[1942 Norway; after breaking into the tower]

JOHANN SCHMIDT: It has taken me a long time to find this place. You should be commended. [to one of his soldiers] Pick him up. [one of the soldiers helps the tower keeper to his feet] I think that you are man of great vision. And in this way we are much alike.

TOWER KEEPER: I am nothing like you.

JOHANN SCHMIDT: No, of course. But what others see as superstition, you and I know to be a science.

TOWER KEEPER: What you seek is just a legend.

JOHANN SCHMIDT: Then why make such an effort to conceal it. [opens an old tomb and picks up the glass cube from the skeletal remains of an old Viking] The Tesseract was the jewel of Odin's treasure room. [he turns to face the tower keeper and deliberately drops and smashes the glass cube] It's not something one buries. But I think it is close, yes?

TOWER KEEPER: I cannot help you.

JOHANN SCHMIDT: No. But maybe you can help your village. You must have some friends out there. Some...some little grandchildren perhaps. I have no need for them to die. [referring to the carving of the tree on one of the tower walls] Yggdrasil, the tree of the world. Guardian of wisdom and fate also. [he presses a button on the carving of the tree and it opens up to reveal the real cube] And the Fuhrer sends us for trinkets in the desert. You have never seen this, have you?

TOWER KEEPER: It's not for the eyes of ordinary men.

JOHANN SCHMIDT: Exactly. [he closes the box containing the glowing cube and turns to his soldiers] Give the order to open fire.

TOWER KEEPER: Fool! You cannot control the power you hold. You will burn!

JOHANN SCHMIDT: I already have. [he shoots and kills the tower keeper]

[Scene changes. Enlistment center. Several man are being called to be enlisted.]
4F DOCTOR: O'Connell, Michael. Kaminski, Henry.

RANDOM GUY: Boy a lot of guys getting killed over there.

4F DOCTOR:Rogers, Stephen.

[A short young man, Steve Rogers, stands and goes to the doctor]

RANDOM GUY: Kinda makes you think twice about enlisting, huh?

STEVE ROGERS: Nope.

[Steve is standing half naked in front of a doctor to examine him for the enlistment in World War II]

4F DOCTOR: Rogers. What did your father die of?

STEVE ROGERS: Mustard gas. He was in the hundred and seventh infantry. I was hoping I could be assigned...

4F DOCTOR: Your mother?

STEVE ROGERS: She was a nurse in a TB ward. Got hit, couldn't shake it.

[the doctor looks at Steve's file which shows he has a long list of health issues]

4F DOCTOR: Sorry, son.
STEVE ROGERS: Look, just give me a chance.

4F DOCTOR: You'll be ineligible on your asthma alone.

STEVE ROGERS: Is there anything I can do?

4F DOCTOR: I'm doing it. I'm saving your life.

[Steve is at the movies. A publicity to enlist for the war comes on the big screen]

VOICE-OVER: War continues to ravage Europe... but help is on the way! Every able bodied young man is lining up to serve his country. Even little Timmy is doing his part, collecting scrap metal. Nice work, Timmy!

LOUD JERK: Who cares! Play the movie already.

STEVE ROGERS: Hey, why don't you show some respect?

VOICE-OVER: Meanwhile, over seas... our brave boys are showing the axis powers... that the price of freedom is never to high!

LOUD JERK: Let's go, get on with it. Hey, just start the cartoon.

STEVE ROGERS: Hey, why don't you just shut up?
.
VOICE-OVER: Together with allied forces, we'll face any threat, no matter the size...

[Steve is at the back alley of the theater. He's getting beaten up by the loud jerk that was disturbing everyone at the movies]
LOUD JERK: You just don't know when to give up, do you?

STEVE ROGERS: I can do this all day. [Steve attacks the guy again]

[James "Bucky" Barnes, a young man in 1940's military attire, stops the guy from hitting Steve again.]

JAMES BARNES: Hey, pick on someone your own size.

[He beats the guy up and sends him off. He looks at Steve]

JAMES BARNES: Sometimes, I think you like getting punched.

STEVE ROGERS: I had him on the ropes.

[Bucky picks up Steve's enlistment form from the ground]

JAMES BARNES: How many times is this? [reading from the enlistment form] Oh, your from Paramus now. You know it's illegal to lie on your enlistment form. Seriously, Jersey?

STEVE ROGERS: [ignores Bucky and looks at his uniform] Did you get your orders?

JAMES BARNES: The one-o-seventh. Sergeant James Barnes. Shipping for England first thing tomorrow.

STEVE ROGERS: I should be going.

JAMES BARNES: Come on, man! It's my last night. Gotta get you cleaned up.

STEVE ROGERS: Why? Where are we going?

