The other Captain Americas
Steve is Rogers is Captain America. But maybe the symbol is bigger than the man. Perhaps in Rogers’ absence, there is room for another to wear the uniform and bear the shield.
That was the major theme of the Falcon & Winter Soldier series, and it has been explored in the comics many, many times.
Captain America, Commie Smasher!
Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter took a well-deserved vacation. Yet while they were away, Falcon had a run-in with Captain America and Bucky. How is that possible?
(Captain America Number 6 by the official count. But if we included every time a villain impersonated Cap…)
This Captain America seems more racist than normal.
He claims to be the true Captain America, and that the new pretender is a Pinko looking to sell out America to the Reds.
Upon capturing our Captain America, this other one reveals his origin. He was Captain America’s biggest fan as a child and wrote his college thesis on Captain America.
He studied everything there was to know about Captain America, and in his research stumbled upon the secret Super Soldier formula in the notes of a Nazi spy.
He made a deal with President Truman to become the new Captain America and fight in the Korean War, and even had his face surgically altered to look like Steve Rogers.
With the Korean War finished before he could go into action, the plans were shelved and this new Steve Rogers settled into a career as a professor, where he met a young student with a similar obsession, a student who called himself Bucky.
When the Red Skull returned, it was these two, not the original Cap and Bucky, who sprang into action after an injection of super soldier serum, and then had a short career smashing Commies in the 1950s.
But he went too far. Started seeing Commies everywhere. It was decided the serum he used was incomplete, and driving him insane. In the absence of a cure, they were placed in suspended animation.
Until a government agent with similar paranoias about Communism decided they were needed again.
The two Captain Americas then battle to see who is the true Captain America. The battle is in part ideological, as they represent two different visions of what America means.
In the end, there can only be one Captain America.
Nomad
In the aftermath of a soul-shattering battle where Captain America has discovered corruption at the heart of American democracy, he is no longer certain he wants to be the symbol of America.
He is Captain America no more.
It’s perhaps not coincidental that his disillusionment with the American government aligned with the final days of the Nixon presidency.
He considers retirement from the superhero life, but Hawkeye persuades him to continue with a new identity instead.
A Brooklyn kid named Roscoe decides to put on the costume in Cap’s absence.
(Roscoe is Captain America Number 7)
When Roscoe gets murdered by the Red Skull, Steve Rogers realizes the weight of his responsibilities and once more becomes Captain America.
The 1940s
Once during World War II, as part of a ruse, Bucky asks the Yankees bat boy Fred to fill in for him.
The World War II heroes, the Invaders, meet another group of heroes, the Crusaders, including William Naslund, the Spirt of 76.
After Captain America and Bucky take their fateful plunge into icy water and are presumed dead, President Truman decides to keep this secret from the public. The war in Germany is over, but the war in the Pacific continues. And America needs it symbols. Spirit of 76 and Fred Davis the Yankee bat boy are recruited to be the new Captain America and Bucky.
(That’s at least 8 Captain Americas)
The new Captain America gave his life soon after the war ended in battle with the evil android, Adam II, who was plotting to replace Congressional candidate John F Kennedy with an android double.
Jeff Mace, the Patriot, assumed the mantle of Captain America.
(Up to 9 Captain Americas and counting)
Zemo returns
Captain America and Falcon fight a new foe, the Phoenix, who seems to know Captain America and want revenge.
He turns out to be the son of Baron Zemo, seeking revenge for his father’s death in battle with Captain America.
He ends up dying in a vat of his father’s chemical invention, Adhesive X.
Or does he? He apparently survived, though with his face hideously deformed, and assumed a costume similar to his father’s, now going simply by his title, Baron Helmut Zemo.
Helmut Zemo is the inspiration for the character introduced in the film Captain America: Civil War who returned to help/menace Falcon & Winter Soldier.
Power Broker
Machine Man runs afoul of the Corporation and one of its executives, Curtiss Jackson; they are seeking to make copies of him.
The villainous Fly finds his powers are fading, so he seeks out Dr. Karl Malus for help. Dr. Malus is an expert in superhuman powers and he thinks a transfusion of blood from Spider-Woman will reinvigorate the Fly.
The Thing signs up for the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation (UCWF). Being able to bench press a ton is a minimum requirement to qualify.
Sharon Ventura visits the mysterious Power Broker to gain super strength. She’ll be able to pay off her debt with the UCWF.
The Power Broker finances the treatments, but the work is performed by Dr. Malus.
The newly powered Sharon adopts a new costume and identity as Ms. Marvel, in the company of the kindly Lt. Michael Lynch who had rescued her from the Power Broker. She will be the second superhero to take on that identity; Carol Danvers was the first; Kamala Khan is the most recent.
Anybody who has been augmented depends on stabilizing pills the Broker provides, which keeps them in his power. It turns out most UCWF wrestlers got their strength from the Power Broker.
Madripoor
Looking for their lost teammate Karma, the New Mutants head to the Pacific Island nation of Madripoor. It’s compared to Mos Eisley and to Tortuga in its pirate stronghold days; a haven for criminals.
We next see Madripoor when Wolverine visits, and clarifies it’s not the name of a nation, but that nation’s capital city.
Tourists visit Hightown. Wolverine’s business has brought him to Lowtown and the Princess Bar. Wolverine is not new to the city; he’s been a regular visitor for decades.
In the show, Zemo took Falcon & Winter Soldier to Madripoor. They visited Hightown and Lowtown, and passed by Princess Bar.
Click here to continue reading and meet John Walker, the new Captain America!
Holy Crap, that was just part one?
Extremely thorough and interesting, although I was a little sad not to see the fake Cap from Captain America Comics #…3(ish) and doubly saddened by the exclusion of Fake Chain-Smoking Midget Bucky, AKA the greatest character in the history of comics, Those five (ish) panels before they were gruesomely killed off were truly a milestone inside a watershed.
I wanted to focus on the time Rogers was not Cap and somebody tried to step in. I knew if I tried to count every fake Cap, I’d add a 5th page to an already long post and still inevitably miss some. For example, Golden Age comics are something of a weakness. I did google “chain smoking midget bucky” and the top hit was you talking about the comic. And I fear for what Google will start trying to advertise to me now.
That’s fair. “Return of the Red Skull” might been slightly noticeable because it’s the origin of the replacement Cap trope – and also my all time favorite Captain America story.
Finished reading the whole thing and learned a lot, especially from the last couple years of comics. Great post!
I should go a Cap reread. I remember really liking Dematties and Greenwald’s runs but a decade + on I forget damn near everything.