World WAR III BLACK GOLD serial key or number

German Air Force
Luftwaffe  (German)
Founded	9 January 1956; 64 years ago (1956-01-09)
Country	Germany
Type	Air force
Role	Aerial warfare
Size	27,620 (April 2020) [1] 465 aircraft [2]
Part of	Federal Defence Forces
Air Force Command	Gatow
Nickname(s)	Team Luftwaffe [3]
Motto(s)	German: Immer im Einsatz "Always in action" [3]
Engagements
Website	www.luftwaffe.de
Commanders
Inspector of the Air Force	Generalleutnant Ingo Gerhartz
Deputy Inspector of the Air Force	Generalleutnant Ansgar Rieks
Chief of Staff	Generalmajor Wolfgang Ohl
Notable commanders	GeneralJosef Kammhuber GeneralJohannes Steinhoff GeneralleutnantGünther Rall
Insignia
Roundel
Fin flash
Aircraft flown
Attack	Tornado IDS
Electronic warfare	Tornado ECR
Fighter	Eurofighter Typhoon
Helicopter	AS532, H145M, CH-53
Trainer	Grob G-120, T-6 Texan II, T-38 Talon
Transport	Global Express 5000, A310, A400M, A319, A340, C-160, C-130J

The German Air Force (German: Luftwaffe, lit. 'air weapon', German pronunciation: [ˈlʊftvafə] (listen)) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of Germany. With a strength of 27,620 personnel (April 2020),^[1] it is the third largest air force within the European Union, after the Italian Air Force and French Air Force. The German Air Force (as part of the Bundeswehr) was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of then West Germany. After the reunification of West and East Germany in 1990, it integrated parts of the air force of the former German Democratic Republic, which itself had been founded in 1956 as part of the National People's Army. There is no organizational continuity between the current German Air Force and the former Luftwaffe of the Wehrmacht founded in 1935, which was completely disbanded in 1945/46 after World War II. The term Luftwaffe that is used for both the historic and the current German air force is the German-language generic designation of any air force.

The commander of the German Air Force is Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz. As of 2015, the German Air Force uses eleven air bases, two of which host no flying units. Furthermore, the Air Force has a presence at three civil airports. In 2012, the German Air Force had an authorized strength of 28,475 active soldiers and 4,914 reservists.^[4]

History[edit]

After World War II, German aviation was severely curtailed, and military aviation was completely forbidden after the Luftwaffe of the Third Reich had been disbanded in August 1946 by the Allied Control Commission. This changed in 1955 when West Germany joined NATO, as the Western Allies believed that Germany was needed to counter the increasing military threat posed by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies. Therefore, on 9 January 1956, a new German Air Force called Luftwaffe was founded as a branch of the new Bundeswehr.

Many well-known fighter pilots of the Wehrmacht's Luftwaffe joined the new post-war air force and underwent refresher training in the US before returning to West Germany to upgrade on the latest U.S.-supplied hardware. These included Erich Hartmann, Gerhard Barkhorn, Günther Rall and Johannes Steinhoff. Steinhoff became commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, with Rall as his immediate successor. Another pilot of World War II, Josef Kammhuber, also made a significant career in the post-war Luftwaffe, retiring in 1962 as Inspekteur der Luftwaffe (Chief Inspector of the Air Force).

Despite the partial reliance of the new air force on airmen who had served in the Wehrmacht's air arm, there was no organizational continuity between the old and the new Luftwaffe. This is in line with the policy of the Bundeswehr on the whole, which does not consider itself a successor of the Wehrmacht and does not follow the traditions of any other previous German military organization.

First years[edit]

The first volunteers of the Luftwaffe arrived at the Nörvenich Air Base in January 1956. In the same year, the Luftwaffe was provided with its first aircraft, the US-made Republic F-84 Thunderstreak. At first, the Luftwaffe was divided into two operational commands, one in Northern Germany, aligned with the British-led Second Allied Tactical Air Force, and the other in Southern Germany, aligned with the American-led Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force.

In 1957, the Luftwaffe took command of the Army Air Defence Troops located in Rendsburg and began the expansion of its own air defence missile capabilities. The first squadron to be declared operational was the Air Transport Wing 61 at Erding Air Base, followed by the 31st Fighter-Bomber Squadron at Büchel Air Base. In 1958, the Luftwaffe received its first conscripts. In 1959, the Luftwaffe declared the 11th Missile Group in Kaufbeuren armed with MGM-1 Matador surface-to-surface tactical nuclear cruise missiles operational. The same year Jagdgeschwader 71 (Fighter Wing 71) equipped with Canadair CL-13^[5] fighters became operational at Ahlhorner Heide Air Base. All aircraft sported—and continue to sport—the Iron Cross on the fuselage, harking back to the pre-March 1918 days of World War I, while the national flag of West Germany is displayed on the tail.

Cold War[edit]

In 1963, the Luftwaffe saw its first major reorganization. The two operational Air Force Group Commands – Command North and Command South were both split into two mixed Air Force divisions containing flying and air defence units and one Support division. Additionally, a 7th Air Force division was raised in Schleswig-Holstein containing flying units, missile units, support units and the German Navy's naval aviation and placed under command of Allied Forces Baltic Approaches.

In 1960, the Luftwaffe received its first Lockheed F-104 Starfighter jets. The Starfighter remained in service for the entire duration of the Cold War, with the last being taken out of service in 1991. The Luftwaffe received 916 Starfighters, 292 of which crashed, resulting in the deaths of 116 pilots. The disastrous service record of the Starfighter led to the Starfighter crisis in 1966 as a reaction to 27 Starfighter crashes with 17 casualties in 1965 alone. The West German public referred to the Starfighter as the Witwenmacher (widow-maker), fliegender Sarg (flying coffin), Fallfighter (falling fighter) and Erdnagel (tent peg, literally "ground nail").

On 25 August 1966, the German Defence Minister Kai-Uwe von Hassel relieved the Inspekteur der LuftwaffeGeneralleutnantWerner Panitzki, and transferred Colonel Erich Hartmann, commanding officer of the 71st Fighter Squadron, as both had publicly criticized the acquisition of the Starfighter as a "purely political decision". On 2 September 1966, Johannes Steinhoff, with Günther Rall as deputy, became the new Inspekteur der Luftwaffe. Steinhoff and his deputy Günther Rall noted that the non-German F-104s proved much safer. The Americans blamed the high loss rate of the Luftwaffe F-104s on the extreme low-level and aggressive flying of German pilots rather than any faults in the aircraft.^[6] Steinhoff and Rall went to America to learn to fly the Starfighter under Lockheed instruction and noted some specifics in the training (a lack of mountain and foggy-weather training), combined with handling capabilities (rapidly initiated, high G turns) of the aircraft that could cause accidents. Steinhoff and Rall therefore changed the training regimen for the F-104 pilots, and the accident rates fell to those comparable or better than other air forces. They also brought about the high level of training and professionalism seen today throughout the Luftwaffe, and the start of a strategic direction for Luftwaffe pilots to engage in tactical and combat training outside of Germany. However, the F-104 never lived down its reputation as a "widow-maker", and was replaced by the Luftwaffe with the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter and the Panavia Tornado fighter-bomber in many units much earlier than in other national air forces.

