Captain America Universe Guide

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Captain America is one of the most popular superheroes of all time. While I am always kind of viewed him as one of the more safe and plain superheroes, as the 2000s came and he was included in more interesting storylines such as the famous Civil War arc, he began to take the persona of a character that felt more relatable and most importantly, an overall cooler vibe that was crucial towards gaining a fanbase during the time.

While Captain America doesn’t have the coolest powers or the most interesting origin story, I’ve always been intrigued by him because he is basically tasked with the almost impossible task of carrying a nation on his back. He’s supposed to be this image of human perfection, yet, he is just that, a human, and has flaws like everyone else.

Despite that enormous pressure, he manages to still be a great moral compass for many of the characters he interacts with and is one of the most respected characters in all of the Marvel Universe.

When it comes to getting to know the character and his comic world, there is a lot to get through.

Captain America has an awesome set of heroes and villains he interacts with throughout his long comic run and some fascinating story arcs he takes part in. We’re going to explore everything there is to know about Captain America Universe.

The Origins

Steve Rogers Family
Image from Wiki Fandom

Captain America wasn’t always the superhero with a heart of gold and the respect of many who were much more powerful than him. He began as Steve Rogers, a skinny little kid from Brooklyn. That was before he set off to join the military. His timing was pretty excellent as they had just so happened to be readying a super soldier serum to test out on one of their own soldiers.

Rogers’ bravery stood out to his commanding officers, and he was offered the opportunity to become something bigger than just another soldier. Steve took the offer and underwent the procedure, becoming the world’s first known superhero.

Post Transformation

Captain America WW II
Image from Wiki Fandom

Steve Rogers might have had a life of his own before he joined the army, but once he did that, his life was completely changed forever. The only thing resembling a normal relationship he had was that with his best friend Bucky, who he met during an early tour as Captain America.

Being tasked with the weight of being an icon for America, Cap had very little in the way of a normal lifestyle going forward and once he was frozen and unthawed 30 years later, forget about it. All sense of normalcy was gone forever as he immediately became the leader of the Avengers alongside Iron Man, and from then on, he was onto one mission after the next.

He’s also been involved in some of the most important conflicts of the Marvel universe with key roles in some of the most popular storylines.

Super Powers and Abilities

After undergoing the procedure, Steve became a superhuman, capable of incredible feats impossible for any other humans to perform.

Super Strength- Steve’s strength became that of 10 men after undergoing the procedure. He’s been able to withstand absurd forces behind the defense of his strength as well as his shield. He’s been able to go toe to toe with some of the most powerful characters in the Marvel universe, such as Wolverine and even Thanos.

Vibranium Shield- Perhaps his most iconic feature, Captain America wields a shield made of vibranium. This shield can be thrown and works boomerang-like, returning to Cap whenever he needs it. It’s also sharp, allowing him to tear through any material like tank armor or even the adamantium that covers Wolverine’s skeleton. It can also take the impact of a massive artillery strike or withstand the lasers blasting from Iron Man’s hands, making it one of the best defensive tools in all of the Marvel world.

Super Human Reflexes- Part of what makes Captain America such a tough opponent to deal with is his reflexes that far surpass most other Marvel heroes. He’s able to react in the blink of an eye, dodging attacks with ease and often being able to predict an enemy’s next move before they even make it.

Captain America’s 5 Best Team-Ups

Steve Rogers is one of the most respected men in the Marvel world, and because of that, he’s teamed up with many of the most important and most powerful superheroes out there.

Iron Man

Iron Man
Image from Wiki Fandom

Although their relationship can be one of the rockiest ones in Marvel comics, they make for one of the most difficult to defeat duos ever when they work together. They are both master strategists and some of the more brilliant combat minds. Iron Man’s impressive artillery and Captain America’s insane strength and agility have proven to be nearly unstoppable when fighting next to each other.

They did that in an edition of Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty, where a group of villains escaped from The Raft prison in New York City, and the two of them, plus Iron Man, Luke Cage, and Spider-Man, came together to get them behind bars quickly. The team-up went so well that Steve and Tony decided to get The Avengers back together over coffee shortly afterward.

Black Panther

Black Panther
Image from Wiki Fandom

Black Panther and Captain America are in two very similar situations in the Marvel world. T’challa is tasked with defending his country and being their protector, while Captain America has dealt with being an icon for his country himself. The two find a mutual bond over this, and respect comes with it.

The two fought during their first team-up, which happened during World War II. Following their partnership in battle, Captain America officially offered Black Panther a spot in The Avengers, which he accepted and has been a valued member of ever since.

Spider-Man

Spider-Man
Image from Wiki Fandom

The love that Spider-Man has for Captain America is pretty hilarious and adorable at the same time. To put it into context, Spider-Man had posters of Captain America on his wall growing up and looked up to him as an idol. Needless to say, when Cap required Spidey’s help, he was more than into that idea.

On several occasions, the two have combined forces in New York City to face off against powerful villains. The back and forth the two have is something of a father and son relationship at times, which makes sense considering Spider-Man has nothing close to that since he lost his Uncle Ben.

Black Widow

Black Widow
Image from Wiki Fandom

Natasha Romanov may have been a spy at first, but after being introduced to The Avengers, she quickly found one of her closest allies in Captain America. The two are also a bit closer than most, seemingly romantically linked at some points and even having a full relationship in one of the different Earth universes.

The pair make for an interesting read regarding their adventures together, and one of their more exciting stories involved them hunting down rogue war machines. Seeing the two in action together took on a different feel because of knowing how close they were.

