Line #88 YMMV/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger


1	* {{Adorkable}}:
2	** Even after his lab procedure, Steve is painfully earnest about everything and the opposite of smooth with the ladies.
3	** Bucky shows a deep interest in science, gadgetry, and inventions, and at the exhibit for future technologies, he gets overly excited about Howard Stark’s invention.
4	** Dernier, who looks like he just got a puppy for Christmas after he blows up an armored car.
5	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
6	** Colonel Chester Phillips: when he thought Captain America/Steve Rogers was dead, was he actually upset about the fact that a man may have died in vain - and with him many other men - or was he just mad because Cap snuck out under his watch meaning he could very well have lost his career? For that matter, was there any real merit in his request to have Cap kept in a lab to see if a new version of the formula could be extracted from him or was he just taking his frustration and resentment out on someone who didn't deserve it simply because Rogers wasn't ''HIS'' preferred choice for the serum (remember that Colonel Phillips was advocating someone like Gilmore Hodge, who we saw throwing sexist remarks at Peggy Carter and tormenting Steve during basic training)?
7	** Dr. Zola first appears to be a ReluctantMadScientist who just wants to invent, not kill, but the sequel calls into question whether he really was just a PunchClockVillain, since it suggests he was involved in torturing Bucky and many other [=POWs=] and was the one who resurrected HYDRA within SHIELD.
8	** There's a theory that the 1941 baseball game (see below) was an intentional "slip-up" on Fury's part, to see if Steve's faculties were intact and / or he lived up to his reputation.
9	* AluminumChristmasTrees:
10	** In the scene where Red Skull is making his escape, he makes his getaway in a weird-looking aircraft that was powered by three jet motors on a spinning rotor placed on the center of the aircraft. Sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie? [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Wulf_Triebflugel Real Life military prototype logs say otherwise.]] In fact, many of the designs HYDRA uses in the movie are based on actual Nazi prototypes that were either too costly to mass-produce or lacked sufficient power (such as the Tesseract) to be effective.
11	** Surveillance cameras. Germans pioneered TV ''and regular TV broadcasts'' in the late 1930s. (They even understood it was too expensive for ordinary customers, so they used large TV sets in a sort of mini-movie-theaters.) They built a TV-guided anti-ship missile in 1944. It would be the most logical choice for the Red Skull to use on his factory.
12	* AmericansHateTingle: Reception in Germany was mixed. Many people thought the movie was playing the CaptainPatriotic trope straight, lacking knowledge of the original comic books from the 1940s to compare it to [[note]]or even the later comics for that matter; the medium is still subject to the AnimationAgeGhetto even as of UsefulNotes/TheNewTens, and publishers were reluctant to import a CaptainGeographic in particular, not to mention that patriotism [[ValuesDissonance comes across as]] BlindObedience to modern Germans)[[/note]]. Professional critics also criticized the film's decision to focus on Captain America fighting a fictional RenegadeSplinterFaction of the Third Reich while completely ignoring real-life atrocities such as the Holocaust, which was seen as trivializing a part of history that is still a very sensitive topic in Germany. That said, the film was still a box office success, and the sequels are as popular as they are elsewhere.
13	* AwardSnub: None of the cast or crew members received UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations. While most of these snubs seem to have resulted from the absence of a "For Your Consideration..." campaign, the absence of "Star-Spangled Man" from the Best Song category might sound baffling to those who know that the Academy only nominated two songs that year[[note]]"[[WesternAnimation/{{Rio}} Real in Rio]]" and "[[Film/TheMuppets2011 Man or Muppet]]", the latter of which won[[/note]], making the roster appear to have at least one empty slot.
14	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: "Star-Spangled Man with a Plan" is a legitimately good song, with epic orchestrations and homages to music in the 1940s. You can see why it helped Captain America sell war bonds. It's no surprise when you learn that Alan Menken composed it.
15	* CatharsisFactor: It is immensely satisfying to watch Bucky defend Steve from a bully, who he gives a good punch and then a [[LiteralAssKicking kick up the rear]].