On Steinhoff's initiative, the Luftwaffe opened the German Air Force Command USA/Canada (Deutsches Luftwaffenkommando USA/Kanada) in Fort Bliss, where the Luftwaffe trained its missile and air defence troops, and pilots received their basic training. At the same time, the Luftwaffe opened a Tactical Training Command in Beja, Portugal, where pilots were trained in Close Air Support missions.

Between 1967 and 1970, the Luftwaffe undertook a major reorganization of its forces. The two operational commands were disbanded and the four mixed Air Force divisions were divided into two flying divisions and two air defence divisions. The remainder of the units were divided into functional commands:

• Air Force Operation Command (Luftwaffenführungsdienstkommando), with the signal regiments, the radar, and the signals intelligence units
• Air Force Training Command (Luftwaffenausbildungskommando), with the schools and training regiments
• Air Force Support Command (Luftwaffenunterstützungskommando), with all logistical, maintenance and repair units, and the Material Office of the Air Force
• Air Force Transport Command (Lufttransportkommando), with the air transport squadrons.

Over the next decade, the Luftwaffe received large amounts of new equipment, including in 1968 the first C-160 Transall transport planes, in 1974 the F-4 Phantom II fighter-bombers, in 1978 the first Alpha Jet Version A light attack jets and in 1979 the first of 212 Panavia Tornado fighters.

In 1986, the air defense forces began to replace their Nike Hercules missile systems with state of the art surface-to-air missile systems: first to arrive was the MIM-104 Patriot system, followed one year later by Roland short range missile system.

Nuclear sharing[edit]

Germany is participating in NATO's nuclear sharing concept. Nuclear sharing is a concept that involves member countries without nuclear weapons of their own in the planning for the use of nuclear weapons by NATO, and in particular provides for the armed forces of these countries to be involved in delivering these weapons in the event of their use.

Soon after its founding, the German Air Force began to train with the US Seventeenth Air Force in handling, arming and delivering nuclear weapons. At first, the F-104 Starfighter was intended to be used solely as a nuclear delivery platform, armed with nuclear air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, as well as nuclear bombs. The Tornado was the second air force plane fielded that was capable of delivering nuclear ammunition, although it was limited to delivering B61 nuclear bombs.

From 1965 through 1970, Missile Wings 1 and 2 fielded 16 Pershing 1 missile systems with nuclear warheads under U.S. Army custody. In 1970, the system was upgraded to Pershing 1a with 72 missiles. Although not directly affected by the 1988 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the Luftwaffe unilaterally removed the Pershing 1a missiles from its inventory in 1991, and the missiles were destroyed. At the end of the Cold War, more than 100,000 soldiers served in the Luftwaffe.

The United States still lends nuclear weapons for hypothetical use by the Luftwaffe under the nuclear sharing agreement. In 2007, 22 B61 nuclear bombs were still kept in Germany, stored at the Büchel Air Base for use with Tornado IDS fighter-bombers of Jagdbombergeschwader 33. The American nuclear weapons formerly stored at Nörvenich Air Base, Ramstein Air Base and Memmingen Air Base were all withdrawn from Germany during the mid-and-late-1990s.

By international treaties between Germany and the "Big Four" powers in Europe (that formerly occupied Germany), East Germany is a nuclear-free zone. The Big Four powers are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France, and with the latter three having no nuclear weapons in Germany anymore.

Reunification[edit]

After German reunification in October 1990, the aircraft and personnel of the former GDR air force, the Luftstreitkräfte der NVA were taken. The remnants of the East German Air Force were placed under the newly formed 5. Luftwaffendivision (5th Air Force Division) in Strausberg. In 1993, the division was renamed 3. Luftwaffendivision, moved to Gatow in Berlin and in 1995 assigned to NATO. By 1990, the East German plane markings had been replaced by the Air Force Iron Cross, the first time Soviet-built aircraft had served in a NATO air force. However, as the Luftstreitkräfte der NVA were supplied exclusively with Eastern Bloc-produced aircraft, such as the Sukhoi Su-17, MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-29 fighters, most of the equipment was not compatible with the West German NATO equipment and therefore taken out of service and sold or given to new members of NATO in Eastern Europe, such as Poland and the Baltic states.

An exception to this was the Jagdfliegergeschwader 3 "Vladimir Komarov" (Fighter Wing 3 "Vladimir Komarov") in Preschen Air Base. The Jagdfliegergeschwader 3 flew brand new MiG-29 fighters. On 1 June 1993, the wing was renamed Jagdgeschwader 73 (Fighter Wing 73) and on 1 October 1994 completed its move to its new home at Laage Air Base. The pilots of JG 73 were some of the most experienced MiG-29 pilots in the world. One of their primary duties was to serve as aggressor pilots, training other pilots in dissimilar combat tactics. The United States sent a group of fighter pilots to Germany during the Red October exercise to practice tactics against the aircraft they were most likely to meet in real combat. The MiG-29s of JG 73 were fully integrated into the Luftwaffe's air defence structure and the first Soviet Bloc aircraft to be declared operational within NATO.^[7] With the introduction of the Eurofighter Typhoon imminent, the decision was taken to withdraw the MiG-29. All German MiG-29s, save one, were sold to Poland for the symbolic price of €1 apiece. On 9 August 2004, the last MiG-29s landed in Poland where they continue to serve in the 41st Tactical Squadron of the Polish Air Force.

Operations in the Balkans[edit]

A Luftwaffe Tornado ECR carrying an AGM-88-HARM missile during the air campaign over Kosovo in 1999

The Luftwaffe experienced combat action for first time since World War II during September 1995^[8] in the course of Operation Deliberate Force, when six IDS Tornado fighter-bombers, equipped with forward looking infrared devices, and escorted by eight ECR Tornados, supported NATO's artillery missions on positions of the Bosnian Serbs around Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina.^[9][10]

In March 1999, the Luftwaffe became involved in direct combat role as part of the Kosovo War along with the other NATO powers. This event was noted as significant in the British press with The Sun running the headline "Luftwaffe and the RAF into battle side by side".^[11] The Luftwaffe sent in Fighter Bomber Wing 32, equipped with ECR Tornados, which flew missions to suppress enemy air defences in and around Kosovo.

These fighter-bombers were equipped with an electronic countermeasures pod, one AIM-9 Sidewinderair-to-air missile for self-defence, and an AGM-88 HARMair-to-ground missile (anti-radar). The bomber wing flew 2108 hours and 446 sorties, firing 236 HARM missiles at hostile targets. No manned Luftwaffe planes were lost in combat during this campaign.^[12]

2000s[edit]

In 2005 and 2008, LuftwaffeF-4F Phantom IIfighter planes took part in the Baltic Air Policing operation (of NATO), and these fighters were supplemented in 2009 by units flying the Typhoon.^[13][14]

In 2006, to support military operations in Afghanistan, the Luftwaffe sent over several Panavia Tornadoreconnaissance planes from Aufklärungsgeschwader 51 "Immelmann" (the 51st Reconnaissance Wing "Immelmann"), stationed in Mazar-i-Sharif, Northern Afghanistan.^[15] There have also been assorted German Armyhelicopters flying from the Luftwaffe Air Base in Mazar-i-Sharif. Also, Luftwaffe C-160 Transall have flown transport plane missions in and around Afghanistan.

Since the 1970s, the West German (and, post reunification, German) Luftwaffe (as well as many other European air forces) has actively pursued the construction of European internationally made warplanes, such as the Panavia Tornado and the Eurofighter Typhoon introduced into the Luftwaffe in 2006.

