Someone I plan on meeting after I die...

Tom Mankiewicz
I bought Captain America: The First Avenger recently and watched it for the first time since its theatrical release and asked myself: "What makes this movie so damned good?



The answer is that the story follows the Tom Mankiewicz method for comic book origin movie storytelling.

Tom Mankiewicz is the genius that took the mess that was the script for Superman: The Movie and made it the powerhouse masterpiece that all other comic book movies aspire to be.



Put simply, the Mankiewicz Method is taking a given comic book story and breaking it down into three smaller stories (commonly known as arcs, but with Mankiewicz it actually worked).

In Superman's case, the three stories were:
1) Kal-El's escape from, and the destruction of, Krypton.
2) Clark Kent's upbringing and the development of his powers in Smallville.
3) Superman arriving in Metropolis.

Simple. Easy. Beautiful.

In Captain America: The First Avenger the three-part "Mank Method" was:
1) Steve Rogers' attempts to get into the Army.
2) Steve Rogers' experiences in the Super Soldier Program.
3) Captain America's time spent in the Army.

There are variations on overall plot, subtle references and character development of course, and different combinations of screenwriters, directors, actors, movie companies and such. But the fundamentals of the "Mank Method" are there. Plus, those variations help define the character in question, and tell the audience how - for instance - Steve Rogers is different from Kal-El, even though both are heroes and the average layman may confuse Cap and Superman.

Tom even helped resurrect Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, and did rewrites on Ladyhawke, Legal Eagles, Live and Let Die and Diamonds are Forever.

Plus, he not only wrote Dragnet, the movie starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks, he directed it.

But for me, he will always be remembered as one of the pioneers in successfully translating comic book greatness to the screen.

Sadly, he left us in 2010. But when I move on, I’ll be buying a ticket to Tom’s movie marathon, and take the opportunity to ask him how it feels to be a legend in super hero cinema.