First Avenger How fast should Captain America be?

[Surfer]

Most people see Captain America as the embodiment of the peak of human perfection. However, since no human has yet to achieve this level of physcial perfection (although some olympic athletes may be close depending upon your views), what would be Cap's top speed and for how long should he be able to sustain it without tiring? Remember also this is a comic book, so if you would prefer to see human performance as still having a ways to go, that is okay too. To further assist I have included an answer to how fast the currently quickest human runs in terms of mph.

Usain Bolt ran the 2009 World final in 9.58 seconds. That's an average of 23.35 mph or 37.578 km/h. Taking acceleration time to the finish into consideration - his top speed was 27.45 mph or 44.172 km/h according to the biomechanical analysis of his 9.58 record.

Surfer

 

[Shivsguy616]

I really don't think how fast he runs matters for the film...

 

[Surfer]

It is just a way of trying to understand how much quicker he should be than anyone else. I realize that running will not necessarilly be a big part of what Cap does in the movie, but understanding his speed can relate to things like should he be able to dodge bullets and things of that nature. Perhaps that might relate more to his reaction time than top speed, but I don't think anyone has ever clocked reaction times in shorter distances then running the 100 meters. Therefore, I am left with top speed as the only way to guage things.

Surfer

 

[Surfer]

Actually, I was wrong. Evidentally, there are studies out there that show reaction times in terms of speed. There is no world record holder or anything like that to guage the fastest known, but still feel free to discuss how quick Captain America's reaction times should be as well in this thread. I have included a link below that might be helpful in discussing reaction times, as well as a specific part of the link that I felt was the most informative.

http://www.answers.com/topic/reaction-time

Sports and Medicine

1. The time interval from presentation of a stimulus to the initiation of the response. Reaction time is a simple measure to make. It is used extensively in the chronometric approach to information-processing to study the different stages of the processing. Reaction time is the sum of all the event-durations that occur between the presentation of a stimulus and the evocation of a response. It depends on the length of the neural path between the receptor organ (e.g. eye or ear) and the responding muscles (e.g. in the leg of runner) together with delays incurred when the information is processed centrally. Reaction times of 14-16-hundredths of a second for acoustic stimuli and 16-18-hundredths of a second for optical stimuli are generally regarded as good.

Surfer

 

[Shivsguy616]

What exactly do you mean by dodging bullets? Anyone who is ducking and diving under fire and doesn't get shot has dodged bullets, but I doubt that is what you are getting at.

 

[Surfer]

I just threw dodging bullets out there, as I have heard others mention it. They stated that Captain America can not dodge bullets like Spider Man can, but then that leads me to wonder how quick is he? I mean he enters into a War Zone, and does he just not get shot and killed because he is lucky or does he not get shot and killed because he is that quick?

Now, I suppose the idea of dodging bullets might be too general, because if a gun was pointed directly at his head or if the gun was a 100 yards away there would be more time for him to react, move and gain speed with the later. However, to me part of the equation with dodging bullets is like the equation with the bear in a camp full of people. You don't have to be faster than the bear you just have to be faster than the slowest camper. So, what I mean in this situation is that Captain America does not have to be quicker then the bullets, but I guess quicker then the individual pulling the trigger of the gun. Not sure how this relates to top speed exactly, but it definitely relates to reaction times.

Surfer

 

[yunhov]

I don't care for the technical aspect of it, I just think that visually it should be similar to emil blonsky/Abomination, except there should be a sense of some heft to it. Like the slow motion of the flash in the DCU Online Trailer, you could actually see his legs moving

 

[bert19]

He should be properly fast. Isn't that the whole point of the super-soldier thing? increased reaction speeds, strength, agility, endurance etc etc. He should look super. Even if he isn't built like a steroid freak, kicking Nazi arses shouldn't be a stretch for him.

Also, speed-wise, i'm sure he mentions that he can run at a rate of a mile a minute in 'Red Menace' when Bucky gets shot.

 

[Hound55]

Blonsky in TIH.

 

[Warhammer]

I'd probably say as fast or a bit faster than Blonsky ran in The Incredible Hulk since the super soldier serum Blonksy got wasn't as much as Steve Rogers will probably get in the new movie.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

I'd probably say as fast or a bit faster than Blonsky ran in The Incredible Hulk since the super soldier serum Blonksy got wasn't as much as Steve Rogers will probably get in the new movie.

This. He should be a superior version of what Blonksy got.

