Captain America is referred to as “The First Avenger” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but why? The MCU has been bringing characters from Marvel Comics to the big screen (and now TV/streaming as well) for over a decade, and during its first Phase, it introduced the characters that would lead this universe. It all began with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, in 2008, which introduced viewers to Tony Stark/Iron Man, and was followed by The Incredible Hulk later that year and Thor in 2011, with a second Iron Man movie in between. A couple of months after the release of Thor, Marvel brought Steve Rogers to this universe in Captain America: The First Avenger.

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Just like with Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor, the first Captain America movie told the origin story of the title character (played by Chris Evans), and so the audience saw him go from a fragile kid from Brooklyn trying to join the army, to the successful subject of Dr. Abraham Erskine’s Super Soldier experiment. Captain America went on to fight in World War II, and in order to avoid a major catastrophe with Johann Schmidt’s weapons of mass destruction, he crashed his plane in the Arctic, where he remained frozen for decades. Captain America woke up in the present day and was offered a mission by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who by then had already started recruiting members for the Avengers Initiative.

Captain America is called “The First Avenger” in the MCU as he was the oldest one in the group, but this title has caused some confusion among viewers thanks to one of his teammates: Thor (Chris Hemsworth). Thor is an Asgardian god, and as such, he has lived for centuries, and by the time Thor joined the Avengers, he was over 1400 years old, so he was, by far, the oldest Avenger in the team. Thor had also been fighting to defend the Nine Realms for centuries before the Avengers Initiative was even a thing, so why is Captain America the “First Avenger” and not Thor? The answer is actually simple and can be found in one of the nicknames of the Avengers: Earth Mightiest Heroes.

As the name says, the Avengers are the heroes on Earth, and most of them are humans born and raised on Earth, with Thor being the only God and outsider. As a hero from Earth, Captain America is the oldest of the group and also the first one to become a hero, while Thor didn’t really care about Earth until he was banished there and went through a much-needed change of perspective. Others have pointed out that the Super Soldier program was a wartime precursor of the Avengers Initiative, though it was stalled by espionage and ruined with the loss of Erskine and the Super Soldier serum. In addition to that, and out of the members of the MCU’s original Avengers team, Captain America was the first one to appear in print, so the title of “The First Avenger” could also be a reference to this fact.

Captain America left his mark in the MCU thanks to his heroic deeds in World War II and later as an Avenger, and he’s one of the most notable heroes in this universe as he never let anything or anyone change his view on what a hero should be like. Steve Rogers’ time as Captain America came to an end in Avengers: Endgame when he retired and passed the mantle to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), but his legacy will surely still be felt in the MCU for years to come.

Key Release Dates
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  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
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About The Author


Adrienne Tyler
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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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