Character Creation
Captain America was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Though it was rare for any character, let alone a new one, to get a self-named title at in those days; he debuted in Captain America Comics #1 (March,1941). He was depicted fighting Adolph Hitler himself on the cover even though the United States would not enter World War II for another 9 months. Debuting along with Captain America in this comic were his teenage partner Bucky and his arch-enemy the Red Skull. This issue sold nearly one million copies and Captain America soon became Marvel's most popular and best-selling character.
During World War II a wave of patriotically themed superheroes sprang up. The first of these were heroes such as the Shield, Captain Freedom, and Uncle Sam. Those notable heroes had varying degrees of success but many of the patriotic heroes failed. Still, nearly every publisher had it's own patriotic super-American-hero busting Nazis and the Japanese during World War II. When Marvel (then Timely) Comics decided to get in on the action their editor-in-chief told a young writer named Joe Simon to create an American superhero. Simon collaborated with artist Jack Kirby and soon Captain America was born. The cover art of the first issue featured Captain America giving Hitler a swift punch across the face. "Cap" (as he came to affectionately be called) spent World War II punching, kicking and defeating Nazis, Japanese, and other Axis members. In addition to help from his youthful partner Bucky, he battled the Axis forces alongside other Marvel (Timely) stalwarts: the Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch. Simon and Kirby did ten issues before leaving Marvel (Timely) to work for DC. When the war eventually ended, Superheroes fell out of favor and comics sales declined. Captain America Comics was printed up to issue 75, but by then it had become a horror book and soon ended.
Captain America was revived by one of his original co-creators Jack Kirby and Stan Lee during 1964 in issue # 4 of The Avengers. This was the start of Cap as we know him. He became an instant hit and was soon leading the Avengers. A short time later he shared and co-headlined a comic called "Tales of Suspense" along with fellow Avenger Iron Man. He has since become one of the cornerstones of the Marvel Universe and even transcended comics becoming a true American icon. Additionally, Captain America has been recreated many times over the years in comics featuring stories that take place in alternate universes.
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The Evolution of Steve Rogers
On July 4, 1920, a baby was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to an Irish immigrant woman named Sarah and her husband Joseph Rogers. Joseph was elated about their new baby boy. They named him Steven Grant Rogers. Steve was always a courageous kid; he tried new things as a toddler all the time. Steve was a diligent student but he wasn't very athletic, and he was quiet and introverted. Although he would eventually grow to 6'2, he was scrawny and weak, always last in athletic games (much like one Peter Parker that would be born much later before a radioactive spider bite). Though it wasn't apparent at the time, he possessed fierce loyalty, a courageous fighting spirit and a noble heart. Knowing he had no future in athletics, Steve majored in fine arts and was an exceptionally talented artist specializing in illustration. His life changed, though, when the Axis forces swept across Europe and the South Pacific starting World War II. The Japanese, who were the Nazi's allies, bombed the U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This sneak attack inspired young Steve Rogers, out of loyalty to his country and his sense of patriotic duty, to enlist in the U.S. armed forces to fight against the Axis forces.
Steve was immediately rejected due to his physically frailty and classified as 4-F. Steve was puny and didn't even come close to passing the mandatory physical exam for induction. Although he wanted with all his heart to serve his country, he was rejected. It seemed there was nothing he could do. Although while trying to join up , he'd made an impression on the Army recruiters and trainers. He'd shown them just how desperately he wanted to do his part. It was his dream to fight for America. Steve caught the attention of an officer whom was looking for men to volunteer as test subjects for an experimental program which was part of a top-secret defense plan known only to less than a dozen men. The experimental program was Operation: Rebirth. The plan was to create physically superior soldiers with a new serum dubbed the Super-Soldier Formula. If it worked, it would make ordinary men into super soldiers. They would become perfect physical beings; he-men who had grace, strength, speed, stamina, reflexes, flexibility, agility and recuperative power that bordered on the limits of human potential. After a rigorous process to choose the lucky subject, Steve Rogers was chosen to be the first man to whom the Super-Soldier Formula administered to. It was Dr. Abraham Erskine who'd developed the process and it was he who administered it to Rogers. Rogers was injected with the Super-Soldier formula and was then bathed in Vita-Rays which activated and stabilized the serum's chemicals in his system. The process worked perfectly; Steve Rogers' entire physical being was boosted to the maximum in human potential and efficiency. He also virtually doubled in size as millions of healthy cells were created almost instantaneously. His muscles and reflexes improved to the peak that a human could be at. Steve marveled, he had become a specimen of human power as all weakness and deficiencies drained from his body.
Just then, a Nazi spy burst in with a gun. He cried "Hail Hitler" in German and shot Erskine through the head. Abraham Erskine died, he had committed the Super-Soldier serum's ingredients, along with much of the procedure, to memory. The secret died with him-Steve Rogers would be the only super soldier made. He chased after the Nazi spy and broke his neck, killing him. He then vowed to use his power to fight the enemies of America and be a symbol of freedom.
