Captain America
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
-
This article is about a superhero; for the eurobeat artist, see Gianni Coraini.
-
"Captain America" is also the name of a song by Jimmy Buffet.
| Captain America | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Captain America, the alter ego of Steve Rogers (in some accounts Steven Rogers), is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Timely Comics' Captain America Comics #1.
Contents |
[edit] Publication history
Captain America was one of the most popular characters of Marvel Comics (then known as Timely) during the Golden Age of Comic Books. Though preceded by MLJ's The Shield, Captain America immediately became the most prominent and enduring of a wave of patriotically themed superheroes introduced in American comic books prior to and during World War II. With his sidekick Bucky, Captain America faced Nazis, Japanese and other threats to wartime America and the Allies.
In the post-war era, with the popularity of superheroes fading, Captain America led Timely/Marvel's first superhero team, the All-Winners Squad, in its two published adventures. In his own series he turned his attention to criminals and Cold War Communists. After Bucky was shot and wounded in a 1948 story, he was succeeded by Captain America's girlfriend Betsy Ross, who became the superheroine Golden Girl. Captain America Comics ended with issue #75,[1] by which time the series had been titled Captain America's Weird Tales for two issues, with the finale a horror/suspense anthology issue with no superheroes.
Captain America was briefly revived, along with the original Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner, in Young Men,[2] published by Marvel's 1950s iteration Atlas Comics. Billed as "Captain America, Commie Smasher!", he appeared several times during the next year in Young Men and Men's Adventures, as well as in three issues of an eponymous title. Sales were poor, however, and the character again disappeared after Captain America #78.[3] In the 1970s, the post-war versions of Captain America were retconned into separate, successive characters who briefly took up the mantle of Captain America after Steve Rogers went into suspended animation near the end of World War II.[4][5]
He returned in Marvel's The Avengers #4.[6] The story explains that in the final days of WWII, Captain America fell from an experimental drone plane into the North Atlantic Ocean and spent decades frozen in a state of suspended animation. (Retellings sometimes place the event over the English Channel.) The hero found a new generation of readers as leader of the all-star superhero team the Avengers, and shortly afterward in a new solo feature beginning in issue #59 of the "split book" Tales of Suspense, shared with the feature "Iron Man".[7] The feature was written by Stan Lee and generally penciled or laid out by Captain America's golden age co-creator, Jack Kirby. Gil Kane, in some of his earliest Marvel work, also drew some stories. The feature went to full-length and took over the numbering of TOS with #100. (Iron Man received his own, separate series.) The new Captain America continued to feature artwork by Kirby, as well as a short run by Jim Steranko, and work by many of the industry's top artists and writers. This solo title has lasted decades longer (albeit in multiple incarnations) than the original run.
Writers often use the character to reflect upon the conflict between politics and ideology by placing him at occasional odds with the United States government or showing him being troubled about the state of the country. He considers himself dedicated to defending America's ideals rather than its political leadership, a conviction Captain America sums up when confronted by an army general who attempts to manipulate him by appealing to his loyalty: Rogers responds, "I'm loyal to nothing, General ... except the Dream."[8]
[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] 1940s—Operation: Rebirth
Steve Rogers is born on July 4, 1917 in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, to Irish immigrants Sarah and Joseph Rogers.[9] By the early 1940s, before America's entry into World War II, Rogers is a tall (6'2") but scrawny American fine arts student specializing in illustration. Disturbed by the rise of the Third Reich, Rogers attempts to enlist, only to be rejected due to his poor constitution. A U.S. Army officer looking for test subjects offers Rogers the chance to serve his country by taking part in a top-secret defense project — Operation: Rebirth, which seeks to develop a means of creating physically superior soldiers. Rogers volunteers for the research and, after a rigorous physical, combat training and selection process, is chosen as the first human test subject for the Super-Soldier serum developed by the scientist "Dr. Reinstein",[10] [11] later retconned as a code name for the scientist Emil Erskine.[12]
Later stories reveal that Rogers is not the first to be given the Super-Soldier formula. The night before Rogers receives the Super-Soldier formula, some military members of the project decide that a non-soldier is not the right candidate and secretly give Erskine's incomplete formula to Clinton McIntyre. This, however, makes McIntyre violently insane, and he is subdued and placed in cold storage. The criminal organization AIM later revives McIntyre as the homicidal Protocide.[13]
The night that Operation: Rebirth is implemented, Rogers receives injections and oral ingestions of the Super-Soldier formula. He is then exposed to a controlled burst of "Vita-Rays" that activate and stabilize the chemicals in his system. Although the process is arduous physically, it successfully alters his physiology almost instantly from its relatively frail form to the maximum of human efficiency, greatly enhancing his musculature and reflexes. Erskine declares Rogers to be the first of a new breed of man, a "nearly perfect human being".[11]
At that moment, a Nazi spy reveals himself and shoots Erskine. Because the scientist had committed the crucial portions of the Super-Soldier formula to memory, it cannot be duplicated. Rogers kills the spy in retaliation (retconned in 1964 so that the spy accidentally kills himself by fleeing into an "electrical omniverter", but changed back in 1969) and vows to oppose the enemies of America.[14][11]
