if the Erskine flashback is any indication). Take a look at the few HYDRA goons we've seen unmasked, like Heinz Kruger or the "We fought to the last man" guy: ''All dark-haired''. This subtly hints that Hydra is basically a ReassignedToAntarctica for the Nazis - adding to Schmidt's entire motive of putting down the Reich, so to speak.

* Part of the reason why Steve is so immediately disoriented and afraid when he first wakes up in 2012: the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are wearing heavy black armor, not too immediately dissimilar from HYDRA armor, and the technology he encounters as soon as he breaks out is highly advanced beyond what he's familiar with, beyond, again, HYDRA technology. Even if he doesn't ''think'' they're HYDRA, he's going to be drawing some automatic and very emotional connections to HYDRA regardless. [[spoiler:Good instincts, too; [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier HYDRA had thoroughly infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.]]]]

* The first we see of the HYDRA soldiers, they're dressed and armed no differently like other Nazi soldiers. Once they have possession of the Tesseract, we gradually see the HYDRA soldiers look less and less like regular Nazi personnel, with their uniforms getting more heavily protected and their tech obviously getting more advanced. Then when you consider that Red Skull probably had HYDRA completely split off from the Nazis upon making the discovery in Norway...

* Cap and company fighting HYDRA rather than straight up Nazis. It might have come off as disrespectful to the real heroes of World War II to have Captain America winning fights against a very real enemy. Adding an element of a secret front to the war subverts the ReedRichardsIsUseless problem and establishes him as a folk hero, someone who was there, but mysterious because dealing with this secret underbelly of super science.

* The way Cap's Mighty Shield kept on getting its paint job messed up is odd for a supposedly indestructible shield, but read [[http://barrysarll.livejournal.com/501177.html this review]]. The shield is itself indestructible, but the paint is just paint - it must be maintained and cared for to show the shield's true glory. So it is with America itself - we are not unsullied and invincible, we screw up and falter and make too many excuses, there is work to be done for us to shine at our best, but underneath the scarring UsefulNotes/TheAmericanDream is unbowed and unbreakable. The star at the center also doesn't seem to get scratched up, perhaps representing the ideals that's at the heart of every American's desire to live up to that American Dream.

* Rogers rejects the team Col. Phillips wants to assemble in favor of asking the [=POWs=] he rescued to return to the front. Not only did he see them in action and approve of their tenacity, but he would have compared them subconsciously to the men he was went through boot camp with. There ''was'' a way besides CuttingTheKnot to get that flag off the flagpole - they could have ''helped'' each other. Brawny guys like Dum Dum Dugan on the bottom. Mid-sized guys further up, bracing themselves against the flagpole. Rogers, the "ninety-pound asthmatic" determinedly crawling up the pile to retrieve the flag. "[[ExactWords Whoever brings me that flag gets a free ride back to base with Agent Carter!]]" No reason it couldn't have been ''everyone'' presenting him with the flag, and refusing to abandon the others. Instead they were [[TallPoppySyndrome yanking each other off the flagpole like crabs in an open bucket.]] '''''That''''' is why he wanted those weirdos - they worked together almost instinctively despite not only being from different units, but different ''countries.''

* Rogers rejects the team Phillips wants to assemble in favor of asking the [=POWs=] he rescued to return to the front. Not only did he see them in action and approve of their tenacity, but he would have compared them subconsciously to the men he was went through boot camp with. There ''was'' a way besides CuttingTheKnot to get that flag off the flagpole - they could have ''helped'' each other. Brawny guys like Dum Dum Dugan on the bottom. Mid-sized guys further up, bracing themselves against the flagpole. Rogers, the "ninety-pound asthmatic" determinedly crawling up the pile to retrieve the flag. "[[ExactWords Whoever brings me that flag gets a free ride back to base with Agent Carter!]]" No reason it couldn't have been ''everyone'' presenting him with the flag, and refusing to abandon the others. Instead they were [[TallPoppySyndrome yanking each other off the flagpole like crabs in an open bucket.]] '''''That''''' is why he wanted those weirdos - they worked together almost instinctively despite not only being from different units, but different ''countries.''

** Plus, there's the "Grenade!" scene where Peggy is actually the ''only'' person running to Steve diving heroically over the grenade, while everyone else ran for cover.

* ''Iron Man 2'' has the Stark Expo song "Make Way For Tomorrow Today" which is a Disneyland Tomorrowland type song in the vein of "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow". This isn't coincidence - MWFTT is written by one of the Sherman Brothers, who were legendary songwriters for Disney, including that Tomorrowland song. You might also think it isn't a coincidence that Howard Stark appears to be a mix of Howard Hughes and Walt Disney (Hughes for the tech, Disney for the family friendly showmanship and public persona).
* Hovering on the edge of Fridge Horror (and tipping over due to what we see in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''), when Steve finds him Bucky's repeating his name, rank and serial number (to an empty room, because he's so out of it). According to [[TheLawsAndCustomsOfWar the Geneva Conventions]], this is exactly what a soldier's supposed to do when being interrogated. What edges it toward horrific is that in HYDRA's case, interrogation can be assumed to mean torture and/or attempted brainwashing. Though it's probably TranslationConvention, this may also have implications of SwitchToEnglish for HYDRA's higher-ups speaking in English instead of German if some of the mooks are actually brainwashed Allied soldiers.

* We finally have a sane, rational justification for the codifier for NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup - Dr. Erskine kept all the essential math for the Super Soldier Serum in his head because the Serum "Makes good great and bad worse". He's seen it create the Red Skull. He ''knows'' that the Army wants to use it on [[JerkJock bullies]]. He [[DoomedMoralVictor died trying to keep history from repeating itself.]]

* Having Gabe Jones be the one to capture Arnim Zola wasn't just an attempt at giving him one scene of focus - it was twisting the knife in the wound. Nazi or Hydra, they're Aryans after all.

* Take a close look at just ''where'' Schmidt picks up the Cosmic Cube: Tønsberg. Which ''Film/{{Thor}}'' established was the site of a major battle in the Asgardian/Frost Giant War. The few surviving humans would have had first-hand experience just how dangerous the powers Asgardians and their like are dealing in can be to humans, and a great reason to feel indebted to the Asgardians. In other words, the perfect start for an AncientTradition guarding a (seemingly, at least) Asgardian relic.

* Bucky's body is never shown, he falls into icy terrain, [[spoiler: and just like with Steve, he's found by Soviet soldiers still in the ice and is used to create The Winter Soldier.]]
* Peggy:
** Prior to the procedure, Dr. Erskine has to point out to Peggy that she should be in the observation booth. It's subtle, but an indication that she's already falling for him.

* Perhaps a small, unintended bit of brilliance. When the Red Skull gets taken into the Bifrost, the effects almost make it look like he is getting burned. In addition, he gets taken away, rather than dying like the rest of HYDRA. In Greek mythology, the only way to keep a hydra's head from regrowing is to burn the stump after cutting the head off. Also, the last head of the hydra is immortal, and most myths state that it is pinned under a boulder to deal with that. Maybe not the exact same thing as transporting it to a different realm, but kind of an interesting connection.

** It also shows Howard's reasoning in deporting Vanko - HYDRA proved that the technology was easily weaponized, but Stark refused to follow in their footsteps and was deeply disgusted by Vanko's attempt to plunge the world into HYDRA-style Tesseract-powered warfare. Tony was less successful in protecting the technology from Senator Stern and Justin Hammer - the assholes only saw arc reactor tech as a weapon, never understanding how much havoc Hydra wreaked with it - until Vanko cut loose.