Throughout its long history, superhero movies have showcased some fantastically made movie props in order to bring to life the legendary artifacts that make the world of Marvel Comics tick. Among those, few are as iconic as theCaptain Americashield, whose real-life blacksmith changed up a bit in its transition to the MCU’s Phase Four.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldierbasically tells the story of Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) picking theCaptain Americamantle from Steve Rogers, after Chris Evans' supposed retirement from the MCU. However, that’s just one of the stories Marvel prop master Russell Bobbitt has to share of how he’s built famed pieces such as Tony Stark’s arc reactor, Thor’s 60-pound Mjolnir, Loki’s Staff, Star-Lord’s blasters or the fourdifferent shields that are used whenever Captain Americahas to shoot scenes.
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Many of these anecdotes were shared by Bobbitt (@marvelprops) during an interview in ComicBook’s Phase Zero podcast, including the small design changes on Cap’s shield. “[I’m] handing off the torch. I’m passing the torch. I’ve made some improvements. I want you to run with this. It’s your shield, it’s not mine,” Bobbitt said. Nevertheless, Bobbitt says the changes didn’t come exactly from him but rather from theAvengers: Endgamedirectors. Although the 37-minute interview is very much worth listening to for hardcore Marvel fans, the segment on Cap’s shield comes on at 23:03.
Thechanges in Captain America’s shieldhave not been limited to looks exclusively. Beyond the extra notches that were added to Sam’s weapon in its classic star and silver ring, the metal prop used by Evans got progressively lighter to better accommodate for the actor’s comfort. Right after that, Bobbitt tells a fun anecdote about Josh Brolin becoming quite attached to his scaled-down Infinity Gauntlet, even during bathroom and coffee breaks on set.
It’s not as if one needs to be a Marvel Studios pro to make a functional shield, as even YouTubers well-versed in physics have madeCaptain America’s signature weaponfully functional, despite its challenging properties in the comics. Still, do keep in mind that Bobbitt didn’t grow up as the biggest comic book fan, with him being the first to admit he really wasn’t that into them when he started working with the MCU.
Bobbit also mentions his work onWandaVision, a show for which he was commissioned to create the mysterious Darkhold that will probably be in the spotlight whenDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesspremieres.Recreating old Spider-Man gadgets forNo Way Homewas an entirely different experience he’s happy to talk about, just don’t ask the man about what he’s been doing for Disney Plus' upcoming shows because he won’t share the slightest of details.
