Captain America: The First Avenger
In the present day, scientists in the Arctic uncover an old aircraft with someone frozen inside and a circular shield. In March 1942, during World War II, Nazi lieutenant general and Hydra leader Johann Schmidt steals a mysterious relic called the Tesseract,[b] which possesses untold godly powers, from the town of Tønsberg in German-occupied Norway.
In New York City, Steve Rogers is rejected for U.S. Army recruitment due to his small stature and poor health. While attending the Stark Expo, an event held by famous engineer Howard Stark, Rogers attempts to enlist again. Overhearing Rogers tell his best friend, James "Bucky" Barnes, that he wants to fight for his country, Dr. Abraham Erskine allows Rogers to enlist. He is recruited into the Strategic Scientific Reserve as part of a "super-soldier" experiment under Erskine, Stark, Colonel Chester Phillips, and British MI6 agent Peggy Carter. Phillips is not convinced by Erskine's claims that Rogers is the right person for the procedure until Rogers selflessly jumps on a grenade as part of a test. Erskine reveals to Rogers that he was a scientist under Schmidt, until the latter took a prototype version of the super-soldier formula that gave him superhuman strength but painfully changed his appearance.
Schmidt and Dr. Arnim Zola harness the energies of the Tesseract to fuel Zola's inventions and Hydra's planned worldwide offensive. Schmidt discovers Erskine's location and sends an assassin, Heinz Kruger, to kill him. Erskine and Stark put Rogers through the super-soldier treatment, injecting him with the formula and dosing him with "vita-rays". After Rogers emerges from the experiment taller and more muscular, Kruger kills Erskine and flees with the last vial of the formula. Rogers pursues and captures Kruger, but the assassin avoids interrogation by committing suicide with a cyanide capsule. The vial is destroyed during the chase. With Erskine dead and his formula lost, U.S. Senator Brandt has Rogers tour the nation as "Captain America" to promote war bonds while scientists study his blood and attempt to reverse-engineer the formula. In 1943, while on tour in Italy performing for active servicemen, Rogers learns that Barnes's unit is MIA following a battle against Schmidt's forces. Rogers has Carter and Stark fly him behind enemy lines to mount a rescue. Rogers infiltrates Schmidt's fortress, frees Barnes and the other prisoners, and confronts Schmidt. The latter escapes, but first he removes a mask to reveal a red, skull-like visage that has earned him the sobriquet "Red Skull".
Rogers recruits Barnes and other freed prisoners to form the Howling Commandos. Stark outfits Rogers with a circular shield made of a rare, nearly indestructible metal called vibranium. Rogers and his team sabotage various Hydra operations while he and Carter begin to fall in love. In 1945, the team assaults a train carrying Zola. They capture him, but Barnes falls from the train to his apparent death.[c] Using information extracted from Zola, the final Hydra stronghold is located and Rogers leads an attack to stop Schmidt from using WMDs on major American cities. Rogers climbs aboard Schmidt's super-bomber as it takes off. During the subsequent fight, the Tesseract is freed from its container and Schmidt picks it up, opening a portal into space which he is pulled through. The Tesseract burns through the plane and falls into the ocean. Seeing no way to land the plane without risking its weapons detonating, Rogers radios Carter to say goodbye before crashing in the Arctic. After the war ends, Stark recovers the Tesseract from the ocean floor but is unable to locate the aircraft and Rogers is presumed dead.