16	* CompleteMonster:
17	** [[Characters/MCUJohannSchmidt Johann Schmidt]], aka the [[{{Ubermensch}} Red Skull]], is a profound {{narcissist}} who [[AGodAmI believes himself a god]] no longer bound by humanity's rules. The head of [[Characters/{{MCUHYDRA}} HYDRA]], a Nazi military organization, Schmidt--as revealed in the tie-in comic ''First Vengeance''--orchestrated the Night of Long Knives to butcher his political opposition before [[PiggybackingOnHitler turning the group into his own personal cult]]. Schmidt is introduced killing the guardian of the Tesseract and ordering the entire village where it was hidden wiped out, before betraying the Nazi party in order to pursue his own goals and murdering three officers sent to check on his research. Schmidt uses the Tesseract to make fantastic new weapons for HYDRA, and has [=POWs=] torturously experimented on in order to replicate Dr. Abraham Erskine's SuperSerum--which Schmidt originally forced Erskine to create by threatening his family, never informing him that they had already died in a concentration camp. Despite their fanatical devotion to Schmidt, he continually shows no concern for the welfare of his men, having them chomp {{cyanide pill}}s when captured, executing one merely for surviving an attack, and activating the self-destruct sequence at another HYDRA base when Allied forces overrun it, not caring that hundreds of his troops will be killed in the blast. Schmidt's ultimate plan is to use his new weapons to wipe out half the planet, bombing nearly every major city--including his own capital--just so he can rule over what's left.
18	** [[MadScientist Dr. Arnim Zola]] debuts as a cowardly scientist who joins the Nazis so they'll fund his work. Gleefully making war machines as [[Characters/MCUHYDRALeadership part of HYDRA]], Zola delights in the disastrous results of Dr. Abraham Erskine's SuperSoldier experiment in anticipation of [[Characters/MCUJohannSchmidt Johann Schmidt]] turning to his scientific expertise instead, all while mocking his rival over the prospect of his family being executed for his failure. When Schmidt lets Zola in on his plot to TakeOverTheWorld, the scientist enslaves and experiments on prisoners of war to build the super weapons necessary for the scheme before betraying his boss to the Allies when it's made clear failure is inevitable. [[spoiler:Having become a true believer in totalitarianism, Zola joins the newly-formed [[Characters/{{MCUSHIELD}} S.H.I.E.L.D.]] and goes about reforming HYDRA within its ranks, all the while masterminding global conflicts to make the people desperate for security. To do this, he abducts and [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashes]] people into being "Winter Soldier" assassins, keeping them in stasis and torturously memory wiping them between missions. All of this culminates in a plot to launch Project Insight, which will trap the world in an eternal surveillance state and give HYDRA the ability to slaughter any dissidents, with it being explicitly stated that this will lead to tens of millions of deaths]].
19	** Alexander Irvine's {{novelization}}: [[Characters/MCUJohannSchmidt Johann Schmidt]], the Red Skull, is a rogue Nazi scientist who created the splinter cell "[[Characters/{{MCUHYDRA}} Hydra]]" to satisfy [[GodhoodSeeker his own aims at godhood]]. After a failed attempt to use a faulty [[SuperSerum super soldier serum]] on himself to achieve this power, Red Skull has the serum's creator assassinated to stop the Americans from using it. Red Skull captures hundreds of soldiers in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and uses them as guinea pigs and test subjects for his experiments, then tries to kill them all alongside hundreds of his own men in an explosion to tie up loose ends. Red Skull's ultimate goal is to use the powerful Cosmic Cube's energy to stage a massive bombing campaign on various countries worldwide, willing to "blow up half the planet" just to prove his power to humanity.
20	** [[{{Novelization}} Junior Novel]], by Elizabeth Rudnick: [[Characters/MCUJohannSchmidt Johann Schmidt]], the Red Skull, is the leader of [[Characters/{{MCUHYDRA}} HYDRA]], a CultOfPersonality he uses to seek cosmic powers and TakeOverTheWorld. To this end, Schmidt sabotages the [[Characters/MCUSHIELDStrategicScientificReserve American super soldier program]], leading to Dr. Abraham Erskine's death, and kidnaps hundreds of Allied soldiers for his own ends, setting their prison to self-destruct when [[Characters/MCUSteveRogers Captain America]] arrives to free them. When the [[Characters/MCUHowlingCommandos Howling Commandos]] proceed to destroy most of his bases, Schmidt uses his new technology to attempt to bomb "half the world", including the entire American east coast, into oblivion, uncaring of the massive destruction and death he'd cause as long as he can rule over the remains.
