Written by Lee Lard. Published: February 26 2025
(Photo: Marvel
Entertainment)
With 35
movies and 12 TV shows to its name so far, the Marvel Cinematic
Universe may seem completely impenetrable to the new viewer.
Really, who has that kind of time? So, even if a viewer is
interested in the newly released Captain America: Brave New
World, they might skip out on it because they don’t have any
background knowledge.
We would like
to encourage that viewer with the information that Captain
America is actually the easiest piece of the Marvel puzzle to
put together. This is a list of the 5 movies and 1 television
series (all streamable on Disney+) that you need to see to
understand Captain America: Brave New World. Here is your
obligatory spoiler warning!
1. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
The origin
story of origin stories, Captain America: The First
Avenger gives you a complete look at who Steve Rogers
(Chris Evans) is and what he stands for. This is
important because his unwavering convictions totally inform who the
super soldier Captain America is, and what he will stand for for
the next decade of films. This movie also introduces Steve’s best
friend, James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes (Sebastian
Stan), who continues to play a major role in the
franchise.
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
After Steve
Rogers wakes up from his 70-year underwater power nap, he’s
struggling to find his place in the modern world. This film
introduces Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), an army
veteran who works as a therapist, and the two become fast friends.
It’s revealed that Wilson was part of a secret weapons development
team that landed him the gear to become The Falcon. He says during
the film, “I do what [Steve] does, just slower.” This quote informs
the trajectory of their friendship for the rest of the franchise.
This film is also when we discover that Bucky, who was presumed
dead in the first Captain America movie, is in fact alive.
He had been kidnapped and brainwashed by HYDRA, the remains of the
Nazi party, and is forced to work as a mercenary under the moniker
Winter Soldier. By the end of the film, it’s unclear if he
remembers who Steve is, but the defeat of HYDRA means that Bucky is
on the run.
3. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Civil
War is probably the least important on this list. While it’s
massively consequential for The Avengers and the interpersonal
relationships of Steve and Sam with the rest of the crew, not many
elements of the film inform Brave New World. What you need
to know is that the recipe for super soldier serum is available to
militaries around the world, so threats much stronger than expected
could be lurking around every corner. Remember those unwavering
convictions from First Avenger? Rogers’s resolve means
that, at the end of the film, he, Bucky, and Sam are all fugitives
on the run together.
4. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) / Avengers: Endgame (2019)
The two-part
finale to the OG Avengers series is the final hurrah for
Steve Rogers. Captain America once again stays at the heart of the
MCU, rallying his allies again and again in defense of the universe
until he’s the last man standing. And, in the final battle, Sam and
Bucky are there at his side, fighting the same fight they’ve always
believed in. During the final sequence of Endgame, Steve
reveals that he’s done with the Captain America mantle. Still, it’s
important that the world have a Captain America, and there’s nobody
better suited for it than Sam Wilson. Steve passes on the torch —
or the shield — and Wilson takes up the challenge, with Bucky
supporting him proudly.
5.
“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (2021)
Now that you
know how we got here, there’s only one more piece of homework to
do. The 6-episode Disney+ show is the Sam Wilson-as-Captain America
origin story. Wilson is struggling to believe that he is worthy of
the title of Captain America, and the government is trying to strip
him of it altogether. We meet two more characters important to the
story – Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) and Isaiah
Bradley (Carl Lumbly). Torres is a young member of
the military with an admiration for Sam’s work as the Falcon. On a
much darker note, Isaiah Bradley is revealed to be another super
soldier. He was kidnapped by the American government and
experimented on before being imprisoned for 30 years. His name has
been erased from history, even though he should have been lauded as
a war hero.
Brave New
World focuses on Wilson, Torres, and Bradley, and made the 3
of them our new favorite team in this phase of the franchise. The
film is self-contained enough that you don’t have to worry about
the Multiverse of Madness or the variants of Loki. It tells a full,
beautiful story about following in the footsteps of those before
you while carving out your own path. We would recommend Captain
America: Brave New World to anyone who needs a little
hope.
