Inspired by Captain America #32 (2000), I wrote a letter to the Comics Buyer's Guide which was printed in #1362. In it, I traced Captain America's involvement in World War II solely through what was revealed in the comics themselves. What follows is an edited version of that letter.
Using The Adventures of Captain America limited series as a starting point, I discovered a convenient gap in #2 in which to insert the original Simon/Kirby stories of the '40s, as well as the Lee/Kirby re-tellingsfrom Tales of Suspense #63-65. It is interesting (to me, anyway) to note that each of these eras has its own retelling of Cap's first meeting with the Red Skull, each of which conflicts with the other two, but I am working under the assumption that not all stories happened exactly when they were published, and that certain details may have been changed ("for matters of national security").
After the conclusion of TAoCA limited series, Captain America, in his "secret identity" of Army Private Steve Rogers, shipped out with his unit from Camp Lehighand is stationed in England. It is this point at which the adventures portrayed in Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #13, Tales of Suspense #66-71 and Captain America #256 (flashback) take place. Maintaining a secret identity as an army private was ill-conceived, problematical at best, and eventually abandoned.
In any case, it was "late summer 1941" when Cap arrived in Madripoor (without Bucky) as revealed in X-Men #268. Eventually, he made his way back to the states (with Bucky) in time to foil a plot to murder FDR (as revealed in newsreel footage in Captain America #281) on Novemebr 22, 1941.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, on December 22 the Invaders are formed by FDR, and on December 26 & 27 Cap received the memory implants that were to cause considerable confusion later on. The Invaders series pretty much covers the events from then through the middle of 1942. There have been a few other Invaders stories published since that series' cancellation that have [picked up from that point, but I like to think of the Roy Thomas Invaders series as being more or less sacrosanct and speculate that the Invaders drifted apart shortly after after the end of their own series.
There is something of a gap in Cap's story after 1942, but I like to think that he was utilized as more of the "super-soldier" he was intended to be as opposed to the "super-hero" he had been so far. A flashback sequence from Captain America #262 shows him in battle (sans Bucky or Invaders), fighting alongside infantrymen against the Red Skull in 1943, and in Captain America #250 a character says, "You saved my platoon a lot of gried at Anzio" (January 22, 1944).
I can find no comic book "evidence" that places Cap at Normandy on D-Day (June 6, 1944), but he's right there fighting alongside the Allies when Paris was liberated from the Nazis in August (Tales of Suspense #77). Although bucky was not present for that adventure, he and Cap were together again later that same year for "one of the last missions we completed... before I... lost Bucky!" as revealed by Cap in a tale he narrated to Nick Fury in Captain America #109. This brings me up to the comic which inspired this research and placed Cap at the Battle of the Bulge (December 16, 1944), at which Bucky was also present.
On March 4, 1945 the Allies invades Germany, and Cap was at the forefront when the Nazi deathcamp Diebenwald was liberated (Captain America #237). At some point, Cap's final WWII confrontatin with the Red skull occurred, as related in flashback in Tales of Suspense #72 and expounded upon in Tales of Suspense #79. As the Skull put it, "How well I remember our last encounter, during the final days of Berlin, when the sky was thick with Allied bombers."
On April 18, Captain America faced Baron Zemo for the last time (flashback, Avengers #4) and, depending on which version you believe, Adolf Hitler either committed suicide or was incinerated by the Human Torch on the 30th of that month. May 6, the day Germany surrendered, was also the day the surviving Invaders found out about the supposed deaths of Cap America and Bucky. The next day, they met with Harry Truman in Washington, D.C., who revealed the replacement Captain America and Bucky (William Naslund and Fred Davis, respectively) and also added Miss America and the Whizzer to the ranks of the Invaders (What If...? #4). They day after that, May 8, the day declared by President Truman to be V-E Day, the new team of Invaders was revealed to the world.
The atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945; three days later, a second was dropped on Nagasaki as well. Japan agreed to surrenderon August 15. The day Japan officially surrendered, V-J Day (September 2) was the day Truman rechristened the team "The All-Winners Squad." William Naslund (formerly the Spirit of '76) served as the first replacement Captain America in All-Winners #19, and Jeff Mace (formerly the Patriot) took over in All-Winners #21; What If...? #4 reveals "The Forgotten Case of the All-Winners Squad" and why there was no All-Winners #20. (I can also tell you who (retroactively speaking) served as Captain America in USA and All-Select and every issue of Captain America Comics, but that's another letter for another time.
This overview leaves many questions unanswered (what circunstances led Cap to abandon his cover as an Army private? What happened to cause the Invaders to drift apart (if, indeed, they did) in 1942? What prompted the U.S. Government to utilize Captain America as a literal super-soldier? Where was Bucky during this period? What led the two to be reunited as a team? What was Cap doing in Madripoor in 1941?), but there have been many continuity implants during the intervening 27 years since I compiled this research, some of which I have not read.
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Some more points about the multiple Caps:
1) The weirdest aspects of STRANGE TALES #114 (N'63) was that "Captain America" returned at a car show and no one was shocked by it. It was just a hero from the past making a public appearance with few, if no questions asked.
Compare that to AVENGERS #4 (Ma'64) where Cap's return was considered miraculous, almost divine.
2) I'm not going to quibble about no one batting an eye when it's revealed that Cap had been frozen since 1945. They were going to ignore Cap's Post-War adventures. But older readers knew. Heck, Marvel even reprinted the 1954 Cap stories in the late 60s!
3) Of course, CAPTAIN AMERICA #153-156 (S-D'72) revealed the stunning secret of the 1954 Captain America and Bucky. What has always perplexed me was that no one (Nick Fury, Tony Stark, Sharon Carter, Sam Wilson) ever told him that there were other Captain Americas after him. Heck, Jeff Mace was still alive!
4) In GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS #1 (Au'74), the Whizzer states that he never knew that the Cap he worked with in the All-Winners Squad wasn't the original Cap and everyone assumed that that Cap was the 1950s version. But in WHAT IF #4 (Au'77), he knew all about the Spirit of '76 and the Patriot being replacement Caps.
But all that makes it less unlikely that Cap wouldn't know about the others and that so,e people should have doubted that he was the original.
This didn't bother me back in the day, because Marvel's official acceptance of its Golden Age was slow and grudging. During my earliest days of collecting, stories not specifically confirmed in post-1961 stories hadn't happened. When Vision debuted, for example, nobody said, "Hey, you've got the same name as some guy who ran around in World War II!" Same with Black Widow, Falcon and Angel. Captain America and Sub-Mariner were acknowledged as having existed in WWII, but that was about it. Human Torch and Toro both made one-off returns, only to immediately be killed off.
I haven't really researched this, so I can't tell you when Marvel started accepting its WWII stories as "real." It was probably piecemeal. Once they did, an explanation was needful for the '50s Cap. I was aware of the character by then, but hadn't thought an explanation was necessary -- I considered '50s Cap apocryphal. Then Steve Englehart made him "real."
I'm sure others have similar "Wait, they're saying that's in continuity now?" moments.
It was probably piecemeal.
It was. One of my "go to" trivia questions used to be "Which of the characters depected on the cover of Avengers #97 are 'real'?" Little by little I have had to modify my response so that now the answer is, "All of them."
The weirdest aspects of STRANGE TALES #114 (N'63) was that "Captain America" returned at a car show and no one was shocked by it.
No more than they would have been if Adam West or Jonathan Frid appeared at the opening of a new supermarket.
I remember when "Darth Vader" was to appear at the Mark Twain mall. I even brought an item to be signed. When I saw his costume included a tape recorder hanging around his neck, I quickly and quietly slinked away.
Actual Adam West and Julie Newmar at a charity car show, 2008. They arrived by Batcopter. George Barris was also present. Site photos.
But I get your point about Darth Vader. Even as a little kid, I felt a little cheated that the Batmobile that appeared locally had some kind of felt/cardboard modification and my brother and I later concluded that it wasn't quite the one from TV.
