Chris Evans Birthday Special: From Captain America to Human Torch, 5 Comic-Book Characters Marvel Star Has Played Over the Years!
Fans of Chris Evans knows that Captain America is not the actor's first comic-book based role; it is not even his first superhero role or for the matter, his first Marvel role.
Chris Evans, the handsome Hollywood star, has turned a year older. Born on June 13, 1981,
In this special feature, we look at five comic-book roles the birthday boy has done over the years. Starting with the most obvious...
Captain America
Even though Evans 'retired' from the role after Avengers: Endgame, Captain America remains his most popular character to date. On paper, Captain America could have been a boring, straightforward character, especially when pitted against a flamboyant Iron Man, with RDJ playing the role as if he was born to play it.
But Chris Evans brings an innocent charm and sincere optimism to the role, making the Cap a strong, magnetic character worth rooting for. It also helps that from 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger to 2019's Avengers: Endgame, Evans has played the role in over 11 MCU films, including cameos. Chris Evans Birthday Special: 9 Iconic Captain America Quotes That Solidified Him as the Perfect Marvel Superhero!
The Human Torch
Of course, Captain America is not Chris Evans' first superhero role or his first Marvel role. Evans first gained global popularity by playing Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, in Tim Story's Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
While the movies were as praised as his MCU films, these Fantastic Four movies were decent box office successes, and Evans was praised for bringing about the comic book character's playful demeanour, which is a far cry from his Steve Rogers arc.
Jensen
Chris Evans was one of the main leads in the 2010 action film The Losers, which is based on the Vertigo comic book series of the same name. Evans plays Jensen, the hero team's computer hacker. While the actor seemed to be having fun in the role, viewers had mixed opinions, as some believed he was miscast in that geeky role.
While The Losers wasn't a big hit at the box office, it has gained a cult following over the years. Also, fans fondly now remember it, the movie housed two future MCU stars in Idris Elba, Chris Evans and Zoe Saldanha.
Lucas Lee
Speaking of cult films, how can we not talk about Scott Pilgrim vs the World? Based on a graphic novel series by the same name, Edgar Wright's movie adaptation was a box office bomb when it came out, but over the years, the film has made a strong cult following for itself with praise for its visual treatment, music choices and performances.
Chris Evans plays Lucas Lee, an arrogant movie star, who is one of the film's antagonists - the evil exes of Ramona Flowers - who challenges Michael Cera's Scott Pilgrim and ultimately gets defeated. The film also starred other future stars like Brie Larson, Aubrey Plaza, Anna Kendrick, and Kieran Culkin. Chris Evans Birthday Special: From Scott Pilgrim vs the World to Gifted, 5 Best Movies of the Captain America Actor Beyond the MCU!
Casey Jones
In 2007, the same year when Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer came out, Chris Evans voiced a comic-book character in Kevin Munroe's animated film TMNT. Casey Jones was an ice hockey-mask-wearing vigilante who helped the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in their missions to take down the villains.
The movie also features Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mako, Kevin Smith, Patrick Stewart, and Ziyi Zhang in the voice-cast.
PS: Chris Evans also played the main lead in Bong Joon-ho's first American film Snowpiercer, which was based on a graphic novel. However, his character, Curtis, was an original creation for the movie.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 13, 2024 09:11 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).