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Hero of World War II
During the war, "Cap" served as both a symbol of freedom and America's most effective special operative. In addition to working with his young sidekick Bucky, he regularly fought alongside other Allied super-powered heroes such as Namor the Sub-Mariner and the android Human Torch who were the recognized core of the World War II super-team known as the Invaders. He sometimes came into contact with a Canadian paratrooper named Jim Howlett, (the man who would come to be known as Wolverine).
The U.S government, disappointed at the loss of their super soldier army, decided to use Rogers as much as they can. They re-imagined him as a superhero to fight the Nazis, and be a symbol of freedom and hope against Nazi forces, as well as a counter-intelligence agent. He also would be their main weapon against the leader of the Nazi terrorist operations - Red Skull. They gave him a costume based on the American flag, an unbreakable, perfectly balanced shield (given to him by President Franklin Roosevelt), the product of a metallurgical accident that became the strongest known substance on earth, a sidearm, and the name Captain America. From now on, Steve Rogers was Captain America. He traveled to a camp in Virginia, where he used a secret identity-Steve Rogers, clumsy soon-to-be soldier. There, he met Bucky Barnes-a young teenager who accidentally found out that Steve Rogers was Captain America. Steve lets Bucky be his sidekick, and trains him. Captain America and Bucky become a formidable force in World War II-they fight crime on their own and in the Invaders, a superhero team against the Axis. They later got a comic book in the 1970s. (Recently it has been said that Bucky was already being trained at the military base, hence, his being able to fight side-by-side with Cap without having any super-powers).
A few years passed, and largely due to the efforts of Captain America, World War II was nearly won in 1945. Cap and Bucky were on a routine mission-they were trying to stop the evil Baron Heinrich Zemo from destroying a drone plane. Zemo finally shot the plane up in the air, with a huge bomb tied to it. Bucky jumped on and tried to defuse the bomb, but it exploded and he was believed dead. Captain America was thrown into the Atlantic Ocean, which was freezing, and presumed dead.
He was believed to be dead for many years, and efforts to replace him failed. This is how it was for many years.
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Captain America the Avenger
Decades later, Rogers' wartime comrade the Sub-Mariner stumbled across his still-frozen form, which was being worshiped by a far-flung Inuit tribe. Enraged, the Sub-Mariner threw the ice block into the ocean. While opposing Namor, the newly-formed Avengers happened upon Rogers' thawing body, and soon revived the legendary hero.
Rogers joined their ranks as the first recruit since their formation, and was given retroactive "founding member" status in place of the Hulk. Despite his lack of superhuman abilities, his extensive training and combat experience, combined with his impressive physique, confidence, and will, made him an excellent addition to the team. As a born leader, Rogers would come to be seen as the heart and soul of the team, and his commands while in the field were often looked to, regardless of who might have been chairman at the time. Rogers would teach teamwork, tactics, and hand-to-hand combat to many Avengers over the coming years.
Seeing that Avengers associate Rick Jones bore a resemblance to Bucky, Cap took him into tutelage, trying to recover from the great trauma of losing his wartime partner. After a time, Jones even convinced Rogers to let him wear Bucky's old costume and initiate a partnership. The early adventures Cap had with Earth's Mightiest Heroes included a run-in with his wartime foe Baron Heinrich Zemo. Zemo organized the first incarnation of the Masters of Evil, a group of super-villains who each bore a grudge against a particular Avenger. After several skirmishes between the two groups, Zemo kidnapped Rick Jones, and Zemo was accidentally killed in a rock-slide caused by his own weaponry as he battled Cap.
Following another battle with Kang the Conqueror, the remaining founding Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man and The Wasp) decided to take a leave of absence from the stress of super-crime-fighting. Captain America was thus left to lead a new team comprised of Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. "Cap's Kooky Quartet" was at first regarded as less able than the previous lineup, but soon proved their worth by overcoming several threats including a resurgent Kang as well as Doctor Doom. While the hot-headed Quicksilver and Hawkeye were at first headstrong loose cannons, Rogers' leadership was able to mold them into valuable team members.
When Cap took his first leave of absence from the team, it was the Black Panther who stepped in to take his place on the roster. Though when Cap discovered that one of T'Challa's motives was to "spy" on the Avengers (as part of his duties as King of Wakanda was to observe foreigners), relations between the two became strained and stayed that way for some time. Eventually they restored the bonds of alliance and friendship, symbolized by Rogers giving T'Challa the enhanced copy of his World War II triangular shield he had used while his round one was broken.
Meanwhile, Cap's old nemesis the Red Skull was brought out of suspended animation by the subversive organization THEM. The Skull feigned cooperation with THEM (actually the ruling council of HYDRA led by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker) long enough to steal the Cosmic Cube from subsidiary organization AIM. This led to the first postwar clash between the two great symbols of World War II. The Skull later impersonated Rogers and drove Rick Jones away while wielding the Cosmic Cube.
Rogers often crossed paths with another World War II veteran as well, this one an ally: Sergeant Fury of the Howling Commandos was now Colonel Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Captain America teamed with Fury many times after emerging from suspended animation, and their relationship warmed and cooled over the years, depending on various circumstances. They often worked together towards the same goal(s), and the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. maintained a close working relationship, even sometimes sharing a common computer database. Rogers worked with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Agent 13 (Sharon Carter), a sister to Peggy Carter (an American who had fallen in love with Captain America and joined the French Resistance in WWII). He would come to share a deep romantic relationship with Sharon, eventually admitting his love for her.
