One might also note that, in the original costume, Captain America’s hood sported a pair of small white wings. Those wings might be fine in a drawing, but they look ridiculous on an actor. In Albert Pyun’s 1990 film “Captain America,” the titular character (Matt Salinger) wore a page-accurate costume, including a cowl that was an extension of his shirt, the wings, and the exposed ears. As one can see in the photo above, the ears presented a problem to the film’s costume designers. Instead of using Salinger’s actual ears, they merely outfitted his hood with rubber ears.

When the time came to update the costume for Joe Johnston’s “Captain America: The First Avenger” in 2011, visual designer Ryan Meinerding said that he had to cull many Marvel Comics looking for a costume that was true to the page yet still realistic enough for a flesh-and-blood actor to actually wear. In his own words:

“The best research is usually to reread some of the comics. […] I reread The Ultimates and the Captain America Omnibus that features Ed Brubaker’s run. There are a lot of great Cap moments in each volume. From a practical costume-design point of view, we looked at a lot of military clothes that are commercially available. There are undershirts and cargo/military pants being designed for military applications that are fantastic sources of inspiration for a group like S.H.I.E.L.D. or for a costume like Cap’s.”

The Ultimates was a spinoff line of comics launched in 2000 that reset the entire Marvel Comics timeline, reimagining their most popular characters in the modern day. The costumes and attitudes were altered slightly, including Captain America’s helmet. The helmet from the Ultimates most strongly informed the headpiece worn by Chris Evans.