When trying to compete with those rascally Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the arcade floor, game manufacturer, Data East, turned to a patriotic hero of comic book lore in 1991, the shield-wielding Marvel Comics hero, Captain America and his cohorts, the Avengers. Together with Iron Man, Hawkeye and Vision at his side, the group of superheroes worked side-by-side to keep the streets of New York and the underwater world of Atlantis safe from a collection of evil adversaries in Captain America and the Avengers.

Prior to gameplay, each player selected which hero would represent him or her in the impending battle. And while some machines only allowed two people to participate, other allowed four friends to play together, each controlling their own Avenger. Each player had his own set of simple controls, which included a button to jump and another to attack, along with a joystick to control the characters movement. And if both buttons were pressed simultaneously, a special attack was possible – Hawkeye would utilize his bow and arrows, the Captain would unleash his might shield’s offensive power, Vision would pull out the dreaded solar beam and Iron Man would make use of his repulsor ray. Additional moves were also possible by tapping the joystick twice in one direction.

These fighting techniques needed to be mastered quickly, for there were formidable enemies to contend with at every turn of the five distinct levels. Siding with the forces of evil were such seedy characters as The Mandarin, Juggernaut, Ultron, Claw, The Wizard – and the grand daddy of them all, nazi nemesis Red Skull. To balance things out a little, the Avengers would occasionally get some help from a few cameo appearances by Wonder Man, The Wasp, Quicksilver and other Avenger alumni – and just in a nick of time.

With an assortment of special maneuvers, iconic superheroes and dastardly villains, Captain America and the Avengers had seemingly all the pieces necessary to create a legendary game. The only they didn’t count on was competition from fellow Marvel Comic’s heroes, the X-Men – which promptly put the patriotic heroes on the has-been list in arcades across the country. Even Captain America’s impassioned plea at the end of each game – “America still needs your help!” - couldn’t convince enough gamers to refrain from arcade treason and switch allegiances to the flashier X-Men.