The United States government, making the most of its one super-soldier, reimagines him as a superhero who serves as both a counter-intelligence agent and a propaganda symbol to counter Nazi Germany's head of terrorist operations, the Red Skull. To that end, Rogers is given a uniform modeled after the American flag (based on Rogers's own sketches[9]), a bulletproof shield, a personal side arm, and the codename Captain America. He is also given a cover identity as a clumsy infantry private at Camp Lehigh in Virginia. Barely out of his teens himself, Rogers makes friends with the camp's teenage mascot James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes.[10]
Barnes accidentally learns of Roger's dual identity and offers to keep the secret if he can become Captain America's sidekick. Rogers agrees and trains Barnes.[15] Rogers meets President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who presents him with a new shield made from a mixture of steel and vibranium, fused by an unknown catalyst. The alloy is indestructible, yet the shield is light enough to use as a discus-like weapon that can be angled to return to him. (In several stories, due to error, the shield is described as an adamantium-vibranium alloy; see Captain America's shield.) It proves so effective that Captain America forgoes the sidearm.[12] Throughout World War II, Captain America and Bucky fight the Nazi menace both on their own and as members of the superhero team the Invaders (as seen in the 1970s comic of the same name).[16]
In 1942 (after Rogers has become Captain America), a beta version of the formula is given to a group of African-American soldiers as part of a military experiment by another scientist given the Reinstein code name; Isaiah Bradley is the sole survivor. After the last two members of his group are killed, Bradley steals a uniform meant for Rogers and wears it on a suicide mission to destroy the Nazi super-soldier effort at a German concentration camp. Bradley is captured but the U.S. Army rescues and court martials him. He is imprisoned for 17 years in Leavenworth until pardoned by President Eisenhower. By the time of his release, the long-term effects of the formula have turned Bradley into a hulking, sterile giant with the mentality of a seven-year-old. Rogers does not find out about Bradley until decades later.[17] The Patriot, a member of the Young Avengers, is Bradley's grandson.[18]
Further revelations come in New X-Men #145 which explains that Operation: Rebirth is funded and secretly a part of the Weapon Plus program, a clandestine government organization devoted to the creation of superhumans to combat and exterminate mutants. Rogers is "Weapon I", the first-generation living weapon. Following his disappearance, subsequent phases involve experimentation on animals, racial minorities, criminals, and mutants, with results including Wolverine (Weapon X) and Fantomex (Weapon XIII). [19]
In 1945, during the closing days of World War II, Captain America and Bucky try to stop the villainous Baron Zemo from destroying an experimental drone plane. Zemo launches the plane with an armed explosive on it, with Rogers and Barnes in hot pursuit. They reach the plane just before it takes off, but when Bucky tries to defuse the bomb, it explodes in mid-air. The young man is believed killed, and Rogers is hurled into the freezing waters of either the North Atlantic or the English Channel (accounts differ). Neither body is found, and both are presumed dead.[6]
[edit] Late 1940s–1950s: After Steve Rogers
Fearing it would be a blow to American morale if Captain America's demise is revealed, President Truman asks William Naslund, the patriotically costumed Golden Age hero the Spirit of '76, to assume the role, with a young man named Fred Davis as Bucky. They continue to serve in the same roles after the war with the All-Winners Squad, until the android Adam II fatally injures Naslund in 1946.[5] After Naslund's death, Jeff Mace, the Golden Age Patriot, takes over as Captain America, with Davis continuing as Bucky; however, Davis is shot and injured in 1948 and forced to retire. Mace teams up with Betsy "Golden Girl" Ross, and sometime before 1953 gives up his Captain America identity to marry her. Mace develops cancer and dies decades later.[20]
In 1953, an unnamed man (who later goes by the title "The Grand Director") who idolizes Captain America and who had done his American History Ph.D. thesis on Rogers discovers Nazi files in a German warehouse, one of which contains the lost formula for the Super Soldier serum. He takes it to the United States government on the condition that they use it to make him the fifth Captain America. Needing a symbol for the Korean War, they agree, and the man undergoes plastic surgery to look like Steve Rogers, even assuming his name. The war ends and the project is never completed. "Rogers" finds a teaching job at the Lee School, where he meets Jack Monroe, a young orphan who also idolizes Captain America. They decide to use the formula on themselves and become the new Captain America and Bucky, this time fighting communism.[2] These stories are written by Stan Lee with art by a young John Romita Sr.
"Rogers" and Monroe do not know of and therefore do not undergo the "Vita-Ray" process, and the imperfect implementation of the formula in their systems makes them paranoid. By the middle of 1954, they are irrationally attacking anyone they perceive to be a Communist. In 1955 the FBI places them in suspended animation. The 1950s Captain America and Bucky are revived years later after the return of Steve Rogers. They go on another rampage and are defeated by the man after whom they had modeled themselves.[4]
[edit] The Test
In Strange Tales 114 (Nov 1963), a magazine drawn by Jack Kirby (Stan Lee later admitted that he only gave artists the outlines of stories so this would have been mainly written by Kirby too), a brash young Johnny Storm alias the Human Torch is humbled at every turn by the super athlete Captain America who has returned. Captain America turns out to be crooked and after finally being cornered by the Torch, he is revealed to be "The Acrobat", an ex-circus performer that the Torch had defeated in Strange Tales 106. Afterwards, Johnny Storm digs out an old comic mag in which Captain America is shown to be Steve Rogers. In the last panel it is revealed that this story is a test to see if readers would like Captain America to return. The rest is history.
