How did the Captain America Costume change throughout the movie series?

After the consecutive yet colossal success of Iron Man 1 and 2, Marvel Cinematic Universe decided to bring out Captain America from the comic world and thus the First Avenger was made. This movie marks the beginning of Captain America’s Journey in the Hollywood. And since the release of this movie in 2011, there have been back to back sequels portraying the heroism of Cap in the comic world with adaptations as required.  Fans have been lured by different storylines in the sequels each connecting to the previous movie. Although, each sequel was connected to the last release, each of them had their own unique storyline packed with a plethora of action and climax.

Just like every sequel had a different storyline depicting the bravery and struggle of Captain America for the right, in the same way each sequel had a different costume for him. Perhaps no other character in the MCU has undergone such a dramatic change from costume to costume as Captain America. In fact, the change in the costume designs has been one of the hottest topics of discussion among fans. Some of the costume designs have gained an ultimate liking among the fans and have become a dire favorite among them like the Civil War costume and Stealth Strike suit from the Winter Soldier are on the top of the favorite list.

We will check out how each of Cap’s costume changed throughout the movies since the release of The First Avenger. We will begin with the discussion of costume design of the very first movie followed by the sequels.

The First Avenger

In this movie, Cap wears three costumes. The first costume is a USO uniform which is a reminiscent of the classic Simon and Kirby costume. The suit is very simple in its design and look and is in the combination of the classic White, red and blue symbolizing American nationality. The upper wear has the national combination of blue, white and red whereas the bottom is in plain blue color. The upper wear also has a star on the chest similar to that of Simon and Kirby. The lower portion of the jacket on the abdominal area has vertical stripes in adjacent combo of white and red, a pattern which has been used differently in other costumes too.   The bottom is not a pair of pants but Cap has worn blue shorts over tights. This costume is accompanied with a classic star-spangled heater shield and a helmet with wings. He has also worn red boots to complete the look.

The next costume worn by Cap in the first avenger movie was an ad-hoc costume for his one-man rescue mission. It is his USO suit only described above. However, in the middle sequence of the movie he puts on a leather combat jacket and pants over his suit. This was done by Rogers intentionally to make his USO suit less conspicuous in order to pursue his mission. Cap sets himself for this mission after learning that most of the men from his friend James “Bucky” Barnes’ unit were captured or killed by the forces of Johann Schmidt or the Red Skull. The helmet and boot were also changed. The “A” helmet was swiped by Cap from one of the “U-S-A” chorus girls.  The boots are also changed to combat boots to match the jackets and pants. He brought his heater shield along with him without any changes made to it. The look of this costume was borrowed from the design elements from Bryan Hitch's WWII Captain America illustrations for Mark Millar’s The Ultimates comic series.

The third costume worn by Rogers is a more sophisticated one. After getting victory in his one-man rescue mission, he was awarded a Medal of Valor and Howard Stark designed him an advanced field suit. This suit was made from carbon polymer fabric, a bullet and knife resistant fabric.

Stark also designed numerous shields for him in the process of which he happens to use Vibranium, a rarest metal on the earth which completely absorbs vibrations. And thus Cap gets his circular Vibranium shield. He again gets a face mask like his USO suit but it’s wingless this time but is also accompanied with a helmet. It is also accompanied with leather accessories such as holster, gloves and pouches. This is the costume which Cap wore the longest as he was it when he was frozen for 70 years after crash landing the Red Skull's jet in the Antarctic.

The Avengers

After the hit of the movie the First Avengers in 2011, The Avengers made entry in 2012 and Cap was given a different costume for this movie also. This is uniform is designed by S.H.I.E.L.D and Agent Phil Coulson. The costume worn by Cap in this movie is also a USO costume but it’s more advanced than all the other suits that he wore in the last movie. For this, more advanced material and functionality has been added into the suit. Additionally, the patriotic shades of red, blue and white have also been made brighter to give it a 21st century look. One of the unique features of this costume design is the use of exposed zippers (up the abdomen and on his legs). The leather accessories such as the holster and pouch as in the last movie are also gone. The helmet with the face mask is there. In simple words, this suit was designed as less of a soldier costume and more of a superhero costume.

Winter Soldier

Just like the First Avenger, in the Winter Soldier also Cap has been given more than one costume, actually two. The first is popularly known as Stealth Strike Suit and is widely loved by fans. This movie came after a gap of 2 years in 2014 but did a wonderful job on-screen with the Bucky-Cap Chemistry. Initially, Cap wore the stealth-strike for his covert missions. The fabric used is basically Kevlar and Nomex to give the garment a high level of tensile strength and resistance. Both Kevlar and Nomex are used for wide range of purposes such as bullet-proofing, fire-resistance, etc. However, in spite of being extra-strong, these fabrics are very light which is necessary for superhero costumes to give room for better flexibility and motion. That is why these fabrics were chosen for making the stealth strike suit unlike previous suits. This suit is also very different in design compared to all other suits.  It is a two-piece suit which is mostly in blue color. The chest area of the upper-wear has a wing design in silver-striped pattern with a silver star in between. There are also muted red stripes that run down from the side of his ribs on the jacket to his knees on the pants.

There are also some unique features added such as a communicator in his right gloves and straps to allow him magnetically latch his shield to his back. The mask-cum-helmet is there but it is featured with an open-ear design for the first time.

The stealth strike suit is last worn by Cap during his escape from S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Then he dons a Smithsonian suit after learning that the HYDRA has operated within S.H.I.E.L.D. He does so in order to cut all his ties with S.H.I.E.L.D. He then steals a modified version of the costume he wore during World War II on display at The Smithsonian museum. However, there are some subtle differences between the original Smithsonian suit and the one that Cap wears in The Winter Soldier. The strapping on the chest and shoulders is differently colored and the pattern on the knees is reinforced. Also the belt is differently designed and the graphics on the helmet is differently embossed. But the most obvious difference is the addition of a third red stripe down the abdomen. This costume is slightly similar to the third one (described above) in the First Avengers movie.