 

[Rage]

But Blonsky got a bastardized version of the formula (like 50s Cap) that makes him faster and stronger... but also unstable mentally and physically (like the 50s Cap) Without Vita Ray exposure... the SSS is extremely dangerous and Blonsky proved that.

 

[Surfer]

A lot of people are equating Captain America's speed to Blonsky's in the Incredible Hulk, but how fast do people think Blonsky was in the Incredible Hulk? Any ideas? Because from what I rememember he was running past the other soldiers like they were standing still. However, a soldier even without gear is not an olympic athlete either, so really not to sure how to judge Blonsky's speed. However, I voted for 32 MPH sustained for about half hour, because I don't want Cap's speed to seem unrealistic and way beyond what is achievable today, but at the same time I didn't want it to feel like we were already at the peak of human performance with our athletes today, which would leave me feeling like there is nothing to look forward to in the future. So, I felt that was maybe a happy medium. As for him sustaining these speeds for a half hour to me that has to do with his muscles not fatiguing as quickly as other athletes, and as a result I think he can keep it going for a longer duration.

Surfer

 

[Moridin]

But Blonsky got a bastardized version of the formula (like 50s Cap) that makes him faster and stronger... but also unstable mentally and physically (like the 50s Cap) Without Vita Ray exposure... the SSS is extremely dangerous and Blonsky proved that.

I don't think they're talking about the serum Cap will get, just what his actions might look like on screen.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

Fast enough

 

[IronJoe]

In one of my Cap books he is referenced to say he can run a mile in "just over a minute". Combine that with the fact that according to 616 canon Captain America "does not fatigue", you could potentially be looking at running upwards of 60mph sustained indefinitely. That's superhuman, folks.

But I don't think this should be portrayed in the movie (as it is rarely in the comics - it's just an example of the maximum I've come across according to the comics, which vary depending on the creative team).


I'll try to get the issue # referencing the running speed today.

 

[HUMANIMAL]

he would not need a motorcycle if he is too fast

 

[GL1]

Blonsky in TIH.

Correct answer!

Blonksy not only demonstrated EXACTLY what a super soldier in the Marvel Universe is, but showed what it SHOULD be as well, clearly outpacing others with no indication that he's any sort of 'speedster.'

 

[Dark Raven]

The film should be slowed down enough that we can actually understand what is being said, and not speeded up too much that everyone sounds like chipmunks. That's how fast Captain America should be.

 

[misjuevos]

the only thing i didnt like about blonsky's scene of him running was the wire work they used. it looked like he was on a wire. in the underworld movie, the first one, michael sheen does the same running scene but it looks better. they used a long mat behind a car and he ran on the mat while the car was in motion. it made him seem fast and there were no wires. if they want to use the blonsky speed for cap then i would hope they use the dragging mat method and not the wire method. im not saying to make cap as fast as sheen was in underworld, i just like the method they used.

 

[Ahura Mazda]

I think a little slower then Blonsky unless they are going the super human route (Ult Cap).

 

[wobbly]

In TIH Blonsky was running at a full on sprint and was not carrying any extra gear, the other soldiers were just running fast being weighed down with weapons and such. That combined with the effect they used makes Blonsky look like he is running super-humanly fast (imagine a fast sprinter running through a crowd of middle distance runners, it would not look too dissimilar)

If you could actually measure it I'd guess the speed he was running at was faster than an Olympic sprinter, but not by too much.

That for me is what Cap should be. Maybe a little under 9 seconds for 100m, but able to sustain the sprint for a few miles if need be as well.

 

[misjuevos]

how much would cap eat? is his metabolism high as well?

 

[KalMart]

The poll is missing "31.48 mph on asphalt for 94 and a half seconds at sea level and 70˚F, with humidity less than 60% and zero wind."

 

[Golgo-13]

the only thing i didnt like about blonsky's scene of him running was the wire work they used. it looked like he was on a wire. in the underworld movie, the first one, michael sheen does the same running scene but it looks better. they used a long mat behind a car and he ran on the mat while the car was in motion. it made him seem fast and there were no wires. if they want to use the blonsky speed for cap then i would hope they use the dragging mat method and not the wire method. im not saying to make cap as fast as sheen was in underworld, i just like the method they used.

The mat method was also used in Burton's Planet of The Apes, during the final battle, to make the apes look like the were running fast on all fours. I agree with you that it looks alot better than in TIH with Blonsky.