Blank Check — Patreon: Captain America: The First Avenger

Published 2019-03-01; 2:15:16 by the feed.

As extracted (engineer-sonnet-2026-10-13)

The extraction calls the show “Blank Check with Griffin & David (Patreon)” and the episode “Captain America: The First Avenger”.

Hosts: Griffin Newman, David Sims. Guests: Ben Hosley (producer, in the room and a full participant).

Subject films: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).

On the transcript: No speaker labels and heavy auto-transcription noise; hosts frequently talk over the film, so some quoted lines are the film's dialogue or live reactions. Large stretches of non-film chatter (food order, allergies, jeans, the tree) are skipped.

Added from the extractor's memory, not said

Speaker attribution for most lines is a guess; David Sims is inferred for comics-lore and box-office lines, Griffin Newman for the mono and Disney store stories, Ben Hosley for the buried jeans.
Several people-entries have the transcriber's mangled name in parentheses and the correction is from memory.
The Iron Giant and Boba Fett lines are credited to Johnston by the speakers as transcribed, though the transcript is muddled; recorded as said.
'Paddington' is a film name inferred from the quoted comparison.

Films that came up

Claims (71)

contrast (contrast): Captain America: The First Avenger → The Avengers. The Ultimates comic made Cap a fascist and Thor a hippie; Marvel refused to do that, keeping the Golden and Silver Age versions.
“And Captain America is this like fascist.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:09:47 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Captain America: The First Avenger → Thor. Both Marvel origin films avoid dropping the audience straight into a stylized world and open on a grounded genre set-up.
“This is the exact same structural thing as Thor, where it's like, let's not drop people into crazy stylized world.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:10:16 · David Sims (0.45 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Captain America: The First Avenger → Aliens. The frozen-find cold open structurally echoes the discovery sequence that opens Aliens.
“this is also actually very similar to is the opening of aliens.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:10:43 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
people (people): Captain America: The First Avenger → Revenge of the Nerds. The 1980s Captain America TV movie starred Matt Salinger, who was a brutish rival in Revenge of the Nerds.
“Who was the Jock and Revenge of the Nerds?”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:11:52 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): Captain America: The First Avenger → The Rocketeer. Johnston was hired on the strength of The Rocketeer, which shares the period, beautiful-period-vibe sensibility.
“Joe Johnson's the guy who directed the Rockets here.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:13:53 · Griffin Newman (0.45 sure it was them)
people (people): Joe Johnston → The Iron Giant. The hosts list Johnston's earlier work in passing: the Boba Fett design and, they seem to mean, The Iron Giant (not actually his; the transcript is muddled).
“Designed Boba Fett.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:14:05 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Hugo Weaving → Werner Herzog. Weaving built his Red Skull on a Herzog impression, with the same merciless anthropological view of humanity.
“I'm gonna do Werner Herzog.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:14:39 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Captain America: The First Avenger → The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The skinny-Steve effect arrived only a couple of years after Benjamin Button, which did the head-swap effectively.
“And this is only a couple years after Benjamin Button when they did that so effectively.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:17:06 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
theme (theme): Chris Evans → Paddington. Steve Rogers is rooted for because he is a scrappier Paddington who believes the best of people and only dislikes Nazis.
“he's just like a scrappier version of Paddington.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:19:31 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): Captain America: The First Avenger → Iron Man 2. The Stark Expo of the 1940s is the origin of the Expo seen in Iron Man 2, now as the full World's Fair version.
“Like what we see in Iron Man 2, but now it's like the full like 40s World Fair version.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:19:47 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
career (career): Chris Evans → Fantastic Four (Chris Evans films). Evans was cast skeptically because he had already played Human Torch, a cocky Ryan Reynolds-adjacent snarkster, which seemed wrong for Cap.
“You know, I knew Evans is the Human Torch in the Fantastic 4 movies.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:20:08 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
career (career): Dominic Cooper → Agent Carter. Cooper reprises Howard Stark and is good in the Peggy Carter spin-off series.
“I was really good in Agent Carter as well.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:20:55 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Joe Johnston → Captain America: The First Avenger. Johnston is a Disney guy, so the 40s-to-60s retro-futurism (flying car, Expo) suits him.
“Johnston is such a Disney guy.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:21:29 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
people (people): Captain America: The First Avenger → Stanley Tucci. Tucci lifts the film and his writing sets up the theme of the movie.
“because he single-handedly elevates this film 25%.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:22:22 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
career (career): Sebastian Stan → Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Griffin prefers Stan as the Winter Soldier, where his face suits the part, to the wooden Bucky of this film.
“I prefer him as the winter soldier because he's just sort of got a good face for it.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:22:59 · Griffin Newman (0.35 sure it was them)
industry (industry): Captain America: The First Avenger → The Avengers. This one-off 40s period film was the last step before Avengers, with the production rushed to make the deadline.
“The film started production very late. It had a very rush production because they had to make this deadline.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:23:29 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if): John Krasinski → Captain America: The First Avenger. Krasinski was nearly cast as Cap; Marvel leaked it, fans made gym memes, and Evans was the Hail Mary.
“The guy who was really close to getting it, John Krasinski”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:23:43 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
career (career): Chris Evans → Snowpiercer. Evans is a leading man who would rather do Sunshine and Snowpiercer than sign a 7-picture deal, but took the money.
“He'd rather be a leading man in things like sunshine.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:24:27 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Rick Heinrichs → Captain America: The First Avenger. The hosts credit Heinrichs's production design with the film's heightened look and its own visual power.
“Yeah. Well, I do think, as you were saying, the design elements here are a little better. Rick Heinrich's, I think, directed this. And it's got a heightened, look, it's got its own visual power.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:26:12 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
career (career): Toby Jones → Your Highness. Toby Jones is reminiscent of a Muppet here and the Your Highness reveal about his character is called one of the weirdest funny visual gags.
“God, I still think that thing in your highness where he is revealed to be a person who has no genitals.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:26:42 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
theme (theme): Captain America: The First Avenger → Doctor Strange. Cap's Brooklyn move parallels Strange's East Village, updated for real estate realism by the time of the movie.
“Because like Dr. Strange is supposed to live in the East Village”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:27:50 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
career (career): Marcus and McFeely → The Chronicles of Narnia (movies). This is the first Marvel script by the writers who came from the Narnia movies and who now write all the Avengers with the Russos.
“this is the 1st script by Marcus and McFeely, who are guys who had worked on the Narnia movies.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:33:00 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
career (career): Marcus and McFeely → Pain & Gain (transcribed 'painting game'). They also wrote a script David calls great.
“They wrote painting game, which is a great script.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:33:10 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
people (people): Shelly Johnson → The Wolfman. The Cap cinematographer is Johnston's guy and also shot The Wolfman, but not The Rocketeer.
“Did not shoot the rocketeer, though.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:34:35 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Captain America: The First Avenger → Behind the Candelabra. Erskine walking in on the unmasked Red Skull... actually Toby Jones's Zola reaction, as when Matt Damon walks in on Liberace without his toupee.
“this feels like the scene in, uh, behind the candelabra where Matt Damon walks in on Liberace without his toupee.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:36:53 · David Sims (0.35 sure it was them)
theme (theme): Captain America: The First Avenger → Spider-Man (Marvel character). Because it is a movie about little guys, Captain America lands for the speaker as Spider-Man in a big body.
“He's just Spider-Man and a big old body.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:37:34 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Captain America: The First Avenger → Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. The film's design is only about 10 percent heightened, stopping short of Sky Captain kitsch.
“Like, it could be Sky Captain.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:43:02 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): Captain America: The First Avenger → Truth: Red, White & Black (comic). The one-off serum process loosely connects to the Truth miniseries retcon about earlier black experimentees.
“Truth is a book that essentially theorizes that there was like a Tuskegee airman.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:47:45 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): Captain America → Wolverine. In the Truth retcon Cap is an earlier Weapon-series experiment and Wolverine is Weapon X.
“Captain America was like weapon 4 or whatever, and Wolverine is weapon 10”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:48:31 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): Captain America: The First Avenger → The Rocketeer. A real period home interior and a Nazi-chase beat read as very Rocketeer.
“It's very rocketeer.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:50:23 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
career (career): Joe Johnston → The Wolfman. Cap was a comeback for Johnston after the calamity of The Wolfman.
“This was a real, like, comeback for Joe Johnson, because this was after the calamity of Wolfman.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:50:27 · David Sims (0.45 sure it was them)
career (career): Captain America: The First Avenger → The Rocketeer. The movie was a comeback for Johnston after The Wolfman and is essentially what he wanted The Rocketeer to be, with the culture now caught up.
“This is basically what you wanted to do with the rocketeer.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:50:42 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): Captain America: The First Avenger → Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The big musical number in an action movie feels like Last Crusade, then is corrected to Temple of Doom.
“It's part of this movie feeling very last crusade to me.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:59:19 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): Captain America: The First Avenger → Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The correction: the Indiana Jones film with the musical number is Temple of Doom.
“Although the one with the musical number is Temple of Doom.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:59:24 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
