A vintage lobby card for 1944 Republic Pictures serial Captain America.

A vintage lobby card for 1944 Republic Pictures serial Captain America.

Dick Purcell as the titular hero in the fifteen-chapter Republic Pictures serial Captain America (1944).

Dick Purcell as the titular hero in the fifteen-chapter Republic Pictures serial Captain America (1944).

Dick Purcell as Captain America in a promo pic for the 1944 Republic Pictures serial Captain America.

Dick Purcell as Captain America in a promo pic for the 1944 Republic Pictures serial Captain America.

A lobby card for the 1944 Republic serial Captain America.

A lobby card for the 1944 Republic serial Captain America.

Dick Purcell as the titular masked mensch in the fifteen-chapter Republic Pictures serial Captain America (1944).

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is armed and dangerous in 2012 with The Dark Knight Rises and Looper.

Bad guys with some kind of laser gun thing in the first live-action Superman, a 15-part 1948 film serial from Columbia.

Bad guys with some kind of laser gun thing in the first live-action Superman, a 15-part 1948 film serial from Columbia.

Spider-Man fights for Christmas in a Marvel advertising supplement to the Dallas Times Herald.

Spider-Man fights for Christmas in a Marvel advertising supplement to the Dallas Times Herald.

A lobby card for The Three Fantastic Supermen (1967)

A lobby card for The Three Fantastic Supermen (1967)

Iron Man and Spymaster get into the spirit of the holidays at a Stark Industries Christmas party.

Iron Man and Spymaster get into the spirit of the holidays at a Stark Industries Christmas party.

Wonder Woman is Miss Santa Claus in Sensation Comics #38.

Wonder Woman is Miss Santa Claus in Sensation Comics #38.