21	* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Steve's pre-serum emaciated body which seems to be unable to grow his muscles (or all the fighting would have done it) and the fact that no one else in his community seems to be starved, implies that he may have had a whiff of polio in his childhood. Not full-blown polio, of course.
22	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
23	** [[Creator/JennaColeman Connie]], Bucky's date at the convention, is very popular due to being played by the same actress as Clara in ''Series/DoctorWho''.
24	** [[Creator/NatalieDormer Private Lorraine]] is this [[SexySecretary for obvious reasons]].
25	* EvilIsCool: The Red Skull, of all people. It probably helps that he's played by Creator/HugoWeaving. He's a LargeHam BadBoss and in some ways he's more evil than Hitler, he wears a BadassLongcoat and can fight ComicBook/CaptainAmerica to a stalemate. Note, however, that in between all the ForTheEvulz plotting, he has ''one'' PetTheDog moment. The cool thing is, it's to the benefit of both his minion [[CoolCar and his car]].
26	* FanDislikedExplanation: An interview released during the film's 10th anniversary where the writers stated that [[https://www.cbr.com/captain-america-first-avenger-steve-rogers-not-virgin/ Steve probably lost his virginity in casual flings during the USO tours]] upset a lot of fans, due to the film itself implying he was [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan saving himself for the right person]] and Steve's continued virginity being a very popular {{Fanon}}. Fans who enjoyed the OfficialCouple of Steve/Peggy were also annoyed that it makes their various acts of jealousy over the idea of each other seeing different people come off as [[ClingyJealousGirl mean]]-[[CrazyJealousGuy spirited]] for no reason. [[spoiler:The fact that ''Series/SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw'' would officially make this canon for the sake of a gag did ''not'' quell those feelings.]]
27	* FanNickname: Pre-serum Steve is often referred to as 萌やし (moyashi) or "beansprout" in East Asian fandom due to his small size.
28	* GeniusBonus: Although Odin is usually thought of as a Nordic deity, "Nord" simply means northern Germans, and the Norse shared the same folk religion as the pre-Christian inhabitants of Germany. This folk religion was the crux of the nationalist revival that influenced the Nazi movement and inspired its more esoteric followers. Johann Schmidt, like Alfred Rosenberg and Heinrich Himmler, believes the ancient religion of his people was real.
29	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Although Marvel and Paramount offered simply ''The First Avenger'' as an alternative title for countries requesting it, only Russia, South Korea and Ukraine took that option (they also went with that title in Germany for the sequels). All the others, including China, settled for the original title for the film instead.
30	* HarsherInHindsight:
31	** The movie opens with Schmidt in Tonsberg, Norway, retrieving the Tesseract, then ordering his tanks to shell the town while he shoots the caretaker. The very day the movie was released, Anders Breivik, a ''neo-nazi'' went on a bombing and shooting rampage, in Norway.
32	** On a thankfully more fictional note, you can make a drinking game out of how many scenes, lines, facial expressions, etc. from Bucky Barnes, Howard Stark, or Dr. Arnim Zola become slightly horrifying when viewed through the lens of the sequel.
33	** This movie climaxes with [[spoiler:the Allies apparently wiping out HYDRA. Later films and ''Agents'' reveal that a) they didn't, and b) Schmidt's little operation was just one tiny part of an AncientConspiracy whose plans seem to make him look like a Boy Scout, that is also a friendly corgi - though in terms of actual threat presented, despite the fact that Hive (their god) is genuinely dangerous, the HYDRA cult is pretty limited and held in contempt even by the rest of HYDRA.]]
34	** A part of the climax has Schmidt monologue about a future where "there are no flags". Steve responds that it isn't his future... [[spoiler: After the end of ''Civil War'', he gives up his shield and all American symbols, effectively becoming Nomad, the man without a country.]]
35	*** Also related to the above quote, the antagonistic faction in ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'' is revealed to be none other than [[spoiler:the '''Flag-Smashers''', led by Karli Morgenthau. Looks like Karli and the Red Skull had similar ideas about the future having no flags.]]
36	** Tying in with the above, ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' Season 5 shows us that the future of the MCU is indeed one without flags -- because [[spoiler: the fucking world gets blown up.]] Schmidt was ''right''.
