Most MCU Fans Agree ‘Rappin’ With Cap’ Was ‘Peak’ Chris Evans as Captain America
When one thinks of Chris Evans‘ Captain America, comedy isn’t usually the first thing that leaps to mind. Qualities such as strength, nobility and fortitude stand out more than anything else.
However, it’s precisely because the MCU’s Steve Rogers is so straight-laced, he can actually be rather amusing.
Fans noticed this when coming across a series of short videos called ‘Rappin with Cap, which, alas, do not feature Evans throwing down beats with Eminem. Instead, they’re a series of public service announcements, made for Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Captain America has been funny since the beginning
One of the qualities that fans love most about Captain America is how much he sticks to his guns and is determined to do the right thing, despite multiple other forces telling him to do what he thinks is the wrong thing. This conflict, ramped up to the highest degree, is what powered Captain: America: Civil War.
Pitched just the right way, however, this straight-laced quality can be played for laughs. This was obvious as far back as Captain America: The First Avenger. In the beginning, Captain America was more of a symbol, a propaganda tool rather than an actual hero.
That was nowhere more apparent than in the musical number in the middle of that movie, featuring the song “Star Spangled Man,” composed by Alan Menken, best known for his iconic Disney songs.
The piece was the kind of rah-rah rallying tool that was commonplace in World War II but Steve Rogers chafes at being used in this way, wanting to join the real fighting. In a way, “Star Spangled Man” was the pilot for what became Rappin’ with Cap.”
What fans say about the Cap raps
The ‘Rappin with Cap’ PSA’s were made in conjunction with the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming. That movie’s high-school setting proved to be the ideal backdrop for these amusingly earnest public service announcements about everything from illegal fireworks to puberty. So your body’s changing,” he says in one spot. “Believe me, I know how that feels.”
Fans on Reddit found the videos and had many laughs, with one fan saying they would have liked to see more, even though Evans is out of the picture. “I think it would be a serious missed opportunity if they didn’t do something like this with US Agent for Falcon/Winter Soldier, either as part of the ad campaign or somewhere in the actual show. Wyatt Russell doing it would be hilarious.”
Others were disappointed that the video title wasn’t literal. “Anyone else a little disappointed that this wasn’t Chris Evans beat boxing and attempting to rap in costume?” A few actually were.
Chris Evans can be funny
These videos found their apex in the Spider-Man: Homecoming credits, where the final credits scene was another PSA with Captain America saying ” Hi. I’m Captain America, here to talk to you about one of the most valuable traits a student or a soldier can have: patience.
Sometimes patience is the key to victory. Sometimes it leads to very little. And it seems like it’s not worth it, and you wonder, why you waited so long for something so disappointing.” The joke works best if you sit through a movie just having read the names of 1,000 digital animators.
These spots show that Evans has a flair for comedy, a trait he doesn’t often get to put on display. He did go on to display it in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, where he wasn’t usually directly comic, but his reactions to everything else were hilarious.
In a way, Steve Rogers and Chris Evans are the ultimate straight faces — they keep their game faces on while everyone else around them is cracking up.