career (career): Laura Haddock → Guardians of the Galaxy. Haddock cameos as an autograph seeker here and returns as Star-Lord's mom; she is also in a Transformers and Last Night.
“Laura Haddock is her name.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:00:29 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if): Emily Blunt → Captain America: The First Avenger. Marvel wanted a big rising British name for Peggy, first Emily Blunt and Keira Knightley, since the Steve actor seemed likely to be unknown.
“This was another one where it was like, they really wanted Emily Blunt to do it.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:01:11 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
career (career): Tommy Lee Jones → Captain America: The First Avenger. Jones said in a promo interview that this is the gruff-captain part he has played 25 times, yet he is never boring.
“It's the part you've seen me play 25 times.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:02:57 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
theme (theme): Captain America: The First Avenger → Fantastic Four (Chris Evans films). A Fantastic Four idea, the government using heroes as a PR tool, is exactly the war-bond mascot story here.
“And I like the idea of making a movie that's about like the government being like, we need you to go out there and like fight monsters because it'll like help morale.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:05:18 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
career (career): Kenneth Choi → Spider-Man: Homecoming. Choi plays the principal in Homecoming, a descendant of his Howling Commando character.
“Kenneth Troy, who was in Spider-Man Homecoming for like 2 shots.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:09:07 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
contrast (contrast): Sebastian Stan → Independence Day. Bucky needed to be a Harry Connick Jr. in Independence Day or Goose in Top Gun: an instantly charming best friend you buy.
“You want him to be Harry Connick Jr. in Independence Day.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:13:28 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
contrast (contrast): Sebastian Stan → Top Gun. The Goose-and-Maverick sort of friendship is what is missing between Steve and Bucky.
“You want to be Goose and Top Gun.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:13:38 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
career (career): Hugo Weaving → Ross Marquand. Marquand later plays Red Skull as an impression of Weaving's Herzog impression.
“And Ross Marquand does a good impression of Hugo Weaving doing a good impression of Werner Herzog.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:16:25 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
career (career): Neal McDonough → Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2. He is the generic bad guy in Mall Cop 2 and still good at icy chill plus Dum Dum warmth.
“Oh, oh, it's Paul Blar Mall cup 2.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:22:31 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
career (career): Neal McDonough → Minority Report. McDonough's great performance as the main chaser in Minority Report turns on his ice-blue eyes; he also had Star Trek First Contact and Justified.
“Uh, was the other one I was going to say he's good in is, uh, Minority Party is really good”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:22:37 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
career (career): Neal McDonough → Star Trek: First Contact. His eyes are what is arresting in First Contact too.
“Star Trek 1st Contact, which is a movie.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:22:52 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
people (people): Captain America: The First Avenger → Thor: Ragnarok. Ben's MCU crush pick is guessed as Nebula, and Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie in Ragnarok as his speed.
“Tessa Thompson and Ragnarok is sort of your speed, you know?”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:24:14 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): Captain America: The First Avenger → Black Panther. Vibranium, the shield metal, leads to Wakanda; adamantium is the X-Men analogue the MCU couldn't use.
“So instead they use vibranium as their super metal.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:27:32 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
contrast (contrast): Captain America: The First Avenger → Snowpiercer. The Nazi train is Snowpiercer-esque, and Evans is joked to have wanted to keep it for the snow.
“And I mean, this sort of Snowpiercer-esque.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:31:27 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
career (career): Chris Evans → Park Chan-wook. Joke: Evans opened the door of this train and found Park Chan-wook inside, a bridge from Cap to Snowpiercer.
“open the door and found Park Chan Wilk inside and was like, hang out here for like a couple months?”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:31:39 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
contrast (contrast): Sebastian Stan → Die Hard 5. Stan plays the action role too hard, like a Die Hard 5 performance, while the other commandos are having fun.
“But he's just doing, like, this performance feels like it could be out of, like, diehard 5.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:32:21 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): Captain America: The First Avenger → Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Zola surviving and joining the other side is the seed for Winter Soldier.
“Because you need Zola to join the other side.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:34:27 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
theme (theme): Tommy Lee Jones → Captain America: The First Avenger. His brand is being grumpy, so he works whether he is engaged or phoning it in.
“And if he hates the movie he's in, then he's actually just doing that.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:35:24 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Captain America: The First Avenger → Suicide Squad. Eating on screen shows pro actors; Viola Davis's steak in Suicide Squad is the best thing in that movie.
“You remember how well Viola Davis ate that steak in Suicide Squad?”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:36:05 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