37	** During the bar scene when Bucky [[FriendVersusLover is upset]] that Steve and Peggy aren't paying attention to him, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnVkj41ybnE the song playing in the background]] is one about someone (presumably female, but sung by a man) whose male beloved has left them for a dark-haired woman and [[DeathByDespair is dying of a broken heart]]. Come ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', [[spoiler:Steve leaves Bucky to go back in time to be with Peggy, which leaves Bucky noticeably heartbroken. By the start of ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'' Bucky is downright suicidal, and continues to cope poorly with his grief from missing Steve for a large chunk of the show]].
38	** Abraham Erskine explains to Steve that the reason he chose him to receive the super soldier serum instead of Colonel Chester Phillip's preferred choice of Gilmore Hodge is because he's afraid that the serum will enhance someone like Hodge's negative traits, rather than Steve's good and virtuous personality. Fast-forward to ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'', and we see that Erskine was right to be worried about this, [[spoiler:as John Walker's usage of the serum turns him from a frosty ByTheBookCop to an unhinged berserker who uses his newfound strength to kill a man in a blind rage with Cap's shield in public view of everyone.]]
39	** The praise Steve gets for his heroic act of rescuing several P.O.W's from HYDRA's clutches feels a bit more undercut after [[Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier Isaiah Bradley]] reveals that [[spoiler:he did a similar action while he was active in the 50s, only for the government to throw him in jail, torture him for disobedience and cover up anything related to him from the general public for decades.]]
40	** While not exactly ''harsh'', seeing Peggy Carter decide to go to the observation deck in this film becomes much more important after [[spoiler:''[[WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021 What If...?]]'' shows that had she not done this, Peggy herself would've been forced to take the serum instead of Steve.]]
41	** Peggy's bitter anger upon seeing what appears to be Steve hooking up with a random woman by accident to the point of trying to ''shoot'' him becomes less like stereotypical WomanScorned behavior after ''Series/SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw'' reveals that Cap indeed did sleep with at least one of the USO tour girls during the events of this film.
42	* HeartwarmingInHindsight:
43	** Captain America's co-creator, Creator/JoeSimon, died about five months after this movie's release, but its box office and critical successes likely helped reassure him of Cap's lasting value before he passed away.
44	** A standard bit of evil baddie banter from the Red Skull becomes this when he yells at Steve, "You could have had the power of the gods!" [[spoiler:In ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', Steve gets the [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield power of the gods after all]] when he [[ShockingMoments uses Mjolnir.]]]]
45	** [[spoiler:Doctor Erskine]]'s last act is to point to Steve's heart, as if to reassure him that he is worthy, not because of the serum they're putting into his body, but because of who he is inside. [[spoiler:In ''Endgame'', we find out that even the Gods of Asgard agree when Steve ''[[SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfAwesome picks up Mjolnir]]'' and fights with it.]]
46	** Feel free to start [[InelegantBlubbering shamelessly ugly-crying]] when watching this movie and ''Endgame'' back to back. [[spoiler:Looks like he and Peggy [[EarnYourHappyEnding got that dance after all.]]]]
47	* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: After all the JerkWithAHeartOfGold characters he's played, it came as a surprise to some people just how well Creator/ChrisEvans pulls off an {{Adorkable}} [[NiceGuy puppy dog]] of a SuperSoldier.
48	* HesJustHiding: [[spoiler:Some fans speculate that Red Skull had actually been temporarily banished from the mortal plane than killed. The fact that the way he was disintegrated was similar to the Bifrost travel in ''Film/{{Thor}}'' supports it; and if you look closely at the ceiling when the Red Skull first grasps the Cosmic Cube in his bare hand, it temporarily warps to a star-filled view of the same interdimensional void that the Bifrost travels through and that Loki falls into. Fans are proven correct in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', where its revealed that the Tesseract actually teleported the Red Skull to a [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment distant planet to guard the Soul Stone.]]]]
49	* HilariousInHindsight:
50	** Some found it hilarious that Creator/StanleyTucci and Creator/TobyJones played rival German scientists in this film, then a year later found themselves announcing [[Film/TheHungerGames the 74th Annual Hunger Games]]. And neither of them is German to begin with, as Tucci is American and Jones is British.[[note]]And Zola was never German anyway -- [[spoiler:he informs Cap that he's Swiss in ''The Winter Soldier'']].[[/note]]
51	** Natalie Dormer, who plays the young private that flirts with and kisses Steve Rogers, later had a small role in ''Film/Rush2013''... as a [[HospitalHottie young nurse]] who makes out with [[Film/{{Thor}} Chris Hemsworth]].
