GUEST: Comic Book Author Mark Waid

Captain America, in his vibrant star-spangled suit, delivers a theatrical punch to an actor dressed as Hitler, the crowd roaring as a title card flashes “Chicago.”

Steve waves to adoring audiences in city after city, his shield gleaming under theater lights. In one audience, Senator Brandt nods with approval, his eyes sharp with calculation.

At a bustling newsstand, kids swarm, eagerly snatching up stacks of Captain America Issue #1 comic books, their faces alight with excitement.

In a cramped tent in Europe, Bucky Barnes, Steve’s friend, flips through the same comic, his expression a mix of disbelief and amusement.

On a Hollywood sound stage, Steve, surrounded by extras dressed as marines, fires a machine gun in a staged Pacific battle, the camera capturing every heroic pose.

The singers’ voices surge, vibrant and patriotic. “♪Forceful and ready to defend the red, white, and blue. Who’ll give the Axis the sack and is smart as a fox? Far as an eagle will soar. Who’s making Adolf afraid to step out of his box?♪”

In a theater, Steve watches a film of his own exploits, flashing a game smile as young women around him clap with fervor.

A series of wipes showcases the extravagant dance routine of the Captain America stage show, chorus girls high-kicking in perfect sync.

After one performance, a boy thrusts out an autograph book, and a beautiful blonde woman beside him smiles warmly. “Hi,” she says, holding out her book. Steve, flustered for a moment, grins and signs, his confidence growing.

The singers continue, “♪He knows what we’re fighting for. Who waked the giant that napped in America? We know it’s no one but Captain America. Who’ll finish what they began? Who’ll kick the Krauts to Japan?♪”

At Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the camera pulls back from the stage, revealing Steve balancing three chorus girls atop a motorcycle. A chorus line high-kicks in front of tanks, their cannons firing bursts of confetti. Silhouettes of aircraft soar across the backdrop, and the audience erupts in wild applause.

“♪The Star-Spangled Man with a plan!♪”

The scene cuts abruptly to a muddy field in Italy, November 1943, five miles from the front. Steve, still in his Captain America costume, stands on a makeshift stage, his voice earnest.

“How many of you are ready to help me sock old Adolf on the jaw?” The battle-weary troops, his only audience, stare back in silence, their faces etched with exhaustion, unmoved by his words.