Comics / Cult Favorite

The Captain America Ending That Might Have Been

By Philip Schweier
January 13, 2012 - 12:56

Occasionally, any given fan might come up with an idea that has merit, and should be included in a film or comic book. Here is an added scene I would’ve liked to have seen at the end of the Captain America movie:

SCENE: Interior, an underground bunker, dimly lit. Against one wall stands a tall, metal cabinet in which we see a handful of Captain America uniforms hanging, each one slightly different in design and function. Boots are tucked away neatly in the bottom. In the top of the locker, above the various helmets, are three horizontal slots for Cap’s shields. One space is empty, another occupied by an unfinished circular shield. The third contains Cap’s original shield from his War Bond drives.

Hayley Atwell as Capt. Peggy Carter

CAPTAIN CARTER sits on a bench facing the locker, a sturdy padlock resting next to her. Her eyes are moist, and obviously she’s been crying. She sniffs and wipes away the last of her tears. Then she stands up, padlock in hand, and prepares to close and seal the locker. As she does so, COL. PHILLIPS voice rumbles through the room.

PHILLIPS: I thought you might be down here.

CARTER turns as PHILLIPS emerges from the darkness. His face is grave and serious, but doesn’t belie the sorrow he himself feels. CARTER pulls herself together.

CARTER: I’m sorry, sir. Just saying my last good-byes.

PHILLIPS: A hero’s send-off, is that it? Well, God knows he earned it.

CARTER: No less so than anyone else is this war, sir.

Tommy Lee Jones as Col. Chester Phillips

PHILLIPS: It might interest you to know the higher ups have decided not to let the super-soldier program fade away. I have been tasked with the reorganization of it under a new charter. I was hoping I might convince you to come along for the ride.

CARTER steps away from the locker, clearing the way for PHILLIPS to have a good look inside.

CARTER: Not this time, sir. I’m afraid I’ve lost the stomach for sending young men to their deaths.

PHILLIPS reaches inside and pulls down CAP’S circular shield.

PHILLIPS: Well, apparently somebody in the new administration has decided this little project of ours needs more to show for it than some fancy shield.

PHILLIPS pauses, thinking about what he just said as he toys with the shield.

PHILLIPS: You know it’s too bad there isn’t enough of this vibranium stuff to go around. If there was, I’d move heaven and earth to see every soldier on the front line had one of these.

PHILLIPS puts the disc back in its slot and closes the doors to the locker. CARTER steps forward with the padlock and seals it.

CARTER: I think there can be only one Captain America, Colonel.

Together, the two turn to leave heading through the darkness as PHILLIPS muses out loud, his voice fading in the distance as the camera pans down the eagle logo on the doors of the now-sealed locker.

PHILLIPS: I agree. That’s why my new organization is going to be a little different from the Strategic Scientific Reserve. I thought I’d call it the Scientific Headquarters – No, no the SUPREME Headquarters for Intelligence...


See how nice that dovetails into the establishment of the SHIELD, as led by Col. Nick Fury in the later (chronologically speaking) movies? It would have been oh so nice and tidy.

Praise and adulation? Scorn and ridicule? E-mail me at philip@comicbookbin.com

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12