Captain America Gets His Own 75th Anniversary Special On ABC In January
The patriotic super soldier Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, became a household superhero name in 2011 with his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America: The First Avenger. Since then, the classic Marvel character has grown in popularity, being a part of Marvel Studios’ best-reviewed film, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and it’s 2016 follow up, Captain America: Civil War. But in January of 2016, before Cap comes back to the big screen in May, he’ll be making a special appearance on the small screen. ABC will be premering Marvel’s Captain America: 75 Heroic Years on Tuesday, January 19 at 8 p.m., reports Slash Film. The description of the special was detailed in the official press release.
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“New York, 1940. A new era on the horizon. Little did the world know then that this decade would shape the course of history in ways never before seen. But two men, who walked those New York streets, a pair of artists and creators, had a strong feeling of what was to come. They were Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, two first-generation Jewish-Americans who believed in their country, believed that the atrocities taking place in Europe needed to be answered, and most importantly, they believed in freedom. And it was an image of freedom that they would create…”
#CaptainAmerica celebrates his 75th anniversary in a new ABC special Tue., Jan. 19! https://t.co/1FAMekMgX4 pic.twitter.com/h1JT9qmlQ9
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) December 18, 2015
“Captain America has been the moral compass that has inspired generations to do better and believe in more than themselves. Whether it be leading The Avengers or fighting for his beliefs, even when it meant taking sides against those closest to him during Marvel’s Civil War, ‘Cap’ has been a beacon of light in the Marvel Universe and a central figure in the vast and dynamic world that Marvel fans know and celebrate today.”
Entertainment Weekly reports that the ABC special will feature special guests like Stan Lee, Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada, and Captain America himself, actor Chris Evans. Along with a whole host of other MCU-related actors and actresses giving their thoughts on the character.
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“This special one-hour event follows the history of Captain America from 1941 to present and explores how the character has been a reflection of the changing times and the world he has existed in throughout the years. Fans will hear from various Marvel luminaries including Stan Lee, Joe Quesada, Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Jeph Loeb, Louis D’Esposito, Chris Evans and Hayley Atwell, as well as family members of Cap’s creators. ‘Marvel’s Captain America: 75 Heroic Years’ will also unveil an exclusive announcement from Marvel Comics.”
The character was created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (cover dated March, 1941) from the predecessor of Marvel Comics, Timely Comics. In 1940, Simon came up with the idea for Captain America and sketched a drawing of the character in his costume. “I wrote the name ‘Super American’ at the bottom of the page,” Simon said in his autobiography. But then considered that the name “Super American” wouldn’t be the way to go.
“No, it didn’t work. There were too many ‘Supers’ around,” said Simon. “‘Captain America’ had a good sound to it. There weren’t a lot of captains in comics. It was as easy as that. The boy companion was simply named Bucky, after my friend Bucky Pierson, a star on our high school basketball team.”
Marvel’s Captain America: 75 Heroic Years is directed by Zac Knutson and scheduled to air 8 p.m. Tuesday, January 19 on ABC. The special will debut just before the two-hour Agent Carter season premiere. Captain America: Civil War will then follow, being released in theaters on May 6.
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[Photo via Marvel Entertainment]
