MCU: 12 Things You Learn Rewatching Captain America: The First Avenger
9. The Red Skull Makeup Should've Won An Oscar
The imposing quality of Johann Schmidt's villainous alter-ego Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) is a huge testament to not just Weaving's entertaining performance, but the jaw-dropping quality of the make-up effects.
It would've been so easy for a character as outlandishly designed as Red Skull to look totally laughable, but thanks to suitably horrific make-up and prosthetics - aided by some subtle CGI to remove Weaving's nose - the screen version perfectly realises the iconic stature of the comic book counterpart.
Weaving reportedly asked Marvel not to write him into any future MCU movies because the make-up process was so long and laborious, and given the superb final result, it's easy to see why. The Iron Lady may have won the Best Makeup and Hairstyling Oscar that year, but in a just world, it would've gone to this mind-blowingly brilliant work.
The movie's CGI may have aged badly already, but great makeup holds up forever.