52	** In the final scene, Steve meeting with Nick Fury is overseen by a Baskin-Robbins ad. [[Film/AntMan1 Because Baskin-Robbins always finds out.]][[note]]Out-of-universe, though, that is because Baskin-Robbins helps promoting this movie.[[/note]]
53	** Howard Stark's remark about HYDRA not attacking Steve with knives. Guess what happens to him (twice!) and to his successor.
54	** The writers considered having Baron Strucker as a co-villain, but felt he'd be wasted in such a small part. When Strucker did finally make his full MCU debut in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', quite a few fans complained that the movie completely wasted him.
55	** The title is "Captain America: The ''First'' Avenger"; we find out it was [[{{Film/Captain Marvel\|2019}} Carol Danvers]] who had "Avenger" as her callsign and inspired the name for the Avengers Initiative, making this film's title somewhat a misnomer (while Captain America ''was'' the first superhero, disregarding the Asgardians and their influence over old Norse culture, "the Avengers" as a concept wouldn't exist until Carol Danvers inspired Nick Fury with it in the 90s).
56	*** Though it could be argued that, while Fury got the name "Avenger" from Carol Danvers, and while the Avengers Initiative was indeed his idea in the 90s, as he wasn't actually born yet in WWII as Steve Rogers was making his mark as Captain America, Steve is indeed ''chronologically'' the first Avenger, even though he wouldn't use the title until after Danvers did.
57	** "You could have the power of the Gods!" exclaimed Schmidt during his battle with Rogers aboard the Valkyrie bomber. [[spoiler:By ''[[Film/AvengersEndgame Endgame]]'', he did end up having the power of a ''Demigod'' upon wielding Mjolnir. That's right, Schmidt: not only are the Norse gods you worship real, but they like Steve more than you. [[LaserGuidedKarma Ouch.]]]]
58	** And before that, in ''[[Film/AvengersInfinityWar Infinity War]]'', we find out that [[spoiler:Schmidt [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor did indeed get to have the power of the gods.]] And they made him use it [[IronicHell to watch over that same form of power for an eternity as punishment.]]]]
59	** Assuming that Rogers returned exactly 66 years after his plane was lost, then he's [[Film/WonderWoman1984 not the only Steve]] to do so.
60	** At one point in the film, Steve is coerced into being used as a propaganda piece by being used in musical theater performances of [[ShowWithinAShow "The Star-Spangled Man"]] onstage, which both he and the actual U.S Army find utterly ridiculous. Apparently somebody in Broadway decided to try this idea ''again'' in ''[[Series/Hawkeye2021 Hawkeye]]'', which results in ''Rogers: The Musical''. Clint Barton and his family are just as unimpressed with it.
61	* HoYay:
62	** Howard Stark towards Steve Rogers. First, just look at how Stark looks at Rogers before the injection! Second, just look at how Howard [[StupidSexyFlanders observes Steve's newly-enchanced]] [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless body]].
63	** There's tons of devotion between [[HeterosexualLifePartners Steve and Bucky]]:
64	*** Steve is willing to walk 30 miles beyond enemy line into Austria for the hundred-to-one chance that Bucky may still be alive.
65	*** When trapped in an exploding HYDRA base, Steve is stuck on the wrong end of a collapsed bridge. He yells for Bucky to go, but he refuses.
66	--->'''Bucky:''' No! Not without you!
67	*** The drinking song that plays in the bar while Steve and Bucky are talking to Peggy is "[[https://archive.org/details/ThereIsATavernInTheTown There is a Tavern in the Town]]". It's just a catchy period piece at face value, and Bucky is definitely acting like a HopelessSuitor in the scene, but the song's literal meaning coupled with Bucky's general feelings of inadequacy during the scene leads to some ...[[UnluckyChildhoodFriend interesting undertones]] about who of the two he's actually jealous of.
68	*** There is ''no way'' the writers intended for the scene between Steve and Bucky in the bar to come across [[EatingTheEyeCandy the way it did]].
69	--->'''Bucky:''' ''[leans over]'' But, you're keeping the [Cap] outfit, right]]?\
70	'''Steve:''' You know, it's kind of growing on me.
