The films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe like to hide details from the history of the comic label in the form of little Easter eggs. That was already the case in the first films. In the first part of Captain America you can discover the first Marvel hero in history.
Who can you see in Captain America: The First Avenger? In 2011, Captain America: The First Avenger, the 5th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was released and it was the first film of the eponymous hero.
For the first time you see Steve Rogers’ past and origin story. At the beginning of the film, before the transformation into a super soldier, Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers are at a performance by Howard Stark, Tony’s future father.
In addition to a lot of new technology, you can discover the first superhero from the Marvel comics in a showcase: Human Torch.
You can see a trailer for the film here:
German trailer for Captain America – The First Avenger (2011)
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Not the Human Torch we know today
What do you see in the showcase? If you pause the film at around minute 11:30 (the Disney+ version) you can see a red suit in a display case. Above the display case is the heading The Synthetic Man. This suit is a nod to Human Torch, but not to Johnny Storm, who you know from the Fantastic Four films.
In 1939, the very first issue of Marvel Comics introduced 3 heroes. In addition to Human Torch, there were Namor and Ka-Zar. In a Thor comic from 2024, it was virtually confirmed that Human Torch is considered the first hero (via Screen Rant).
But this Human Torch is Jim Hammond. He was an android created by scientist Phineas T. Horton in Universe 616. Like Captain America, he fought in World War II and helped the Allies. Hammond has the same skills as Johnny Storm. He can ignite himself, create fire and is also immune to it.
These days, Johnny Storm is the character most people know as Human Torch. This is also due to the old TV series and especially the Fox films. However, he made occasional appearances in various comic stories. So he was one of the role models from which Ultron built Vision.
Chris Evans knows his way around Human Torch. An amusing coincidence (or intention) is that the Easter egg with the Human Torch appears in a Captain America film. Before his role as Steve Rogers, Chris Evans played Johnny Storm in Fox’s first two Fantastic Four films. This also led to a funny joke in Deadpool and Wolverine, which is only available in the German version: Deadpool & Wolverine has a brilliant joke that is only available in the German version