In another plot by the Skull, Rogers was attacked by a Cosmic Cube-empowered man named Sam Wilson. Steve was able to break Wilson of the Skull's control, and the two teamed together to defeat Cap's arch-enemy. Wilson became The Falcon, and Steve's most reliable best friend. Cap and the Falcon would share an active partnership for a long time which continued off and on again until Rogers' death. Wilson actively succeeded Rogers as Captain America when Rogers was badly injured and was encouraged to continue on in the role by Rogers himself. Despite the encouragement, Wilson returned the role upon Rogers' recovery.
One of Rogers' and Wilson's most noted battles was against Rogers' earlier successors, Steve Rogers (Grand Director) and Jack Monroe (Captain America of the 1950s). Rogers was shaken at the fact that he could have shared his excessively conservative successor's fate if not for the technical dedication of Erskine and his Vita Ray process.
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Becoming Nomad and Troubles with the Avengers
While investigating the subversive organization known as the Secret Empire Rogers discovered that its leader was a high-ranking government official. While this traitor committed suicide after being discovered, the government covered up the whole affair by using a double. Disillusioned, Rogers abandoned his Captain America identity and took up the alias "Nomad."
Two men tried in vain to assume the "Captain America" title, while in the meantime the young idealistic Cap fan Roscoe actually succeeded Rogers and was awarded Rogers' indestructible shield. But it was Roscoe's death at the hands of the original Nazi Red Skull that would inspire Rogers to become the "Sentinel of Liberty" a symbol of American inspired ideals rather than the US Government Super Soldier he once was, Rogers re-assumed his classic costumed identity and shield. A rehabilitated Jack Monroe joined Cap in a partnership, himself assuming the Nomad identity in a modified costume. Following a battle with Viper, Rogers' Super-Soldier Serum reacted with the venom in her whip, temporarily granting him superhuman strength.
Captain America's sterling leadership abilities were showcased when he became leader of the heroes who were summoned to Battleworld during the so-called Secret Wars by the godlike Beyonder. Clashing with Doctor Doom's forces repeatedly, Cap was faced with leadership challenges ranging from dealing with the outcast X-Men, keeping the Hulk from attacking Doom's forces by himself after She-Hulk's defeat and The Wasp's apparent death, and keeping morale up in the face of battling Galactus. Rogers' leadership qualities would be deferred to time and time again during large gatherings of heroes, such as when Adam Warlock sent a band of heroes to oppose the Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Thanos, and also when he assumed joint command of the Avengers and the Justice League of America.
When Avengers Mansion was attacked and conquered by the Masters of Evil under the leadership of Baron Helmut Zemo, Captain America was specifically targeted by Zemo to avenge his father's death. Rogers was captured during an attempt to retake the mansion, and was forced to watch as Mister Hyde tortured helpless butler Edwin Jarvis. The Masters proceeded to destroy a treasure trove of Rogers' memorabilia, including a picture with Bucky taken just before he was killed, Rogers' only picture of his mother, a baseball signed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, and Cap's original triangular shield. In the final battle, Cap defeated The Wrecker with the aid of the Wasp, and defeated Baron Zemo in a rooftop duel. As Zemo fell, Cap tried to grab his hand, and though he was later revealed to have survived the fall, Helmut Zemo refused such charity.
Captain America continued to come into conflict with many foes, including the extreme anti-nationalist Flag-Smasher and the vigilante called The Scourge of the Underworld. Rogers was informed by the Commission on Superhuman Activities that he had never been officially discharged from the U.S. Army. For this, he received a large back-pay, dating to the end of World War II, which he used to establish a nation-wide hot-line service to help him keep abreast of criminal activities. However, the Commission demanded that Rogers, as an "active" member of the armed forces, resume service as a government-directed operative. Finding himself unable to merely follow orders as a simple soldier any longer especially after the events of the government that led to him becoming Nomad, Rogers again resigned the Captain America identity, even surrendering his legendary shield to the new Captain America, John Walker, who had previously clashed with Rogers as the "Super-Patriot." During this time, Rogers used an adamantium shield and, adopting a new costume, continued adventuring as "The Captain".
Not long afterward, the Avengers' East Coast branch was temporarily disbanded due to a lack of active members. As The Captain, Rogers led a new lineup of the Avengers consisting of Thor, Gilgamesh and temporary recruits Reed and Sue Richards of the Fantastic Four. Reed himself was accustomed to leading, however, and there were some conflicts of leadership between the two.
The Captain also led an unnamed, unofficial team during the same period that accompanied him on several missions. Along with The Falcon and Nomad, the group at times included Demolition-Man, who had assisted Rogers against Power Broker, Inc., and Vagabond, a tag-along of Nomad's.
It would later be discovered that the Red Skull was manipulating the Commission. The Captain and Nomad clashed with John Walker the then current Captain America and his "Bucky". Resolving their differences, Rogers and Walker confronted the Skull. Following the events and deeds that Walker had done while Captain America, Walker resigned from being the current Captain America and publicly appeared with Rogers surrendering the role back to still unrevealed Rogers on television where Walker was apparently killed but later reappeared in a new identity after plastic surgery in the new name of "Jack Daniels" wearing Rogers' "The Captain" uniform and shield as the rechristened "USAgent".