On 13 January 2004, the Minister of Defence, Peter Struck, announced major changes in the future of the German armed forces. A major part of this announcement was a plan to cut the number of fighter planes from 426 in early 2004, to 265 by 2015. Assuming that the plans to order 180 Typhoons is carried out in full, and all of the F-4 Phantoms are removed from service, this would cut the number of Tornado fighter-bombers down to just 85.^[16]

In the past, the Bundesmarine's naval air wing (the Marineflieger) received 112 Tornado IDS planes. However, during late 2004, the last unit of Bundesmarine Tornados was disbanded. The entire maritime combat role was assigned to the Luftwaffe, one unit of which has had its Tornado fighters equipped to carry Kormoran II missiles and American HARM missiles.

2010s[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it.(July 2015)

A Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoon 30+68 with the painting "60 years of Luftwaffe", 2016

As of 2014, a significant proportion of Germany's military aircraft was reported to be unserviceable. It has been reported that the Sea Lynx helicopters have experienced cracking in their tails, that around half of the Eurofighters and Tornados are not currently airworthy, and that the aging C-160 fleet remains in limited service while awaiting the introduction of the Airbus A400M, the first of which was delivered in December 2014.^[17]Ursula von der Leyen admitted that, due to the poor state of the Bundeswehr's equipment, Germany was no longer able to fulfill its NATO commitments.^[18]

The German Air Force was one of the founding members of the European Air Transport Command headquartered in Eindhoven - The Netherlands and most of the Transport & Tanker assets have been transferred under EATC management. Replacement of the current four Airbus A310 MRTT by the Airbus A330 MRTT was approved in 2018 by joining the acquisition of four by the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

Future plans are the replacement of the ageing Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion, which were acquired in the 1970s, by 40-70 Boeing CH-47 Chinook or Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion from 2022 onwards.

The Luftwaffe participated in the Israeli Air Force exercise “Blue Flag”, the country's largest international air combat exercise, designed to simulate extreme combat scenarios. The German Air Force's six Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets were from Tactical Air Force Squadron 73 Steinhoff from Rostock. It is the first German participation in the Blue Flag exercise.^[19]

In 2018, the Air Force issued a request for information from manufacturers about four potential aircraft to replace the aging Panavia Tornados - the Eurofighter Typhoon, F-15 Advanced Eagle, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-35 Lightning.^[20] In January 2019, it was announced that the F-35 Lightning had been dropped from the shortlist, with the Eurofighter Typhoon and Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet under consideration. In April 2020, Germany selected F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, 15 EA-18G Growlers and 55 Eurofighter Typhoons as replacements for the Tornado fleet.^[21] The Super Hornet was selected due to its compatibility with nuclear weapons and availability of an electronic attack version. As of March 2020, the Super Hornet is not certified for the B61 nuclear bombs, but Dan Gillian, head of Boeing's Super Hornet program, previously stated that "We certainly think that we, working with the U.S. government, can meet the German requirements there on the [German's] timeline."^[22]

Due to the problems with the A400M, and in service limitations, the German Air Force will acquire three C130J Super Hercules Transport and three KC-130J Tanker Aircraft (delivery planned 2020-2021),^[23] which will be jointly operated with the French Air Force's two C-130J and two KC-130J Aircraft (delivery planned 2018-2019).^[24]

Structure[edit]

The current commander of the German Air Force is Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz. The Inspector of the Air Force (Inspekteur der Luftwaffe) is the commander of Air Force Command (Kommando Luftwaffe), a body created in 2013 by the merger of the Air Force Office (Luftwaffenamt), German Air Staff (Führungsstab der Luftwaffe), and Air Force Forces Command (Luftwaffenführungskommando). Similar to the Air Staff of the United States Air Force, the German Air Force Command is a force providing command, not an operational command. The Air Force Command is tasked with ensuring the combat readiness of the German Air Force combat units, which during operations would either be commanded by a NATO command or the Joint Operations Command of the Bundeswehr. The Air Force command directly controls three higher commands.^[25]

The creation of the Air Force Command was part of a reorganization of the Bundeswehr as a whole, announced by Thomas de Maizière in 2011, which also involved the Air Force shrinking to 23,000 soldiers and thus undergoing major restructuring at all levels. In addition to the higher command authorities, the three air divisions, the Air Force Training Command, and Air Force Weapon Systems Command, were disbanded. The three surface-to-air missile units will merge into a single wing in Husum in Northern Germany. The wing fields 14 MIM-104 Patriot and 4 MANTIS systems. The three air transport wings will be merged into a single wing based at Wunstorf Air Base, which will field 40 A400M Atlas transport planes. The Luftwaffe will field three Multirole Eurofighter Wings, each with two squadrons for a total of 143 Eurofighter Typhoon.^[26] A fighter-bomber wing fielding Panavia Tornado IDS planes remains in service at Büchel Air Base. The Reconnaissance Wing 51 will remain in service at Schleswig Air Base and add one drone squadron to its Panavia Tornado ECR squadron.^[27]

The Kommando Luftwaffe has two main elements subordinate to it:

• Air Operations Center (Zentrum Luftoperationen der Luftwaffe), responsible for providing command and control to air operations
• Air Force Forces Command (Luftwaffentruppenkommando)

Individual Air Force units are either part of the Air Force Operational Forces Command or the Support Forces Command. They only fall under the command of the Air Operations Center when on deployment or attached to EU or NATO organizations.

Air Operations Center[edit]

The main subordinate elements of the Air Operations Center are:

• Air Operations Center (NATO CAOC Uedem), in Uedem, responsible for NATO's Integrated Air Defense System North of the Alps
  • Air Force Support Group (Luftwaffenunterstützungsgruppe), in Kalkar
  • Control and Reporting Center 2 (Einsatzführungsbereich 2), in Erndtebrück^[28]
    • Operations Squadron 21, in Erndtebrück
    • Operations Support Squadron 22, in Erndtebrück
      • Sensor Platoon I, in Lauda
        • Remote Radar Post 240 "Loneship", in Erndtebrück with GM 406F
        • Remote Radar Post 246 "Hardwheel", on Erbeskopf with HADR
        • Remote Radar Post 247 "Batman", in Lauda with GM 406F
        • Remote Radar Post 248 "Coldtrack", in Freising with GM 406F
        • Remote Radar Post 249 "Sweet Apple", in Meßstetten with HADR
      • Sensor Platoon II, in Auenhausen
    • Control and Reporting Training Inspection 23, in Erndtebrück
      • Education and Training Center, in Erndtebrück
      • Education, Test and Training Group, in Erndtebrück
  • Control and Reporting Center 3 (Einsatzführungsbereich 3), in Schönewalde^[29]
    • Operations Squadron 31, in Schönewalde
    • Operations Support Squadron 32, in Schönewalde
      • Sensor Platoon III, in Cölpin
        • Remote Radar Post 351 "Matchpoint", in Putgarten with RRP-117
        • Remote Radar Post 352 "Mindreader", in Cölpin with RRP-117
        • Remote Radar Post 353 "Teddy Bear", in Tempelhof with RRP-117
        • Remote Radar Post 356 "", in Elmenhorst with RRP-117
      • Sensor Platoon IV, in Regen
        • Remote Radar Post 354 "Blackmoor", in Döbern with RRP-117
        • Remote Radar Post 355 "Royal Flash", in Gleina with RRP-117
        • Remote Radar Post 357 "", on Döbraberg with RRP-117
        • Remote Radar Post 358 "Snow Cap", on Großer Arber with RRP-117
    • Deployable Control and Reporting Centre, in Schönewalde
  • Air Force Command Support Center (Führungsunterstützungszentrum der Luftwaffe), in Köln-Wahn
  • German Representation at NATO's Allied Air Command, at Ramstein Air Base
  • German Representation at Joint Air Power Competence Centre, in Kalkar
  • German Representation at European Air Transport Command, in Eindhoven Air Base
  • German Representation at NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force Command, at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen
  • German Representation at Alliance Ground Surveillance, in Sigonella Air Base