people (people): Captain America: The First Avenger → Joss Whedon. The line about Steve being unable to get drunk is attributed to Whedon.
“And this is definitely a Weedon idea.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:38:33 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
industry (industry): Joss Whedon → Captain America: The First Avenger. Whedon, signed to Avengers, did a serious rewrite, and the weakness of the back half is blamed on his leaving after only half the script.
“I believe it literally is that they gave Whedon the script to rewrite and he was like, I only got halfway through it before I had to go jump to Avengers.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:40:09 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Captain America: The First Avenger → Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The suit returns in Winter Soldier with better tailoring and layers.
“I just think when they bring the classic suit back in Winter Soldier, it's a better tailoring.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:41:14 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Hugo Weaving → Werner Herzog. The Red Skull's grandiose monologue is, in effect, Herzog; Timothy Treadwell is called out as the reference.
“He is literally doing Werner Herzog.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:52:37 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
contrast (contrast): Captain America: The First Avenger → Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The later films went gritty government paranoia, but this film's square-jawed hero is a good template, which also suggests a Superman film.
“they should be able to pull off, like, a good Superman film.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:54:36 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
verdict (verdict): Captain America: Civil War → Avengers: Infinity War. Civil War is barely a Captain America movie and Infinity War is just a Marvel movie rather than an Avengers movie.
“My problem is that civil war is barely a Captain America movie.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:55:14 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
contrast (contrast): Captain America: The First Avenger → Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. The film avoids going all the way to Sky Captain-style kitsch while keeping a square-jawed hero.
“There's like a real square jawed hero kind of thing in this that doesn't go all the way to like, as you said, Sky Captain Kitch.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 2:00:00 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
verdict (verdict): Captain America: The First Avenger → Iron Man. Cap is ranked above all other Phase One films except Iron Man, which is more consistent.
“I like this the most of all the phase one Marvel movies.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 2:03:28 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
verdict (verdict): Captain America: The First Avenger → Iron Man. Iron Man is liked more but only just.
“I think I like Iron Man more than this, but that's it.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 2:03:35 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if): Joe Johnston → Louis Leterrier. Leterrier wanted to direct Cap and Marvel brushed him off.
“Did you know that Louis Letierrier was like, I want to direct this movie and Marvel was like, ha, ha, ha.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 2:04:38 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
verdict (verdict): Captain America: The First Avenger → Matt Hatch. A past guest argues this is the best Marvel movie; the hosts think it's the most individual in tone and look.
“has continues to argue that this is the best Marvel movie.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 2:06:14 · David Sims (0.35 sure it was them)
people (people): Captain Marvel → Boden and Fleck. Visuals aren't Boden and Fleck's strength, but they are smart, and they got script credit; they directed Mississippi Grind.
“I don't think visuals is not their big thing.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 2:07:08 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
programming (programming): Captain America: The First Avenger → Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Cap was released July 22 instead of July 4th because Transformers 3 owned that date and nobody would go near it.
“The July 4th movie was Transformers 3.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 2:08:02 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
programming (programming): Captain America: The First Avenger → Thor. Cap opened to about 65 million like Thor, finished near 176 worldwide domestic and around 370 vs Thor's 450.
“Cap opens pretty much exactly the same as Thor, 65.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 2:08:10 · David Sims (0.45 sure it was them)
programming (programming): Captain America: The First Avenger → Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. In the 2011 box-office ranking Cap is number one and Deathly Hallows Part 2 is number two.
“Oh, oh, it's Deathly Hollis part two.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 2:09:10 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
career (career): David Yates → Fantastic Beasts (films). Yates saved the Potter franchise but doing Fantastic Beasts is a couple that should have broken up years ago.
“Like the Yates doing the Fantastic Beast movies is like one of those like couples where you're like, they should have broken up like 4 years ago.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 2:09:26 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
programming (programming): No Strings Attached → Horrible Bosses. Two same-premise rom-coms and a surprise hit comedy ('Horrible Bosses') fill out the 2011 box-office top five.
“Oh, oh, it's horrible bosses.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 2:13:29 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
people (people): Horrible Bosses → Colin Farrell. Farrell is the only good boss; Aniston's role is called creepy reverse sexism.
“He's the actually, I think he's the only good one because Andiston is like the, um, you know, uh, man eater is like creepy, reverse sexism shit.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 2:13:39 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Fun items (25)

