Captain America: The Winter Soldier came out last week and audiences have just been throwing piles of cash at it. But there’s also been a lot of confused head-scratching, and we’ve gotten a few emails asking why this character or that one is so important. So, for more casual fans (and those who haven’t read every issue of Cap), here’s who you’ll have to remember when Captain America 3 hits theaters.
Starting with the guy who came in after the credits: We got a LOT of letters asking just who the hell he was. He’s this guy!
Baron Strucker
You Know Him As: That guy in the end credits sequence who apparently runs HYDRA now, hopefully with a little more creativity and operational flexibility.
Comic Book Fans Know Him As: One of several people arguing over who controls HYDRA. With the Red Skull dumped in some other realm and Alexander Pierce dead, it appears the evil Baron will be in charge from now on.
How Important Will He Be In The Next Movie?a1: We’ll have to see how his role in The Avengers: Age Of Ultron shakes out, but we’re guessing he’ll be a thorn in Cap’s side.
Quicksilver And Scarlet Witch
You Know Them As: Those two people Strucker has locked in his basement.
Comic Book Fans Know Them As: Avengers! Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were two key members of the Avengers in the early days of the book, along with Hawkeye. So, yeah, nerds are happy.
How Important Will They Be In The Next Movie?: The next Cap movie, not so much, probably. The next Avengers movie, they’ll be pretty important.
And before you ask, yes, they’ll also be in X-Men: Days Of Future Past, played by completely different actors in a completely different movie. Aren’t intellectual property rights fun, kids?
Sharon Carter, aka Agent 13
You Know Her As: The “nurse” who lives across the hall from Cap, and who Natasha pushes Cap to ask out on a date.
Comic Book Fans Know Her As: The love of Cap’s life. Admittedly, her life story is more than a little torturous, but she’s essentially one of the few women that manages to reach Cap.
How Important Will She Be In The Next Movie?: We’re guessing pretty crucial, what with being the love interest and all.
Brock Rumlow
You Know Him As: That douchebag Cap keeps beating up and who tries to stab the Falcon.
Comic Book Fans Know Him As: Crossbones, the hard-edged mercenary who mostly survives in the Marvel Universe by dint of being one tough mofo. Crossbones has mostly worked with HYDRA, but he’ll accept a paycheck from anybody.
How Important Will He Be In The Next Movie?: Crossbones is an employee, not a leader, even if he is incredibly dangerous. He’ll probably go up against Cap again, though and the fact that he works a lot with the Red Skull raises a few… interesting questions about who he might be working for.