Issue 39 – Captain America

SHOW NOTES:

• Intro

  • Shoutout to Stacking Benjamins podcast – (10:04)

• Background (13:21)

  • Created by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby in Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941) from Timely Comics

  • Steve Rogers is a sickly kid from New York who volunteers for a government experiment to create a super soldier – the scientist responsible is killed after Rogers undergoes the procedure, leaving him the only result

  • Is given a bulletproof shield made of vibranium by FDR, and befriends young James Buchanan Barnes, aka Bucky

  • Battles the Red Skull, a Nazi super soldier, and other enemies of America and freedom

  • Cap and Bucky are presumably killed trying to defuse a bomb on a plane flying over the North Atlantic as World War II was coming to a close

  • Others carried the mantle of Captain America during the 1950s

  • Steve Rogers discovered encased in ice by Avengers, the super soldier serum keeping him alive in suspended animation – revived by the team and joins them

  • Befriends the Falcon, and falls in love with Sharon Carter, the niece of his wartime love Peggy Carter

  • During the 1970s, Steve becomes disillusioned with the American government and gives up mantle of Captain America, becoming “Nomad”, a man without a country – takes up the suit again when he realized he could support the ideals without supporting the government

  • In the 1980s, he once again leaves the Captain America identity behind when the government forces him to work for them – becomes The Captain – John Walker becomes new Captain America – they battle, and Steve resumes his title, while Walker becomes US Agent

  • In “Civil War”, Cap leads the Anti-Registration side against Tony Stark’s pro-reg faction – he orders his team to stand down after realizing the fight is costing too much

  • Gets shot by assassin (revealed to be a brainwashed Sharon Carter) and “dies”, but his body phases out of space-time until he is returned to the present by the Red Skull

  • Hands the Captain America mantle to Bucky, and takes over SHIELD until Bucky dies, at which point he resumes being Captain America

  • The serum in his body gets neutralized, and he rapidly ages to a 90 yr old man – Falcon takes over as Captain America, while he coordinates Avengers missions

  • After the Avengers: Standoff event, a girl named Kobik uses the Cosmic Cube to rewrite history, making Steve a HYDRA double agent since the beginning – although this was reverted, the public does not trust Steve Rogers

• Issues (19:38)

  • Man out of time – has to adapt to all the changes associated with the new period

  • Has to be the moral center of the country/world (30:52)

  • Struggles with representing America – ideals vs government vs people (38:19)

• Treatment (54:04)

  • In-universe

  • Out of universe (59:41)

• Skit (67:03)

• Ending (74:46)

References:

• Tony Stark episode – Anthony – 16:38
• Rip Van Winkle – Anthony – 21:35
• “What Have You Done For Me Lately” by Janet Jackson – Anthony – 25:49
• ENIAC – Anthony – 28:28
• Jessica Jones episode – Doc – 32:45
• “What Comes Next” from Hamilton – Anthony – 42:13

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