71	*** And when Bucky says goodbye to Steve before shipping off to war, he affectionately calls Steve a punk. While he was most likely using it in the modern sense, [[http://historicallyaccuratesteve.tumblr.com/post/87616914105/partytimexelent-chujo-hime historically]] "punk" also had quite an [[TheTwink interesting]] [[AccidentalInnuendo alternative meaning]]...
72	*** Tying in with FridgeLogic or FridgeBrilliance (depending on one's personal {{Fanon}}), movieverse Bucky is a CompositeCharacter whose backstory takes a lot from Arnie Roth, a childhood friend of Steve who was bigger and stronger than him and protected him from bullies, and was also super popular with the ladies. Oh, and the other thing Arnie was most famous for? A GayAesop. There's also the fact that his namesake UsefulNotes/JamesBuchanan's biggest claims to fame are being terrible[[note]]Presidential ranking lists were popularized in 1948, but chances are his dismal reputation among the public extended to the late 1800's.[[/note]] or possibly gay. Bucky's parents were apparently sadists or prophets.
73	*** Bucky's relationship with Steve is similar to Peggy's relationship with Steve, in the sense that they only ever saw ''[[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan Steve]]'', not Captain America, and that's who Bucky chose to follow into battle. Bucky never saw the hero -- he only ever saw his best friend and the man he'd stand by no matter what.
74	--->'''Steve:''' You ready to follow Captain America into the jaws of death?\
75	'''Bucky:''' Hell, no! [[WartsAndAll The little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight]]. I'm following him.
76	** When Steve asks the Howling Commandos to go back to the front with him, two of them, Jones and Dernier, converse in French and they're sitting awfully close to each other. Makes you wonder what else they use that for...
77	* IKnewIt: As confirmed by the sequel, [[spoiler:Bucky survives and becomes the Winter Soldier.]]
78	** Over a dozen movies later, [[spoiler:we learn that the Red Skull [[NeverFoundTheBody didn't die when he was seemingly disintegrated]], as many fans suspected. Turns out he was actually transported to a distant planet and [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment transformed into the guardian of the Soul Stone.]]]]
79	* IronWoobie: Cap. You can tell he's sad about waking up after most people he knew were dead, but he won't let that get in his way.
80	* LauncherOfAThousandShips: The title character himself. He's shipped with Peggy, Howard, all of his fellow Avengers, Bucky, every single one of the Howling Commandoes... Super-Soldier's a super-suitor.
81	* MemeticMutation:
82	** Schmidt's line '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqkY2nCf2xU "YOU ARE FAILING!"]]''' has been getting some recognition due to its [[LargeHam hamminess]] and its use as either a TakeThat statement, or a meme about failing grades.
83	** Fondue took off among fans as an UnusualEuphemism in earnest due to the scene of Steve misunderstanding it as one.
84	** Captain America predicted the Coronavirus. [[labelnote:Explanation]]In June 2020, someone pointed out how both an advertisement of Corona (the beer) and a strange shape that looks like a virus [[https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2020/06/EZz1YLXU0AAE1en.jpg can be seen the Times Square billboards when Steve Rogers wakes up in 2011]]. This lead to many people speculating that this movie predicted the Coronavirus nine years before it became widespread, even after it was clarified that the "virus symbol" is just an an ad for pasta.[[/labelnote]]
85	** "Hail Lobster."/Jordan Peterson as Red Skull [[labelnote:Explanation]]After the comics depicted a scene comparing the Red Skull to controversial academic Jordan Peterson, fans started editing images of the Red Skull from this movie with quotes by Peterson, due to fans believing that the quotes sound like something the Red Skull would say.[[/labelnote]]
86	* MoralEventHorizon: See [[MoralEventHorizon/MarvelCinematicUniverse here]].
87	* {{Narm}}: See [[Narm/MarvelCinematicUniverse here]].
88	* NarmCharm: Though the Hydra salute may be silly-looking to some, others may find it chilling anyway.
89	** It's always an issue to adapt Captain America to ''any'' medium, because a character who is actually living up to his own principles of righteousness can far too easily come off as straight-out {{Narm}}, and by all rights that's exactly what this film should be. But somehow it comes out as a genuine, heartwarming, awesome, tear-jerking, triumphal ode to true patriotism and human goodness instead, a feat that should have been impossible outside the Golden Age of Hollywood. The writers, director, and Chris Evans deserve a lot of credit for striking the right tone with Cap: TheHero is a trope that's almost never played straight anymore, without veering into self-parody or coming off as self-righteous.
