Captain America shield in Iron Man the Movie

WHEN CAPTAIN AMERICA THROWS HIS MIGHTY SHIELD...

ITEM! Yes, it’s true, Tiger. That is Captain America’s shield sitting on Tony Stark’s lab bench in that boffo box-office bonanza, Iron Man. Frantic Ones everywhere have discovered one of Jonny Favreau’s earnest easter eggs serendipitously slipped into the scenery (see pic above). An easter egg that was digitally painted out of the trailers and previews, I might add. Read the whole story here and here.

Fan speculation and Intraweb chatter is running at fever pitch. What does it mean? It’s not really that hard to figure out, pilgrims. Card-carrying Marvelites will remember that Tony Stark actually did make a high-tech shield for Cap all the way back in Avengers #6 (June 1964 — Studious Stan). If you haven’t read these or other Avenging classics, then shame on you, sunshine! You can either turn in your MMMS membership card or go straight to your local comic book shop and get your copious copy of Essential Avengers Vol. 1, Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 1, or even the out-of-print but still-to-be-had GIT Corp 40 Years of the Avengers DVD-ROM collection! These titanic tomes may not be as intellectually stimulating as the Complete Works of Shakespeare, but they're a heckuva lot easier to tote around!

Even though your Uncle Stanley hasn’t seen a Captain America movie script yet, it’s pretty obvious where this is going. The Cap movie will no doubt cover his WWII days to introduce both Cap and the Red Skull’s origins, then zip forward to the present day with Cap being thawed-out and outfitted with a Stark-tech shield so he can go he can kick Nazi sleeper agent gluteus maximus and even go Avenging — just like in the comics! Say it with me, Merry Marvel Marchers... “just like in the comics!” Ah, that magic phrase that guarantees both high-fidelity sound and concept, and as often as not, high box office returns. Now that Mighty Marvel is running these mega movie franchises, expect that to be the rule rather than the exception! You read it here first, pussycat. ‘Nuff Said!