The Original Script for CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER Originally Ended With Cap Fighting a Giant Nazi Robot

Captain America: The First Avenger is among the most successful of the MCU origin stories, following Steve Rogers as he enters the military as a sickly waif, then seeing him transform into the American super soldier we all know and love. He goes up against the Nazi villain Red Skull, and defeats him to save the world. But that ending wasn’t always set in stone. There was a chance we could have seen Cap go up against a giant Nazi robot. Say, what?

In a recent interview with screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (via /Film), the pair mentioned that The First Avenger’s original script included a “huge Hydra robot.” Markus said:

“A large chunk of the third act was Cap fighting this robot. It was a Nazi super robot under the control of the villainous Red Skull called Panzer Max.”

He explained that constraints led to the robot being scrapped completely, adding:

“I think eventually it was a budget and time thing. Where it was like, ‘We really can’t be spending that much time.’”

The Panzer Max “appeared in a single 2009 issue as a prototype warbot created by Baron Strucker. A member of HYDRA leadership, Strucker attempts to kill the Howling Commandos, but they end up destroying his toy and going home.”

I think it was for the better that robo-Nazi didn’t end up in the final cut. Captain America: The First Avenger is a great film, and I can’t imagine it any other way. Would you have liked to have seen Cap go up against Panzer Max?