90	** Bucky's shout of "Let's hear it for Captain America!" can cause oscillation between laughing and cheering. The cheesiness is acknowledged in-universe, with Steve giving Bucky a "Seriously?" look, and Bucky grinning and half-shrugging while clapping in earnest, as if to say "I know it's silly, but I'm proud of you, so just go with it".
91	** Cap's simple "Nope!" when Red Skull says he never gives up. It's a jarring piece of "not even trying" writing, but also fits perfectly into his characterization: he doesn't care at all about looking or sounding cool while being a hero, and just wants to get the job done.
92	** Cap's propaganda show is pretty ridiculous with its {{Eagleland}} imagery and cheesy script. But "The Star-Spangled Man with a Plan" is such a catchy song that it's easy for viewers to get swept up into it just as much as the audience in-universe.
93	* NeverLiveItDown: The scene where Peggy shoots Steve to test the shield seems to have become one for her. Fans have pointed out how little regard for everyone's safety she has in that scene - and by all accounts she should have been punished for the stunt. Especially since Steve wasn't holding the shield up below his waist when she picked up the gun.
94	* NightmareFuel:
95	** When Johann Schmidt rips his mask off, revealing [[BodyHorror his rather gruesome-looking true face]]. There's a good reason he is nicknamed "Red Skull". Doesn't help that Rodgers lands a punch on him moments before, jostling the mask and giving him pure UnintentionalUncannyValley as you can see the hints of the red beneath in the gaps.
96	** Between all the people disintegrated so hard by the Tesseract-powered weaponry that they don't even leave dust behind, and one unlucky Hydra soldier getting mulched into a fine red mist in a quarter of a second by propellers, a ''lot'' of people die rather swift and violent demises in this movie.
97	* OlderThanTheyThink: This isn't the first film to have the Red Skull as the HerosEvilPredecessor to Captain America. [[Film/CaptainAmerica1990 The 1990 film]] also had the Red Skull as the first recipient of the Super-Soldier Serum.
98	* OnceOriginalNowCommon: Peggy's popularity might strike some newer fans as odd - since her role in the film still is as the love interest. She just happened to be played by an actress who really brought her to life and got to [[ActionGirl do some things in the film beyond pining over the hero]]. Black Widow made a striking appearance in ''Film/IronMan2'' a year earlier, but she was largely a supporting character and female superhero movies were thought to be a dead genre. This movie also came out before ''Film/TheHungerGames'' and ''{{Literature/Divergent}}'' broke out of the GirlShowGhetto. Sif in ''{{Film/Thor}}'' experienced a similar phenomenon.
99	* QuestionableCasting: Quite a few people even had this reaction after Evans was cast in the title role after his stint as a [[Film/FantasticFour2005 certain other Marvel Comics character]], especially considering Chris Evans was mostly previously known for boisterous JerkWithAHeartOfGold characters, but now it feels like he was born to play the Sentinel of Liberty.
100
101	* RainbowLens: While this reading has been present since the comics days, the movie's depiction of pre-serum Steve's desire in the film to contribute to the war efforts and the subsequent transformation of his body into a ManlyMan in order to fulfill those desires has been interpreted by many gay male and transmasculine fans as a metaphor for the desire to conform to conventionally masculine gender roles and presentation.
102	* RetroactiveRecognition:
103	** [[Film/TheHobbit Thorin Oakenshield]] works for [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Elrond]]!
104	** And, of course, Creator/JennaColeman, before she was more known as Melia Antiqua in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' (which released in Europe a month later) or Clara on ''Series/DoctorWho''.
105	** [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014 Meredith Quill]] greets Cap at the war bonds rally! [[https://www.cbr.com/captain-america-star-lord-grandmother-theory/ But it turns out to be her mother.]]
106	* SignatureScene:
107	** Steve jumping on the grenade that Colonel Phillips tosses as all the other men flee. He shouts at them to get back, shielding the others with his body. After a {{Beat}}, he realizes he's still alive and asks if this was a test. Dr. Erskine can't help but grin smugly as Colonel Phillips mutters, "He's still skinny."