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Career of Captain America
At one point, Cap avoided the explosion of a meth lab only to have the chemical effects of the blast react dangerously with his Super-Soldier Serum. To remove the problem, he removed the serum, and trained constantly to keep in peak condition. He discovered that the serum was not a drug per se, which would have metabolized out of his system, but in fact a virus that effected a biochemical and genetic change. This additionally explained how arch-nemesis Red Skull, who at the time inhabited a body cloned from Rogers' cells, also had the formula in his body. Because of his altered biochemistry, Rogers' body began to deteriorate, and for a time he wore a powered exoskeleton designed by Iron Man and Hank Pym, but was eventually placed again in suspended animation.
During this time, he was given a transfusion of blood from the Red Skull, which cured his condition and stabilized the Super-Soldier virus in his system. Captain America returned both to crime-fighting and the Avengers.
Captain America was reunited with his WWII-era flame, the now-aged American Maquis fighter Peggy Carter. Freeing her and others from the grip of the criminal Doctor Faustus, Rogers had her hired on as communications expert at Avengers Mansion as part of the expanded domestic staff called the Avengers Ground Crew. Their romantic feelings diminished, but the two remained good friends. Another person taken on by Steve during this time was John Jameson, who acted as his pilot.
When the Avengers learned of the Kree-Shi'ar War and the danger the war efforts posed to Earth's sun, Rogers proposed to send diplomatic envoys to each superpower in an attempt to avert catastrophe known as Operation Galactic Storm. Captain America led the team bound for the Kree Empire. He had several conflicts of leadership with Iron Man, which culminated when the latter, against orders, led a team of Avengers to execute the Kree Supreme Intelligence for war crimes. His confidence in his leadership shaken, Cap offered to resign as chief executive and commanding officer of the two Avengers branches, but this was not the route the other Avengers wanted to take. Cap's old friend Hawkeye helped reinforce Cap's leadership confidence, as did the rescue by USAgent (John Walker and the Falcon of Demolition-Man from ULTIMATUM, Flag-Smasher's terrorist organization.
After returning to Earth, Cap rescued Diamondback (Rachel Leighton) from Red Skull's henchman Crossbones. Diamondback had previously, as a member of the Serpent Society, had a chance to kill Rogers in battle that she did not take. This was because she was smitten with him; the two began an on-and-off semi-romantic partnership afterwards.
Cap was part of the force raised to battle the psychic entity called Onslaught, and was one of the Avengers who seemingly gave their lives to absorb Onslaught's energy. In reality, they (the senior Avengers and the Fantastic Four) had been shunted to an alternate dimension created by Franklin Richards. After several months in this world, the heroes realized it was a construct and escaped.
During a rebuilding period with the Avengers, Captain America and the rest of the team (past and present) were duped by Morgan Le Fay into acting as her elite guard, the Queen's Vengeance. Rogers' alias in this alter-ego was "Yeoman America." He was the first Avenger to break out of Morgan's trance, and formed a resistance group that foiled the ancient sorceress' plans.
Captain America, both in his solo career and as an Avenger, went on to participate in a variety of other missions.
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Avengers Dissassembled
On a day that would become the darkest in Avengers history, the Scarlet Witch suffered a breakdown that, combined with her powers, had catastrophic consequences. Cap had recently had a strange encounter with Wanda, as well as the beginnings of romance, and was struck hard by the devastation of the team, which disbanded shortly thereafter.
In future events, Rogers moved into the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, revealed his identity to the world (although he lived in a SHIELD safe house), and resumed his off-and-on relationship with Sharon Carter.
Cap was among those heroes present at the Raft when Electro instigated a jailbreak. The next day, he spoke with Tony Stark, and convinced him to help form the New Avengers. Most of those present during the jailbreak were founding members of the team. The new SHIELD Director, Maria Hill, was opposed to their incorporation, but Rogers reminded her that he had Full Champion License—that is, he was authorized by SHIELD to assemble any team he deemed necessary for any mission he deemed necessary, and therefore did not need her permission. The New Avengers embarked on several missions under his leadership.
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Encounter with Winter Soldier and Civil War
Meanwhile, Cap had also been dealing with more personal matters. Having been made a special SHIELD operative, Rogers, Sharon Carter, and Nick Fury began an investigation into Aleksander Lukin and his powerful Kronas Corporation. After the apparent assassination of the Red Skull, Lukin was in possession of the Cosmic Cube, but he also had a more personal weapon: the Winter Soldier (a revived Bucky Barnes). A KGB assassin who had been occasionally let out of suspended animation to perform only the most difficult missions, the Winter Soldier encountered Sharon Carter, who believed that he was the real Bucky. Cap at first refused to believe it, but Fury presented him with solid evidence.
Winter Soldier killed Jack Monroe and caused major devastation in Philadelphia before Cap, the Falcon, and Agent Carter stormed a hidden underground base operated by Lukin. Cap and Winter Soldier dueled, and the latter showed no sign of memory. Cap used the Cosmic Cube to restore his memory; Bucky then used it himself to teleport to Camp Lehigh, where he began to cope with his past.
