The First Five People To Be Captain America
A List of People Who Have Been Captain America!
So for the next few posts we're going to speak about the people that have been Captain America over the years! You can expect to see some familiar faces and some... not-so-familiar faces as we go through the coming lists. You'd be surprised how many people have claimed the mantle of Captain America. The reason that we are not covering all of the characters in one post is because there are so many of them. Let's get started.
1. Steve Rogers (Alive)
First Appearance: Captain America Comics #1 - 1941
I'm sure we all know who Steve Rogers is especially nowadays because of the character is (or was?) prominent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As we know, by the time World War II began Steve Rogers had lost both of his parents. His abusive father, Joseph Rogers, died in Steve's childhood, and his mother died of pneumonia later. When Steve saw what was happening in Europe and Asia during World War II, he was inspired to join the US Army, but was rejected because of he was sick and frail. But this is when he gets the chance of a lifetime. Doctor Abraham Erskine gives Steve the chance to become a hero by taking part in the top-secret government program, Operation Rebirth. This is where Steve Rogers was given the Super Soldier Serum and exposed to Vita-Rays, giving birth to the Captain America we all know and love. Abraham Erskine is then murdered and the Super Soldier Serum recipe is lost, leaving Captain America as the last Super Soldier.
Close to the end of World War II, Steve and Bucky are attempting to disarm a bomb on a Nazi Plane. The plane exploded and Bucky and Steve were both thought to be dead. Bucky was found by Russians and turned into the Winter Soldier while Steve was left frozen in suspended animation until the modern day. While in suspended animation, quite a few people took up the mantle of Captain America.
Nowadays, Steve Rogers is part of the Avengers and has resumed the role of Captain America.
2. Isaiah Bradley (Alive)
First Appearance: Truth: Red, White, and Black #1 - 2003
Chronologically, Isaiah Bradley is the second Captain America, but he was never officially given the title. Steve Rogers did meet Isaiah later in his life to take a picture with him as a fan.
Isaiah's story is not a light-hearted as Steve's. Isaiah wasn't a young man who is given the opportunity of a lifetime. Rather, he was a person that was inspired to enlist in the army to protect his wife and unborn child only to be betrayed by the government whose army he served in. Isaiah and hundreds other black soldiers were taken by members of the US Government, and involuntarily experimented on. By the end of experimentation only 7 survived. These seven super soldiers were then tasked with doing top-secret missions to aid the US war effort. Soon Isaiah was the only one left, and was ordered to go on a suicide mission to destroy a Nazi Death camp that doubled as a research facility for the German Super Soldier Program. Before he left for the mission, he took a spare Captain America uniform and brought his own shield. His mission succeeded but he did not die, and was actually rescued. But because he was masquerading as Captain America, Bradley was court-martialed and left in solitary confinement for 17 years.
During his time in prison, his mind and body began to deteriorate, is currently unable to speak, and has been left with the mind of a child. Most of the world does not even know who he is, but is a legend and is quite prominent among many black superheroes. He is currently alive, but is retired.
3. William Nasland (Deceased)
First Appearance: Captain America Comic #49 - 1945
Before he was Captain America, William Nasland was a war-time superhero in his own right and operated under the name "The Spirit of '76." Nasland actually fought alongside Steve Rogers, and would become the official second Captain America. After Steve Rogers was presumed dead, President Truman had Nasland take up the mantle to keep the patriotic figure alive (Rogers' death was kept a secret). But Nasland's time as Captain America would be short-lived as he was only active from 1945 until his death in 1946. Nasland would die trying to protect John F. Kennedy when he was running for Senator from an Android called Adam II that was designed to replace him. As Nasland was dying, he asked his fellow superhero, Jeffrey Mace (AKA Patriot) to take up the mantle of Captain America. Mace accepted.
4. Jeffrey Mace (Deceased)
First Appearance: Human Torch Comics #4 - 1941
Similar to William Nasland, Jeffrey Mace was another masked superhero that operated during World War II under the code-name "Patriot." Where Captain America and The Spirit of '76 operated overseas, Patriot remained in the US thwarting plans of Nazi espionage.
When Nasland died, he asked Mace to keep the idea of Captain America alive, which he did. Mace would be Captain America from 1946-1950 until his retirement. Mace would retire because he felt that the United States did not need a figure like Captain America any longer. In the Modern Day, Mace would later find out that he has cancer and would be treated for it, but it would ultimately be unsuccessful. Mace would die with the original Captain America, Steve Rogers, at his bedside.
5. William Burnside (Alive)
First Appearance: Young Men #24 - 1953
Unlike Nasland and Jeffrey Mace, Burnside was not active during World War II as a costumed hero. In fact, he was never a costumed hero. He was just a fan of the original Captain America. Burnside knew that while the US government was tricking the American people into thinking the original Captain America was still alive, he was not fooled and knew that these "Captain Americas" were other people masquerading as the original.
Burnside would obsess over Captain America and even did his PhD thesis on Captain America. Later, he would go to Germany to learn about how Nazis viewed the original Captain America, and happened to stumble upon the formula for the super soldier serum. He then takes this finding to the United States and offers to give them the formula under the condition that he becomes the next Captain America. This occurred just as Jeffrey Mace was going to retire. The government agreed and he became the new and fourth official Captain America. Burnside even went as far as to undergo plastic surgery to look like Steve Rogers and legally changed his name to "Steven Rogers".
One thing that Burnside never knew was that even though he took the same serum as Captain America, he was not exposed to the vita rays necessary for the process to be completed. This would lead to Burnside becoming increasingly mentally unstable and developing paranoid schizophrenia. This lead to Burnside seeing civilians, especially people of color, as communist spies and would begin attacking them. Ultimately, Burnside would be placed under cryogenic stasis.
In the modern day, Burnside is woken up from stasis and sees that the world around him has changed quite a bit, and that the United States government had become too liberal, did not stand for the same values that it once did, and had ultimately failed the people. This lead Burnside to overthrow the government and instill his super-conservative views. He even tried to get the original Bucky Barnes to be his sidekick. This would not work out and would cause an altercation between Bucky and Burnside to ensue with Barnes emerging victorious. For a time, Burnside would be presumed dead but would be revealed that he is alive and undergoing rehab before being allowed back into the general public.
We've gone over the first five people to don the mantle of Captain America but there have been quite a few more. Some of them have been officially given the title while others were just impostors. Over the next few posts we will be looking at these individuals.
Note: I do not own the images, art, or characters discussed in this post and they belong to their respective owners.
About the Creator
Just a guy
I like to read comic books, watch tv shows, and write about them. Ill also write about other things too!
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