[edit] 1960s–1970s—The return of Steve Rogers
In The Avengers #4, the Avengers discover Steve Rogers' body in the North Atlantic, his costume under his soldier's uniform and still carrying his shield. Rogers had been preserved in a block of ice since 1945. The ice block melts after the Sub-Mariner, enraged that an Arctic tribe is worshiping the frozen figure, throws it into the ocean. When Rogers revives, he relates his failed last mission to the Avengers. Rogers accepts membership in the Avengers, and although he is decades out of his time, his considerable combat experience makes him a valuable asset to the team. He quickly assumes leadership of the team and has typically kept that position throughout the team's history.[6]
Captain America is plagued by guilt for being unable to prevent Bucky's death — a feeling that does not ease for some time. Although he takes the young Rick Jones (who closely resembles Bucky) under his tutelage, he refuses for some time to allow Jones to take up the Bucky identity, not wishing to be responsible for another youth's death. Jones eventually convinces Rogers to let him don the Bucky costume,[21] but this partnership lasts only a short time; a disguised Red Skull, impersonating Rogers with the help of the Cosmic Cube, drives Jones away. Jones then becomes the partner of the exiled Kree warrior, Captain Mar-Vell.[22][23]
Rogers also reunites with his old war comrade Nick Fury, who is similarly well preserved thanks to his Infinity Formula ingestions. As a result, Rogers regularly undertakes missions for the security agency S.H.I.E.L.D. for which Fury was the executive director.[24]
In the same storyline where the Red Skull impersonates Captain America, Rogers meets and trains Sam Wilson, who becomes the superhero known as the Falcon. The Falcon is one of the few black superheroes in comic books at the time, and two characters begin a long association that continues to the present day.[25]
During Steve Englehart's stint as writer, Rogers encounters his revived, but still insane, 1950s counterpart. Although Rogers and the Falcon were able to defeat both the faux Rogers and Jack Monroe, Rogers became deeply disturbed that he could have suffered his counterpart's fate .[4] The series also dealt with the Marvel Universe's version of the Watergate scandal, making Rogers so uncertain about his role, that he abandons his Captain America identity in favor of one called Nomad. During his time as Nomad, several men assume the Captain America identity, all without success.[26] Rogers eventually re-assumes after coming to consider that the identity could be a symbol of American ideals and not its government. Jack Monroe, cured of his mental instability, later takes up the Nomad alias.[27] During this period, Rogers also temporarily gains super strength.[28]
[edit] 1980s
In the 1980s, in addition to runs from such acclaimed creators as John Byrne, the series reveals the true face and full origin of the Red Skull. Long-time writer Mark Gruenwald explores numerous political and social themes, such as extreme idealism when Captain America fights the anti-nationalist terrorist Flag-Smasher;[29] and vigilantism when he hunts the murderous Scourge of the Underworld.[30]
In Captain America #332, Rogers receives a large back-pay reimbursement dating back to his disappearance at the end of World War II. The expense draws the attention of a government commission that orders Rogers to work directly for the U.S. government. Already troubled by the corruption he had encountered with the Nuke incident in New York City (in the "Daredevil: Born Again" arc[31]), Rogers chooses instead to resign his identity and takes the alias of "The Captain". The story arc illustrates the differences between Captain America's beliefs and those of replacement Captain America John Walker. Walker, the former costumed hero Super-Patriot, has a jingoistic attitude that reflects a vocal segment of American culture at the time, embodied by other fictional characters such as Sylvester Stallone's movie hero Rambo. Walker struggles to emulate Rogers' ideals until pressure from hidden enemies helps to drive him insane. Rogers soon returns to the Captain America identity while a recovered Walker becomes the U.S. Agent.[32]
[edit] 1990s
Some time after returning as Captain America, Rogers avoids the explosion of a methamphetamine lab, but the drug triggers a chemical reaction in the Super-Soldier serum in his system. To combat the reaction, Rogers has the serum removed from his system, and he trains constantly to maintain his physical condition. The storyline was partly prompted by reader concerns that Captain America is effectively the beneficiary of steroid treatments.[citation needed] A retcon later establishes that the serum was never a drug because Rogers' body would have metabolized it out of his system. The "serum" is, in fact, a virus that effected a biochemical and genetic change, explaining how the Red Skull (who at the time inhabits a body cloned from Rogers' cells) also has the formula in his body.
However, because of his altered biochemistry which takes the form of the "serum" in his blood work, Rogers' body begins to deteriorate due to overuse of the "serum". For a time, he had to wear a powered exoskeleton to keep moving and had to be placed again in suspended animation. During this time, he is given a transfusion of blood from the Red Skull, which cured his condition and stabilized the Super-Soldier serum/virus in his system. Captain America returns both to crime fighting and the Avengers.[33]
[edit] 2000s
In the 2002 Captain America #1 (Vol. 4), Nick Fury pulls Rogers from the World Trade Center site of the September 11 attack and sends him on a mission to liberate a small town from a Middle Eastern terrorist organization. Following his victory, Rogers unmasks himself, taking the blame for his own actions in order to avoid a retaliatory attack against the American public. He establishes a residence in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.[34]
Subsequently, Rogers discovers that Bucky is alive and being used by Soviet espionage interests as the Winter Soldier. In the Marvel Comics 2006 Civil War crossover, he leads the Anti-Registration faction and resistance movement, becoming a fugitive in the process and pitting himself against the heroes of the Pro-Registration movement, including his former friend Iron Man. He adopts the alias "Brett Hendrick", a mall security guard, to avoid government detection.[35] There is evidence that he is being pushed further and further towards extremism as the war proceeds, mainly given his consideration to let the Punisher join his Secret Avengers.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Rogers in the regular Marvel Universe has no superhuman powers, although as a result of the Super-Soldier serum, he is transformed from a frail young man into a "perfect" specimen of human development and conditioning. Captain America is as intelligent, strong, fast, agile, and durable as it is possible for a human being to be without being considered superhuman. The formula enhances all of his metabolic functions and prevents the build-up of fatigue poisons in his muscles, giving him endurance far in excess of an ordinary human being. This accounts for many of his extraordinary feats, including running a mile in a little more than a minute.[36] Furthermore, his enhancements are the reason why he was able to survive being frozen in suspended animation for decades. Rogers is also unable to become intoxicated by alcohol and is immune to many diseases.
