I’ve spent the last several weeks reading along to the Falcon & Winter Soldier TV series, another excellent show to come out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the show finished last week, I’d like to share the comics the show inspired me to revisit: the adventures of Falcon and Winter Soldier, John Walker, the Power Broker, Flag Smasher, Batroc, Zemo, etcetera.
I also found myself very interested in the idea of the mantle of Captain America, and what happens when the shield passes to the hands of another. It turns out that happens all the time in the comics. We’ll read through at least 10 different times when somebody else has wielded the shield.
Let’s read some comics.
This post is broken into 4 pages.
Page 1: 1941-1979. Meet Captain America, Bucky, Zemo, Batroc, Sharon Carter, Falcon, and Contessa Valentina Allegro de Fontaine.
Page 2: 1972-1988. Meet 4 other heroes to assume the identity of Captain America. Visit Madripoor; learn about the Power Broker.
Page 3: 1985-1992. Meet the Flag Smasher. See John Walker become Captain America, with Battle Star as his partner.
Page 4: 2003-2020. Meet Isaiah Bradley, the true Captain America of the 1940s. Then see Bucky Barnes assume the mantle of Captain America. Then see Sam Wilson do the same. We end with some reading recommendations.
Fighting Side-By-Side With… Captain America and Bucky!
Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Release: October 8, 1964 Cover: December 1964 12 cents Written and drawn by the Titanic Two: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Inked by: Dick Ayers Lettered by: A. Simek 23 pages
Jack Kirby returns for one final issue of Sgt. Fury, likely motivated by the choice of guest star. Under Kirby, this was one of Marvel’s best titles. It’s perhaps lost a step under Ayers, though remains one of the better series we are reading.
So far, one could almost question why we are reading this World War II series along with all the superhero ones. It is certainly the odd duck in my reading list. We have had two points of crossover so far. The Commandos teamed with a young Mr. Fantastic when he was Major Richards of the OSS, and we saw an older Colonel Fury team up with the Fantastic Four. This is the third point of crossover between Nick Fury and the superhero titles. There will be more.
Featuring: Avengers Release: June 9, 1964 Cover: August 1964 12 cents Magnificently written by: Stan Lee Majestically illustrated by: Jack Kirby Masterfully inked by: Chic Stone Meticulously lettered by: Art Simek 22 pages
In Tales of Suspense #56, Tony Stark very briefly flirted with giving up his Iron Man identity. He now faces a board of inquiry for his failure to answer an Avengers call. At that very moment, Odin is rendering judgment on Enchantress and Executioner for their part in the events of Journey Into Mystery #103. These events show the ever-tightening interconnectedness of the series.
Recall that Thor’s title went over a dozen issues without referencing or being referenced by any other series. There was no evidence it was set in the same world as that of the other heroes. Now, they are rather intertwined.
But continuity brings continuity errors, even when a single writer is nominally writing every title. The inquiry is tricky to reconcile with the details of Tales of Suspense #56 in a few ways. Thor charges Iron Man with ignoring a call. However, the Avengers didn’t really know how to contact him and never reached him. They talked to Mr. Stark’s secretary. She was able to talk to Mr. Stark, but never (as far as anyone knows) Iron Man. It would be like somebody who doesn’t know my phone number charging me with not answering my phone they didn’t call.
Secondly, they were trying to contact Iron Man to ask him to look into the Unicorn. Within a couple hours of that failed call, Iron Man did indeed find, battle, and defeat the Unicorn. So they attempted to contact Iron Man, didn’t know how to, never reached him, and thus it was, say, 2 hours between their attempt at contact and his completing the mission they sought to assign him. That hardly seems worth an inquiry.
There was no mention of this coming inquiry in the Iron Man comic. In fact, at the time, the Avengers all seemed to agree that Iron Man was in his rights to live his own life.