Air Force Forces Command[edit]

The main subordinate elements of the Air Force Operational Forces Command are:

Directly subordinated institutions:

Subordinated flying units:

• Tactical Air Force Wing 31 "Boelcke", at Nörvenich Air Base, with Eurofighter Typhoon
• Tactical Air Force Wing 33, at Büchel Air Base, with Tornado IDS
• Tactical Air Force Wing 51 "Immelmann", at Schleswig Air Base, with Tornado IDS/ECR
• Tactical Air Force Wing 71 "Richthofen", at Wittmundhafen Air Base, with Eurofighter Typhoon^[31]
• Tactical Air Force Wing 73 "Steinhoff", at Laage Air Base, with Eurofighter Typhoon (TyphoonOCU)
• Tactical Air Force Wing 74, at Neuburg Air Base, with Eurofighter Typhoon
• Air Transport Wing 62, at Wunstorf Air Base with A400M Atlas
• Air Transport Wing 63, at Hohn Air Base with C-160 Transall
• Helicopter Wing 64, at Laupheim Air Base and Holzdorf Air Base
• Executive Transport Wing, at Köln-Wahn Airport
• Air Force Tactical Training Command USA, Holloman AFB, New Mexico
• Electronic Warfare Flying Weapon Systems Center, in Kleinaitingen

Subordinated ground based units:

Steve Rogers Captain America
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941)
Created by
In-story information
Alter ego	Steven Grant Rogers
Team affiliations
Partnerships
Notable aliases	Nomad The Captain Spider King
Abilities	Enhanced strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, reflexes, senses, and mental processing via the super soldier serum Master martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant Accelerated healing factor Immunity to diseases and toxins Slowed ageing Master tactician, strategist, and field commander Wields Vibranium-steel alloy shield

Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonistsJoe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (cover dated March 1941) from Timely Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics. Captain America was designed as a patrioticsupersoldier who often fought the Axis powers of World War II and was Timely Comics' most popular character during the wartime period. The popularity of superheroes waned following the war, and the Captain America comic book was discontinued in 1950, with a short-lived revival in 1953. Since Marvel Comics revived the character in 1964, Captain America has remained in publication.

The character wears a costume bearing an American flagmotif, and he utilizes a nearly indestructible shield that he throws as a projectile. Captain America is the alter ego of Steve Rogers, a frail young man enhanced to the peak of human perfection by an experimental serum to aid the United States government's efforts in World War II. Near the end of the war, he was trapped in ice and survived in suspended animation until he was revived in modern times. Although Captain America often struggles to maintain his ideals as a man out of his time, he remains a highly respected figure in his community, which includes becoming the long-time leader of the Avengers.

Captain America was the first Marvel Comics character to appear in media outside comics with the release of the 1944 movie serial, Captain America. Since then, the character has been featured in other films and television series. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the character is portrayed by Chris Evans.

Captain America was ranked sixth on IGN's "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time" in 2011,^[1] second in their list of "The Top 50 Avengers" in 2012,^[2] and second in their "Top 25 best Marvel superheroes" list in 2014.^[3]

Publication history

Creation

In 1940, writer Joe Simon conceived the idea for Captain America and made a sketch of the character in costume.^[4] "I wrote the name 'Super American' at the bottom of the page," Simon said in his autobiography, and then decided:

No, it didn't work. There were too many "Supers" around. "Captain America" had a good sound to it. There weren't a lot of captains in comics. It was as easy as that. The boy companion was simply named Bucky, after my friend Bucky Pierson, a star on our high school basketball team.^[5]

Simon recalled in his autobiography that Timely Comics publisher Martin Goodman gave him the go-ahead and directed that a Captain America solo comic book series be published as soon as possible. Needing to fill a full comic with primarily one character's stories, Simon did not believe that his regular creative partner, artist Jack Kirby, could handle the workload alone:

I didn't have a lot of objections to putting a crew on the first issue  ... There were two young artists from Connecticut that had made a strong impression on me. Al Avison and Al Gabriele often worked together and were quite successful in adapting their individual styles to each other. Actually, their work was not too far from [that of] Kirby's. If they worked on it, and if one inker tied the three styles together, I believed the final product would emerge as quite uniform. The two Als were eager to join in on the new Captain America book, but Jack Kirby was visibly upset. "You're still number one, Jack," I assured him. "It's just a matter of a quick deadline for the first issue." "I'll make the deadline," Jack promised. "I'll pencil it [all] myself and make the deadline." I hadn't expected this kind of reaction  ... but I acceded to Kirby's wishes and, it turned out, was lucky that I did. There might have been two Als, but there was only one Jack Kirby ... I wrote the first Captain America book with penciled lettering right on the drawing boards, with very rough sketches for figures and backgrounds. Kirby did his thing, building the muscular anatomy, adding ideas and popping up the action as only he could. Then he tightened up the penciled drawings, adding detailed backgrounds, faces and figures."^[5]

Al Lieberman would ink that first issue, which was lettered by Simon and Kirby's regular letterer, Howard Ferguson.^[6]

Simon said Captain America was a consciously political creation; he and Kirby were morally repulsed by the actions of Nazi Germany in the years leading up to the United States' involvement in World War II and felt war was inevitable: "The opponents to the war were all quite well organized. We wanted to have our say too."^[7]

Golden Age

Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941). Cover art by Joe Simon (inks and pencils) and Jack Kirby (pencils).

Captain America Comics #1 — cover-dated March 1941^[8] and on sale December 20, 1940,^[9][10] a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor, but a full year into World War II — showed the protagonist punching Nazi leader Adolf Hitler; it sold nearly one million copies.^[11] While most readers responded favorably to the comic, some took objection. Simon noted, "When the first issue came out we got a lot of  ... threatening letters and hate mail. Some people really opposed what Cap stood for."^[7] The threats, which included menacing groups of people loitering out on the street outside of the offices, proved so serious that police protection was posted with New York MayorFiorello La Guardia personally contacting Simon and Kirby to give his support.^[12]

Though preceded as a "patriotically themed superhero" by MLJ's The Shield, Captain America immediately became the most prominent and enduring of that wave of superheroes introduced in American comic books prior to and during World War II,^[13] as evidenced by the unusual move at the time of premiering the character in his own title instead of an anthology title first. This popularity drew the attention and a complaint from MLJ that the character's triangular shield too closely resembled the chest symbol of their Shield character. In response, Goodman had Simon and Kirby create a distinctive round shield for issue 2, which went on to become an iconic element of the character.^[14] With his sidekick Bucky, Captain America faced Nazis, Japanese, and other threats to wartime America and the Allies. Stanley Lieber, now better known as Stan Lee, contributed to the character in issue #3 in the filler text story "Captain America Foils the Traitor's Revenge", which introduced the character's use of his shield as a returning throwing weapon.^[15] Captain America soon became Timely's most popular character and even had a fan-club called the "Sentinels of Liberty".^[7]

Circulation figures remained close to a million copies per month after the debut issue, which outstripped even the circulation of news magazines such as Time during the period.^[13][16] The character was widely imitated by other comics publishers, with around 40 red-white-and-blue patriotic heroes debuting in 1941 alone.^[17] After the Simon and Kirby team moved to DC Comics in late 1941, having produced Captain America Comics through issue #10 (January 1942), Al Avison and Syd Shores became regular pencillers of the celebrated title, with one generally inking over the other. The character was featured in All Winners Comics #1–19 (Summer 1941 – Fall 1946), Marvel Mystery Comics #80–84 and #86–92, USA Comics #6–17 (Dec. 1942 – Fall 1945), and All Select Comics #1–10 (Fall 1943 – Summer 1946).