Mentally, Rogers' battle experience and training make him an expert tactician and an excellent field commander, with his teammates frequently deferring to his orders in battle. Rogers' reflexes and senses are also extraordinarily keen. He is a master of boxing, jiu jitsu, and judo, combined with his virtually superhuman gymnastic ability into his own unique fighting style with advanced pressure-point fighting. Years of practice with his indestructible shield make it practically an extension of his own body, and he is able to aim and throw it with almost unerring accuracy and even ricochet the shield to hit multiple targets. He is extremely skilled in hand-to-hand combat, sometimes taking on and defeating foes whose strength, size, or superpowers greatly exceed his. In the comics, he is regarded by other skilled fighters as one of the best hand-to-hand combatants in the Marvel Universe.[37][38]
Rogers has vast U.S. military knowledge and is often shown to be familiar with ongoing, highly-classified Defense Department operations. Despite his high profile as one of the world's most popular and recognizable superheroes, Rogers also has a broad understanding of the espionage community, largely through his ongoing relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D.. He occasionally makes forays into mundane career fields, including commercial arts, education (high school history) and law enforcement.
Captain America is revered by most of the superheroes in the Marvel Universe, filling the "leadership" role which Superman takes on in DC Comics. He is considered a living legend, and many Marvel heroes, particularly Spider-Man, idolize him.
[edit] Weapons and equipment
- Further information: Captain America's shield
Captain America uses several shields throughout his history, the most recognizable of which is an indestructible discus-shaped shield made from a vibranium/steel alloy (not adamantium-vibranium as sometimes erroneously stated). This alloy is accidentally created and never duplicated, although efforts to reverse engineer it result in the creation of adamantium.
Captain America's uniform is made of a fire-retardant material, and he wears a lightweight "duralumin" chainmail beneath his uniform for added protection.[12] . Originally, Rogers' mask was a separate piece of material, but an early engagement had it dislodged, thus almost exposing his identity. To prevent a recurrence of the situation, Rogers modified the mask with connecting material to his uniform. This also had the fringe benefit of extending his armor to cover his previously exposed neck. As a member of the Avengers, Rogers has an Avengers priority card, which serves as a communications device.
[edit] Other characters named Captain America
Numerous individuals have claimed the "Captain America" title at one time or another in the Marvel Universe. These include:
- Steven Rogers, an ancestor of Steve Rogers who is shown to have had the nickname "Captain America" during the American Revolutionary War in Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #6.[39]
- Isaiah Bradley, a super soldier serum test subject who briefly wears the Captain America costume in the 2004 limited series Truth: Red White and Black which is set in the early 1940s.[17]
- Colin MacIntyre, Protocide, a character who goes through the super soldier process the night before Steve Rogers in Captain America Annual 2000. Though he later wears a patriotic costume, he never goes by the title "Captain America".[13]
- Steve Rogers, officially the first Captain America he debuted in Captain America Comics #1 and remains the current title holder.[10]
- William Naslund, The Spirit of '76, is revealed to have replaced Rogers in the role in 1945 in What If? #4.[5]
- Jeff Mace, the Patriot, is revealed to have replaced Naslund in the role in 1947 in What If? #4.[5]
- The 1950s anti-communist Cap whose real name is as yet unrevealed, though he later went by "Steve Rogers" and "the Grand Director". In Captain America #155, he was revealed to have been the Steve Rogers/Captain America who appeared in comics published during the 1950s.[40]
- In Tales of Suspense #96 a number of unnamed individuals try unsuccessfully to assume the Captain America role after Rogers announces his retirement.[41][42]
- In Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #8-9, Sam Wilson (The Falcon) briefly takes on the identity in a two-part retcon story, set in between other Captain America stories which were first published in the early 1970s.[43]
- Bob Russo, calls himself "Captain America" briefly in Captain America #178-179 (October - November, 1974).[44]
- "Scar" Turpin, also calls himself "Captain America" very briefly in Captain America #179 (November, 1974).[45]
- "Roscoe" becomes "Captain America" in Captain America #181 (January, 1975). He is killed in action by the Red Skull in Captain America #183.[46][47]
- John Walker, later known as U.S. Agent, serves as Captain America in Captain America #336-350.[48] He later claims the title again in the 2004-2005 New Invaders series, despite the fact that Rogers is also active in the role at the time.[49]
- The Anti-Cap, a mysterious character wearing a version of the Captain America costume who appears in the Captain America and the Falcon.[50][51]
[edit] Trivia
- The three-page opening sequence of Captain America (2004 series) #23 (Dec. 2006) is a panel-by-panel homage to writer-artist Jim Steranko's influential Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 (June 1968).
[edit] Other versions of Captain America
There have also been numerous versions of Captain America in other continuities:
[edit] MC2 Captain America
Captain America lead the original Avengers on a mission to an alternate reality, which claimed the majority of the team. He insisted on staying behind to aid the rebels in that reality, therefore, added to the list of those who perished.
He was later aided by the current Avengers in A-Next #10-11. After the battle, he gave American Dream the shield which belonged to that universe's Captain America. Captain America, along with Thunderstrike would return to their home universe to aid in the fight against Seth in Spider-Girl #59.
In the 2005 limited series Last Hero Standing, the MC2 universe version of Captain America is fatally injured when he leads a group of young heroes in battle against the Norse god Loki. Thor uses his power to transform Captain America into a new star. In the sequel, Last Planet Standing, Galactus states that this new star is the key to his escaping his world-devouring hunger.
[edit] Ultimate Captain America
The Ultimate Marvel Universe version of Captain America was created by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch based on the original character. He makes his first appearance in Ultimates #1.
In the Ultimate universe, Steve Rogers is a frail volunteer who undergoes months of steroid treatment, surgery, and the Super-Soldier formula to become Captain America. Bucky is a childhood friend who follows him on his missions as a photographer rather than as a costumed sidekick. Rogers' last mission as Captain America sends him to a Nazi stronghold on the coast of Iceland to stop a prototype hydrogen bomb created using alien technology. He causes the rocket carrying the bomb to explode and falls into the freezing Arctic Ocean. Rogers falls into a state of suspended animation until Tony Stark's deep sea exploration team pulls him out of the water 57 years later. Bucky survives the war, and, thinking that Rogers had been killed in action, marries Rogers' fiancée Gail.[52]
The Ultimate universe Captain America is more politically and morally conservative than his mainstream Marvel universe counterpart and is more prone to violent solutions, frequently using small arms and explosives. His costume is mostly the same, except that his mask lacks the traditional wings on the side of his head and his shoulders sport American star emblems. The mask was modified into a helmet as of Ultimates 2.