JAMES BARNES: The future. [he hands him the newspaper he was holding, Steve opens it to see the ad for World Exposition]

[Both young men are now at the World Exposition]

JAMES BARNES: You're about to be the last eligible man in New York. You know, there's three and a half million women here.

STEVE ROGERS: Hell, I'd settle for just one.

JAMES BARNES: Good thing I took care of that. [he waves to the dates he's lined up]

BUCKY'S DATE: Hey, Bucky!

STEVE ROGERS: What did you tell her about me?

JAMES BARNES: Only the good stuff.

[They enter the fair]

VOICE-OVER: Welcome to the Modern Marvels Pavilion and the world of tomorrow. A greater world. A better world.

BUCKY'S DATE: Oh my god. It's starting!

[Several women appear on the stage]

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Howard Stark!

[As the crowd cheers, a dashing, mustached man addresses the audience at the World Exposition fair. Enter Howard Stark]

HOWARD STARK: Ladies and gentlemen, what if I told you that in just a few short years, your automobile won't even have to touch the ground at all. [the female helpers take the wheels of the car on stage] Yes. Thanks, Mandy. [addressing the audience again] With Stark Gravitic reversion technology, you'll be able to do just that. [he turns on the switch of his machine and the car starts to hover off the ground] Holy cow! [the car hovering suddenly malfunctions and falls back on stage] I did say a few years, didn't I?

JAMES BARNES: Hey, Steve. What do you say we treat these girls...

[From a distance, Steve sees a girl pulling her man in front of the army uniforms]

GIRL ON A DATE: Come on, Soldier!

JAMES BARNES: [speaking to Steve] Come on, kinda missing
the point of a double date. We're taking the girls dancing.


STEVE ROGERS: You go ahead, I'll catch up with you.

JAMES BARNES: You really gonna do this again?

STEVE ROGERS: Well, it's a fair. I'm gonna try my luck.

JAMES BARNES: As who? Steve from Ohio? They'll catch you. Worse, they'll actually take you.

STEVE ROGERS: Look, I know you don't think I can do this.

JAMES BARNES: This isn't a back alley, Steve. It's a war!

STEVE ROGERS: I know it's a war. You don't have to tell me.

JAMES BARNES: Why are you so keen to fight? There are so many important jobs.

STEVE ROGERS: What am I gonna do? Collect scrap metal...

JAMES BARNES: Yes!

STEVE ROGERS: ...in my little red wagon.

JAMES BARNES: Why not?

STEVE ROGERS: I'm not gonna sit in a factory, Bucky. Bucky, come on! There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That's what you don't understand. This isn't about me.

JAMES BARNES: Right. Cause you got nothing to prove.

BUCKY'S DATE: Hey Barnes. Are we going dancing?


JAMES BARNES: Yes we are. [turns to Steve] Don't do anything stupid until I get back.

STEVE ROGERS: How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you.

JAMES BARNES: You're a punk. [he walks back towards Steve and hugs him goodbye]

STEVE ROGERS: Jerk. Be careful. [as James is walking away] Don't win the war till I get there!

JAMES BARNES: [looks at the girls] Come on girls, they're playing our song.

[Steve tries to get enlisted again]

DOCTOR: Wait here.

STEVE ROGERS: Is there a problem?

DOCTOR: Just wait here. Thank you.

[A German doctor in his fifties, Abraham Erskine, enters the medical exam room]

Dr. ABRAHAM ERSKINE: So, you want to go overseas? Kill some Nazis.

STEVE ROGERS: Excuse me?

Dr. ABRAHAM ERSKINE: Doctor Abraham Erskine. I represent a Strategic scientific research.

STEVE ROGERS: Steve Rogers. Where are you from?

Dr. ABRAHAM ERSKINE: Queens. Before that, Germany. This troubles you?

STEVE ROGERS: No.

Dr. ABRAHAM ERSKINE: [flipping through Steve's file] Where are you from Mr. Rogers? Mmm? Is it New Haven? Or Paramus? Five exams in five different cities.

STEVE ROGERS: That might not be the right file-

Dr. ABRAHAM ERSKINE: No, it's not the exams I'm interested in. It's the five tries. But you didn't answer my question. Do you want to kill Nazis?

STEVE ROGERS: Is this a test?

Dr. ABRAHAM ERSKINE: Yes.

STEVE ROGERS: I don't wanna kill anyone. I don't like bullies. I don't care where they're from.

Dr. ABRAHAM ERSKINE: Well, there are already so many big men fighting this war. Maybe what we need now is the little guy, huh? I can offer you a chance. Only a chance.

STEVE ROGERS: I'll take it.

Dr. ABRAHAM ERSKINE: Good. So where is the little guy from, actually?

STEVE ROGERS: Brooklyn. [he stamps Steve's form and hands him back his file]

Dr. ABRAHAM ERSKINE: Congratulations, soldier. [Steve opens up the file and sees that he's been stamped as accepted]