Another reason The First Avenger stands out from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that, even though it ends by reminding us that Steve has awoken in the modern day, its final note is melancholic instead of triumphant. After Steve sacrifices himself and buries the Tesseract along with him, he wakes up 70 years later in an alien world.

Steve Rogers, the MCU's original Captain America, cruised around the battlefields of World War II on a very fitting, very real historical motorcycle.