MCU: 10 Fascinating Facts Behind Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

8. The Nazi Elements Were Toned Down At The Last Minute

Red Skull Tesseract
Marvel Studios

Until deep into the movie's pre-production, The First Avenger was supposed to place a far greater emphasis on Nazi iconography, particularly in relation to H.Y.D.R.A.

Though the organisation is still said to be a Nazi deep science division in the final movie, originally H.Y.D.R.A.'s link to Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler was far more overt, with the film depicting them as a less ambiguous Nazi paramilitary outfit who would even adorn their uniforms with swastikas.

While it doesn't take a particularly deep reading of the movie to appreciate that H.Y.D.R.A. is more or less a stand-in for the Nazis, up until shortly before shooting began, this was set to be much more blatant.

Optics and imagery-wise it was probably for the best, even if it does seem a teensy bit cowardly. After all, wouldn't we all love to see Cap punch a card-carrying Nazi in the face?

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.