In the post-war era, with the popularity of superheroes fading, Captain America led Timely's first superhero team, the All-Winners Squad, in its two published adventures, in All Winners Comics #19 and #21 (Fall–Winter 1946; there was no issue #20). After Bucky was shot and wounded in a 1948 Captain America story, he was succeeded by Captain America's girlfriend, Betsy Ross, who became the superheroine Golden Girl. Captain America Comics ran until issue #73 (July 1949),^[18] at which time the series was retitled Captain America's Weird Tales for two issues,^[19] with the finale being a horror/suspense anthology issue with no superheroes.

Atlas Comics attempted to revive its superhero titles when it reintroduced Captain America, along with the original Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner, in Young Men #24 (Dec. 1953). Billed as "Captain America, Commie Smasher!" Captain America appeared during the next year in Young Men #24–28 and Men's Adventures #27–28, as well as in issues #76–78 of an eponymous title. Atlas' attempted superhero revival was a commercial failure,^[20] and the character's title was canceled with Captain America #78 (Sept. 1954).

Silver and Bronze Age

In the Human Torch story titled "Captain America" in Marvel Comics' Strange Tales #114 (Nov. 1963),^[21] writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby depicted the brash young Fantastic Four member Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, in an exhibition performance with Captain America, described as a legendary World War II and 1950s superhero who has returned after many years of apparent retirement. The 18-page story ends with this Captain America revealed as an impostor: it was actually the villain the Acrobat, a former circus performer the Torch had defeated in Strange Tales #106, who broke two thieves out of jail, hoping to draw the police away while trying to rob the local bank. Afterward, Storm digs out an old comic book in which Captain America is shown to be Steve Rogers. A caption in the final panel says this story was a test to see if readers would like Captain America to return. According to Lee, fan response to the tryout was very enthusiastic.^[22]

Captain America was then formally reintroduced in The Avengers #4 (March 1964),^[23] which explained that in the final days of World War II, he had fallen from an experimental drone plane into the North Atlantic Ocean and spent decades frozen in a block of ice in a state of suspended animation. The hero found a new generation of readers as leader of that superhero team. Following the success of other Marvel characters introduced during the 1960s, Captain America was recast as a hero "haunted by past memories, and trying to adapt to 1960s society".^[24]

After then guest-starring in the feature "Iron Man" in Tales of Suspense #58 (Oct. 1964), Captain America gained his own solo feature in that "split book", beginning the following issue.^[25] Issue #63 (March 1965), which retold Captain America's origin, through issue #71 (Nov. 1965) was a period feature set during World War II and co-starred Captain America's Golden Age sidekick, Bucky. Kirby drew all but two of the stories in Tales of Suspense, which became Captain America with #100 (April 1968);^[26]Gil Kane and John Romita Sr., each filled in once. Several stories were finished by penciller-inker George Tuska over Kirby layouts, with one finished by Romita Sr. and another by penciller Dick Ayers and inker John Tartaglione. Kirby's regular inkers on the series were Frank Giacoia (as "Frank Ray") and Joe Sinnott, though Don Heck and Golden Age Captain America artist Syd Shores inked one story each.

This series — considered Captain America volume one by comics researchers and historians,^[27] following the 1940s Captain America Comics and its 1950s numbering continuation of Tales of Suspense — ended with #454 (Aug. 1996).

This series was almost immediately followed by the 13-issue Captain America vol. 2 (Nov. 1996 – Nov. 1997, part of the "Heroes Reborn" crossover),^[28] the 50-issue Captain America vol. 3 (Jan. 1998 – Feb. 2002),^[29] the 32-issue Captain America vol. 4 (June 2002 – Dec. 2004),^[30] and Captain America vol. 5 (Jan. 2005 – Aug. 2011).^[31] Beginning with the 600th overall issue (Aug. 2009), Captain America resumed its original numbering, as if the series numbering had continued uninterrupted after #454.

Modern Age

As part of the aftermath of Marvel Comics' company-crossover storyline "Civil War", Steve Rogers was ostensibly killed in Captain America vol. 5, #25 (March 2007).

The storyline of Rogers' return began in issue #600.^[32][33] Rogers, who was not dead but caroming through time, returned to the present day in the six-issue miniseries Captain America: Reborn (Sept. 2009 – March 2010).^[34]

After Rogers' return, Barnes, at Rogers' insistence, continued as Captain America, beginning in the one-shot comic Captain America: Who Will Wield the Shield? (Feb. 2010). While Bucky Barnes continued adventuring in the pages of Captain America, Steve Rogers received his own miniseries (Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier) as well as taking on the leadership position in a new Secret Avengers ongoing series.

Spinoff series included Captain America Sentinel of Liberty (Sept. 1998 – Aug. 1999) and Captain America and the Falcon (May 2004 – June 2005). The 1940s Captain America appeared alongside the 1940s Human Torch and Sub-Mariner in the 12-issue miniseriesAvengers/Invaders.^[35][36] The 2007 mini-seriesCaptain America: The Chosen, written by David Morrell and penciled by Mitchell Breitweiser, depicts a dying Steve Rogers' final minutes, at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, as his spirit guides James Newman, a young American Marine fighting in Afghanistan. The Chosen is not part of the main Marvel Universe continuity.^[37][38]

During the "Two Americas" storyline that ran in issues #602-605, the series drew controversy for the similarity between protesters depicted in the comic and the Tea Party movement. Particularly drawing scorn was a panel of a protester holding sign that read "Tea Bag the Libs Before They Tea Bag You!"^[39] Also drawing controversy were remarks made by the Falcon implying that the crowd is racist.^[40] In his column on Comic Book Resources, Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada apologized for the sign, claiming that it was a mistake, added by the letterer at the last minute.^[41]

The character, first as agent Steve Rogers and later after resuming his identity as Captain America, appeared as a regular character throughout the 2010–2013 Avengers series, from issue #1 (July 2010) through its final issue #34 (January 2013). The character appeared as agent Steve Rogers as a regular character in the 2010–2013 Secret Avengers series, from issue #1 (July 2010) through issue #21 (March 2012); the character made guest appearances as Captain America in issues #21.1, #22–23, #35, and the final issue of the series #37 (March 2013).

