Captain America For Dummies Cheat Sheet
Captain America! From the time of his creation in 1940, Marvel’s defender of liberty has captivated comic book readers — and movie audiences, too. This Cheat Sheet serves as quick guide to Captain America, his life and times, and where to find more on him. Both of him, actually. . .
Cap’s World: Who’s Who and What’s What
Two people wear the stars and stripes of Captain America, sharing the honor and responsibility that comes with the name:
- Steve Rogers: The Sentinel of Liberty, the only successful product of America’s wartime Super-Soldier project. In the last days of World War II, Steve finds himself frozen in ice; when he wakes up, decades later, the country has changed. Now he maintains faith in the American Dream while struggling to adapt to the modern world.
- Sam Wilson: The Symbol of Truth, defender of the people. Sam starts out as a social worker on the streets of Harlem, then becomes Steve’s partner as the high-flying Falcon. Today he soars the skies with a shield of his own, writing a bold new chapter in the legend of Captain America.
Got that? Okay — here’s a quick guide to Steve’s and Sam’s friends and enemies:
- The Avengers: The foremost super hero team in the Marvel Universe. The Avengers find Steve Rogers frozen in suspended animation, revive him, and immediately enlist him as a member. Both Steve and Sam now proudly hold membership in the team.
- Barnes, Bucky: Captain America’s first partner. Bucky apparently dies in the war, but actually went on to a strange, tragic destiny as the Winter Soldier. Today he fights alongside Steve and Sam, often working the shadowy corners of the world where Captain America would be too conspicuous.
- Carter, Sharon: As Agent 13 of S.H.I.E.L.D. (see below), Sharon’s work often sends her on missions alongside Steve Rogers. She just may be the great love of his life, but somehow their respective duties always tear them apart.
- The Invaders: Captain America’s original team, a World War II strike force that included the Sub-Mariner and the original Human Torch.
- The Red Skull: One of Cap’s earliest foes, this unrepentant Nazi survives the war and continues to plague the world with a variety of twisted, fascist schemes.
- The Shield: Both an offensive and defensive weapon, the disk-shaped shield of Captain America is forged in wartime out of an indestructible metal whose formula has never been duplicated.
- S.H.I.E.L.D.: An international espionage agency tasked with keeping world peace. Steve Rogers, in particular, often works for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s director, Nick Fury — but Fury’s tendency to keep his agents in the dark can prove frustrating to both Captain Americas.
A Captain America Timeline
One note: It hasn’t really been sixty-plus years since Steve Rogers joined the Avengers. Comic book characters don’t age at the same rate we do — even heroes like Steve, who’s spent decades in suspended animation!
1941: A young Steve Rogers, desperate to serve his country in time of war, volunteers for Project Rebirth and becomes America’s first and only Super-Soldier: Captain America.
1941: Bucky Barnes joins the fight as Cap’s partner.Together they face the Red Skull, a murderous Nazi agent, for the first time.
1945: Cap and Bucky attempt to stop a plane full of explosives launched by the Red Skull’s minions. When the plane detonates, Bucky is caught in the explosion and Steve falls to the sea below. Both are presumed dead.
1964: In the Pacific Ocean, the Avengers find Steve floating in a block of ice. They coax him back to life and induct him into the team.
1969: Sam Wilson makes his debut as the Falcon,becoming Steve Rogers’ off-and-on partner.
1974: The Falcon gets his first set of wings.
1987: Under pressure from the U.S. government, Steve Rogers quits being Captain America. After the Red Skull reveals himself as the plotter behind this, Steve gladly takes up the shield again.
2004: A brainwashed Bucky Barnes returns — to murder the Red Skull! Steve Rogers helps him regain his memories and rejoin the modern world.
2006: A Civil War among super heroes pits Cap against his allies in the Avengers. In the aftermath, Steve Rogers falls to a sniper’s bullet, but eventually returns.
2014: With the Super-Soldier Serum drained from Steve’s body, Sam Wilson becomes the new Captain America.
Where to Find Captain America
Looking for a quick jolt of Super-Soldier Serum? I’ve got you covered:
Books
Marvel publishes a wide variety of Cap comics in book form. The four main series:
- Marvel Masterworks: elegant hardcover editions reprinting several past decades’ worth of Captain America comics.
- Mighty Marvel Masterworks: affordable paperbacks, focusing on the 1960s Cap stories.
- Epic Collections: thick, meaty books ranging throughout the character’s history, including several already-classic modern stories.
- Marvel Omnibuses: huge hardcover volumes that’ll keep you reading for hours and hours.
Movies
Cap stars in three modern films — The First Avenger, The Winter Soldier, and Civil War — and costars in several others, notably the Avengers series. All are available for home video purchase and on streaming services.
Digital Comics
Read Cap on your phone or tablet! Most of the comics can be viewed on the Marvel Unlimited app or purchased instantly from Amazon/ComiXology.
Comics
Who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned comic book, the kind you can roll up and put in your back pocket? Marvel publishes a range of ongoing comics featuring Captain America, the Avengers, and Cap’s friends and enemies. You can find them at comic shops and select bookstores, or you can subscribe to them by mail (yes, that’s still a thing!).