fun, about Patreon name: The hosts settle on calling Patreon supporters Checkies and the tier The Third Friend.
“What if we call our Patreon supporters Checkies?”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:07:41 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Griffin Newman: Griffin was a 90-pound mono-recovering actor who ate four cheeseburgers and a milkshake at the Disney store lunch break to gain mass and wondered why he didn't get the part.
“I would buy 4 cheeseburgers in a milkshake, and I would down it in 20 minutes”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:17:57 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)
fun, about Chris Evans: Evans refused a screen test, so Joe Johnston made concept art with Evans's face and brought it to the production office, begging. Before that Marvel floated John Krasinski as the pick and fans made gym memes.
“He refused the screen test, and Joe Johnston had them make up a bunch of concept art with Chris Evans' face”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:24:03 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Steve Rogers (Brooklyn): In the comics Cap is from the Lower East Side; the film moves him to Red Hook, Brooklyn.
“Captain America in the comics is not from Brooklyn.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:27:27 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Tommy Lee Jones (running gag): Running bit: the 'house is rocking' whenever Tommy Lee Jones appears, with David rocking the couch.
“Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, the house is rocking.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:28:51 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)
fun, about Bucky death: The classic comic Bucky death is on a rocket Cap can't disarm; the film instead has Bucky fall from the train. David calls the movie's version lamer.
“The classic Bucky death is so good, which they're on the rocket.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:30:53 · David Sims (0.45 sure it was them)
fun, about Training montage: the flagpole: See the scene where the recruits fail to climb the greased flagpole and Steve simply lowers it and takes the flag, a textbook show-don't-tell moment.
“He does it boast. He doesn't say anything.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:31:06 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Skinny Steve effect: Every skinny scene was shot four times (normal with Evans, Evans alone on green, everyone but Evans, and a body double); mostly the head was shrunk digitally and sometimes grafted onto a body for lying-down scenes.
“they shot every skinny scene 4 times.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:35:56 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Ben Hosley and the buried jeans: Ben has buried three pairs of Levi's in his parents' backyard for 6, 9 and 12 months as a fashion line, and plans to put natural dyes and seeds in the pockets.
“I bought Levi's jeans, and I buried them in my parents' backyard.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:38:44 · Ben Hosley (0.50 sure it was them)
fun, about Hail Hydra / Armitage: See the scene where Armitage's Nazi assassin bites down on his capsule after the Brooklyn chase, and the kid who can swim.
“Hail hydra, Armitage takes himself down.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:51:15 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Star Spangled Man (USO number): See the scene where Cap punches Hitler nightly on stage in a war-bond show; the shot recreates the famous cover of Captain America issue one.
“And that's the cover of the original, the famous Captain America Punch and Hitler in the face.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:58:19 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Laura Haddock: The autograph seeker in the Star Spangled Man crowd is Laura Haddock, who returns as Star-Lord's mother, one of the few reused MCU actors.
“So she was that lady in it for one shot.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:00:37 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Zola (the reasonable Nazi): Griffin's complaint: Zola is the voice of reason while Red Skull is cartoonish; he wants the evil doctor to cackle, not question atomizers as inhumane.
“You don't need a reasonable Nazi.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:06:29 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Dum Dum Dugan: See the scene where Neal McDonough walks on in a bowler hat and mutton chops; the hosts cheered because the film embraced the silly comic look rather than toning it down.
“And then this movie just embraces it.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:08:05 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Howling Commandos: The film merges Sergeant Fury's commandos with Cap's circle and removes the stereotypes, making them a multicultural G.I. Joe team: Dum Dum, Gabe Jones, Jim Morita, Falsworth (Union Jack) and Dernier.
“No, this they make it into like they're like a multicultural G.I. Joe team.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:09:03 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Bucky (comics maxim): Old comics maxim: Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacy, Jesus and Bucky are the characters who would never be brought back; Bucky stayed dead about 64 years.
“Spider-Man's Uncle Ben. Spider-Man's girlfriend, Gwen Stacy. And Jesus. And Bucky.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:17:04 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Merchandise: Production started so late that toys and binders were made from concept art, so Cap merchandise shows the wrong costume with the helmet still on, and Red Skull has a black nose.
“A, all of the Captain American merchandise for this movie has the wrong costume.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:20:27 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Red Skull makeup: Hugo Weaving hated the 3-hour makeup and is the one main actor who did not return; the nose was CGI'd with the tip painted red, so on set he looked like a dog with a black wet nose.
“So on set, he kind of looked like a dog.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:21:28 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Peggy Carter red dress: At the Times Square opening night, when Peggy walks in wearing the red dress amid drab fatigues, the whole audience yelled holy shit in unison.
“she comes in with this burst of color and the whole audience went, holy shit.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:23:41 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
fun, about The Shield: The shield used in production was made by a fan named Howard Stark, who rented it out for cosplay and conventions, so the production had to book it through him.
“It was made by a fan. of Captain American named Howard Stark.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:46:03 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
fun, about Sega Genesis game: A 1991 Genesis game, Captain America and the Avengers, let you play Cap, Iron Man, Silver Surfer or Hawkeye; Vision sat in a crow's nest.
“So, yeah, it was, um, 91, and you could play as Captain America, Iron Man, Silver Surfer, or Archery guy.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:46:54 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Tommy Lee Jones: A joke the hosts return to: after his last scene he supposedly asks for a van back to the hotel, TLJ signing off as if collecting his W2.
“That's basically TLJ being like, all right, this is my W2.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 1:58:18 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)
fun, about Brooklyn Dodgers ending: See the scene where Cap wakes up in a fake 1940s room and catches the wrong baseball game on the radio, the first tell something is off.
“Oh, Wrong game.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 2:00:43 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Times Square shoot: The Times Square scenes were shot in the real Times Square behind green-screen walls to shield them from paparazzi, hence the Photoshopped look; the code name on permits was 'freezer burned'.
“I remember walking by and figuring out that it was Captain America, because the code name they were using, I believe, was a freezer burned.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 2:01:50 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Captain America (title): Marvel feared the name Captain America would hurt overseas in 2011 and retitled the film The First Avenger; almost every territory passed on that and only about one country released it under the alternate title.
“Captain America won't be in the title, and almost every territory passed on that.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 2:08:27 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