Back on topic, I have been considering updating this thread with comic book references to "Captain America's WWII Career" which have appeared in the 27 years years since I first wrote my initial letter, but I realize that would be tremendous undertaking (not to mention that I'm trying to wean myself from "long form" discussions). Back in1999, whereas I did look at every comic book I cited, my initial research was entirely off the top of my head. There's no way I could do that today. Reading every Captain America comic since 1999 is a daunting enough prospect, but there are also a number of WWII-era one-shots celebrating (among other things) Marvel's 70th anniversary, Captain America's 70th anniversary, Jack Kirby's 100th birthday, Marvel's 80th anniversary and Captain America's 80th anniversary, not to mention a number of mini-series including The Marvels Project, All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes, Forever Allies and Out of Time, as well as the unfortunetly-named Captain America: White. What I have decided to do is to use this thread as a repository for WWII-era Cap stories as I encounter them, with no thought (at this stage) of incorporating them into a coherent timeline.
A logical place to start would be 2009's "Theater of War" series of one-shots.
THEATER OF WAR - "America the Beautiful"
The story begins in the present day. A hidden tunnel with a dead U.S. soldier inside has recently been discovered in France, and when Captain America heard of it, he flew there personally to pay his respects. The soldier, Bobby Shaw, was a person friend of Steve Rogers' from his Army days, and the story flashes back to scenes from boot camp (1941), Tunisia (1942), Italy (1943) and France (1944). The story is written by Paul Jenkins, known for weaving tales of war, brotherhood and legacy. Privaye Shaw's first unit is identified as the "Blue Spaders of the 26th Infantry," and he was later transferred to the "Fighting First--The Big Red One."
The story is well-researched (to the best of my meager knowledge), which makes the few mistakes which creep in all the more frustrating. For one thing, in the present day, Captain America postumously promotes Private Shaw to sergeant and presents him with a Purple Heart, but later in the story he refers to it as "the Medal of Honor" (perhaps he meant to say a "medal of honor"). Worse, the battle in question was obviously D-Day. Although that term is never used, it was described as "the single largest amphibious assault in the history of mankind, and we were at its spearhead." Also, Normandy is mentioned, as is Omaha Beach... BUT it is set "on a brisk morning in July." I'm not about to lest those pesky, niggling details ruin the story for me though. This is the story that establishes Cap's participation in the D-Day invasion.
This comic also reprints the story from Captain America #32, the cover of which I used at the top of this thread.
THEATER OF WAR - "Operation: Zero Point"
A covert operation concerning "foo fighters" in Poland, 1944. I really like the plot, but the script (Catain America's "voice") sounds "off" to me in spots.
THEATER OF WAR - "A Brother in Arms"
March 25, 1945. Mission: 23 Army Rangers of the Second Batallion parachute into German territory to take control of a stategically vital dam across the Rhein at Rembrechtrof and hold the position until reinforcements arrive. The story is about Rules of Engagement and highlights the differences between the German Regular Army and hitler's SS. I can't help but view this story through the lens of current events.
THEATER OF WAR - "Ghosts of My Country"
These "Theater of War" one-shots came out at a time when Captain America was dead (or thought to be dead), and in this one, his "spirit" (or whatever) visits significant moments in america history against the backdrop of a patriotic poem. As such, it is technically outside the scope of this discussion, but makes a good choice for Americans to read on Indepedence Day.
I found these comments from Paul Jenkins about "Ghosts of My Country" online:
THEATER OF WAR - "To Soldier On"
This series of one-shots is collectively known as "Theater of War," not "Theater of World War II." This particular story, set during the war in Iraq, is beyond the scope of this discussion, but I recall a vigourous discussion of this issue back in 2009. "To Soldier On" tells the story of a triple-amputee who blames Captain America for his injuries; it would be a good one to read on Vetrans Day. You may be wondering why I'm including so many stories not set during WWII. I'm using this thread as a repository for notes, and when it comes time to assemble them, I'm going to want to know which comics I've read and which I haven't.
THEATER OF WAR - "Prisoners of Duty"\
Private Steve Rogers spends several weeks in a German P.O.W. camp in the Fall of 1944.
