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.

On Chris Evans' Birthday, Check Out His Famous Comic-Book Roles (Photo Credit: IMDb)

Chris Evans, the handsome Hollywood star, has turned a year older. Born on June 13, 1981, in Boston, USA, the actor is well-known for his dishy looks and good performances. Chris Evans started his acting career first on television before having his big screen break with the cult parody movie Not Another Teen Movie, which came out in 2001. In a movie career spanning more than two decades, Evans has played the chocolate boy hero (The Nanny Diaries, What's Your Number?), gritty action heroes (Snowpiercer), protective dad roles (Gifted) and roguish villains (Knives Out). Did Chris Evans Sign an Israeli Missile Destined for Gaza? Captain America Star Clarifies Rumours Regarding Viral Picture From 2016.

Of course, Chris Evans is particularly known among his fans worldwide for playing Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but that is neither the actor's first superhero rodeo nor his first comic-book stint. 

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.

Chris Evans in Avengers: Age of Ultron

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.

Chris Evans in Fantastic Four

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.

Chris Evans in The Losers

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 in Scott Pilgrim vs the World

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.

Casey Jones in TMNT

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).

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