He is one of the highest selling superheroes of all time, and is as patriotic as a superhero can be.His debut, at the same time as his county's entry into World War 2, made him an icon for children and young adults to look up to.
Once the creators, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, had their hero, they just needed a villain. The obvious choice? (Almost) Everyone's enemy during World War 2? Hitler of course. This idea was re-enforced by the cover of Captain America #1, which showed the new hero, dressed in red, white and blue, punching Adolf Hitler in the face.
When the war ended, Captain America seemed to lose his purpose. Within a few years he was retired, and a short lived superhero had finally become irrelevant.
This all changed when the superhero group, The Avengers, started up. Captain America had a purpose again.
After being frozen for 50 years, the Captain was awakened by the group S.H.I.E.L.D who were in charge of getting the required members of The Avengers together. The included superheroes were, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Eagle Eye, Black Widow, and finally Captain America.
The Red Skull; Captain Americas arch-enemy. Also an agent for Nazi Germany. You can't just have Hitler being the main enemy, he's not evil enough. You need a super evil, supervillian... with no skin or muscle on his face... and his skull's red... That'll make him evil enough.
The Red Skull debuted with Captain America in Captain America #1. Like many arch-enemies, he's always been there, fighting our hero.
The Red Skull, also known as Johann Schmidt, doesn't have any specific super powers but he is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, a strategic genius, political mastermind, and an expert marksman.
It is said that Joe Simon, while considering an appropriate villain for Captain America, saw a hot
fudge sundae melting and noticed how it was resembling a human figure in the process. Although Simon initially considered calling this character Hot Fudge, the cherry on top seemed to appear as an exposed skull and decided that the name, Red Skull, was slightly more appropriate for a supervillain.
This proves that inspiration can really come from anywhere, or that Simon was on drugs at the time. The fact that he was on drugs sounds like a more likely scenario.
Flaws and Attributes.
Captain America's a super soldier. That means that he's got all the usual abilities. Super strength, agility, and he's able to punch through walls. But out of his weapons, his shield is definatly comic book readers favourite.It was originally designed to be triangular, but soon after it was made round instead. It was meant to represent both defense and a target, and when thrown like a discus, it also functions as a surprisingly effective weapon. A safeguard that draws fire and then fights back. It became the perfect emblem for Captain America.
As for his flaws, he was born in the early 1900s, and was later transformed into a super soldier to help America fight against Germany. That's all good and well, but when he's frozen for 50 - 60 years and awakened in the early 21st century he's not accustomed to the times of a modern America.
Can you imagine going to sleep in 2013 and waking up the next day in 2060. That's pretty much what he went through. But that seems to be his only flaw. His lack of knowledge about technology...and modern society.
Fun Facts.
- Just like any self-respecting superhero, Captain America has a sidekick, James Buchanan ‘Bucky’ Barnes. He appeared alongside the Captain in the very first issue. At one point he even appeared in the Captain America costume in the Captains absence.
- Captain America's "secret" identity is Steve Rogers, a scrawny kid from New York deemed unfit for military service. After repeated attempts to join the Army just at the start of World War II, he volunteered for the "super soldier program", which transformed him into the pinnacle of human potential.
Possibility of Captain America Existing.
The super soldier serum that was developed by Weapons Plus, and used on Steve Rogers to turn him into a super soldier, enhances strength, speed, and stamina.
It is, essentially, steroids that you would give an elephant. But there's no need to continually inject yourself. The only problem is that the serum would somehow have to stay in Captain Americas body, even after he was frozen.
He would also have to be flash frozen(having the temperature around you drop at an extremely quick rate, allowing you to, hopefully, stay alive while also being frozen.)
These seem to be the only two problems in his creation.
Possibility of Captain America existing? A big fat 7 out of 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment