We all love a good Marvel movie and since his debut in Captain America: The First Avenger, Steven Rogers has become one of the most loved characters in the world.
People love him because he went from a scrawny man with a big heart to one of the strongest men on the planet with the same big heart.
If you are new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe then you may be wondering which order you should be watching the Captain America trilogy in.
In this article we will be discussing how to watch all the Captain America movies in order. We will also discuss the character himself and his story outside of the movies that bear his name.
So let us begin with how to watch the movies in chronological order.
The Trilogy
Due to the Captain America movie being a trilogy, the order of the movies is rather easy to follow. It is best to watch them in chronological order but there is an issue with this.
When only watching certain Marvel movies you miss everything that happens in between the two movies. This gap in information is massively shown in the progression between ‘The First Avenger’ and ‘The Winter Soldier’.
But worry not, we will go into detail with the stuff you missed later so if you only wish to watch the Captain America movies you will not be missing out on the plot you missed that plays into the movie.
Now it is time to cover the three movies in order of their release dates and give you some detail about it.
Release Order
In this section we will be discussing all of the Captain America movies in order of their release date each with a description of the movie and where you can actually find the movie to watch it.
Captain America: The First Avenger
The first big screen appearance of Steve Rodgers released on July 22nd 2011. The action movie set in WW2 had a run time of 124 minutes and was rated PG-13.
The movie directed by Joe Johnston was a huge hit at the movies generating $370.6 million dollars at the box office.
The movie saw Chris Evans play Steven Rogers, a skinny frail man who wants nothing more than to join the military and fight for his country during WW2.
His fortunes change when the military offers him the opportunity to turn from the man he is currently and be turned into a super soldier.
He eagerly accepts and becomes Captain America. Finally being able to fight in the war gives him the opportunity to do what he always wanted too.
Together with his best friend Bucky Barnes he forms a team called the Howling Commandos and the team works to take down Nazis and destroy secret Nazi super weapons.
Cap stops at nothing to prevent the Nazis from winning the war even if it means giving his own life to do so. We all know that Steven Rodgers ends up in the modern day so how does he manage to get there?
You will just have to watch the movie to find out.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The second movie of the Captain America trilogy released on March 20th 2014, the movie had a run time of 136 minutes and was rated PG-13, it was an even bigger hit than ‘The First Avenger’ making more than double at the box office.
The movie made a staggering $714.4 million. The movie was directed by the Russo brothers who would go on to make the two biggest movies in the MCU but more about them later.
The movie begins with the news of a S.H.I.E.L.D agent being attacked which leads to Captain America uncovering a massive conspiracy inside of S.H.I.E.L.D.
With the help of fellow Avenger Black Widow the pair begin to investigate with each clue turning into a dead end.
The pair do this whilst being hunted by The Winter Soldier, a man believed to be a myth who it turns out is very real. Rogers only begins to piece together the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D after encountering an adversary from his past.
As far as the movie goes, the reception with the Marvel fandom is that the movie is rated as one of the best in the MCU.
Captain America: Civil War
Finally we have ‘Civil War’ that released on April 27th 2016 the movie has the longest run time of all the Captain America movies clocking in at 147 minutes like the other two movies the movie is only a PG-13 and is also directed by the Russo brothers.
Civil War absolutely destroyed the box office making $1.153 billion the first Captain America movie to cross the threshold.
The movie has another large time jump and the world has changed a lot following the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, following the fallout from Avengers: Age of Ultron the Avengers face scrutiny over the damage they have caused.
The newly proposed ‘Sokovia Accords’ plan for the government to gain control over the Avengers. These new orders deeply divide the team, Captain America takes a stand against the accords and strongly opposes them but Iron Man is completely for them.
Tensions rise between the two sides of the Avengers that have formed and it seems like it is only a matter of time before they clash and start a war amongst themselves.
The movie causes lasting damage to the Avengers that is never truly resolved.
Both the Captain America movies in order of release and in chronological order are the same. So if you ever happen to forget which one comes first then just look for the release date.
But next up we will cover what happened around Captain America between and after his movies.
Time Between First Avenger And Winter Soldier
Following the First Avenger, Cap’s next appearance is in the movie The Avengers. Where we see Steve Rogers in modern day New York as he is recruited to S.H.I.E.L.D.S Avenger Initiative.
Captain America joins Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye, The Hulk and eventually Thor in stopping an alien invasion headed by Thor’s brother Loki.
Aside from The Avengers, Cap does not make another big appearance until his movie The Winter Soldier.
Time Between Winter Soldier And Civil War
The only appearance Steve makes is in Avengers: Age Of Ultron. In this movie Tony Stark creates Ultron, an AI program who goes rogue and attempts to destroy the world.
The movie adds Scarlet Witch to the Avengers and sets up some early tension that leads to the events of Captain America: Civil War.
Time After Civil War
The events of Civil War leave Team Cap as fugitives and force them into hiding, they only reappear during Avengers: Infinity War.
Once Thanos comes to Earth in search of the final Infinity Stone it forces Rogers to fight him 1 on 1 and he is able to hold off four infinity stones for a short time.
Infinity War ends with half of the universe being turned to dust and Avengers Endgame tells the story of how the survivors including Captain America fight back against the victorious Thanos.
Endgame is the final movie up to now to include Captain America and it leaves his story where it began for Steve.
Where Can I Watch The Movies
The answer to this is simple: any and all Marvel movies can be found on Disney+ where the entire MCU is organized in chronological order so you will not even need to worry about finding which Captain America movie is first as it is already sorted for you.
You can also buy or rent the movies on YouTube.
Final Thoughts
After Endgame, Sam Wilson assumes the mantle of Captain America and continues the story in the TV series Falcon and The Winter Soldier. With Captain America 4 in production it will not be long until we see Cap on the big screen again.
Captain America is one of the most loved cinematic characters of all time and with three amazing movies to enjoy before the next installment hits the cinema there is plenty to watch to tide you over until then.
So enjoy.
If you liked this article, you might enjoy our post on ‘After Movies In Order: A Sensual Guide‘.
I’d like to think I know a lot about films - at least that’s what my peers tell me after I’m done boring them to tears with my knowledge surrounding any movie that comes into the conversation!
I think the people in my life are getting a little bored of my teachings, so now I bring them to you - to hopefully find people who will get as excited as I do when talking about films. Please enjoy my reviews and commentaries, and feel free to jump in at any point and discuss.
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