Featuring: Marvels Release: November 9, 1993 Cover: January 1994 $5.95 Writer: Kurt Busiek Artist: Alex Ross Letters: Starkings w\ John Gauhsell Editor: Marcus McLaurin Assistant editor: Spencer Lamm Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco Cover design & logo: Joe Kaufman Interior Design: Comicraft 45 pages
When this is over, I’d said. When would that be? It would blow over. The world wouldn’t stay like this. It couldn’t. Could it?
The 4 (or so) issues comprising this series are pretty close to being the best comics I have ever read. They inspire the journey we are taking here, where we read through the entire Marvel Universe starting in 1961, and I want them to frame the journey we are taking.
Through a man named Phil Sheldon, an “ordinary” photojournalist, we see a holistic view of all these many interconnected stories of Marvels, cohesing into a single narrative, leading us to understand that this world is not our own, and helping us imagine what it might be like to live in that world.
The tagline reads: “Experience the Marvel Universe from a whole new perspective– yours.”
We read Marvels #0 pretty early in the project, right after meeting the original Human Torch, who we introduced after meeting the new Human Torch.
Marvels #1 deals with Marvel’s Golden Age, stories from the 1930s and 1940s. We are reading it now in our reading order because we have met enough Golden Age heroes to justify it. Really, it comes down to the big three: Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, and Captain America. But our reading about characters like Angel, Electro and Black Widow will also help us appreciate the details.
And if there’s one word that can describe this comic, it’s “detailed”. Sitting in a hotel room in Dresden with the intent of doing a deep dive into this issue, I have the original comic in my hand, but also the recent annotated edition which can serve as a guide. Plus some Golden Age and other reference material.
With all that in front of me, I would like to look very closely at this comic; consider those details, and try to do so without losing sight of the powerful emotional journey in front of us, one that will seem very familiar in the year 2020.
I think I’ve already gushed at sufficient length over the creators Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross in our recent Astro City discussion, so we’ll jump right into the story.
A Time of Marvels
The bystanders had seen the stories in the paper– seen them, chuckled and dismissed them. But it’s one thing to read about the impossible– and another to look it in the face.
The story opens in 1939 with reporters talking about the tensions in Europe. Phil Sheldon is an ambitious photojournalist looking for an assignment overseas. His fellow reporter–resembling a young J. Jonah Jameson down to a well-placed shadow beneath the nose where Jameson’s mustache will eventually be–muses that one day he will be the one running the Bugle. Phil is off to cover a press conference with a scientist who he expects to be a crackpot, one Phineas T. Horton.
Featuring: Captain America Release: May 19, 1954 Cover: September 1954 10 cents By: John Romita 6 pages
We bring Captain America’s very short 1950s revival to a close with the final story of the final issue. We read the first story of this issue, where Captain America fought Electro. We skipped the terrible racist second story and we skipped a Human Torch story and a prose story.
This might be the best Captain America story of the era, but it’s a low bar to clear.
The story concerns Chuck Blayne, a television pundit who has become very influential amongst children. Captain America does not like what he has to say, even comparing his words to Hitler’s.
Blayne’s plans seems subtle and insidious, to influence the hearts and minds of America’s youth. Then he goes and plants a bomb at the UN. So much for subtlety.
Featuring: Captain America Release: May 19, 1954 Cover: September 1954 10 cents By: John Romita 6 pages
Well, that didn’t last long. After getting his old series back with issue 76, it’s cancelled with issue 78. Something about “Captain America… Commie Smasher!” didn’t resonate with audiences the way anti-Nazi propaganda had a decade earlier.
Captain America fights Electro. Not to be confused with the Spider-Man villain who will be introduced a decade later. Or the robotic superhero introduced 15 years earlier. (Of course, the only reason we are reading this story is to cover our bases and meet all the Electros.)
The opening splash has a lot of detail. The sign in the background was at first confusing, but makes sense within the story. That appears to be a fireman checking out the battle.
