Steve Rogers, the World War II hero and perennial Avenger known as Captain America, has been
a cultural icon since he was famously introduced punching Adolf Hitler in the face on the cover
of Captain America Comics #1.
While you might already know about his decades spent as an icicle or his frenemy relationship
with Iron Man, there's plenty of lesser-known details about the Sentinel of Liberty.
Here is the untold truth of Captain America.
"Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?"
He trains every Avenger
Captain America is among the finest hand-to-hand combatants in the Marvel Universe, thanks
to his vast experience, training, and enhanced strength and reflexes.
As such, he trains just about every hero who has come through the Avengers' revolving door.
Among his more interesting students: the invincible Iron Man, She-Hulk, Hawkeye, and even Mary-Jane
Watson.
Maybe he should be called Drill Sergeant America.
"Your fighting style is to tackle people or blast them.
If I had to guess, I'd say you've never been in an actual fight in your life."
Multiple Buckys
Almost as well-known as Cap himself is his original sidekick Bucky Barnes.
Barnes was a mascot at the military base where Rogers was stationed in the early days of
World War II who was taken under the Captain's wings.
Bucky was presumed dead along with Cap in the fateful plane crash that led to Cap's
hibernation, although the young sidekick would return decades later as the Winter Soldier.
"Bucky?"
"Who the hell is Bucky?"
Rogers would eventually pick up another young sidekick in the modern era, Rick Jones.
Rick Jones was directly involved in the accident which created the Hulk, and it was his distress
call which initially caused the Avengers to form.
Having been taken in by the team as an honorary member, Jones answered the call when Cap found
himself in need of another partner, undergoing combat training and even, for a time, wearing
Bucky's old uniform.
The partnership didn't last long, but Rick Jones would continue to be a sidekick for
just about everyone in the Marvel Universe.
Replaced by Black Panther
In Avengers #47, Cap decides to take a leave of absence from the team to set off on his
own adventures — a journey that would bring him to Wakanda, where he would encounter perhaps
his only viable replacement in Black Panther.
"Tell me Captain America, is it really your shield?"
After helping Cap to foil a plot by Baron Zemo to destroy the United States using advanced
weaponry, T'Challa accompanies Cap back to America, mulling over his suggestion to join
the Avengers as Cap's replacement.
T'Challa quickly proves his worth in a fight against the Grim Reaper, and the grateful
team makes T'Challa a full-fledged member.
After that, Cap would only make cameo appearances in Avengers comics until returning to the
team a full three years later.
The Falcon and the Red Skull
Sam Wilson, the Falcon, has been Cap's staunchest friend and ally over the years.
Their formal partnership began way back in 1971's Captain America #133.
But strangely, their long association never would have happened if not for one of the
Red Skull's many evil plots to kill Captain America.
In Captain America #117, Steve Rogers is banished to a mysterious island after getting his body
switched with the Red Skull.
While there, Cap disguises himself as a normal guy and runs into Sam Wilson, a Harlem bird-enthusiast
who trains with Cap to become The Falcon.
Together, the two of them foil the Red Skull's plot, Cap gets his body back, and Sam Wilson
embarks on a long crime-fighting career as The Falcon.
Captain America and the Captain Americas
Steve Rogers might be the most famous Captain America, but he's far from the only one.
After becoming disillusioned with America and donning the new identity of Nomad, Steve
Rogers left the Captain America identity available, and a trio of schmoes tried out for the job.
While the first two bailed after realizing just how perilous the job was, Roscoe Simons
received training from The Falcon himself.
Unfortunately, he met a gruesome end at the hands of the Red Skull, forcing Rogers to
return as Captain America to end the Skull's murderous wrath.
Later, wracked by fear of compromising his principles, he surrendered the official Captain
America role to John Walker, the Super-Patriot, in favor of operating independently as "The
Captain."
Walker even kept Cap's shield during this time, while Rogers used a replica.
John Walker would later become U.S. Agent once Steve Rogers returned to reclaim the
shield and trademark identity.
In addition, both Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson have likewise taken over the mantle, but Rogers
has always found his way back from death, retirement, or even just comic book limbo.
"You just don't know when to give up, do ya?"
"I could do this all day."
Will the real Cap please stand up?
In 2016, Marvel used the relaunch title Captain America: Steve Rogers to introduce the most
insanely controversial plot twist in a history full of them.
At the issue's end, Cap suddenly murders his sidekick Jack Flag before uttering two words
which had Cap fans the world over reeling in shock: "Hail HYDRA."
It turned out that Rogers had been reconstructed by a sentient version of the Cosmic Cube after
a near-death experience.
Unfortunately, the Red Skull had indoctrinated the Cube in one of the many times that he
had wielded it, causing Rogers' entire history to be retconned as a HYDRA secret agent.
As you might expect, the real Captain America managed to escape his imprisonment inside
the Cube's memory, and promptly defeated his fascist counterpart.
What makes a shield?
"When Captain America throws his mighty shield, all those who chose to oppose his shield must
yield!"
Cap's shield is perhaps the most iconic tool in any superhero's arsenal; not only is it
virtually indestructible, it can absorb vast amounts of kinetic energy, which is why it
can withstand blows from the Hulk or Thor without simply sending Cap flying.
In its original comic incarnation, the shield isn't pure vibranium, but an alloy accidentally
created by scientist Myron Maclain in a metallurgical accident.
Maclain was tasked by the U.S. government with the creation of a super-strong metal
to be used in tanks, and one night while laboring over the project, Maclain fell asleep.
He awoke to find that the materials he'd been working with had mysteriously bonded, and
cast the new substance using a disc-shaped mold for tank hatches.
The government gifted Cap with the shield after he'd proven his mettle in the field,
and Maclain was never able to duplicate the process which created it.
Although repeated attempts would years later result in the creation of adamantium, the
famously strong metal of which Wolverine's skeleton is made.
Replicas of Cap's shield would be employed for various purposes over the years, but Cap
always preferred the real deal.
Like the super-soldier himself, it's one of a kind.
Shield-throwing sense
It's a common misconception that Cap's shield must be equipped with some kind of technology
to make it return to him like a boomerang, but this isn't the case.
The shield's ability to absorb and disperse kinetic energy means that once bounced off
an object, it will basically keep bouncing forever until caught, and Cap's understanding
of its properties enable him to predict its flight path with unerring accuracy.
Handling it properly is practically a superpower unto itself, to the point where even the two
most accomplished heroes to take up Cap's mantle — Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes — both
struggled mightily to learn how to use it as an offensive weapon, even with extensive
training from Rogers.
However, there is one Avenger for whom handling the shield wasn't much of a problem: Clint
Barton, Hawkeye, perhaps the only hero whose mastery of physics and ballistics is on par
with Cap's.
Leave it to the most underrated Avenger to measure up to Cap's exacting standards.
"Cap!"
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