Rogers becomes one of the first members and field commander of the superhuman team the Ultimates, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s answer to posthuman terrorism. He tries to adjust to life in the 21st century, although he longs for older times and values, spending much time with Bucky and Gail (now senior citizens) and going to WWII veterans' reunions. Rogers wears a kevlar uniform and carries a shield of pure adamantium. He also dates Janet van Dyne, the Wasp, the estranged wife of former team member Henry Pym.[53]
A year later, it appears that Captain America repeatedly betrays the team, and S.H.I.E.L.D. places him in custody. The Black Widow is revealed as the traitor, aiding a coalition of countries invading America. When these invaders, who call themselves The Liberators appear to have defeated all American superheroes and effectively America itself, the Wasp frees him from his cell and they join the other few heroes as a resistance. After a pitched one-on-one battle with the Liberators' leader, Rogers kills him with his own weapon.[54]
Rogers is also a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant. In addition, his strength and recuperative abilities are remarkable (he was shown bicep curling 545 lb in Ultimates 2 #4), although whether they are superhuman is not made clear. In the Ultimate Universe, Bruce Banner becomes the Hulk as a result of his experiments to recreate the Super-Soldier serum. Despite the Hulk being one of the strongest characters in the Ultimate Universe, Rogers takes on the Hulk in hand-to-hand combat, knocking him down momentarily. Rogers also defeats Henry Pym in melee combat while Pym is in his almost 60-foot tall Giant Man form, in retaliation for Pym having beaten the Wasp during a domestic dispute.[55]
[edit] Miscellaneous
- In the Spider-Ham comic books, the funny animal version of Captain America is Steve Mouser, an anthropomorphic cat who works for the Daily Beagle and is also secretly Captain Americat[56] .
- In the altered world of the House of M, Steve Rogers lived through World War II and the years afterward not frozen in suspended animation; this concept was previously used in the What If? comic series.
- In the Mutant X universe, a mutant succeeds Rogers as Captain America, joining Havok's team of superheroes, "The Six", in order to protect mutants from a deranged Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. He is killed by the Beyonder.
- Other alternate Captain Americas include several seen in issues of What If, a comic featuring tales of alternate realities.
- In the 1999 Earth X series, in a post-apocalyptic alternate present, Captain America is a war-worn hero, with a shaven head, a ragged United States flag for a top and an A-shaped scar on his face, but still holding on to his shield. In the Universe X: Cap one-shot comic, he sacrificed himself to save the reborn Captain Mar-Vell.
- In the 1602 limited series, a Captain America from a possible future, in which the Purple Man became United States' President For Life, is transported to the year 1602, where he assumes the identity of "Rojhaz", a Native American. His arrival causes numerous alterations in reality, causing analogues of various Marvel Universe characters to appear in the 17th century instead. Rogers refuses to return to the future because he wants to nurture a new United States free of prejudice from its very beginnings, but the 1602 version of Nick Fury forces him to return, accompanying him on the journey.
- In the Amalgam Comics universe, Super-Soldier is an amalgamation of Captain America and Superman.
- In the Avataars: Covenant of the Shield limited series, Captain America's counterpart is King St'vaan of Avalon, also known as Captain Avalon. St'vaan possesses the enchanted shield Excelsior and the mystic orb called the Heart of Avalon.
- In the 2006 miniseries Marvel Zombies, the zombie Captain America is known as Colonel America, and he has served as President of the United States.
- In the Marvel Mangaverse reality, the original Captain America is dead, but Carol Danvers assumes the identity.
- In the New Warriors storyline "Forever Yesterday", the Sphinx creates an alternate reality where the Middle East is the dominant superpower in the world and its champion is Captain Assyria.
[edit] Appearances in other media
[edit] Films
- A 1944 movie serial called Captain America portrays the hero as a district attorney named Grant Gardner and removes many important elements of the character, such as his shield and his sidekick, Bucky.
- The 1991 direct-to-video film Captain America, starring Matt Salinger, earned highly negative reviews. It depicts the hero's battle against the Red Skull, who in the film is an Italian fascist rather than a German Nazi. Rumors of a new Captain America movie have circulated since 2005, but have thus far not produced anything concrete.
- In 2005 Variety reported on the formation of Marvel Entertainment, a business entity dedicated to producing film adaptations of Marvel Comics properties. Marvel Entertainment released a list of Marvel properties being developed for production by the company to be released through a partnership with Paramount Pictures. The list includes Captain America. Other properties specifically named in the press announcement are the Avengers, Nick Fury, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Cloak and Dagger, Dr. Strange, Hawkeye, Power Pack, and Shang-Chi. Budgets for each film are expected to be between $45 million and $180 million. The first picture under the arrangement is slated for release by 2008.
[edit] Television
- Captain America appears in two 1970s live-action television movies: Captain America and Captain America II: Death Too Soon, starring Reb Brown. The character differs significantly from the comics, in both his origin and his operations. For instance, Rogers is a character in contemporary times who is the son of the 1940s Captain America, and received an experimental chemical called the FLAG formula that enhances his body with heightened strength and reflexes. He also makes significant use of a specialized van, and of a modified motorcycle. The bike has a detachable round windshield with the concentric circles, with the white sections being transparent, and star which he uses as his shield when he goes on foot.
[edit] Animation
- The 1966 syndicated animated television series Marvel Super-Heroes includes "Captain America" segments. The primitive animation is largely composed of stills photostatted from Jack Kirby art. Like the Thor, Iron Man and Hulk segments, Captain America’s episodes had its own theme song, with these lyrics:
- When Captain America throws his mighty shield,
- All those who choose to oppose his shield must yield!