Marvel stated in May 2011 that Rogers, following the public death of Bucky Barnes in the Fear Itself miniseries, would resume his Captain America identity in a sixth volume of Captain America, by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve McNiven.^[42][43] The Captain America title continued from issue #620 featuring team up stories with Bucky (#620-#628),^[44] Hawkeye (#629-#632),^[45] Iron Man (#633–635),^[46] Namor (#635.1),^[47] and Black Widow (#636-#640),^[48] and the title ended its print run with issue #640.

Captain America is a regular character in Uncanny Avengers (2012), beginning with issue #1 as part of Marvel NOW!. Captain America vol. 7 was launched in November 2012 with a January 2013 cover date by writer Rick Remender and artist John Romita Jr..^[49]

On July 16, 2014 Marvel Comics announced that the mantle of Captain America would be passed on by Rogers (who in the most recent storyline has been turned into a 90-year-old man) to his long-time ally The Falcon, with the series being relaunched as All-New Captain America.^[50]

Marvel announced that Rogers will become Captain America once again in the comic series Captain America: Steve Rogers.^[51] This new series follows the events of "Avengers: Standoff!," in which Captain America is restored to his youthful state following an encounter with the sentient Cosmic Cube, Kobik, and his past is drastically rewritten under the instructions of the Red Skull. Afterward, Captain America plots to set himself and Hydra in a position where they can conquer America in Marvel's event "Secret Empire."^[52]

Legal status

In 1966, Joe Simon sued the owners of Marvel Comics, asserting that he—not Marvel—was legally entitled to renew the copyright upon the expiration of the original 28-year term. The two parties settled out of court, with Simon agreeing to a statement that the character had been created under terms of employment by the publisher, and therefore it was work for hire owned by them.^[53]

In 1999, Simon filed to claim the copyright to Captain America under a provision of the Copyright Act of 1976, which allowed the original creators of works that had been sold to corporations to reclaim them after the original 56-year copyright term (but not the longer term enacted by the new legislation) had expired. Marvel Entertainment challenged the claim, arguing that the settlement of Simon's 1966 suit made the character ineligible for termination of the copyright transfer. Simon and Marvel settled out of court in 2003, in a deal that paid Simon royalties for merchandising and licensing use of the character.^[53][54]

Fictional character biography

20th century

1940s

Captain America and Bucky's debuts, in Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941 Timely Comics). Art by Jack Kirby.

Steven Grant Rogers was born in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, in 1920 to poor Irish immigrants, Sarah and Joseph Rogers.^[55] Joseph died when Steve was a child, and Sarah died of pneumonia while Steve was a teen. By early 1940, before America's entry into World War II, Rogers is a tall, scrawny fine arts student specializing in illustration and a comic book writer and artist.

Disturbed by the devastation of Europe by the Nazis, Rogers attempts to enlist but is rejected due to his frail body. His resolution attracts the notice of U.S. Army General Chester Phillips and "Project: Rebirth". Rogers is used as a test subject for the Super-Soldier project, receiving a special serum made by "Dr. Josef Reinstein",^[56][57] later retroactively changed to a code name for the scientist Abraham Erskine.^[58]

The serum is a success and transforms Steve Rogers into a nearly perfect human being with peak strength, agility, stamina, and intelligence. The success of the program leaves Erskine wondering about replicating the experiment on other human beings.^[57] The process itself has been inconsistently detailed: While in the original material Rogers is shown receiving injections of the Super-Serum, when the origin was retold in the 1960s, the Comic Code Authority had already put a veto over graphic description of drug intake and abuse, and thus the Super-Serum was retconned into an oral formula.^[59]

Erskine refused to write down every crucial element of the treatment, leaving behind a flawed, imperfect knowledge of the steps. Thus, when the Nazi spyHeinz Kruger killed him, Erskine's method of creating new Super-Soldiers died. Captain America, in his first act after his transformation, avenges Erskine. In the 1941 origin story and in Tales of Suspense #63, Kruger dies when running into machinery but is not killed by Rogers; in the Captain America #109 and #255 revisions, Rogers causes the spy's death by punching him into machinery.^[57]

Unable to create new Super-Soldiers and willing to hide the Project Rebirth fiasco, the American government casts Rogers as a patriotic superhero, able to counter the menace of the Red Skull as a counter-intelligence agent. He is supplied with a patriotic uniform of his own design,^[55] a bulletproof shield, a personal side arm, and the codename Captain America, while posing as a clumsy infantry private at Camp Lehigh in Virginia. He forms a friendship with the camp's teenage mascot, James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes.^[56]

Barnes learns of Rogers' dual identity and offers to keep the secret if he can become Captain America's sidekick. During their adventures, Franklin D. Roosevelt presents Captain America with a new shield, forged from an alloy of steel and vibranium, fused by an unknown catalyst, so effective that it replaces his own firearm.^[58] Throughout World War II, Captain America and Bucky fight the Nazi menace both on their own and as members of the superhero team the Invaders as seen in the 1970s comic of the same name.^[60] Captain America fights in numerous battles in World War II, primarily as a member of 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment "Blue Spaders".^[61] Captain America battles a number of criminal menaces on American soil, including a wide variety of costumed villains: the Wax Man,^[62] the Hangman,^[63] the Fang,^[64] the Black Talon,^[65] and the White Death,^[66] among others.

In addition to Bucky, Captain America was occasionally assisted by the Sentinels of Liberty.^[67] Sentinels of Liberty was the title given to members of the Captain America Comics fan club who Captain America sometimes addressed as an aside, or as characters in the Captain America Comics stories.

In late April 1945, during the closing days of World War II, Captain America and Bucky try to stop the villainous Baron Zemo from destroying an experimental drone plane. Zemo launches the plane with an armed explosive on it with Rogers and Barnes in hot pursuit. The pair reaches the plane just before takeoff. When Bucky tries to defuse the bomb, it explodes in mid-air. Rogers is hurled into the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. Both are presumed dead, though it is later revealed that neither had died.^[68]

Late 1940s to 1950s

Captain America appeared in comics for the next few years, changing from World War II-era hero fighting the Nazis to confronting the United States' newest enemy, Communism. The revival of the character in the mid-1950s was short-lived, and events during that time period are later retconned to show that multiple people operated using the code name to explain the changes in the character. These post World War II successors are listed as William Naslund and Jeffrey Mace. They are assisted by Fred Davis continuing the role of Bucky.

The last of these other official Captains, William Burnside,^[69] was a history graduate enamored with the Captain America mythos, having his appearance surgically altered to resemble Rogers and legally changing his name to "Steve Rogers", becoming the new "1950s Captain America".^[70] He administered to himself and his pupil James "Jack" Monroe a flawed, incomplete copy of the Super-Serum, which made no mention about the necessary Vita-Ray portion of the treatment. As a result, while Burnside and Monroe became the new Captain America and Bucky, they became violently paranoid, often raving about innocent people being communist sympathizers during the height of the Red Scare of the 1950s. Their insanity forced the U.S. government to place them in indefinite cryogenic storage until they could be cured of their mental illness.^[71] Monroe would later be cured and assume the Nomad identity.^[72]

1960s to 1970s

Years later, the superhero team the Avengers discovers Steve Rogers' body in the North Atlantic. After he revives, they piece together that Rogers has been preserved in a block of ice since 1945, surviving because of his enhancements from Project: Rebirth. The block began to melt after the Sub-Mariner, enraged that an Inuit tribe is worshipping the frozen figure, throws it into the ocean.^[68] Rogers accepts membership in the Avengers, and his experience in individual combat service and his time with the Invaders makes him a valuable asset. He quickly assumes leadership^[73] and has typically returned to that position throughout the team's history.

