Skinny Steve Rogers?

[Python Trek]

Is there any word on whether they'll use CG to make Chris Evans skinny in his pre-Cap scenes? To me, one of the most compelling aspects of Captain America is the fact that he wanted to serve his country, but was told he was too puny. Then they give him the secret formula, and bam---instant hero. It's the wish-fulfillment thing that super-heroes are so good at, y'know? Magic ring, enchanted hammer, suit of armor, magic word, utility belt...you, too, could be a hero, kids!

If they could make Xavier and Magneto look 20 years younger in X-Men 3, surely they could make buff Chris Evans look like a 98-pounder.

 

[coolghoul]

See - I understand that it's the original origin and everything. The weakling who gets the super-soldier serum and becomes Cap. However, Cap's demeanor (his nobility, willingness to take a stand, his belief in the American ideals and so on) fit a "hero" rather than a "weakling" - Has he forgotten how he was before the super-soldier serum took effect?

If he was such a weakling, he would have been more of a Peter Parker, instead of this masterful inspirational leader that he is currently. Or the super-soldier unleashed something that was later/nascent within him in his weakling era.

Has this ever been explored?

There is NOTHING in the current Cap (or DoShield) to suggest how Steve was a put-upon weakling.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

"Weakling" is a description of his physical limitations pre-serum, not his character.

 

[Greg Cox]

According to an article in EW, they're planning to use tricky camera angles and special effects to make the pre-serum Steve look scrawny. They're even considering putting Chris Evan's head on another actor's body . . . .

 

[sojourner]

He was a physical weakling, not a coward. Remember this is a guy who volunteered for dubious medical experiments just to help his country when he wasn't allowed to enlist.

 

[AvBaur]

I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere that they're gonna do that and make Evans skinnier via CGI. Can't find a link right now, though.

 

[Turtletrekker]

See - I understand that it's the original origin and everything. The weakling who gets the super-soldier serum and becomes Cap. However, Cap's demeanor (his nobility, willingness to take a stand, his belief in the American ideals and so on) fit a "hero" rather than a "weakling" - Has he forgotten how he was before the super-soldier serum took effect?

If he was such a weakling, he would have been more of a Peter Parker, instead of this masterful inspirational leader that he is currently. Or the super-soldier unleashed something that was later/nascent within him in his weakling era.

Has this ever been explored?

There is NOTHING in the current Cap (or DoShield) to suggest how Steve was a put-upon weakling.

In fact, in the recent Steve Rogers: Super Soldier mini, Machinesmith managed to deactivate the super soldier serum causing Rogers to revert to his skinny self, and he still managed to kick ass due to all of the combat trraining he has received. He claimed that the serum didn't turn him into the man he became.

Steve Rogers: Super Soldier #4
Machinesmith's thinking that I've already lost. Thinking I'm that weak little kid I once was. But he's made a big mistake...

See... those beatings (from bullies as a child) ... and that scared,skinny, sickly Steve Rogers...

That was where the man I became was really born. Not in the fires of war. Not in a secret government lab. But inside a sense of Justice.

 

[Silvercrest]

In the "Sentinel of Liberty" limited series from 1992, he was shown as being put through months of physical training before he even got the serum. You could see the difference. He was still a skinny kid, but he was in pretty good shape for his limitations. I thought this was pretty cool. They didn't just depend on their miracle drug.

But I'm not sure of the exact reason the Rebirth project would do this. Might be to cushion his system against the shock of the super-soldier serum-- wouldn't do for the 98-lb weakling to have a heart attack just when everything's coming to fruition.

Or it might be to get him in the best shape possible in advance, because they knew the serum would just amplify the shape he was already in. Imagine rapid muscle and tissue growth of someone who has no conditioning! How would he look when it was done?

Or it might be to highlight the extreme difference between regular training and the effects of the serum. "These photos show the results of ten weeks of intensive physical training. THESE photos show the same man, ten seconds after taking the super-soldier serum. Are you convinced, gentlemen?"

 

[sojourner]

^I could see all 3 reasons playing a part.

 

[Silvercrest]

I agree-- which is why I came up with them! But it depends on the assumptions about what the super-soldier serum actually does. In a lot of renditions, it appears they simply gave a shot to a 98-lb weakling and he was instantly ready to kick butt. That is, the conditioning, muscle tone, reflexes, fighting skills, etc. were magically wrapped up with the serum and Steve didn't particularly have to train. In such a case, reasons #1 and 2 don't apply, only #3 does.

And I don't know these days what Marvel says went on in the Rebirth project, nor the canonicity of that particular limited series. Which is really a shame.

I even read once that the super-soldier serum might have affected Steve's physique over a more realistic period of weeks or months (while training the whole time, of course), and that the unveiling ceremony was more for shock value than anything else. "Gentlemen, see the skinny kid in these photos? Well, look at him now!"

In which case there would be a very good reason for Steve to train, but NONE of my three reasons would apply!