Age of Ultron

The suit in the Age of Ultron is of course Rogers’s but it is designed by Tony Stark to give to some more advanced functionality. It is not only designed by Stark but also financed by him. This suit has the modern look and functionality of the stealth suit but has been combined with his patriotic coloring variant of his WW2 field suit. The most important feature of this suit is that Cap can call back his shield just like Thor can call back his hammer. For this purpose, the suit has accompanied with a new gauntlet that electromagnetically attaches to the vibranium shield and thus can be used by Cap for recalling it.

Civil War

There hasn’t been much change to the Captain America Civil War costume from the last movie: Age of Ultron. There are just a few subtle changes. It is basically the detailing which has been given a larger upgrade. There are a few changes here and there such as in the gloves, leg pockets, and boots. The color and texture of the suit remains almost same.

Infinity War

Infinity War is the latest sequel in the Captain America movie series. Cap’s look was changed to a great extent in this movie. He sported a nicely trimmed full beard which took his fan’s breath away and it in fact became one of the hottest topics of discussions after the release of trailer. The hairstyle was also given a different style with a lengthier look. The costume had a few changes but it wasn’t a total upheaval. At the first glance, it appears as if Cap is wearing his Winter Soldier costume but he’s actually not. This one is crudely based on his original costume with wear and tear symbolizing his strive throughout his journey as a superhero. Some people think it is black in color but it’s not. It’s a shade of blue but it has been heavily weathered to give a darker shade. The patterns do have some changes but it’s subtle. The helmet/mask is gone which is for the first time in the movies (because once in the comic series called Steve Rogers: Super Soldier, Cap was maskless as well as helmetless.)

There is also complete change in his shield for the first time with no stars and patriotic red, blue and white shades. It is a brand expandable shield which he got from Black Panther in Wakanda.

That was all about how Cap’s costume has changed throughout all the movie sequels. Hope you will find this information useful while selecting your movie version of the costume. You can check it all above. We have tried our best to make all the costumes very close in terms of design, detailing, color and fabric appearance so that you can proudly flaunt as your favorite superhero.  Feel free to reach out in case you have any queries or concerns with regard to any of the above suits you wish to purchase.

Endgame

Now, the costumes worn in the latest movie is really interesting. The reason for this is that Captain America has worn three costumes in this movie. This is the first time that Steve Rogers was spotted in four different costumes in one movie. He has worn maximum of two costume sin other movies like in the Winter Soldier.

The four costumes worn are the Stealth Strike, Quantum Realm, the Avengers and the Scale suit. All these suits are worn by Captain America A.K.A Steve Rogers in the movie. Two of the suits, Stealth Strike and the Avengers, are not seen for the first time in this movie. They had been already worn by Cap in The Winter Soldier and The Avengers Movie respectively.

The other two suits which are the scale suit and the quantum realm or space suit have been showcased in the movie for the first time and fans saw Captain America in them for the first time.

Although, both these suits are seen for the first time in the movie, they have some presence in the comic/animated version.

Fans familiar with animate series of Marvel quickly pointed out that the similarities between the suits worn by the heroes in the Endgame and hat worn by them in an episode of The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

One fan by the name Christopher also pointed out on Twitter that the Avengers were previously seen wearing nearly identical outfits in an episode from the first season entitled "The Kang Dynasty."

The scale suit also has some presence in the comic version. It is actually based on the famous scale armor worn by Cap in the comic version. However, the history of the presence has been sporadic.

Now, let’s discuss when Cap spotted these costumes in Endgame.

The first suit in which Cap is seen is the Stealth suit. He is seen in this suit in the first part of the movie which is about three weeks after Thanos disintegrated half of the life on the universe using the Infinity gauntlet.

Carol Danvers rescues Tony Stark/Iron man and Nebula from the deep Space and returns them to Erath. They unite with the remaining Avengers—Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Rocket, Thor, Natasha Romanoff, and James Rhodes. They plan to find Thanos and retake all the Infinity Stones and fix the destruction caused by him.

It is at this time when they all confront Thanos that Cap is seen in this suit.

Next, Steve Rogers is seen in the quantum Realm suit or the space suit.ie.  Since, Thanos has destroyed all the stones to prevent further re-use, all the avengers had decided to travel through time and get back all the stones and fix the mess.

This costume is used by all the heroes to travel through time and not only Rogers but all other heroes also spotted the same costume.

Different Avengers head to get back different Infinity Stones. Stark and Rogers go behind 2012 Loki who had stolen the Space Stone.

They travel to the S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters in 1970 where Stark obtains an earlier version of the Space Stone. At this point Cap is seen in the Avengers costume.

Next, come the time when Cap sports the most popular costume among fans right now and it is the scale suit.  Long story short, after the avengers were able to get back all the Infinity stones and Bruce Banner used it to reverse the destruction caused by Thanos, past villainous Nebula sent by 2o14 Thanos uses the time machine to transport Thanos and his Army to the present. Thanos attacks the Avengers compound and plans to destroy and rebuild the universe. Restored Stephen Strive, Masters of the Mystic arts, restored Avengers, Guardians of the galaxy, Army o the Wakanda, and Asgard, and the Avengers arrive to Fight Thanos along with Danvers who then destroys Thanos’ warship. It is at the time of this fight that Rogers sports the scale suit and the trailer scene showing Cap fallen on ground in the scale suit is actually of this time.

That’s all Folks