- If he's led to a fight and a duel is due,
- Then the red and the white and the blue will come through,
- When Captain America throws his mighty shield!
- Marvel Super Heroes adapted and condensed the original Marvel Comics stories. This allows the Avengers to appear in several episodes of Captain America's segments.
- An animated Captain America next appeared in an episode of the 1981 solo Spider-Man series from Marvel Productions, in the episode entitled "The Capture of Captain America".
- Subsequently, Captain America also appeared in two first season episodes of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, "7 Little Superheroes" and "Pawns of the Kingpin" respectively. As in the 1981 solo series, Cap's voice was provided by George DiCenzo.
- Captain America makes a few appearances in Spider-Man: The Animated Series. He first appears in "The Cat" (Season #4 Ep 43) with a mere cameo when Peter Parker is narrating a flashback scene with Captain America. He also appears in the last three episodes of the "Six Forgotten Warriors" saga (the third of these including a flashback scene explaining his disappearance after World War II; in this version, he and the Red Skull became trapped in a dimensional machine for the 50 years.) In the last two episodes of the Six Forgotten Warriors arc, America was released in part four of the arc from the machine with the Red Skull, thanks to the Skull's son, Rhienholdt Kragov, who would become Electro in the next episode, and Kragov's half-brother, the Chameleon, who betrayed the Kingpin and the rest of the Insidious Six (the animated version of the Sinister Six) just to release the Skull. And finally, in the last episode of the arc, America and the Red Skull fought again and ended up trapped in the machine again.
- In the "Secret Wars" three-parter, Captain America was a selected hero in the Secret Wars Spider-Man would lead him and many other heroes to. At the end of the arc, the Beyonder sent back every hero, except for Spider-Man for he had to be used to defeat Spider-Carnage in the series finale, to Earth and America became trapped with the Red Skull again. In these appearances, he was voiced by David Hayter.
- Captain America appears in one episode, "Command Decision", of the 1999-2000 The Avengers: United They Stand animated series. The story involves the Masters of Evil and a flashback to Captain America defeating Baron Zemo. He was voiced by Dan Chameroy.
- Captain America appears in one episode of the 1990s X-Men animated series. He is an American agent, sent along with Canadian Wolverine, to rescue a scientist kidnapped by the Nazis. He is present in the episode only in flashbacks of Wolverine's.[57]
The story seems loosely based on Uncanny X-Men issue #272 (featuring the Black Widow, in addition to Cap).
- Captain America (along with Nick Fury) appears in the "Operation Rebirth" episode of the animated series X-Men: Evolution. Here Rogers gets his abilities from a machine as part of "Project: Rebirth". During World War II, he participates in a joint operation with Canadian soldier Logan to liberate a concentration camp, where one prisoner is a boy named Erik Lehnsherr, the future Magneto. After the attack, Rogers learns the "Rebirth" process is killing him, so he and Logan destroy the machine, and Rogers is cryogenically frozen until a cure can be found. During the episode, Magneto uses a variation of "Rebirth" to save his life, despite the intervention of Wolverine, Rogue and Nightcrawler, but lets them go in memory of the time Wolverine saved his life at the camp. At the conclusion of the episode, Wolverine visits the still-frozen Captain America, and reminisces about how they made a great team at the time
- The Ultimate Marvel version of Captain America appears in the animated direct-to-video animated-feature series, Ultimate Avengers. The first installment was released in February 2006. Ultimate Avengers 2 was released August 2006.
[edit] Novels
- Captain America appears in several prose novels, notably 1998's Captain America: Liberty's Torch by Tony Isabella and Bob Ingersoll, in which the hero is put on trial for the imagined crimes of America by a hostile militia group.
- Cap was also the subject of Marvel's first foray into prose book licensing: The Great Gold Steal by Ted White in 1968. This novel presented a different version of Captain America tooled to resemble book series characters such as Remo Williams. The novel adds a further element to the Super-Soldier process wherein Rogers' bones are plated with stainless steel, making this character an interesting forerunner to Wolverine. The same device was used by Roy Thomas and Don Heck for their Commander Steel character, who fills a sort of golden age Captain America role in the DC Universe.
[edit] Video games
- Captain America appears in several video games. He is the protagonist in Captain America in: The Doom Tube of Dr. Megalomann (1987) and Spider-Man and Captain America in Doctor Doom's Revenge (1989). He is one of four playable characters in Captain America and the Avengers (1991). He later appears in Capcom's Marvel Super-Heroes and the subsequent Marvel vs. Capcom series, as well as Maximum Carnage and Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems.
- He appeared in a cameo at the end of 2000s Spider-Man game when Spider-Man foiled Doc Ock's plan of symbiotes bonding with humans, Ock's lair was quickly blowing up. Luckily, Cap, Black Cat and Venom came in Captain America's hovercar and rescued the hero and villain from the explosion. Cap was last seen playing cards with Spider-Man, the Punisher and Daredevil.
- He makes a cameo in a brief scene of the home consoles version of the EA's Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects, in which he is defeated by an Imperfect; but appears a playable character in the PSP version of the video game.
- He is one of the main characters in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance multiple-platform game, where he has all his comic powers.
[edit] Musical theatre
In 1985, a musical about Captain America was announced for Broadway. The piece, written by Mel Mandel and Norman Sachs, never actually premiered, although recordings of the score have surfaced.[58]
[edit] Pop culture references
[edit] Music
The phrase "Captain America" has been used to refer ironically to American patriotic values, especially in rock music.
- The 1978 Kinks song "Catch Me Now, I'm Falling", about the ailing U.S. economy in the late 1970s, refers to "Captain America calling".
- The jam band moe. composed a song called "Captain America" which deals with Captain America as an authority figure.
