Director Joe "The Wolfman" Johnston recently talked to the Los Angeles Times about the look of his lead comic book character, for the upcoming feature film take on Marvel Studios' "First Avenger: Captain America", prepping to start June 2010 in London, UK for a 2011 Paramount release.
"The costume is a flag," said Johnston.
"The costume is a flag," said Johnston.
"But the way we're getting around that is we have 'Steve Rogers' forced into the USO circuit. After he's made into this super-soldier, they decide they can't send him into combat and risk him getting killed. He's the only one and they can't make more.
"So they say, 'You're going to be in this USO show' and they give him a flag suit. He can't wait to get out of it.
"It was never in the comics because they didn't really need it. In comics, he puts on the costume and the reader just justifies because of the nature of the medium.
"So he's up on stage doing songs and dances with chorus girls and he can't wait to get out and really fight. When he does go AWOL, he covers up the suit but then, after a few things happen, he realizes that this uniform allows him to lead. By then, he's become a star in the public mind and a symbol. The guys get behind him because he embodies something special.
"He realizes the value of the uniform symbols but he modifies his suit and adds some armor, it will be closer to the Cap costume in some of the comics in more recent years . . . this approach, it's the only way we could justify ever seeing him on a screen in tights, with the funny boots and everything. The government essentially puts him up there as a living comic-book character and he rips it off and then reclaims some of its imagery after he recognizes the value of it. We think it's the best way to keep the costume and explain it at the same time..."