Months later, Cap and Sharon tracked Bucky to a small mid-western town that was actually controlled by AIM. Distracted by storming the AIM compound and battling Crossbones and Sin (Synthia Schmidt), they were unable to catch up with him.
When SHIELD suggested the Superhuman Registration Act, Special Agent Hill ordered Rogers and the Avengers to help enforce it. When he refused, Hill had her trained "Superhuman Response Unit" attacked him. During the scuffle Rogers avoided being tranquillized and managed to escape by lodging his shield in an aircraft and forcing the pilot to fly him to safety. Soon after, at the Baxter Building, the Watcher told the heroes who had gathered there about Cap's escape. He became the leader of the resistance to the registration act, fearing that the freedom of America's heroes and the safety of their families were in danger.
Adopting the alias "Brett Hendrick", a mall security guard to avoid government detection, Rogers became more and more extreme in his desire to win the Civil War. He allowed the The Punisher to join his "Secret Avengers," and worked (albeit reluctantly) with the Kingpin. Since his old friend Iron Man was leading the Pro-Registration Superhero Unit, their rivalry was especially bitter. The two attempted to meet twice during the conflict, but each time it devolved into combat. They even refused to attend the wedding of Black Panther and Storm together. Cap was nearly captured by Paladin but escaped with the aid of Shang-Chi and the Heroes for Hire.
In the final battle against the Pro-Registration forces, Rogers' teammate the Vision disabled Iron Man's armor, evening the odds for Cap and allowing him to take down Stark in Times Square. However, a crowd of civilians approached in support of Stark. Realizing that his fight against the registration act was endangering the people that he was trying to protect, he surrendered to Iron Man. He then gave his followers the order to stand down.
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The Death of a Legend
Following his surrender, Steve Rogers was indicted on several criminal charges. It was noted SHIELD had restrained Steve with strength dampeners, while he was in custody. A successful assassination was orchestrated by the resurgent Red Skull which involved Crossbones deployed as a sniper. He fired the first shot, hitting Captain America in the back as he entered a federal courthouse to stand trial for his criminal charges.
In addition, Doctor Faustus, posing as a SHIELD psychiatrist, had manipulated Sharon Carter and implanted in her mind a hypnotic suggestion that caused her to shoot Rogers, three times in the stomach and chest in the chaos that ensued. Rogers was taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds.
Captain America was given a state funeral, but the body in his memorial at Arlington was a fake. Immediately after his death, Rogers' body was taken to SHIELD Headquarters as the only perfect super-soldier specimen in the world. By unexplainable means, his body was discovered to have withered back to its original frail state. Tony Stark, accompanied by Hank Pym, and Janet Van Dyne, returned Steve Rogers' body to the Arctic where they had found him frozen in ice. Namor also attended the small private ceremony swearing that as long as he ruled the seas, no one would disturb Captain America's rest.
Many people mourned him including various heroes that knew him. Others such as reformed Winter Soldier James Buchanan Barnes and Wolverine swore to avenge his death. Before the day of his assassination, Rogers prepared a package to be delivered to Stark in the event that he would not survive. It contained a photo of himself as Captain America and Bucky in World War II, and his final requests: that Stark "save" Bucky, and that the mantle of Captain America should continue. A SHIELD agent presented it to Stark confirming that it was delivered by an unknown attorney.
Thor communicated with Steve Rogers' spirit on the first anniversary of his death. Though Thor vowed to avenge him in full, Rogers declined, saying that their world was already too stained with the taint of death and violence. Thor granted Steve a minute of silence, by using his powers to cut off all the electronic media in America for exactly sixty seconds.
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Return of Steve Rogers
It was later discovered that while his body was killed Rogers' essence, he was "locked into a fixed point in space and time". Rogers' mind was being transported through time, forcing him to relive certain segments of his life such as World War II and becoming Captain America as well in various other scenes. Some changes were revealed to what was previously known. While reliving the Kree-Skrull War, he was able to ask the Vision to record a message about his time travel condition to Mister Fantastic and Wasp in the future, which was duly relayed by the current Vision. With this data, Richards concluded that Sharon was the key to bringing Steve out of time, although they were too late to stop Doctor Doom and Arnim Zola from doing just that, however the Red Skull was now in control of Steve's body.
Barnes and Rogers fought to drive the Red Skull from his body and succeeded in doing so. Rogers considered retirement from the role and allowed Barnes to continue operating as Captain America, thinking there should not be two formal active Captain Americas. Rogers visited the current US President who gave "Captain America", not Steve Rogers specifically, a full pardon for his actions during the Civil War. Rogers explained that he didn't intend to resume wielding the shield, but would if asked. The President mentioned that this was fine, as he had another idea for Steve's services in the future.