- Jimmy Buffett recorded a song in 1977 titled "Captain America," offering a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the hero, replete with a kazoo solo and the phrase, "He wears a mask, his clothes are weird, and some folks call him hokey. But he is hip, he just can't dig the Okie from Muskogee."
- The Guns N' Roses' song "Paradise City" also contains a reference to Captain America ("Captain America's been torn apart, now he's a court jester with a broken heart.").
- The Roadrunner United album features a song titled "I Don't Wanna Be (A Superhero)" written by Michale Graves. Itcontains the line, "They came from sea and they from the sky, Captain America is going to die."
- In 1990, Eugene Kelly (formerly of the Scottish band The Vaselines) formed the band Captain America but was forced to change the name due to a possible copyright infringement suit by Marvel Comics. The band was renamed Eugenius.
- The 2003 album Cyclorama by the rock band Styx features a song called "Captain America"
- The blink-182 song "Feeling This" from the band's 2003 self-titled album opens with Captain America saying "Get ready for Action!"
- The MU330 song "Captain" on the band's 1994 album Press relates the return of Captain America from retirement to battle the Red Skull.
- America Must Be Destroyed and the long-form music video for it, "Phallus in Wonderland", by shock rock band GWAR, appears to parody Captain America in the form of Corporal Punishment, who is used to parody extreme patriotism by right-wing political groups.
[edit] Literature
- Early Doonesbury strips have Zonker Harris referring sardonically to B.D., captain of the football team on which they both play, as "Cap'n America sir!"
- The Marine Recon unit in Evan Wright's 2005 nonfiction bestseller Generation Kill derisively referred to their overzealous commander as Captain America.
[edit] Cinema
- Peter Fonda's character in the iconic 1969 feature film Easy Rider is nicknamed Captain America. According to the "making of" feature on the DVD edition of the film, director Dennis Hopper described the two motorcyclists of the film to actor Robert Walker, Jr., who said "they sound like Captain America and Bucky", and Hopper liked the name.
- In the 1997 film Men in Black, Will Smith's character refers to an overzealous Army lieutenant as "Captain America".
- In Armageddon, Rockhound refers to Colonel Sharp as "Captain America", saying: "Captain America here blew the landing by 26 miles!"
- In Master of Disguise, the title character punches the main villain at the end of the movie while disguised as Captain America.
- In Jingle All the Way, Jamie's bedroom wall holds a mural of Captain America deflecting bullets with his shield.
[edit] Other
- In the Ireland, two restaurants are named Captain America's Cookhouse and Bar. They are located in Dublin and Cork and use the logo of Captain America's shield. Each displays pictures of the superhero in scenes from his comics. A similar establishment, Captain America's Hamburger Heaven, exists in Norwich, East Anglia, England.
- Comedian Bill Cosby discussed his old automobile, with "Captain America" proudly written on its side, in his recorded routine "$75 Car".
- In Britain, United States soccer captain Claudio Reyna is often referred to[citation needed] as Captain America.
- UFC Light Heavyweight fighter Randy Couture has used the nickname "Captain America".[citation needed]
- In the Hellboy comics, there are two heroes who fit the Captain America archetype. The Torch of Liberty fights Nazis and monsters during World War II and teaches Hellboy how to use a pistol. Lobster Johnson fights Nazi agents and the supernatural before World War II. The major difference between the two heroes is that the Torch is a public hero, and Johnson is officially secret.
- In DC Comics, the hero General Glory is a pastiche of Captain America.
- In the Wildstorm universe, the supherero team the Americans, a pastiche of the Avengers, were led by the Commander, a Captain America pastiche.
- When Rob Liefeld left Marvel to found Awesome Comics, he created the character Agent America, nearly identical to Captain America. When Marvel threatened legal action[citation needed], Awesome Comics purchased the rights to the defunct Harvey Comics' 1950s character Fighting American, another character that bore a striking resemblance to Captain America and was created by the same team, Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.
- In the "Walkabout" episode of the ABC TV series Lost, Shannon sarcastically addresses her stepbrother Boone as "Captain America" when he says someone should help Rose.
- In the game World of Warcraft, one of the Paladin-class talents is the "Avenger's Shield", which allows a paladin to throw a shield at his or her enemy.
- On Oct. 12, 2004, following the death of Superman actor Christopher Reeve, the New York Post ran an editorial cartoon tribute with Captain America, Batman, and Spider-Man at Reeve's graveside.
- In South Park's episode "Hell on Earth 2006" one of the Satan's servants wears a Captain America costume.
- On Dec. 7, 2006, NFL Network commentator Adam Schefter referred to Tony Romo, quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys football team — nicknamed "America's Team" — as Captain America.
[edit] Bibliography
- Captain America Comics #1–75 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (March 1941 – Feb. 1950)
- USA Comics #6–17 (December 1942 – Fall 1945)
- Captain America Comics #76–78 (May 1954 – Sept. 1954)
- Tales of Suspense #59–99 (Nov. 1964 – March 1968)
- Captain America (1968 series) #100–454 (April 1968 – Aug. 1996)
- Giant-Size Captain America (December 1975)
- Marvel Treasury Special: Captain America's Bicentennial Battles (June 1976)
- Marvel Fanfare (1982 series) #5, 18, 26, 29, 31–32
- What If... (1984 series) #5, 26, 38, 44
- What If... (1989 series) #3, 28–29, 67–68, 103
- What If... (2006 #1), "What if Captain America had lived in the American Civil War?"