108	** The whole serum scene, from the moment Steve gets a penicillin shot to when Peggy sees him and curiously touches his abs. He then proceeds to chase down a Hydra operator who shot Dr. Erskine and stops him from escaping in a submarine.
109	** Steve and Peggy's conversation, thinking it will be their last. They start talking about the date that Steve will never attend, about dancing at a local hall. The transmission cuts short as Steve admits he's worried about stepping on her toes. Peggy remains calm but starts crying as she puts down the radio.
110	** In TheStinger, Steve Rogers waking up in a mysterious room, and realizing something's not right when the radio plays a baseball game he remembers attending. The nurse also has a slightly different outfit than what they wore in the war. Steve busts out, with the nurse reporting it but saying for no one to hurt him; he ends up in New York, confused as there are moving billboards and 2000s-style taxis, with more people than he's ever seen. Nick Fury then comes, reassures him that it was just a "party trick" to see how he was doing, and tells the Captain he slept for seventy years. Steve stares in shock and whispers, "[[TearJerker I had a date]]."
111	* SmurfetteBreakout: Peggy Carter has been heralded as one of Marvel's better supporting ladies, and her popularity led to her receiving her own [[Film/AgentCarter short film]] that led into [[Series/AgentCarter her own TV show]], and cameos throughout the MCU.
112	* SpecialEffectsFailure:
113	** In the 10 years since the movie's release, it's become painfully obvious that Chris Evans' head does not belong on that small body.
114	** [[spoiler: The scene of Bucky Barnes falling to his apparent doom is very clearly Creator/SebastianStan in front of a green/blue screen]].
115	* SpiritualSuccessor:
116	** Before ''Film/Overlord2018'', this was the closest thing we had to a big-budget, Hollywood-made ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}'' movie.
117	** Some consider the title character's portrayal to be a more faithful portrayal of ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' than the [[Film/ManOfSteel DCEU version]].
118	* {{Starboarding}}: While Steve/Bucky eventually became a FanPreferredCouple after [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier the next film]], this one created a camp of fans who see Bucky as a PatientChildhoodLoveInterest with unrequited feelings for [[IncompatibleOrientation Steve]] due to some HoYay and HomoeroticSubtext of that nature. One notable instance is when Steve and Peggy flirt in front of Bucky, with Bucky's jealous reaction seemingly aimed more at Peggy stealing ''Steve'' from him than the other way around while SuspiciouslyAproposMusic plays[[note]][[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnVkj41ybnE There is a Tavern in the Town]], whose lyrics include "He left me for a damsel dark, damsel dark/Each Friday night they used to spark, used to spark/And now my love who once was true to me/Takes this dark damsel on his knee"[[/note]]. The events of later entries, especially ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' and ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'', have intensified this camp with time.
119	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The downplaying of real [[NoSwastikas swastika-bearing]] Nazis (and the real German Army) in favor of the fictional breakaway group HYDRA [[{{Bowdlerization}} to keep the film family-friendly]] is controversial, due to the way it trivializes the World War II setting, removing historical gravitas. Not helped by Cap being firmly established as fighting real Nazis in the comics, where the Red Skull was also loyal to Hitler. Further not helped by being released in the same year as ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', where the Nazi element is much more prominent.
120	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The decision to fast-forward through nearly two years of Cap's time in combat by using an action montage is seen by some as a waste, since it would've been a good opportunity to show Cap dealing with the trauma of the war, being a soldier in general, and bonding with the Howling Commandos or interacting with Bucky, all of which more grounded, realistic movie. As the later films deal with these subjects it would have built up his character and relationships more in these areas.
121	* UnintentionalUncannyValley: In the first half of the film, it's quite obvious that Schmidt is wearing a rubber skin mask over his mutated face. The effect can actually make him look far creepier than his Red Skull face does.
122	* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome:
123	** The visual effects used to make Chris Evans look scrawny[[note]]a combination of body doubles and motion capture[[/note]] were so convincing that a lot of people thought that Marvel had cast a genuinely short and skinny actor and used CGI to bulk him up.
124	** The make-up for the Red Skull is fairly impressive too, especially the rubber skin mask Schmidt wears, which has semi-obvious neck flaps and red areas around the eyes which make it more realistic.

Context YMMV / CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger