1st Appearance | Origin Story | Main Publication History | Secondary Publication History | Key Storylines | Media Source Material | Key Issues | Compilations
by snowbi-wan, updated Nov 2019
Captain America (Steve Rogers) is one of Marvel's most popular characters, multiplied even more so since the era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The character's history dates back to 1941, before Marvel was even using the name Marvel. This Golden Age Captain America was the product of the Super Soldier serum designed by Dr. Abraham Erskine in order to create a whole battalion of perfect soldiers to combat the evil Axis powers. A spy within the project killed Erskine after the first test subject was subjected to the process, and the secret to the process was lost forever. The first and only subject was Steve Rogers, a young artist who was denied enlistment because of physical frailty (classification F-4). The Super Soldier process elevated Rogers' physique to the peak of human perfection. He was trained in the fighting arts, combat and espionage. This, plus an indestructible shield produced in a metallurgical accident, made the rechristened Captain America not only a symbol of inspiration for US fighting forces, but also a one-man army in his own right. Cap and his sidekick, Bucky, and their sometimes teammates from the Invaders (the original Human Torch and Namor, the Sub-Mariner) took on iconic rogues like the Red Skull and Baron Zemo. In 1945, a mission against Baron Zemo went awry. Bucky was killed, and Captain America fell into the icy ocean where he was frozen in a block of ice. Some time later, the Avengers would find his ice block, thaw him out, and admit him to their team. Since AVENGERS [1963] #4, the Silver Age Captain America has been a foundational member of the Avengers with his man-out-of-time ethical code from a bygone era. Captain America's origin has changed and shifted throughout the decades, but the key elements always remain the same. There have been a multitude of versions of Captain America (Steve Rogers) within Marvel's multi-verse, including a retroactive continuity (retcon) change to the 1950's Captain America. One of the most popular versions of Cap is the MCU version portrayed by actor Chris Evans. In this version of Captain America's origin, Tony Stark's father plays a key role. Captain America was, in fact, Marvel's first character to make the jump from comic book to screen with a serial in 1944. He has since appeared in many, many animated and live-action media. Several other non-minor characters who were not Steve Rogers have held the name Captain America including: John Walker, Sam Wilson and James 'Bucky' Barnes. As well, Steve Rogers has not always been Captain America, going by the 'Captain' and Nomad for short stretches.
The first appearance of a character in comic book form is often the most valuable issue featuring that character. It's a nice place to get started in Captain America (Steve Rogers), if it's within your budget. Captain America (Steve Rogers) first appeared in the Golden Age in CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS [1941] #1. When war and superhero comics declined in the 1950's, the character was frozen in suspended animation in a block of ice...lost in the ocean. The Avengers discovered him in their 1964 issue #4, thawed him out, and he has since become one of the most popular characters re-introduced in the Silver Age. Of debatable note, an imposter Captain America did predate Steve Rogers' revival in the Silver Age by a few months. The villain Acrobat (Carl Zante) dressed as Captain America to trick the Human Torch. The cover of the issue gives no clues that it's not the original Captain America (on purpose for dramatic effect). It is included in the following list as a curiosity and partly just because it's a really great cover. It's possibly important as an early gauge of fan reception to the actual return of Captain America.
The original presentation of an origin story or a retelling/recounting of it can be a good place to get started with a character or subject. Captain America (Steve Rogers) has three fairly distinct eras in which he was established: the Golden Age (1940's), the 1950's short-lived revival, and the Silver Age revival. In many ways they are distinct, but they all vitally inter-related. The Captain America of the 1950's became a distinctly different character through retroactive continuity (retcon) changes via the storyline in CAPTAIN AMERICA [1968] #153-155. He is generally regarded now as 'CAPTAIN AMERICA IV' (aka Captain America of the 1950's). Where DC designated their Golden Age heroes as distinctly different versions of their Silver Age revival counterparts, Marvel's Captain America--frozen in ice for decades--can actually be the very same character. However, as Captain America's origin is retold over the years, invariably the details shift.
Series beginnings are always great places to get started in comic books. Here is the Main Publication History for Captain America (Steve Rogers) comic books. This list only includes main series where the Steve Rogers Captain America is a feature story character or where Steve Rogers is active but not as Captain America. James 'Bucky' Barnes took a turn as Captain America when Steve Rogers died after CIVIL WAR, and Sam Wilson wore the mantle for a time as well. The most recent return to Legacy numbering calculation includes the run where Sam Wilson was Captain America and the last bit of the 2005 series where Bucky was Cap. But the Legacy numbering was 'off' beforehand anyways because it includes at the very beginning TALES OF SUSPENSE [1959] #1-57, even though Captain America stories were not included in that title until issue #58. And the Legacy numbering completely ignores Cap's Golden Age series. In the case of Captain America, the Legacy numbering can be misleading. There really is no coherent way to follow the publication history of Captain America (Steve Rogers) strictly 'by the numbers' because of the reasons mentioned and also because Captain America's time in the Avengers in the early 1960's is not completely unimportant to the character's grand storyline as well. Captain America (Steve Rogers) has a very long publishing history, and any relaunch or return to Legacy numbering can be a great place to get started with the character. The list below is a very solid reading order for just Captain America (although some series do overlap) without his Avengers affiliated stories. See the Secondary Publication History for many other ongoing series, mini-series, and one-shots that star Captain America (Steve Rogers) where you can jump in as well.
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If you've already enjoyed some of the series listed in the Main Publication History above, series from this secondary publication list are very good places to further your exploration. Items include alternate Steve Rogers Captain America's such as those in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the Ultimate Captain America. Captain America (Steve Rogers) has a very long publishing history, and any mini-series or one-shot can be a great place to get started with the character. Be aware, even in the modern era while his current history is unfolding, new, original stories of Captain America's time in WWII can still be presented.
This section contains a curated list of some of the best storylines for Captain America (Steve Rogers), any one of which can be a good place to get started. There is so much great Captain America material from all sub-genres (superhero, war, spy, sci-fi), it's hard not to let this list get out of control. With such a long publishing history and with so many twists and turns in Steve Rogers' story over seven-plus decades, it's likely there could be a smidge of confusion reconciling any pre-knowledge you youself bring to an exhaustive reading endeavor. Don't let that deter you from just getting started though. Jack Kirby had runs on Captain America in all three of Cap's publishing eras. While his stuff is indubitably classic, it can come across as a bit archaic in the cinematic era but should still be highly appreciated. Mark Waid and Ed Brubaker's runs are universally accepted as some of the best of the modern era. That's not to say that other writers and artists have not made strong contributions to Captain America's publishing history as well. If you're forced to read just one run, choose Brubaker's CAPTAIN AMERICA [2005] #1-50 with a side helping of CIVIL WAR [2006] #1-7. In the modern era, there is this tendency for Captain America's storyline to be inextribably intertwined with Marvel's publishing events and/or whatever is going on in the Avengers titles. CIVIL WAR stands out as one of the most important complimentary events, but AVENGERS: DISASSEMBLED, SECRET INVASION, DARK REIGN and the AVENGERS STANDOFF event are significant as well.
1941 | CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS [1941] #1 (MEET CAPTAIN AMERICA, the original, first Captain America story is dated but still stands the test of time) |
1966 | TALES OF SUSPENSE [1959] #79-81 (introduction of the Cosmic Cube which is not so silly now (is it?) with the advent of the MCU) |
1969 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [1968] #114-119 (some of Lee and Kirby's action at its best introduces...the Falcon) |
1974 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [1968] #169-183 (SECRET EMPIRE / NOMAD, Englehart and Buscema's pair of story arcs exploring themes brought about by the real-world Watergate scandal) |
1980 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [1968] #247-255 (collected as WAR AND REMEMBRANCE, Stern and Byrne's mere 9-issue run is top-notch stuff) |
1984 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [1968] #290-300 (collected as THE DEATH OF THE RED SKULL, the highlight of DeMatteis' run showcases the final (!?), bitter battle between these Golden Age rivals) |
1987 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [1968] #332-350 (CAPTAIN AMERICA NO MORE, Mark Gruenwald's defining run within a massive 10-year writing stint) |
1989 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [1968] #357-364 (THE BLOODSTONE HUNT, awesome Gruenwald mayhem with Baron Zemo, Crossbones, Zaran, Machete, cannibals, sharks, snakes and mummies!) |
1995 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [1968] #444-448, 450-454 (collected as CAPTAIN AMERICA: OPERATION REBIRTH, Mark Waid's gem re-introduces Sharon Carter and the Red Skull) |
1998 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [1998] #1-7 (TO SERVE AND TO PROTECT, Waid redefines Cap's purpose and thematic direction post Marvel's 90's creative and financial bankruptcy) |
2002 | ULTIMATES [2002] #1-12 (Mark Millar's Ultimate Captain America is more super soldier than any other version but is definitely worth a look if only for Hitch's cinematic origin of Cap in issue #1) |
2005 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [2005] #1-14 (the first few arcs of Ed Brubaker's masterful Captain America relaunch give us...Winter Soldier and is the material that is the basis for much of these characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)) |
2006 | CIVIL WAR [2006] #1-7 (probably the most famous storyline in this list, Millar's unwavering Captain America vs. stubborn Iron Man iconic story is more foundational source material for the MCU) |
2007 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [2005] #25-42 (the death of Captain America was just the beginning of a series of story arcs that somehow got even more extraordinary without him) |
2011 | CAPTAIN AMERICA: MAN OUT OF TIME [2011] #1-5 (Mark Waid's sensitive, intelligent exploration of Cap's own emotions and culture shock from being displaced in time) |
2013 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [2013] #1-10 (CASTAWAY IN DIMENSION Z, not for everyone but well-liked by those who do like it, Remender's Captain America relaunch (as part of Marvel NOW!) is more sci-fi than war but showcases what Cap would be like as a father) |
2017 | SECRET EMPIRE [2017] #0-10 (controversial storyline from Nick Spencer ultimately does pay off, perhaps best enjoyed as the third part of a trilogy of storylines beginning with AVENGERS STANDOFF event (multiple one-shots and tie-in's) and CAPTAIN AMERICA: STEVE ROGERS [2016] #1-19) |
A key issue can be an acceptable place to get started with Captain America (steve Rogers), but they are more of a collector's checklist, as they can carry high price tags. The following list includes the first appearances of most of Captain America's arch-villains, no matter in which series they debuted.
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In modern comic publishing, it's common (and expected) for individual comic book issues to be collected into compilations of trade paperbacks and/or hardcovers, as well as other special compilations. Unlike the individual source issues, the collected editions typically stay in print for long periods and are less 'collectible.' If individual issues are out of reach or are not of interest to you or if you just need reading copies, the following collected editions of Captain America (Steve Rogers) comic books are the most recent in-print editions and are the perfect alternative to get started right away with Captain America (Steve Rogers). The following compilations are presented in a chronologically-based suggested reading order with softcover editions before any hardcover editions (unless the only in-print editions are hardcover--these are integrated into the softcover list).
Captain America has a vast amount of published material, so the following list is limited to compilations of series from the Main Publishing History (listed later) in this guide. These are main series where the Steve Rogers Captain America is a feature story character or where Steve Rogers is active but not as Captain America. The Secondary Publication History (also listed later) in this guide lists the many other mini-series that star Captain America. While many of these are still in print as well, the list would get out of control too fast to include them here. Captain America's Silver Age revival is currently being collected again in Marvel's Epic Collection trade paperback format. The volumes are not being published in numerical order, however, so the list may appear to have gaps. In these gaps, you may find other volumes still in print with the chronological material that would be in that gap.
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Cover | Release Month | Series / Number / Storyline | |||
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Quick View | Nov 2014 | CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION [2018-TPB] VOL 01: CAPTAIN AMERICA LIVES AGAIN CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Sep 2016 | CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION [2018-TPB] VOL 02: THE COMING OF...THE FALCON CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Jul 2017 | CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION [2018-TPB] VOL 03: BUCKY REBORN CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Jul 2018 | CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION [2018-TPB] VOL 04: HERO OR HOAX? CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Mar 2017 | CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON: SECRET EMPIRE [2005-TPB] 2ND EDITION, CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Feb 2014 | CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION [2018-TPB] VOL 09: DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Aug 2014 | CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION [2018-TPB] VOL 12: SOCIETY OF SERPENTS CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Apr 2017 | CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION [2018-TPB] VOL 13: JUSTICE IS SERVED CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Apr 2018 | CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION [2018-TPB] VOL 15: THE BLOODSTONE HUNT CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Jun 2015 | CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION [2018-TPB] VOL 16: STREETS OF POISON CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Mar 2019 | CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION [2018-TPB] VOL 17: THE SUPERIA STRATAGEM CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Feb 2020 | CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION [2018-TPB] VOL 18: BLOOD AND GLORY | UNAVAILABLE | $25.99 | |
Quick View | Apr 2016 | CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION [2018-TPB] VOL 22: MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | May 2020 | HEROES REBORN: CAPTAIN AMERICA [2020-TPB] NEW EDITION | UNAVAILABLE | $29.24 | |
Quick View | Mar 2016 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [2016-TPB] VOL 01 CURRENT PRINTING (compiling the 2002 series) | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Apr 2017 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [2016-TPB] VOL 02 CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Mar 2010 | CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER ULTIMATE COLLECTION [2010-TPB] CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Apr 2007 | CIVIL WAR [2006-TPB] CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Mar 2016 | CIVIL WAR: CAPTAIN AMERICA/IRON MAN [2016-TPB] CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Sep 2010 | CAPTAIN AMERICA: REBORN [2009-TPB] CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Nov 2010 | CAPTAIN AMERICA: TWO AMERICAS [2010-TPB] CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Jun 2011 | CAPTAIN AMERICA: NO ESCAPE [2011-TPB] CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Oct 2011 | CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE TRIAL OF CAPTAIN AMERICA [2011-TPB] CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Feb 2012 | CAPTAIN AMERICA: PRISONER OF WAR [2012-TPB] CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Jul 2017 | CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE AVENGERS: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION [2017-TPB] CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Feb 2014 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [2013-TPB] VOL 01: CASTAWAY IN DIMENSION Z BOOK ONE CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Jul 2014 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [2013-TPB] VOL 02: CASTAWAY IN DIMENSION Z BOOK TWO CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Dec 2014 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [2013-TPB] VOL 03: LOOSE NUKE CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Apr 2015 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [2013-TPB] VOL 04: THE IRON NAIL CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Aug 2015 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [2013-TPB] VOL 05: THE TOMORROW SOLDIER CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Dec 2016 | CAPTAIN AMERICA: STEVE ROGERS [2016-TPB] VOL 01: HAIL HYDRA CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Apr 2017 | CAPTAIN AMERICA: STEVE ROGERS [2016-TPB] VOL 02: THE TRIAL OF MARIA HILL CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Aug 2017 | CAPTAIN AMERICA: STEVE ROGERS [2016-TPB] VOL 03: EMPIRE BUILDING CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Jun 2018 | SECRET EMPIRE [2017-TPB] CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Sep 2017 | CAPTAIN AMERICA: SECRET EMPIRE [2017-TPB] CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Jun 2018 | CAPTAIN AMERICA BY WAID AND SAMNEE [2018-TPB] CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Aug 2018 | CAPTAIN AMERICA BY MARK WAID: PROMISED LAND [2018-TPB] CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Feb 2019 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [2018-TPB] VOL 01: WINTER IN AMERICA CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Sep 2019 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [2018-TPB] VOL 02: CAPTAIN OF NOTHING CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Feb 2020 | CAPTAIN AMERICA [2018-TPB] VOL 03: LEGEND OF STEVE | UNAVAILABLE | $12.99 | |
Quick View | Oct 2018 | AVENGERS BY JASON AARON [2018-TPB] VOL 01: THE FINAL HOST CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Mar 2019 | AVENGERS BY JASON AARON [2018-TPB] VOL 02: WORLD TOUR CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Jun 2019 | AVENGERS BY JASON AARON [2018-TPB] VOL 03: WAR OF THE VAMPIRES CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Nov 2019 | AVENGERS BY JASON AARON [2018-TPB] VOL 04: WAR OF THE REALMS CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Jan 2020 | AVENGERS BY JASON AARON [2018-TPB] VOL 05: CHALLENGE OF THE GHOST RIDERS CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Apr 2020 | AVENGERS BY JASON AARON [2018-TPB] VOL 06: STARBRAND REBORN | UNAVAILABLE | $10.39 | |
Quick View | Apr 2019 | MARVEL ACTION: AVENGERS [2018-TPB] BOOK 01: THE NEW DANGER CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Oct 2019 | MARVEL ACTION: AVENGERS [2018-TPB] BOOK 02: THE RUBY EGRESS CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Feb 2020 | MARVEL ACTION: AVENGERS [2018-TPB] BOOK 03: THE FEAR EATERS CURRENT PRINTING | Go to Amazon | ||
Quick View | Mar 2020 | MARVEL ACTION: AVENGERS [2018-TPB] BOOK 04: THE LIVING NIGHTMARE | UNAVAILABLE | $8.49 |
If you've enjoyed non-comic media for Captain America (Steve Rogers), this section describes the comic book source material for some of the most popular non-comic media. WARNING: This section may contain spoilers!
Captain America has always been one of Marvel's most popular characters and over the years has appeared in countless forms of media, including animated and live-action television, video games, live stage shows, and movies. Today, he is one of Marvel's biggest box-office stars. This media source material section concentrates only on the television and theatrical movie releases. For the sake of discussion, his movie appearances can be broken into three eras. First there was a serial in 1944. Then there were low budget television movies in 1979 and a direct-to-video movie in 1990. Finally, Captain America is a break-out star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), not only starring in feature films, but also appearing (or is mentioned/referenced) in just about every other entry in the MCU.
Captain America starred in a serial in 1944, titled simply CAPTAIN AMERICA (1944). Serials were not feature length movies which are the standard of today. Serials were broken up into chapters and shown in theaters most often with 'cliffhanger' endings in order to draw the target audience back to the theater the following week. Taken as a whole, they tell a long, winding story. Although the character in the 1944 serial was called Captain America and he wore the familiar outfit, this Captain America is radically different than his comic book counterpart and bears very little resemblance otherwise. This Captain America was a district attorney named Grant Gardner who had nothing to do with the army or a super soldier program, who has no shield and uses a gun, and who has no sidekick named Bucky. In fact, the story is so drastically different from the comic book source material, it's actually much more likely that the script was originally for a completely different character and was just effortlessly adapted into a Captain America story just by dressing him in the costume. There is no comic book source material even vaguely similar to the plot and elements of the 1944 serial.
Twenty-two years later, the MARVEL SUPER HEROES (1966) animated cartoons would do a faithful job of adapting the early Silver Age appearances of Captain America. The 13 episodes have rudimentary animation by today's standards, but stick close to the source material from TALES OF SUSPENSE [1959] #63-84 (with many chapter titles nearly identical to the comic book story names) and some early AVENGERS [1963] stories.
Captain America made a pair of made-for-television movies in 1979: CAPTAIN AMERICA (TV 1979) and its sequel CAPTAIN AMERICA II: DEATH TOO SOON (TV 1979), but again, these are not very faithful to the character's comic book origins and many details are changed. This Captain America is appropriately named Steve Rogers, but he's a roving artist who rides a rocket thrust motorcycle launched out of a conversion van. The serum used to give him super strength and agility was developed by his father in the 'modern' day instead of having a WWII origin. In 1990, the feature film CAPTAIN AMERICA (1990) would be the first movie to stick close to the character's comic book origin source material. Developed with the intention of a wide release, the movie was instead limited in release and went mostly direct-to-video in the United States. The movie portrays Captain America's origin in the WWII era, his battle with the Red Skull which leads to Cap's icy freeze, and his subsequent awakening in modern day. The Red Skull's legacy has survived to modern day as well, his daughter the head of a powerful crime family. Captain America--the man out of time--must once again thwart the Red Skull's thugs and evil plans. This movie was adapted in the CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE MOVIE SPECIAL [1992] #1 comic book one-shot. The most comprehensive retelling of Captain America's origin is in CAPTAIN AMERICA [1968] #109.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) launched in 2008 with IRON MAN (2008) and Captain America followed in his own feature film a few years later to become one of the MCU's biggest stars.
The 2011 movie, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011), was directed by Joe Johnston and starred Chris Evans as Captain America (Steve Rogers). While much of the tone of the MCU's Captain America comes from modern comic book interpretations such as the ULTIMATES and Ed Brubaker's run, almost all of the details of Cap's origin in the MCU are straight from CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS [1941] #1, including Heinz Kruger's assassination of Dr. Abraham Erskine. The role of Tony Stark's father in the super soldier program is not in the comics, but adds to the integration and layering of the MCU as a whole. Captain America's arch-nemesis in the movie, the Red Skull, made his first appearance in comics in CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS [1941] #7. This was the 'real' Red Skull (Johann Schmidt), an imposter having made an earlier appearance in issue #1. Key to the Red Skull's plans, the Tesseract is obtained early in the movie and becomes the basis for all of the Red Skull's advanced weapons. In comics, this item is known as the Cosmic Cube, and its first appearance is TALES OF SUSPENSE [1959] #79. The first appearance and the origin of the Red Skull in the Silver Age is in TALES OF SUSPENSE [1959] #65-66. The Red Skull's evil partner, Arnim Zola, first appeared in comics in CAPTAIN AMERICA [1968] #208, and his story is very much like his comic book source material, although the two villains were not partnered as early. In comics, Zola was a biochemist during WWII and later transferred his consciousness into a robot body with a television screen for a chest which displays his face. Zola would have a small role in the 2014 Captain America sequel CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER with his consciousness having been transferred into a S.H.I.E.L.D. supercomputer--his face appearing on a screen. Red Skull and Zola founded Hydra in the MCU. The first appearance of Hydra in comics is STRANGE TALES [1951] #135. In the MCU, In addition to Howard Stark, Peggy Carter is another character involved in the super soldier program. In comics, she is introduced as Agent 13 (the second character to be called that), and her first appearance (in flashback) was in TALES OF SUSPENSE [1959] #77. Tommy Lee Jones' character Colonel Chester Phillips' first appearance is TALES OF SUSPENSE [1959] #63. When Captain America puts together a team to attack Hydra bases later in the movie, he gathers several colorful characters who all have less well-known comic book origins. Timothy Aloysius Cadwallader "Dum Dum" Dugan's first appearance is SGT. FURY [1963] #1. Gabriel "Gabe" Jones' first appearance is SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS [1974] #151. Jim Morita's first appearance is SGT. FURY [1963] #38. James Montgomery Falsworth's first appearance is INVADERS [1975] #7. And Jacques Dernier's first appearance is SGT. FURY [1963] #21 (named in #40). In the movie, Bucky apparently dies on the train mission, and Captain America is frozen in ice when he crashes the Hydra plane in the Arctic. These are the essential plot elements of the setup for Captain America's displacement in time. The most detailed origin of Captain America is told in CAPTAIN AMERICA [1968] #109.
