Len Birman | Through the Shattered Lens

America’s most patriotic beach bum is back!

The infamous international terrorist, Miguel (Christopher Lee), is demanding millions of dollars from the U.S. government. If he doesn’t get his cash, Miguel will unleash a formula that causes rapid aging. Who else can stop him but Captain America (Reb Brown)? While Cap searches for Miguel in a small town that appears to be full of bullies, comely single mothers, and children in desperate need of a father figure, Doctors Simon Mills (Len Birman) and Wendy Day (Connie Sellecca) search for a way to reverse the aging process.

This is the second of two pilots that were produced in 1979 in an attempt to start a weekly Captain America television series. This Captain America had little in common with his comic book counterpart. In the two pilots, Steve Rogers was a laid back beach bum who drove a Chevy Van and owned a really groovy, red, white, and blue motorcycle. Having recently gotten out of the army, Steve would have been just as happy to spend his time sketching the beach as saving the world from HYDRA. Whenever he put on the costume of Captain America, he carried a transparent shield that was supposed to be bullet proof but which looked like it was made out of flimsy plastic. In Captain America II: Death Too Soon, Cap uses his shield to protect himself from a wild dog and the shield literally bends when the dog jumps against it. Reb Brown played Cap in both pilots and, while he was more likable than Matt Salinger, he was no Chris Evans.

Still, the presence of both Christopher Lee and Connie Sellecca help to make the second pilot a marginal improvement on the first one. The second pilot is almost good enough to make the case that, if not for that damn transparent shield, a weekly Captain America television series would not have been that bad. It was not to be, of course. It would be over 30 years before a movie finally got both Captain America and his shield right.

Captain America drives a Chevy Van!

In this attempt to turn one of Marvel’s first heroes into a weekly television star, Steve Rogers (Reb Brown) is a laid back 70s dude who has just gotten out of the Marines. He owns a van (“a mellow set of wheels”) and he just wants to drive around America, drawing pictures, and doing his own thing. Doctors Simon Mills (Len Birman) and Wendy Day (Heather Menzies) want Steve to follow in his father’s footsteps and get injected with the super powered FLAG formula. Steve is just not interested. The only Captain America that he’s interested in emulating is Peter Fonda in Easy Rider. “I just want to kick back and find out who I am,” Steve says.

Steve does not really have a choice, though. Evil billionaire Lou Brackett (Steve Forrest) wants the FLAG formula and attempts to have Steve killed. In order to save Steve’s life, Dr. Mills injects Steve with the FLAG formula. Not only does Steve now have super strength but, in the style of Col. Steve Austin, he now has super vision and super hearing. To help Steve in his new life as crime-fighting super hero who will “stand up for the little guy,” Dr. Mills modifies both Steve’s Chevy Van and his motorcycle. He also gives Steve a bulletproof shield. Vibrainium is never mentioned and, for some reason, the shield is transparent, which makes it look like its made out of plastic. At first, Steve wears his father’s old costume but then he designs a new one. A super hero has to have super threads.

This was the first of two pilots for a proposed Captain America television series. Unlike both The Incredible Hulk and The Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America never made it past the pilot stage. Like many early comic book adaptations, Captain America‘s first pilot makes the mistake of straying too far from its comic book origins. Instead of being an almost comically old-fashioned, straight arrow patriot, this Steve Rogers is a beach bum who gets his own groovy, bass-heavy soundtrack while riding his motorcycle up and down the coast. Forget about the Red Skull, Baron Zemo, the Secret Empire, the Serpent Squad, or any of Captain America’s other regular enemies. This Captain America specializes in more conventional, less interesting menaces.

Reb Brown is okay as this film’s version of Steve Rogers but there is nothing that makes the character special. He’s just a big guy wearing a silly costume and carrying a transparent shield. With his new origin story and his modified powers, this Captain America has more in common with The Bionic Man than Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s original character.

The van’s cool, though.