Captain America: The First Avenger is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is the fifth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Joe Johnston, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and stars Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America alongside Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke, and Stanley Tucci. During World War II, Steve Rogers, a frail man, is transformed into the super-soldier Captain America and must stop the Red Skull (Weaving) from using the Tesseract as an energy source for world domination.

Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely Comics, a corporate predecessor to Marvel. Captain America's civilian identity is Steve Rogers, a frail man enhanced to the peak of human physical perfection by an experimental "super-soldier serum" after joining the United States Army to aid the country's efforts in World War II. Equipped with an American flag-inspired costume and a virtually indestructible shield, Captain America and his sidekick Bucky Barnes clashed frequently with the villainous Red Skull and other members of the Axis powers. In the final days of the war, an accident left Captain America frozen in a state of suspended animation until he was revived in modern times. He resumes his exploits as a costumed hero and becomes leader of the superhero team the Avengers, but frequently struggles as a "man out of time" to adjust to the new era.