Who's talking

David Sims (host): He loves Marvel comics lore, the Golden and Silver Age versions of the characters, and period production design. He is a sucker for ensemble character actors like Neal McDonough and Tommy Lee Jones. He is dismissive of the movie's generic last third and of unearned endings.
Griffin Newman (host): He loves heightened-but-not-kitschy design, period movies, Peggy Carter, and actors who underplay. He is a sucker for old-fashioned adventure and a Fantastic Four fan. He doesn't like the reasonable-Nazi Zola or the digital-video look of early-2010s effects.
Ben Hosley (guest): He loves the Nazi train and a mountain lair, and is a Nebula guy. He is seeing the film for the first time, so he reacts to it fresh. He's a sucker for his own fashion experiments like buried jeans.

The show's recurring bits

Names the transcriber got wrong

Joe Johnson → Joe Johnston
Mark Miller → Mark Millar
Marcus and McFeely → Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
painting game → Pain & Gain
Kenneth Troy → Kenneth Choi
Neil McDonough → Neal McDonough
Shelley Johnson → Shelly Johnson
Dresswork 3 → likely DreamWorks film (unclear)
Foggy → likely Feige
Avirad → Avi Arad
Letierrier → Leterrier
Minority Party → Minority Report
Park Chan Wilk → Park Chan-wook
Matt hatches → Matt Hatch (guest)
Ross Marquand ok; Derek Lucas → Derek Luke
Kevin Sorbeau → Kevin Sorbo
Dornier/Jacques Dalia → Jacques Dernier
Bunsen Honeydew ok; tunnel wrap → Tunnel Rat (G.I. Joe)
Gavin McGinnis → Gavin McInnes (joked, mid-credits crack)

Blank Check — Patreon: Captain America: The First Avenger

As extracted (engineer-sonnet-2026-10-13)

Added from the extractor's memory, not said

Films that came up

subject (1)

compared (19)

passing (28)

anecdote (5)

recommended (1)

dismissed (1)

Claims (71)

Fun items (25)

Who's talking

The show's recurring bits

Names the transcriber got wrong