CAPTAIN AMERICA

 

CAPTAIN AMERICA

Real Name: Steven Grant Rogers

First Appearance: Captain America Comics (Vol. 1) #1, March 1941

Powers: In 1941, Steve Rogers was the subject of Operation: Rebirth where he was exposed to the Super-Soldier Serum created by Dr. Abraham Erskine. After weeks of tests, Rogers was administered the Super-Soldier serum and given part of the compound intravenously, and another part orally. Rogers was then bombarded by "vita-rays", a special combination of exotic wavelengths of radiation designed to accelerate and stabilize the serum's effect on his body. Steve Rogers emerged from the vita-ray chamber as a perfect physical specimen. As Captain America, he possesses peak human strength, speed, agility, endurance, and reflexes. Captain America has agility, strength, speed, endurance, and reaction time superior to any Olympic athlete who ever competed. The Super-Soldier formula that he metabolized has enhanced all of his bodily functions to the peak of human efficiency. Notably, his body eliminates the excessive build-up of fatigue-producing poisons in his muscles, granting him phenomenal endurance.

Initially, he used a badge-shaped shield made of titanium, but quickly switched to an indestructible discus shield forged in a freak accident out of steel and Vibranium. This shield is not only completely impervious to force, heat, and energy, it also harmlessly disperses these assaults. Captain America can leap off of a five story building and, as long as he positions his shield beneath him to absorb the force of the fall, experience an impact no greater than stepping off a curb. Briefly after joining the Avengers, he experimented with specialty shields designed for him by Tony Stark. Though far less durable than his own, these replicas contained magnetic generators allowing him to retrieve the shield to his hand from a distance. Cap eventually dropped all these replicas, however, choosing to use only his indestructible one. When the Viper poisoned him with snake venom, Captain America was administered an experimental anti-toxin which saved his life. Inexplicably, it also interacted with the Super-Soldier Serum in his bloodstream, raising his strength and endurance to superhuman levels. When his system eventually metabolized the anti-toxin away, his extra strength faded with it.

During the time he had his super-strength, though, Cap lost faith in the American government and adopted a new identity as Nomad, the Man Without a Country. Abandoning his shield and regular costume, Rogers employed a simple costume with no added features. He soon went back to being Captain America. Much later, Rogers was compelled to resign against his will by the CSA, who were attempting to coerce his services since the government technically owned the rights to the name, costume, and shield of Captain America. Instead of becoming their lapdog, Steve adopted a new red-white-and-black costume and the identity of "The Captain". He used two different shields during this time. The first was a plain titanium discus shield made for him by Iron Man. After Cap and Stark had a falling out, though, he abandoned that shield and a new one, made of Vibranium and colored like his new costume, was provided for him by Black Panther. Rogers eventually returned to his Captain America identity.

At one point, a physical revealed that the Super-Soldier Serum in Cap's body was deteriorating, apparently unable to continue working properly. Steve was left with a decision: Quit being Captain America now and live out the rest of his life in retirement, or continue operating at high levels of physical activity and be dead within a year. Rogers chose to continue serving as a hero as long as he possibly could, but as time passed adrenaline surges in his metabolism brought on cramps, spasms, even temporary paralysis. To cope with this, Cap had his friend Fabian design a utility vest and paraphernalia to help even the odds. Among his gimmicks were a gun that fired a grappling cable, restraining manacles, a wrist-mounted computer and motion detector, an expandable air cushion which popped out of his suit to blunt impacts, and a variety of small pellets that released smoke, concussion bursts, acid, tear gas, knockout gas, tangle coils, etc. Cap eventually pushed himself too far, though, and became paralyzed from the neck down.

Working together, Ironman and Giant Man implanted a bio-chip at the base of Cap's spine which interacted with an exoskeleton Stark had designed to artificially restore Cap's ability to move. Stark also included a number of weapons and devices. "Robocap" had augmented strength and reaction time, magnetic field gauntlets which could retrieve his shield for him, boot jets for flight, a radio transmitter and receiver, multi-band energy vision in the visor, compressed air cannons in the palms, and a mylex shroud which plastered over an opponent to immobilize them. The exoskeleton also protected him from some degree of harm and contained a layer of Pym Particles that automatically reduced penetrating projectiles or objects to microscopic size in order to prevent injury. A cure for his deterioration was ultimately discovered, and Captain America dropped the extra accessories.

Shortly after, however, he was accused of treason and forced out of the country. Rogers adopted the identity of the Expatriate to clear his name, using an arm-mounted photon shield generator with his new generic costume. This too, did pass. Shortly after returning from Onslaught, Captain America lost his shield at sea. He briefly employed replicas of his discus and badge-shaped shields, before adopted a SHIELD-issue photon shield full time. This shield could be discharged as a force blast, expanded to larger sizes to even form a cylindrical force field around him, and could be shaped into melee weapons like a sword, spear, or quarterstaff. Eventually, he returned to using his old shield.