Deadpool

Deadpool
Image from Wiki Fandom

Although it seems like a difficult match on paper, there is a ton of respect between Captain America and Deadpool. Cap somehow looks past all of the murder and insanity that Deadpool has in his past and sees what could be a great hero. The team-ups between them, although rare, are often pretty successful.

Despite Deadpool’s best efforts to get on Captain America’s nerves, he never compromises a mission they’re on, and generally, the respect goes both ways. The two are devastating in combat together, possessing incredible strength and agility, while Deadpool usually has a deadly arsenal to support him.

How Is Captain America Still Alive in the Comics?

Well, that’s because he’s not, at least, not the original Captain America. Red Skull killed off the original Steve Rogers some years ago during a sinister plot involving mind-controlling Sharon Carter to murder him at point-blank range.

After the loss of Captain America, Steve Rogers from the past was brought to the present day to avenge his death. The storylines can get confusing in Marvel comics, especially when time travel and alternate universes are involved, but this is the current world the comics are working in.

Right now, in the comics, Captain America is Sam Wilson, Steve’s former sidekick Falcon and he has taken up the mantle in Steve’s absence.

Captain America’s Best Accomplishments

Captain America has been around for almost 80 years, so with that comes a pretty long list of accomplishments for him. Let’s check out the good that Cap has done in his time as a superhero.

Stopped a world takeover of Hydra and Evil Captain America

Captain America vs Evil Captain America
Image from Wiki Fandom

Captain America once had an alternate version of himself changed by the Cosmic Cube turn into one of the most horrifying villains we’ve ever seen. In this version of the world, Cap was Hydra’s number one weapon and used him to take over the entire world.

Eventually, Captain America came from the past to defeat the evil version of himself to stop Hydra’s terror, but it was one of the more chilling Marvel comics out there.

Fought Thanos Man to Man

Captain America vs Thanos
Image from Wiki Fandom

Not many heroes would even have the courage to do this. Still, Captain America stood and fought Thanos with every last bit of strength he could muster, even while the Mad Titan was armed with the incredibly powerful Infinity Gauntlet. 

It proved to be an iconic moment as Cap did everything he could to slow down what seemed to be an unstoppable force. It showed his immense courage and considerable strength in one comic panel and is well remembered by Captain America fans today.

Becoming Worthy of Mjolnir

Captain America with Mjolnir
Image from Wiki Fandom

Perhaps his most remarkable feat was achieving so much glory and good throughout his lifetime that Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, chose him instead of Thor. The moment was one of the more shocking in the comics and on screen.

It showed that even the most powerful forces in the universe, including the will of possibly the strongest weapons ever, respected Captain America.

Winning the Civil War Against Iron Man

Civil War
Image from Wiki Fandom

It was pretty much painted that the sides of the Civil War were good and bad, with Cap representing the good and Iron Man the bad. While it came down to ideology over true good and evil, Cap beat Iron Man down on several occasions and even tried to spare his old friend to get him to see things clearly.

It didn’t work, unfortunately, and the two had several near-death battles, but Cap came out on top of most of them.

Other Versions of Captain America

Gladiator Captain America

Captain America Gladiator
Image from Wiki Fandom

This one was completely bizarre but then again, so was everything in the Battleworld created by Doctor Doom. This version of Cap was a complete savage armed with an ax and a version of his shield while looking more like Thor than any incarnation of Captain America we’d seen before.

Bucky Barnes Captain America

Captain America Bucky
Image from Wiki Fandom

Although he would become the Winter Soldier and be a top villain in the Marvel world for a while, Captain America eventually convinced his old friend to join him after a series of battles. Eventually, Bucky even took up the shield himself as Captain America for a time.

Peggy Carter

In an alternate universe, Peggy Carter is no longer the super agent she was in the normal timeline. Still, she got the super serum in the timeline where Steve Rogers was assassinated during the procedure. Fans of this storyline get to see it play out in cartoon form in the Marvel What If? series on Disney Plus.

Danielle Cage

Danielle Cage
Image from Wiki Fandom

In one of the more exciting universes, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage have a daughter who grows up to take the mantle of Captain America, complete with a shield. She’s stronger than Steve Rogers is due to both of her parents being superheroes and is summoned to fight Ultron in the future, meaning she didn’t have a lot of time to warm up before facing off against the most powerful villains Marvel has to offer.

John Walker

Captain America John Walker
Image from Wiki Fandom

Although he’s definitely on the edgier side of heroes, John Walker has made quite the career out of being a US Agent. He is essentially a Captain America without any pesky morals getting in the way of things.

John actually took up the Captain America persona following Steve hanging up the suit but accidentally executes a terrorist on TV and quickly realizes he isn’t one to be the moral compass for the USA. He then gives it up to be US Agent, who has been a sometimes ally, sometimes villain to Cap.

FAQ – Captain America Universe

Question: Who is currently Captain America?

Answer: Sam Wilson is currently Captain America, but different writers use different storylines, and Steve Rogers is around in other storylines.

Question: Does Captain America die in the comics?

Answer: He does. The Red Skull finally takes out his long-time nemesis by using mind control to make Sharon Carter kill him.

Question: Is Captain America the new Thor?

Answer: Although he was deemed worthy of Mjolnir, Cap did not permanently take on the hammer to be the new Thor; instead, he went to Jane Foster, who now wields the hammer.

Conclusion

There is a lot to digest about Captain America, so I hope this helped break down his world while introducing you to some of the more delicate moments of the most famous Avenger ever.

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