The 2014 sequel movie, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014), was directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and starred Chris Evans again as Captain America (Steve Rogers). This movie reveals that Hydra has been operating within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ranks since WWII and that James 'Bucky' Buchanan survived the train incident in the previous film and is now an unstoppable, brain-washed Russian agent called the Winter Soldier. The source material for the Winter Soldier is the first few arcs of writer Ed Brubaker's 2005 Captain America series, CAPTAIN AMERICA [2005] #1-14, within which the Winter Soldier makes his first comic book appearance. There are a bunch of other organizations and characters in the movie that have comic book sources. In the first scene, Cap is part of a S.T.R.I.K.E. team with Agent Brock Rumlow as the team leader. S.T.R.I.K.E.'s first appearance is CAPTAIN BRITAIN WEEKLY [1976] #17, a series that was published in the UK. The team is the UK's counterpart to S.H.I.E.L.D. In comics, Brock Rumlow is the alter-ego of Crossbones, one of Captain America's recurring supervillains and a major participant in Cap's comic book death. Although the movie character is buried in rubble and burned to a crisp, he shows up as Crossbones in Cap's very next MCU sequel installment. In this early scene movie mission, the team is after a villain named Batroc. Batroc's first appearance is TALES OF SUSPENSE [1959] #75. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier makes its first appearance in the MCU in this movie. Its first appearance in comics is STRANGE TALES [1951] #135. Alexander Pierce's first appearance in comics is NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. [1988] #3. Maria Hill's first appearance is NEW AVENGERS [2005] #4. Sharon Carter/Agent 13 is introduced in this movie as well. Her first appearance is TALES OF SUSPENSE [1959] #75. She was originally the younger sister of Peggy Carter, but later retconned (retroactive continuity) to be Peggy's grand-niece due to the sliding timeline nature of comic books. Another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in the movie, Jasper Sitwell's first comic book appearance is STRANGE TALES [1951] #144. Sam Wilson makes his first appearance in the MCU in this movie, and he'll go on to star in several MCU installments afterwards as the Falcon. His first appearance is CAPTAIN AMERICA [1968] #117. Finally, in the after-credits scene, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and the twins, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, are briefly introduced. Their first appearances are SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS [1974] #5 and X-MEN [1963] #4, respectively.
The 2016 sequel movie, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016), was again directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and starred Chris Evans as Captain America (Steve Rogers). The source material for this installment was clearly CIVIL WAR [2005] #1-6 with the Sokovia Accords standing in for the Superhero Registration Act as the legislation that sparks the ideological division among heroes. Just about every hero introduced in the MCU appears in this installment with a few new introductions. The MCU's version of Spider-Man (Peter Parker) is introduced. His first comic book appearance is AMAZING FANTASY [1962] #15. The Black Panther also makes his first MCU appearance in this film. His first comic book appearance is FANTASTIC FOUR [1961] #52. The villain in this film is Helmut Zemo. In comics, Helmut would become the 13th Baron Zemo, a hereditary title. His first appearance is CAPTAIN AMERICA [1968] #168. He would go on to ascend as the official Baron Zemo in cameo in issue #275 and in full in issue #276.