Captain America #180 (Dec. 1974). Captain America becomes "Nomad". Cover art by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia.

Captain America is plagued by guilt for having been unable to prevent Bucky's death. Although he takes the young Rick Jones (who closely resembles Bucky) under his tutelage, he refuses for some time to allow Jones to take up the Bucky identity, not wishing to be responsible for another youth's death. Insisting that his hero move on from that loss, Jones convinces Rogers to let him don the Bucky costume,^[74] but this partnership lasts only a short time; a disguised Red Skull, impersonating Rogers with the help of the Cosmic Cube, drives Jones away.

Rogers reunites with his old war comrade Nick Fury, who is similarly well-preserved due to the "Infinity Formula". As a result, Rogers regularly undertakes missions for the security agency S.H.I.E.L.D., for which Fury is public director.^[75] Through Fury, Rogers befriends Sharon Carter, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent,^[76] with whom he eventually begins a romantic relationship.

Rogers later meets and trains Sam Wilson, who becomes the superhero the Falcon,^[77] the first African-American superhero in mainstream comic books.^[78][79] The characters established an enduring friendship and adventuring partnership, sharing the series title for some time as Captain America and the Falcon.^[80] The two later encounter the revived but still insane 1950s Captain America.^{[70][71][81][82][83]} Although Rogers and the Falcon defeat the faux Rogers and Jack Monroe, Rogers becomes deeply disturbed that he could have suffered his counterpart's fate. During this period, Rogers temporarily gains super strength.^[84]

The series dealt with the Marvel Universe's version of the Watergate scandal,^[85][86][87] making Rogers so uncertain about his role that he abandons his Captain America identity in favor of one called Nomad,^[88] emphasizing the word's meaning as "man without a country". During this time, several men unsuccessfully assume the Captain America identity.^[89] Rogers eventually re-assumes it after coming to consider that the identity could be a symbol of American ideals and not its government; it's a personal conviction epitomized when he later confronted a corrupt Army officer attempting to manipulate him by appealing to his loyalty, "I'm loyal to nothing, General  ... except the [American] Dream." Jack Monroe, cured of his mental instability, later takes up the Nomad alias.^[90] Sharon Carter is believed to have been killed while under the mind control of Dr. Faustus.^[91]

1980s to 1990s

Captain America #350 (February 1989). Rogers as "the Captain" vs. John Walker as Captain America. Cover art by Kieron Dwyer and Al Milgrom.

The 1980s included a run by writer Roger Stern and artist John Byrne. Stern had Rogers consider a run for President of the United States in Captain America #250 (June 1980),^[92] an idea originally developed by Roger McKenzie and Don Perlin. Stern, in his capacity as editor of the title, originally rejected the idea but later changed his mind about the concept.^[93][94] McKenzie and Perlin received credit for the idea on the letters page at Stern's insistence.^[95] Stern additionally introduced a new love interest, law student Bernie Rosenthal, in Captain America #248 (Aug. 1980).^[96]

Writer J. M. DeMatteis revealed the true face and full origin of the Red Skull in Captain America #298–300, and had Captain America take on Jack Monroe, Nomad, as a partner for a time.^[90] The heroes gathered by the Beyonder elect Rogers as leader during their stay on Battleworld.^[97]Homophobia is dealt with as Rogers runs into a childhood friend named Arnold Roth who is gay.^[98][99]

Mark Gruenwald became the writer of the series with issue #307 (July 1985) and wrote 137 issues for 10 consecutive years from until #443 (Sept. 1995),^[100] the most issues by any single author in the character's history. Gruenwald created several new foes, including Crossbones and the Serpent Society. Other Gruenwald characters included Diamondback,^[101]Super Patriot,^[102] and Demolition Man.^[103] Gruenwald explored numerous political and social themes as well, such as extreme idealism when Captain America fights the anti-nationalist terrorist Flag-Smasher;^[104] and vigilantism when he hunts the murderous Scourge of the Underworld.^[105]

Rogers receives a large back-pay reimbursement dating back to his disappearance at the end of World War II, and a government commission orders him to work directly for the U.S. government. Already troubled by the corruption he had encountered with the Nuke incident in New York City,^[106] Rogers chooses instead to resign his identity,^[107][108] and then takes the alias of "the Captain".^[109] A replacement Captain America, John Walker, struggles to emulate Rogers' ideals until pressure from hidden enemies helps to drive Walker insane. Rogers returns to the Captain America identity^[110] while a recovered Walker becomes the U.S. Agent.^[111]

Sometime afterward, Rogers avoids the explosion of a methamphetamine lab, but the drug triggers a chemical reaction in the Super Soldier Serum in his system. To combat the reaction, Rogers has the serum removed from his body and trains constantly to maintain his physical condition.^[112] A retcon later establishes that the serum was not a drug per se, which would have metabolized out of his system, but in fact a virus-like organism that effected a biochemical and genetic change. This additionally explained how nemesis the Red Skull, who at the time inhabited a body cloned from Rogers' cells, has the formula in his body.

Because of his altered biochemistry, Rogers' body begins to deteriorate, and for a time he must wear a powered exoskeleton and is eventually placed again in suspended animation. During this time, he is given a transfusion of blood from the Red Skull, which cures his condition and stabilizes the Super-Soldier virus in his system. Captain America returns to crime fighting and the Avengers.^[113][114]

Following Gruenwald's departure from the series, Mark Waid took over and resurrected Sharon Carter as Cap's love interest. The title was then relaunched under Rob Liefeld as Cap became part of the Heroes Reborn universe for 13 issues^[115] before another relaunch restored Waid to the title^[116] in an arc that saw Cap lose his shield for a time using an energy based shield as a temporary replacement. Following Waid's run, Dan Jurgens took over and introduced new foe Protocide, a failed recipient of the Super Soldier Serum prior to the experiment that successfully created Rogers. Some time after this, Rogers' original shield was retrieved, but subtle damage sustained during the battle with the Beyonder resulted in it being shattered and a 'vibranium cancer' being triggered that would destroy all vibranium in the world, with Rogers nearly being forced to destroy the shield before a confrontation with the villain Klaw saw Klaw's attacks unwittingly repair the shield's fractured molecular bonds and negate cancer.^[117]

21st century

2000s

In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Rogers reveals his identity to the world and establishes a residence in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, as seen in Captain America vol. 4, #1–7 (June 2002 – Feb. 2003).^[118] Following the disbandment of the Avengers in the "Avengers Disassembled" story arc, Rogers, now employed by S.H.I.E.L.D., discovers Bucky is alive, having been saved and deployed by the Soviets as the Winter Soldier. Rogers resumes his on-again, off-again relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon Carter. After a mass supervillain break-out of the Raft, Rogers and Tony Stark assemble a new team of Avengers to hunt the escapees.