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The Siege of Asgard
With his own house in order, Rogers set about the next great task: removing Norman Osborn, current head of American national security agency H.A.M.M.E.R., from power. Rogers soon came to assist in bringing Tony Stark, who was in a vegetative state, having diminished his intelligence to erase the Superhuman Registration database to keep Osborn from abusing it. A quite radical step in rebooting Stark's brain: by channeling Thor's thunder through Rogers' shield connected to the implant on Stark's chest, which may possibly kill him. The process restarted Tony's heart, but for some reason his mind didn't reboot. Steve left to get Doctor Strange's help in going inside Tony's mind.
Following this, Steve was in the New Avengers hideout in New York when he learned that Osborn was laying siege to Asgard. Enraged, Steve assembled the New Avengers, the Young Avengers, and Nick Fury's Secret Warriors to provide support for the Asgardians and finally bring down Osborn. Bucky gave Steve the shield, saying that they needed him leading the counterattack. Bucky told Steve that he needed the shield in the fight against the Dark Avengers. Steve took the shield but asked Bucky what he would do, to which Bucky replied "I will do what I do", holding a large gun in his hands. Before they left, Edwin Jarvis gave Steve a briefcase for Tony Stark.
Later on, Rogers formally hands Bucky his Captain America shield and asks his former sidekick to continue as Captain America.
Steve Rogers was called to the White House where the President offered to make him the new head of security of the United States. Steve agreed on the condition that he would get to do the job his way. The Super-Human Registration Act was repealed and during a gathering at Avenger Tower; Steve appeared and told them it was the start of a new day for all of them and he needed their help. Steve oversaw the incarceration of Norman Osborn at The Raft penitentiary, under his new role as Captain Steve Rogers.
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The Legacy of Dr. Erskine
As the head of Nixtin Pharmaceutics and grandson of Abraham Erskine, Jacob Erskine set out to cure cancer using the Super Soldier Serum, but was killed before he could finish. When Steve attempted to find who killed Erskine, he was caught in a trap by Machinesmith and his serum was deactivated. Through the help of one of Machinesmith's robots who Steve previously believed to be a woman imbued with the serum, he was able to have his serum activated once again, and together they pursued Machinesmith. They eventually seemingly killed Machinesmith and recovered the serum he was attempting to auction, at the cost of the robot's life. Upon further investigation, the serum Steve recovered turns out to be completely useless, and unbeknown to him, the entire exploit was set up by Aloysius Thorndrake of the Shadow Council, who sought Rogers' blood in order to create an army of super-soldiers.....
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The Secret Avengers
Captain Rogers then forms the Secret Avengers as a group of superheroes to operate under a veil of secrecy, in addition to the main Avengers team.
. The opening issues display the black ops type work and being proactive about known threats and clean them up, they are in direct opposition to a group called the "Shadow Council" seeming led by Nick Fury. In one such plot they find a dangerous artifact the "Tentacle Crown." After some research the group finds a link to Roxxon Corporation, which leads to investigations of a mining site on Mars. Richard Rider (Nova) is on the case, in his investigations he finds another crown, the "Serpent Crown." The crown possesses Nova, but is pursued by a guardian of the crown naming himself a collective name the "Archon" created by the Watchers. The possessed Nova directs Shadow Council agents into unearthing a primordial evil. Steve Rogers, with the help of the Xandarian Worldmind, temporarily gains the Nova Force to take out the Serpent Crown/Nova.
The Secret Avengers later have to deal with the fact that someone resembling Nick Fury is shown to be working for the Shadow Council. The real Fury confirms that what they are seeing is an advanced LMD modified by Jake Fury. SHIELD was going to destroy the LMD, but he was rescued by the Shadow Council and given the name Max. Some other operatives in the "Shadow Council" are an immortal named Aloysius Thorndike and former Golden Age hero John Steele.
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CAPTAIN STEVE ROGERS
Gender: Male
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 240 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond
(Powers)
The Super-Soldier Serum metabolized and enhanced all of Rogers' bodily functions to the peak of human potential. Dr. Reinstein described this potential as being "the next step in human evolution", while still remaining completely human.
Artificially Enhanced Physiology: Rogers has no superhuman powers, although as a result of the Super-Soldier serum, he was transformed from a frail young man into a "perfect" specimen of human development and conditioning. Rogers is as intelligent, strong, fast, agile, and durable as it is possible for a human being to be without being considered superhuman.
Peak Human Strength: Rogers' physical strength was enhanced to the very peak of human potential. As a result, Rogers is as physically strong as a human being can be without being classified as superhuman. Rogers has been seen bench pressing 1,200 lbs which is consistent with his strength level, as benching is easier than military press lifting.
Peak Human Speed: He can run at speeds of up to approximately 30 miles per hour, and has on an occasion run a mile in little over a minute (almost 60 mph) when under duress.
Peak Human Stamina: His body eliminates the excessive build-up of fatigue-producing poisons in his muscles, granting him phenomenal endurance. He can exert himself at peak capacity for several hours without rest before showing any signs of fatigue.
Peak Human Agility: Rogers' agility is superior to that of any Olympic athlete that had ever competed.
Peak Human Reflexes: Rogers' reflexes are superior to that of any Olympic athlete that had ever competed. Like most of his powers, his reflexes border on and are likely at superhuman levels as he has accomplished such feats as dodging a bullet fired at point blank range claiming that he "could see faster than it."
