Welcome to Flashback Friday: The Marvel Cinematic Universe. In this series you’ll get a review and discussion on some of your favorite Pops and Dorbz from the MCU. Here, we really appreciate the shared universe so the figures will come from film, television, and streaming. The Black and White Captain America from the Captain America: The Winter Soldier set is this week’s choice for discussion.
Discussion: The MCUs version of Captain America was first introduced in Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011. After the success of that film and the Avengers the studio greenlit a sequel titled Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The film is very dark in tone with Steve having to fight against his former best friend Bucky with Hydra looming in the background. The film is a political thriller asking questions such as should we trust our government agency and do we believe what they’re doing is right? It’s a fantastic film and probably the best “second” film in the entire MCU.
Because of the darker tones in the film this black (gray) and white Pop works really well as a variant for collectors and fans of Captain America. The color makes it very unique because it’s the only black and white version of Captain America and it’s the only Cap Pop exclusively limited to Barnes & Noble. Eventually, I’d really like to see more Cap variations in the future and I think black and white variants would work the best for designs based off of the original First Avenger film. The time period alone is reason enough to give us some new and exciting Cap Pops.
Pops from the Captain America: The Winter Soldier set are consistently higher than original retail value. The exclusives for this set also mark a notable uptick in value. Another reason is that most if not all of the Pops in the set are now vaulted which means the production run has ceased. Since this exclusive was only available at Barnes & Noble you knew the price would increase seeing as this Pop is already four years old. Which each new film featuring Captain America his popularity increases which is driving up demand for his older Pops. Just a few short months ago he was roughly $60.00 to $70.00. Now he’s averaging between $90.00 and $100.00. If you’re interested in owning Cap you’ll want to check out eBay or our Facebook group which can be found here. Next, we’ll take a look at the rest of the set.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Set: The black and white Captain America is numbered 41 in the set along with a few more Caps. The set includes 1 Black Widow, 4 Captain America, and 2 Winter Soldier. Aaron Pierce, Brock Rumlow, Falcon, and Nick Fury would’ve been great additions to this set and I’m sure I’m not the only one that was sad they didn’t include the characters I just mentioned. The set featured exclusives from Barnes & Noble, Hot Topic, and Toymatrix.com. Variants included black and white, glow in the dark, and unmasked versions of Captain America. There are seven total Pops in the set which could’ve easily been ten to twelve.
Description/Review: The suit starts off with the upgraded helmet from S.H.I.E.L.D. There are some white on the sides of the helmet and the white “A” for America on the center of the helmet. The upper half of the suit still has the familiar star in the middle of the chest with three faded white stripes stretching across the pectorals and moving just above the bicep on each arm. There are dark gray straps around his shoulders. This is his shield harness which secures the shield on his back to leave both hands free for combat or reconnaissance. Some form of magnet is used to secure the shield because you can hear it lock into place during the film. Cap also has a dark gray tactical belt and gloves. The belt carries anything small he may need on a mission. The suit is completed with heavy duty tactical boots.
What’s next? It’s highly rumored that fans will next see Captain America in Spider-Man: Homecoming. He’s listed on the IMDB page but it’s uncertain if he’ll have a decent role in the film or have a small cameo similar to Thor: The Dark World. He will heavily be featured in the upcoming blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War and its untitled sequel. After the next two Avengers films its unclear is Chris Evans will remain as the Captain America character. Eventually, Sam Wilson or Winter Soldier could take up the role potentially leading into a whole new trilogy.
It would be amazing if there was a Captain America Pop in Spider-Man: Homecoming but I’m not expecting one. There should be a few Captain America Pops for the upcoming Avengers films.
What do you think of the black and white Captain America? Sound off in the comments section below.
Would you like to see a specific Pop or Dorbz in a future article? Post your choices in the comments section and you just might see your favorite character “Pop” up in the coming weeks.
Check back next week for another MCU flashback. Excelsior!
Matt Norris