In the 2006–2007 company-wide story arc "Civil War", Rogers opposes the new mandatory federal registration of super-powered beings, and leads the underground anti-registration movement. After significant rancor and danger to the public as the two sides clash, Captain America voluntarily surrenders and orders the Anti-Registration forces to stand down, feeling that the fight has reached a point where the principle originally cited by the anti-registration forces has been lost.^[119]

In the story arc "The Death of Captain America", Rogers is fatally shot by Sharon Carter, whose actions are manipulated by the villain Dr. Faustus.^[120][121] The miniseries Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #1–5 (June–Aug. 2007) examines the reaction of the stunned superhero community to Rogers' assassination, with each of the five issues focusing a different character's reaction. Bucky takes on the mantle of Captain America, per Rogers' antemortem request.^[122][123]

Captain America: Reborn #1 (Aug. 2009) reveals that Rogers did not die, as the gun Sharon Carter had been hypnotized into firing at Rogers caused his consciousness to phase in and out of space and time, appearing at various points in his lifetime. Although Rogers manages to relay a message to the future by giving a time-delayed command to the Vision during the Kree-Skrull War, the Skull returns Rogers to the present, where he takes control of Rogers' mind and body. Rogers eventually regains control, and, with help from his allies, defeats the Skull.^[124] In the subsequent one-shot comic Captain America: Who Will Wield the Shield?, Rogers formally grants Bucky his Captain America shield and asks him to continue as Captain America. The President of the United States grants Rogers a full pardon for his anti-registration actions.

2010s

Promotional art for Steve Rogers: Super Soldier #1 (Sept. 2010) by Carlos Pacheco and Tim Townsend

Following the company-wide "Dark Reign" and "Siege" story arcs, the Steve Rogers character became part of the "Heroic Age" arc.^[125]

The President of the United States appoints Rogers, in his civilian identity, as "America's top cop" and head of the nation's security,^[126] replacing Norman Osborn as the tenth Executive Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. The Superhuman Registration Act is repealed and Rogers re-establishes the superhero team the Avengers, spearheaded by Iron Man, Thor, and Bucky as Captain America.^{[volume & issue needed]} In the miniseriesSteve Rogers: Super Soldier, he encounters Jacob Erskine, the grandson of Professor Abraham Erskine and the son of Tyler Paxton, one of Rogers' fellow volunteers in the Super-Soldier program.^{[volume & issue needed]} Shortly afterward, Rogers becomes leader of the Secret Avengers, a black-ops superhero team.^{[volume & issue needed]}

During the Fear Itself storyline, Steve Rogers is present when the threat of the Serpent is known.^[127] Following the apparent death of Bucky at the hands of Sin (in the form of Skadi), Steve Rogers ends up changing into his Captain America uniform.^[128] When the Avengers and the New Avengers are fighting Skadi, the Serpent ends up joining the battle and breaks Captain America's shield with his bare hands.^[129] Captain America and the Avengers teams end up forming a militia for a last stand against the forces of the Serpent.^[130] When it comes to the final battle, Captain America uses Thor's hammer to fight Skadi until Thor manages to kill the Serpent. In the aftermath of the battle, Iron Man presents him with his reforged shield, now stronger for its uru-infused enhancements despite the scar it bears.^[131] It is then revealed that Captain America, Nick Fury, and Black Widow are the only ones who know that Bucky actually survived the fight with Skadi as Bucky resumes his identity as Winter Soldier.^[132]

During the "Spider-Island" storyline, Captain America had been captured turned into the Spider King by Spider Queen and Jackal.^[133] He was restored to normal following his fight with Venom.^[134]</ref>The Amazing Spider-Man #670 (September 2011). Marvel Comics.</ref>

In the Avengers vs. X-Men story arc, Captain America attempts to apprehend Hope Summers of the X-Men. She is the targeted vessel for the Phoenix Force, a destructive cosmic entity. Captain America believes that this Phoenix Force is too dangerous to entrust in one person and seeks to prevent Hope from having it. Cyclops and the X-Men believe that the Phoenix Force will save their race, and oppose Captain America's wishes.^[135] The result is a series of battles that eventually take both teams to the blue area of the moon.^[136] The Phoenix Force eventually possesses the five X-Men present, leaving the Avengers at an extreme disadvantage.^[137] The Phoenix Five, who become corrupted by the power of the Phoenix, are eventually defeated and scattered, with Cyclops imprisoned for turning the world into a police state and murdering Charles Xavier after being pushed too far, only for him to note that, in the end, he was proven right about the Phoenix's intentions.^[138] From there, Captain America proceeds to assemble the Avengers Unity Squad, a new team of Avengers composed of both classic Avengers and X-Men.^[139]

After Cyclops was incarcerated, and Steve accepted the Avengers should have done more to help mutants, and allowed the world to hate them, he started planning a new sub-team of Avengers in the hopes of unifying mutant and humankind alike. He chose Havok to lead his team and become the new face to represent mutants as Professor X and Cyclops once were.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Their first threat was the return of the Red Skull- more specifically, a clone of the Skull created in 1942 and kept in stasis in the event of the original's death- who usurped Professor X's body to provide himself with telepathic powers, which he would use to provoke citizens of New York into a mass assault against mutants, or anyone who could be one, and force the Scarlet Witch and Rogue to allow themselves to be attacked. With the help of the S-Man Honest John, he managed to even manipulate Thor.^{[volume & issue needed]}

The Red Skull's skills were still erratic, and could not completely control Captain America, an attack against him was enough of a distraction to lose control of Rogue and the Scarlet Witch. After being overpowered by the rest of the Uncanny Avengers, the Red Skull escapes, but promises to return. In the aftermath, both Rogue and the Scarlet Witch joined the team.^{[volume & issue needed]}

During a battle with an enemy called the Iron Nail, the Super Soldier Serum within Rogers's body was neutralized, causing him to age rapidly to match his chronological age of over 90 years.^[140] No longer able to take part in field missions but retaining his sharp mind, Rogers decided to take on a role as mission coordinator, organizing the Avengers' plans of attack from the mansion, while appointing Sam Wilson as his official "replacement" as Captain America.^[141]

When various Avengers and X-Men were inverted into villains and several villains inverted into heroism due to a miscast spell by the Scarlet Witch and Doctor Doom,^[142] Rogers not only coordinated the efforts of Spider-Man and the inverted villains, now called the "Astonishing Avengers",^[143] but also donned his old armor to battle the inverted Falcon,^[144] until the heroes and villains could be returned to normal with the aid of the White Skull (the inverted Red Skull).^[145]

During the "Time Runs Out" storyline, Steve Rogers wears armor when he confronts Iron Man. The ensuing fight between the two old friends led Steve Rogers to force Iron Man to admit that he had lied to him and all of their allies, when he had known about the incursions between alternate Earths all along, but Iron Man also confessed that he wouldn't change a thing. The final incursion started and Earth-1610 started approaching Earth-616 while Iron Man and Steve Rogers kept fighting. Earth-1610's S.H.I.E.L.D. launched a full invasion to destroy Earth-616, where Tony Stark and Steve Rogers were crushed by a Helicarrier.^[146]

As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel, Steve Rogers became the new Chief of Civilian Oversight for S.H.I.E.L.D.^[147] He returned to the Uncanny Avengers where the team is now using the Schaefer Theater as their headquarters.^[148]

Steve Rogers later has an encounter with an alternate Logan from Earth-807128. After defeating Logan and bringing him to Alberta, Canada, Rogers tried to "reassure" Logan that this was not "his" past by showing him the adamantium-frozen body of Earth-616's Logan. This sight reminds Logan of the need to enjoy being alive rather than brooding over the ghosts of his past. Although he told Steve Rogers what he had experienced in his timeline, Logan declined Steve's offer of help.^[149]

Alternate timeline Hydra duplicate

During the 2016 "Avengers: Standoff!