Peak Human Durability: Rogers' ability to withstand injury is superior to those of ordinary humans. This explained how he had survived the physical punishment during his career like building falls and explosions.
Peak Human Metabolism: His enhanced metabolism allows him to heal from injury or disease faster than most humans. Rogers is subject to all human vulnerabilities, although his immunity to diseases, toxins, or even alcohol poisoning is extraordinary. Rogers has stated he can't get drunk and has never been sick after receiving the SSS.
Peak Human Mental Process: Rogers' mental performance have been greatly enhanced, allowing his mind to operate in the most efficient and rapid manner possible. One manifestation of this are his tactical genius; the ability to quickly process multiple information streams (e.g., threat assessment) and rapidly respond to changing tactical situations. Rogers also possesses an edictic memory, meaning that he never forgets anything and has perfect recall. This enables him to remember any military tactic and apply it to any situation.
Peak Human Perception: Rogers has exceptionally keen eyesight and hearing Captain America once stated that he was able to dodge bullets because he "sees faster than them".
(Abilities)
Master Martial Artist: Having trained with such luminaries as William Essart Fairbairn and Rex Applegate, Rogers has mastered multiple martial arts including American-style boxing, Okinawa-te, Jujitsu, Aikido, Judo, and various others which he has either portrayed skill or knowledge in (two of them being pressure point fighting in which he rendered a guard unconscious using a nerve pinch and Taijiquan) and combines these disciplines with his acrobatic talents to create his own unique hand-to-hand style of combat. He engages in a daily regimen of rigorous exercise (including aerobics, weight lifting, gymnastics, simulated combat, and even blind fighting) to keep himself in peak condition, and has often defeated opponents whose size, strength, or other powers greatly exceeded his own, including the Hulk, Rhino, Colossus, Spider-Man, Wolverine, and among plenty of others. Rogers is one of the finest human combatants Earth had ever known.
Master Shield Fighter: Rogers' years of training and experience with his unique shield, as well as its physical properties, allows him to accomplish mind-boggling feats with the item. Aside from bashing foes with it and blocking incoming attacks, Rogers is able to throw the shield with nearly perfect aim. He is able to hit multiple targets with the same throw by means of ricochet, and can even achieve a boomerang-like return effect with it, allowing him to strike enemies from behind or retrieve the shield without objects to ricochet from.
Master Tactician and Strategist: Rogers is an accomplished strategist. He has been widely considered one of, if not the greatest tacticians on the planet both on and off the battlefield. He is able to formulate battle strategies and his brilliant tactical sense allows him to just as quickly alter any strategy of plan to fit the need of the situation change. When Scarlet Witch described Rogers as a leader she simply stated "You’re just the best there is." During the Secret Wars the scientific genius Reed Richards asserted that "No one could have directed their group better then Captain America," as Iron Man and the others agreed. This of course was coming from brilliant tacticians that were Tony Stark and Reed Richards, when they were commanding their own teams.
Master Acrobat: Rogers' years of training have made him an expert in the field of acrobatics and gymnastics as well as a stunning aerialist.
Indomitable Will: Rogers is a very strong willed person second to none. He was able to suppress all forms of temptation including physical, mental, and sexual. During the Forever War, he destroyed the Forever Crystal deciding it was too dangerous to exist, despite the number of positive abilities it was capable of such as time traveling which he could have used to alter history to correct his past mistakes. Rogers accepted his own mortality, and refused to rob any sentient creature of its freedom. He was capable of resisting all forms of mind control; only the strongest willed individuals had a chance of enslaving him.
Expert Marksman: He could throw most if not all projectile weaponry with great aim and was well versed in the use of firearms though he preferred not to use them.
Weapons Proficiency: He did not usually use weapons other than his shield, but in desperate times or situations where he and teammates were outnumbered, he would wield additional weapons to ensure victory. He had used staffs, bludgeons, and was adept with swords. He likely received training with different kinds of weapons during his wartime for undercover infiltration missions in the event of not being able to use his shield.
Multi-lingual: He was fluent in French, Russian, German, Japanese and possibly other languages.
Expert Pilot: He was a phenomenal pilot and was versed in many Military, SHIELD, and Avengers aircraft.
(Equipment)
Uniform: Cap's fire-retardant costume incorporated Kevlar body armor as well as a chain-mail shirt composed of light-weight "duralumin."
Utility Belt: Cap had often worn a utility belt containing mission-specific equipment.
(Weapons)
Currently an energy photonic shield that could redirect kinetic energy, emit energy blasts, and morph into a staff. He also uses small throwing disks, concussion bombs, grenades, grapples that morphed from spheres capsules, a grapple-hook gun, and a single Beretta handgun pistol.
Formerly
Captain America's Shield: This was his primary, and usually only weapon. A concave disk about 2.5 feet in diameter, weighing 12 pounds, it was made of a unique Vibranium-Steel alloy that had never been duplicated. The Shield was cast by American metallurgist Dr. Myron MacLain, who was contracted by the U.S. government to create an impenetrable substance to use for tanks during World War II. During his experiments, MacLain combined Vibranium with a steel alloy he was working with and an unknown catalyst, creating the disc-shaped shield. MacLain was never able to duplicate the process due to his inability to identify the still-unknown factor that played a role in it; however attempts to reverse engineer its composition resulted in the development of adamantium. The shield was issued to Captain America by the government several months after the beginning of his career.