THEATER OF WAR - "America First!"
This is about the William Burnside Cap and is beyond the scope of this discussion, but it's a really good story and I thought I'd include it for completness' sake. [Theater of War - "America First!" also reprints two of the original "William Burnside" Cap stories: "Back from the Dead!" (Young Men #24) and "The Man with No Face!" (Captain America #77).]
While I'm at it, the four-issue Captain America: Patriot series takes a definitive look at the Jeff Mace Captain America.
When I titled this thread "The WWII Career of Captain America," what I really meant was "The WWII Career of Captain America as a Soldier." having said that, next up is...
MYTHOS: CAPTAIN AMERICA:
Mythos: Captain America is written by Paul Jenkins, who wrote four of the eight "Theater of War" one-shots. It is almost entirely a flashback, narrated by Captain America himself from a framing sequence set in the present day. Cap, dressed in his Army Uniform as Steve Rogers, visits a VFW hall in New York city. Many details of his pre-war life are revelaed, including tha his fater, Joseph Rogers, served in WWI and died of influenza in 1926. A neighborhood boy who used to bully young Steve, Dougie Huggins, is also introduced. Later, Steve and Doug enlist in the Army at the same time; Doug is accepted but Steve is rejected. Cap's origin is retold in great detail. Jenkins' own "America the Beautiful" establishes that Cap's unit was in Tunisia in 1942 and, without meaning to, Mythos provides an explanation of what Captain America might have been doing in Wakanda in Black Panther #30: "As Captain America, I had previously scouted the coastline under cover of darkness." (Yes, I know the supposed location of Wakanda is nowhere near Tunisia, but work with me here.)
On second thought, that won't work anyway because the Wakanda story happened in 1941 and the Tunisia one in 1942. I didn't include Black Panther #30 in my initial research because I wrote that letter in 1999 and Black Panther #30 didn't come out until 2001. [NOTE to self: Re-read Black Panther #30.]
Along with "America the Beautiful," Mythos also places Captain America at Normandy on D-Day, and at Aachen, Germany, the first German city to be taken, after that, where he awards the Bronze Star to his childhood friend Douglas Huggens. Beyond that, there's not much in this story that pertains specifically to Cap's career as a soldier. In the present day, Steve Rogers sits next to Douglas huggins, now in a wheelchair and on oxygen, during a meal at the VFW hall.
The one thing that doesn't work is Bucky discovering Steve's secret when he goes to tell him about the bombing of Pear Harbor. That's dramatic, but it doesn't fit Captain America continuity at all. (I think Paul Jenkins knows more about military history than he does comic book history.)
Which bring us to the unfortunately titled...
CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHITE:
If it would have been up to me, I would have called it Captain America: Red, White & Blue, but we already had one of those.
There was also a Captain America series subtitled "Red, White & Black."
Actually, the title comes from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's series of "color-themed" series: Dardevil: Yellow, Hulk: Gray and Spider-Man Blue. Captain America: White also continues the series' theme of the main character having a dialogue with a deceased loved one (Daredevil and Karen Page, Hulk and Betty Banner, Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy), in this case, Bucky Barnes. The story details a mission with the Howlers in France in December 1941, a clear violation of established continuity, but that's not what this series is about; these "color-themed" mini-series all contradict continuity. The point is the relationships. Captain America: White also maintains a sub-theme of Steve Rogers' virginity, which I had forgotten about.
CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS (2009):
Within a framing sequence set in "1942, somewhere above Europe," on a mission concerning the "Sleepers," Bucky reminisces about a story Cap told him of an adventure he's had before he took the "super soldier serum." As such, the main story is outside the scope of this discussion. I consider it apocryphal, but it's a pretty good story otherwise. this one-shot also includes a reprint of "Death Loads the Bases!" from Captain America Comics #7 (1941).
I don't think anyone else has said this, but here is my "hindsight is 20-20" contribution. If, when writing Avengers #4, Stan had placed the story of Bucky's "death" at the hands of Baron Zemo after the last previously published Captain America issue, it would have tied everything together without inventing additional characters to wear the costume.
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