5 Captain America Comics Moments That Define Steve Rogers (#2 Proves Why He’s Marvel’s Ideal Hero)

Captain America is known as the living legend of World War II, the greatest hero the United States ever created. Steve Rogers grew up in Brooklyn in the Great Depression, a sickly boy with a heart much stronger than the rest of him. He worked hard and did everything he could to help the people around him. The Nazi threat saw him burn with a desire to fight for his country, only held back by his frail form. The super soldier serum made him into a titan and he became the Sentinel of Liberty, forging a legend that would see him become the inspiration for decades of heroes. His return cemented his legacy and he’s since become the hero of the Marvel Universe.

Steve Rogers is one of the most beloved characters in comic history. He can seem simple from the outside, but the more you learn about him the more you see the complexities. Looking at the character’s history. There’s numerous moments that truly define who he is, showing the various sides of the hero. These five moments from Captain America comics define who he is, showing him for the icon he truly he is.

5) Sharon’s Return to His Life in “Operation Rebirth”

Sharon Carter is the love of Steve Rogers’ life. The two of them have been in and out of each other’s lives for ages, their love growing on the battlefields of the world. Things haven’t always been rosy for them, especially when she returned to his life in “Operation Rebirth”. This story saw Captain America’s super soldier serum being fixed by a blood transfusion from Red Skull, who was in a clone body of Steve Rogers. Sharon Carter was thought dead and felt abandoned by the world, hired by Skull to use against Cap. However, the two of them ended up falling right back into the old sympatico. She was angry at him and yet they worked together like nothing had changed. She and Steve had worked together for so long that their lives just picked back up from the moment they left each other. There may be hard feelings between them at times, but they put that behind them to get the job done. For people like Steve and Sharon, that’s true love, proving the depths of their relationship (also, seriously, read “Operation Rebirth”; it’s one of the most perfect Cap stories you’ll ever read and it’s worth the hunt).

4) Captain America and Red Skull’s “Final” Battle in Captain America (Vol. 1) #300

Red Skull is one of Marvel’s most irredeemable villains, a true monster since World War II. The Nazi’s evil is mirrored in Steve Rogers’ good and they’ve had some amazing fights over the years that show their rivalry on the page. That was Captain America (Vol. 1) #300 in a nutshell. This story was the last that J.M. DeMatteis wrote and saw the two old enemies have one final showdown. The two had been battling over the last few issues, each of them poisoned and thinking death was upon them. They engage in a brutal battle, one beautifully rendered by Paul Neary, but in the end, Cap can’t allow himself to kill his old enemy. The Skull certainly deserves death at Cap’s hands, but he’s a hero and heroes don’t kill their enemy. Skull begs for death and all Cap does is hold him as the poison kills him. Think about what would have happened if the shoe was on the other foot; Red Skull would have tormented Cap until he died. Steve Rogers, though, is better than that. He’s the opposite of everything Johann Schmidt is and that’s what defines their grudge.

3) Fighting Nazis Pre-Super Soldier Serum in Captain America (Vol. 13) #1-6

The history of Captain America has taken readers across his life, showing that the hero he would become was always there. One of the best examples of this came in Captain America (Vol. 13) #1-6. This story kicked off the J. Michael Straczynski/Jesus Saiz run on the book, a rather disappointing stint that began in the best way possible. There was a flashback to Steve Rogers’ days before the super soldier serum, where he got involved in stopping the demon Asmoday from using the German American Bund, the pre-World War II American Nazi organization, to spread death and hatred across the world. This was the frail Steve of the late 30s, not the Sentinel of Liberty, so seeing him jump into the fray with big Nazi goons proves the moxie the kid had even back then. These flashbacks played a massive role in building the story in the present and are probably my favorite glimpses of Steve’s past. We’ve always been told that the seeds of Captain America were always there, but this story showed it; it was fantastic.

2) Becoming Nomad in Captain America and Falcon (Vol. 1) #180

Steve Rogers hasn’t just been Captain America. Captain America is a mantle that has a lot attached to it. It makes you a symbol of the United States, but Steve didn’t always want to be associated with the name and legacy of the mantle he made popular. The first time this happened in 1974’s original “Secret Empire” story. Cap found out that the Secret Empire had taken over the United States government, even stealing the office of the presidency. This led to him losing all faith in the nation, which would lead into the classic Captain America and the Falcon (Vol. 1) #180, by Steve Englehart and Sal Buscema. This issue saw him leaving behind the red, white, and blue behind for the darker colors of Nomad. He was a man without a country, but he wasn’t going to give up his desire to help people and save the world. He gave up the mantle, not the fight. His devotion to the freedom of others proves that he’s the ideal Marvel hero, dealing with the problems of his life while still fighting for everyone else. He never gives up, not even when things are at their darkest.

1) An Inspired Beating from Civil War #6

Captain America is the most inspiring hero in the Marvel Universe and the moment that best shows it comes from (surprisingly) Civil War #6. Punisher had joined the anti-Registration side and ended up killing Plunderer and Goldbug when they were talking about joining Cap’s side. Cap didn’t take kindly to Castle killing people right in front of him and attacked the former Marine. He beat down the vigilante, who didn’t even put up a fight. He was so inspired by Captain America over the years that he couldn’t bring himself to fight back. Cap was his hero; he was one of the few things in his life that never changed, that he could always look up to. The Punisher is known for not respecting anyone who puts on a costume, so the fact that he has such respect for the Sentinel of Liberty really speaks to just how inspiring Cap is. This might seem like a weird moment to choose to prove his inspirational bona fides, but it really says it all.

What moments do you think define Steve Rogers? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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