The shield had great aerodynamic properties; it was able to slice through the air with minimal wind resistance and deflection of path. Its great overall resilience, combined with its natural concentric stiffness, enabled it to rebound from objects with minimal loss of angular momentum. It was virtually indestructible: it was resistant to penetration, temperature extremes, and the entire electromagnetic spectrum of radiation. The only way it could be damaged in any way would be by tampering with its molecular bonding.
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Captain America's Fighting Style
Steve Rogers was trained extensively in multiple forms of combat including martial arts. Thanks to the Super Soldier Serum, he was able skip the physical conditioning and flexibility training. Although a few of them have been identified, every discipline he was trained in is unknown and unclear.
American Boxing, Judo, Aikido, and Jujutsu are the only revealed disciplines, but he has utilized various different techniques and methods from multiple others. Among these are various Gong fu (or Kung fu) such as Taijiquan, Wing Chun, various Shaolin arm methods which he incorporates for his shield, Chin na, and northern kicking methods, Capoeira, Muay Thai, Karate, Eskrima, and hand techniques used in Ninjutsu. While there are potential other forms which may play a role, many of them were invented after WW2 or during it when Rogers was engaging the enemy axis. His private tutors' identities are unknown, and eastern martial arts were not well recognized during the late 1930s and early 1940s; many of them were regarded as flashy, and even useless movements. Many martial arts teachers refused to teach their methods to westerners. He may have possibly learned different techniques from fighting other persons who use them. Two of his best students Bucky and Hawkeye have been seen using at least one sophisticated hand technique from Ninjutsu that was meant for sensitive points of the body, confirming that Rogers taught it to them strengthening the idea that he may have learned it after confronting Hand ninjas before America officially joined the war.
Steve Rogers incorporates every area of combat in his methods. He excels in punching, kicking, elbowing, kneeing, headbutting, hand techniques and pressure point fighting, grappling, blocking, parrying, trapping, joint locking and manipulating, restraining, disarming, ground fighting, and tricking. He is extremely fluid when fighting enabling himself to adapt to any change in the environment or the physical status of him or his opponent(s) (if they gained or lost a weapon for instance). Steve is very cunning, and creative in battle; even masters of overall combat have great difficulty predicting his next course of action, even through body language. He is able to shift from stand up combat to ground fighting, and even aerial combat due to his mastery over acrobatics.
He generally uses many different techniques often seen today in modern kickboxing, wushu, and mixed martial arts. He is well known for using momentum to his advantage making it so that he could strike an opponent much harder than he could without it. He has turned his falls from being hit by an opponent into acrobatic kicks and punches by using the momentum from the assault and "flowing" with it. Tricking also plays an especially large role in his form often using many of those techniques against multiple opponents to create space and confusion, as well as aerial combat (he initially nicknamed it combat gymnastics since there was originally no official name for it).
He does not generally use any other weapons than his shield, but his training in Aikido, Jujutsu, overall combat experience, and understanding of hand techniques as well as hand coordination enables him to wield all forms of weaponry with great proficiency.
He is well aware the existance of chi (Ki, or internal energy), and uses it for both combat and health reasons. Steve uses any advantage he can find against his opponents, especially superhumans. If they are physically larger than him, he would assault the larger and easier to hit pressure points. He has often defeated opponents much stronger, faster, and more durable than he. Rogers believes in limitations of both himself and his enemies as well as unpredictability. He trains routinely in simulated combat sometimes blindfolded, in dark and pitch black areas, and even in slippery and uneven terrains to the event of ever having fight in them.
Steve uses any flaw he can find in terrains and objects to his advantage by assaulting them to trigger unexpected responses; he sometimes tricks his opponents into doing it for him without them knowing about it or realizing what the ending result would be.
While Steve Rogers is very serious when engaging one to multiple enemies in combat, he is not above teaching his methods to other people. He has trained only a few people in combat. Most of them are, or were at a time, Avengers. Steve only acts as a private tutor for his teammates and is not willing to train any civilians; he prefers any person to avoid any unnecessary fights. While he is an effective and highly competent teacher, he is very strict when teaching his pupils. He does not want any student with inhuman abilities to rely solely on them in midst of a battle or day-to-day activities in the event of not being able to use them, and simply because he saw them as no excuse to not know how to fight if they chose to oppose crime.
Although Rogers is no pacifist, he generally does not like fighting unless it is for physical fitness or self-defense; he strongly encourages his students to abide by those principals and not abuse anything he teaches him/her. He teaches all of his students various different methods for self defense and sees to it that he/she can utilize creative and effective methods of their own that suits their strengths. Many of the techniques he teaches fall into the areas of boxing principals making it so that he/she can effectively use both standard punches and kicks, and grappling.
Steve sees to it his pupils are formidable on their own; able to fend off anything from unskilled to skilled attackers and single to multiple opponents. He will only teach advanced, and even potentially lethal techniques to advanced students; most of them have great athletic and acrobatic talents which are required and do not have any superhuman abilities.