- Adventures of Captain America - Sentinel of Liberty (1991 series) #1–4 (October 1991–January 1992)
- Captain America: The Medusa Effect (March 1994)
- Captain America: Drug War (April 1994)
- Captain America (1996 series) #1–13 (Nov. 1996 – Nov. 1997)
- Captain America (1998 series) #1–50 (Jan. 1998 – Feb. 2002)
- Captain America Sentinel of Liberty (1998 series) #1–12 (Sept. 1998 – Aug. 1999)
- Captain America: Dead Men Running (2002 series) #1–3 (March 2002–May 2002)
- Captain America (2002 series) #1–32 (June 2002 – Oct. 2004)
- Truth: Red, White and Black by Robert Morales and Kyle Baker (2003 series) #1–7
- Captain America: Homeland by Robert Morales, Chris Bachalo and Eddie Campbell. (2004 series) (February 2004)
- Captain America: What Price Glory? (2003 series) #1–4 (May 2003)
- Captain America & The Falcon (2004 series) #1–14 (April 2004–)
- Captain America by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting (2004 series) #1–15 (Nov. 2004– )
- Marvel Team-Up #6, 10 by Robert Kirkman and Scott Kolins (2005– )
- Marvel Team-Up #14 by Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker (2005– )
- New Avengers #1–16 by Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch (2005 series)
- Civil War #1–5 (thus far)
[edit] Creators
[edit] Captain America Comics
Title on cover is Captain America's Weird Tales from #74 & 75
|
Regular writers
|
Regular pencillers
|
[edit] Tales of Suspense
Continues with Captain America #100
|
Regular writers
|
Regular pencillers
|
[edit] Captain America
Title on cover is Captain America and the Falcon from #134-223
Title on cover is Steve Rogers: Captain America from #444-454
|
Regular writers
|
Regular pencillers
|
[edit] Captain America (vol. 2)
Continues with Captain America #100
|
Regular writers
|
Regular pencillers
|
[edit] Captain America (vol. 3)
|
Regular writers
|
Regular pencillers
|
[edit] Captain America (vol. 4)
|
Regular writers
|
Regular pencillers
|
[edit] Captain America (vol. 5)
|
Regular writers
|
Regular pencillers
|
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Captain America Comics #75, Feb. 1950
- ^ a b Young Men #24, Dec. 1953
- ^ Captain America #78, Sept. 1954
- ^ a b c Captain America #153-156, Sept.-Dec. 1972.
- ^ a b c d What If? #4, Aug. 1977.
- ^ a b c The Avengers #4, March 1964.
- ^ Tales of Suspense #59, Nov. 1964
- ^ Daredevil #233, Aug. 1986
- ^ a b Adventures of Captain America–Sentinel of Liberty #1-#4, Oct. 1991-Jan. 1992.
- ^ a b c Captain America Comics #1, March 1941
- ^ a b c Captain America #109, Jan. 1969.
- ^ a b c Captain America #255, Mar. 1981
- ^ a b Captain America Annual 2000, 2000.
- ^ Tales of Suspense #63, Mar. 1964
- ^ This is retconned in 2005, where it is revealed that Bucky was actually a 16-year-old operative trained to perform missions that Captain America would not do, such as covert assassinations. See Bucky - Winter Soldier.
- ^ Giant-Sized Invaders #1, Jun. 1975.
- ^ a b Truth: Red, White and Black #1–#7, 2003.
- ^ Young Avengers #3, June 2005.
- ^ New X-Men #145, Oct. 2003.
- ^ Captain America #285, Sept. 1983.
- ^ Captain America #110, Feb. 1969
- ^ Captain America #118, Oct. 1969
- ^ Captain Marvel #17, Oct. 1969
- ^ Tales of Suspense #78, Jun. 1966
- ^ Captain America #117-#119, Sep.-Nov. 1969.
- ^ Captain America #176-#183, 1974-1975.
- ^ Captain America #282, June 1983.
- ^ Captain America #159, March 1973.
- ^ Captain America #312, 1986
- ^ Captain America #318-#320, 1986
- ^ Daredevil #227-233, 1986.
- ^ Captain America #332-#351, 1987-1989.
- ^ Captain America #425-454, 1994-1996.
- ^ Captain America (4th series) #1-7, June 2002-Feb. 2003
- ^ Civil War #1-7, 2006
- ^ Captain America 65th Anniversary Special, May 2006
- ^ Captain America #302, Feb 1985
- ^ Captain America #375, August 1990
- ^ Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #6, February, 1999.
- ^ Captain America #155, November, 1972.
- ^ Marvunapp.com - Captain America Imposters.
- ^ Tales of Suspense #96, December, 1967
- ^ Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #8-9, April - May, 1999.
- ^ Information about Bob Russo at Marvel.com.
- ^ Information about "Scar" Turpin at Marvel.com.
- ^ Information about "Roscoe" at Marvel.com.
- ^ Captain America #183, March, 1975.
- ^ Captain America #336-350, December, 1987 - February, 1989.
- ^ New Invaders, 2004-2005
- ^ Captain America and the Falcon series, 2004-2005
- ^ Information about Anti-Cap at Marvel.com.
- ^ Ultimates #1-#3, Mar.-May 2002.
- ^ Ultimates 2 #1, Feb. 2005
- ^ Ultimates 2 #7 onwards, Jul. 2005-present.
- ^ Ultimates #9, April 2003
- ^ Information about Captain Americat at Marvel.com.
- ^ tv.com - Old Soldiers X-Men: TAS Season 5.
- ^ The New York Times (April 5, 1985): "Broadway" (column) by Enid Nemy. Article requires payment or registration..
[edit] References
- Marvel.com: Captain America biography
- Marvel Database Project: Captain America (Steve Rogers)
- Marvel Directory: Captain America
- Comicshistory: Captain America
- Captain America at WikiKnowledge (Previously hosted by Wikibooks)
[edit] External links
- Golden and Silver Age Capt America cover galleries
- More information on Captain America
- Captain America at the MDP
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | Incomplete literature lists | Captain America | Captain Americas | Fictional Catholics | Fictional Irish-Americans | Fictional World War II veterans | Golden Age superheroes | Marvel Comics titles | Ultimates members | United States-themed superheroes | 1941 introductions | National personifications | Weapon Plus | Marvel Comics martial artists
