Captain America is the epitome of human perfection. He is a superhero from the pages of Marvel comics, but is everything that an average American can easily become.
This fictional character first appeared in Captain America comics #1 in March 1941 and this character was created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. Captain America is very popular – more than 300 million copies of Captain America books have been sold in more than 75 countries across the globe, not to mention the massive sales of Captain America movie DVDs. But, he’s not as popular as Batman, Spider man or Superman etc. However, his subdued popularity actually goes well with his persona and image. Captain America was not created to impress kids; he represents the inner voice of an average American and wasn’t meant to jump from skyscrapers to win the popularity race!
Captain America is not just a fictional character out of the comic books? Really?
Captain America is actually the alter ego of a frail young man named Steve Rogers. Steve was an artist, philosopher and an intelligent patriot with an indomitable spirit, but a frail body. No, Steve did not have the money and resources of Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman, he didn’t have spider venom to alter his DNA and he most definitely wasn’t from another galaxy altogether (remember Superman?)!
The creators of Captain America (just like other peace-loving American citizens) were simply not able to come to terms with the savagery of the ruthless warmongers from Europe. And, they couldn’t suppress the inner voice telling them to fight back. This inner voice took shape as Captain America. Captain America was basically what every American wanted to be!
The impressive history of Captain America began exactly a year before America was pulled into the Second World War post the Pearl Harbor tragedy. America was mass recruiting citizens into the Army in a bid to defend itself from its enemies and it is then that Captain America was born.
A peace-loving American youth, Steve Rogers wanted to join the Army but he was simply too weak and physically unfit for the Army. However, he had one virtue that few others had — the do or die patriotic attitude! It is this attitude of him that got them spotted and he was selected as the “lab rat” for an experimental “super soldier serum” that the American government had been developing as one of their weapons to fight the Nazis. Prof. Reinstein, the chief scientist in the super serum project wanted someone to volunteer who wasn’t afraid to trade his life for American freedom and Steve was his chosen candidate. Luckily for Steve, the serum worked as expected and Captain America was born – the Savior with the perfect balance of patriotism, strength and speed! Captain America represented what every American citizen (and the country as a whole) strived to be – the epitome of speed, strength, stamina, intelligence and above all resilience! Unfortunately, Prof. Reinstein didn’t live long enough to witness his superhero in action.
How Is Captain America Different From Other Superheroes?
Steve was just an average Joe (or shall we say average Steve?)
Yes, that is exactly what Steve Rogers was before he earned the capabilities of physically complimenting his rebellious mind with the help of the super soldier serum. So, Captain America is not really a one-man artillery, trigger-happy high boots, only possible in comic books – Captain America is the incarnation of an average American citizen and hence is more real compared to other comic book heroes.
As a matter of fact, Captain America was even different from an average American Marine. At his core, Captain America was a dreamer who wanted to see his country in a new light – the light of freedom. He didn’t exude that brash confidence that the Marines are known for and also he didn’t have a team or high-tech weaponry to fall back on. The creators of Captain America, it seems never wanted him to be anything but what an average American could easily become!
His indestructible shield can not only protect but also strike back as a boomerang.
What about the costume and sidekicks?
Captain America wears a star-spangled costume and carries a matching shield. This costume, unlike other superheroes doesn’t make him a saleable brand – the stars and stripes simply represent the country and that also means the flag is always more important than the superhero himself. This concept wasn’t there before Captain America. Batman has his own identity and is actually the uncrowned King of Gotham city. His identity was never a part of Gotham city – it is actually the other way around.
In the case of Captain America, he was shipped off to Camp Lehigh as Private Rogers where he was
nothing more than an average soldier taking orders from his superiors. In Camp Lehigh, Steve Rogers met his sidekick Bucky Barnes who started off as his costume designer and later on went on to become his partner. Here also, Bucky Barnes had his own identity and he wasn’t really an “umbrella carrier” for Captain America! Initially he was a mascot of the camp but later went on to become a trained operative responsible for secret assassinations that Captain America himself was not capable of!
Captain America Defied Death And Is Now Back Again
After the end of the Second World War, the popularity of Captain America declined steadily and Captain America Comics was finally discontinued in 1954. However, as mentioned many times earlier, since, Captain America was the incarnation of an average American who cannot ever die, Captain America is back again in Avengers #4. Right after the Second World War ended, Captain America and Bucky got lost while trying to stop a plane sent out by Baron Zemo. Steve got trapped in a block of ice and remained like that until he was found by the Avengers.
You Can Get A Slice Of Captain America Too
Stand up for what you believe in — be the superhero you always wanted to be! You can now play Captain America games and experience being the Captain himself only here. So what’s keeping you waiting? Pick up your shield now and start defending the nation!