Featuring: Captain America Release: January 18, 1954 Cover: May 1954 10 cents 6 pages
Credits aren’t evident. My copy of the Marvel Masterworks claims John Romita is the artist, but I don’t think that’s correct. The GCD offers a different interpretation, citing the same Marvel Masterworks volume I am looking at. Perhaps they have a newer edition. I am anyways assured the GCD credits are correct by no less an expert than Michael Vassallo, and that this story is the work of Bill Benulis and Jack Abel, not John Romita. It is possible Romita touched up some of the faces.
It’s 1954. The publisher once known as Timely is now known as Atlas. It will eventually be best known as Marvel.
We last checked in with Captain America in 1948, when an injured Bucky was replaced as Cap’s partner by Betsy Ross, the Golden Girl. Let’s briefly review his publishing history in the interim.
Bucky recovered in issue 71 for a couple more adventures. Captain America Comics continued until issue 73, published in 1949. Golden Girl remained his occasional partner until the end.
With issue 74, the series changed its name to Captain America’s Weird Tales. We saw one final battle between Captain America and Red Skull along with a handful of horror short stories. This was the end of Marvel’s time publishing superhero comics. For the next several years, they would focus on romance, humor, horror, crime, and western tales. The final Sub-Mariner story had been published 4 months earlier, with the final Human Torch and Blonde Phantom stories 3 months before that.
Captain America’s Weird Tales #75 (1949) did not feature Captain America at all. His name adorned the comic’s cover, but he was nowhere to be found amongst the horror stories within. With that, the series ended. A somewhat ignoble end to the comic career of America’s favorite superhero.
Jump forward to August 1953. Young Men #24 gave us the return of Captain America, Human Torch, and Sub-Mariner. We already reviewed that issue’s Sub-Mariner story. In that issue, we learned Steve Rogers had retired from being Captain America, but was still teaching at the Lee School, except it now seems to be a college. Bucky was now a college student, though he didn’t look any older. The Red Skull’s return convinces Captain America and Bucky to come out of retirement.
I plan to do a survey of Red Skull’s history separately, so am purposely not covering that story in any more detail now.
We turn now to Captain America #76. The numbering picks up where Captain America’s Weird Tales left off, but Captain America reclaims the book’s interior.
Featuring: Captain America Release: March 1, 1948 Cover: April 1948 10 cents 12 pages
I don’t see any credits in the issue, so I’ll refer you to the GCD for their take on attribution.
Captain America and Bucky are tracking a villain named Lavender and catch up to her during an ambergris heist.
I did not know anything about ambergris before reading this comic. Apparently, it is fecal matter occasionally released by sperm whales who have digested squid. It was used for centuries to make perfume and is extremely valuable. It has been illegal to buy or sell in America for about 50 years now, but apparently was not illegal in 1948. Hence, Lavender plans to steal some.
Featuring: Captain America Release: August 15, 1946 Cover: November 1946 10 cents 16 pages
The table of contents for the entire issue credits: Syd Shores as art associate, Stan Lee as editorial and art director, and Al Sulman as editor. Syd Shores also seems to have drawn this story.
It is clear that Syd Shores is no Jack Kirby. Kirby’s direct involvement with drawing the character only lasted about a year. He was then overseeing the creation of the stories by other creators before being drafted into the US Army. It would be more than 20 years before he returned to Captain America. Shady royalties practices on the part of publisher Martin Goodman may have helped keep him away from the company.
It is 1946. World War II is over. What does Captain America do now? Steve Rogers could hang up the stripes for good, but he chooses not to. He and Bucky continue their partnership as crimefighters.
Featuring: Captain America Release: October 28, 1942 Cover: December 1942 10 cents 15 pages
I don’t see any credits. Except for the publisher and “editorial and art director”. The GCD credits the art to Al Avison and Syd Shores.
“Jap Buster Johnson”? Ouch.
We continue our survey of early Captain America comics in preparation for Avengers #4. We started out with some significant milestones and will mostly focus on significant milestones. But I wanted to get a sense of who Captain America was in a run-of-the-mill story, not in any way a milestone. This story fit the bill for its insignificance.
It was chosen specifically because there is a connection to Medusa, which will also tie into Avengers #4.
