Captain America (Steve Rogers)

=== Early Life ===
Steve Rogers was born July 4, 1920, to poor Irish immigrant parents, Sarah and Joseph Rogers.[21]Rogers grew up a frail youth during the Great Depression in America. Little else is known about Rogers' early life other than the fact that a strong sense of duty, honor, and humility was instilled in him; perhaps due to his Irish Catholic upbringing. Rogers' father died when he was a child and his mother died from pneumonia later, when he was in his late teens.[22][23]
=== Becoming America's Super-Soldier ===
Horrified by newsreel footage of Nazis ransacking Europe and atrocities in Asia that the Empire of Japan committed in China and Korea, Rogers tried to enlist in the Army but was rejected as 4-F because of his frailty and sickness. Overhearing the boy's earnest plea to fight for his country, General Chester Phillips, of the US Army, offered Rogers the opportunity to take part in a top-secret performance-enhancing experiment called Operation Rebirth.[24]
Rogers agreed and was taken to a secret laboratory in Washington, D.C., where he was introduced to Doctor Abraham Erskine (code named Professor Joseph Reinstein), the creator of the Super-Soldier Serum.[25]
After weeks of tests, Rogers was at last administered the Super-Soldier Serum. Given part of the compound intravenously and another part orally, Rogers was then bombarded by vita-rays, a special combination of exotic (in 1941) wavelengths of radiation designed to accelerate and stabilize the serum's effect on his body. Steve Rogers emerged from the vita-ray chamber with a perfect human body. A Nazi spy, who observed the experiment, murdered Dr. Erskine mere minutes after its conclusion. Dr. Erskine died without fully committing the Super-Soldier formula to paper, leaving Rogers the sole beneficiary of his genius.
Rogers was then put through an intensive physical and tactical training program that taught him gymnastics, hand-to-hand combat from Colonel Rex Applegate and William Essart Fairbairn, and military strategy. Three months later, he was given his first assignment: to stop the Nazi agent called the Red Skull. To help him become a symbolic counterpart to the Red Skull, Rogers was given the red, white, and blue costume of Captain America.[26] Rogers was also given the cover identity of a clumsy infantry private at Camp Lehigh.
After successfully becoming Captain America, Rogers was later submitted to an experimental mind-conditioning program that conditioned his mind to accept false information in the chance he was captured by the enemy and forced to reveal classified information. As part of the conditioning, Rogers believed his real name to be Grant Rogers, that he had a brother, and that due to his parents being diplomats, he had a casual upper class appointment to the Army and Captain America position. It would not be until far later in life that Rogers would recall the conditioning and his true history.[27]
Rogers was originally issued a traditionally "kite" shaped shield made of mundane steel, as well as a sidearm. Cap's original helmet served as a mask and was separate from the rest of his costume. This proved a problem as in one early outing it was nearly knocked from his face via the hard wing emblems, almost revealing his identity to an attending newspaper reporter with a camera.[28] Adding a protective neck-plating hood to his costume, rather than his separate mask, solved this problem and afforded Rogers more protection. President F.D. Roosevelt later presented Rogers with his now-legendary disc-shaped shield. Discovering that its excellent aerodynamic properties made it an effective offensive weapon, Rogers abandoned his sidearm.
=== World War II Service ===
During the war, "Cap" served as both a symbol of freedom and America's most effective special operative. In addition to working with his young sidekick Bucky, Cap regularly fought alongside other Allied super-powered heroes such as Namor the Sub-Mariner and the android Human Torch, who were the recognized core of the World War II super-team known as the Invaders - a name suggested by English premier Winston Churchill.[29] Rogers sometimes came into contact with a Canadian paratrooper named Jim Howlett, the man who would come to be known as Wolverine.
Rogers faced fascist Germans and imperialist Japanese. Among his foes and adventures were battles with George Maxon, who was an impostor Red Skull, the White Death, the Legion of Unholy Beggars, the Dragon of Death, the Reaper, the Black Toad, the Black Talon, Stryker, Doctor Crime, Mock Mikado, Master Man and the Super-Axis, Togaro, Prophet of Hate, Agent Axis, the Shark, the Hyena, N2 and Mister Sinister, Dr. Togu, Doctor Destiny, Snapper, Jack the Ripper and Terdu, Dormammu, HYDRA, the Hand, the Grandmaster, the Ringmaster, Baron Zemo, Colonel Von Wagner, Fang (who later died in Hiroshima and thus became one with the Everwraith), and the Butterfly. He also prevented the murder of President F.D. Roosevelt by a group called the Defenders, the Battle of the Bulge, D-Day, stopping saboteurs (early March 1941), meeting Wakandans, saving President Roosevelt from a deranged Namor, meeting Nikola Tesla, saving a Manhattan Project scientist from Red Skull with the help of the Howling Commandos, stopping (with Howling Commando support) the Red Skull's plot to deploy a centuries-old automaton designed by a time-traveling Doctor Doom, facing the Red Skull in a hover device, scuffling with fellow Allies the Crusaders, fighting alongside the French Resistance and Peggy Carter (an American who had fallen in love with Captain America), almost accidentally slaying a war orphan, saving Michael Kramer from the Red Skull. In April 1945, Rogers stormed the Red Skull's bunker, with Red Guardian, Patriot, and Spirit of '76, in his last WWII battle with Red Skull.
For a time, World War II Bucky fought alongside a time-displaced modern-era Captain America until the Avengers
recovered their colleague to the present day.
=== Suspended Animation ===
During the final days of the war, presumably on or before April 18, 1945,[30] Captain America and Bucky were trying to stop a bomb-loaded drone-plane, launched by Baron Zemo, when the plane exploded, apparently killing his partner Bucky and throwing Rogers into icy Arctic waters of the English Channel. The Super-Soldier Formula prevented crystallization of Rogers' bodily fluid, allowing him to enter a state of suspended animation. Although Rogers and Bucky had seemingly perished, the war still raged on and U.S. presidents and the government picked different volunteers, such as William Naslund, Jeffrey Mace, and another Steve Rogers, over the years, to keep the morale alive, and even after World War II ended.
=== Avengers ===
Decades later, Rogers' wartime comrade, the Sub-Mariner, stumbled across his still-frozen form, which was being worshiped by a far-flung Inuit tribe. Enraged, the Sub-Mariner threw the ice block into the ocean. While opposing Namor, the newly formed Avengers happened upon Rogers' thawing body and soon revived the legendary hero.[31]
Rogers joined their ranks as the first recruit, since their formation, and was given retroactive "founding member" status in place of Hulk. With his superhuman abilities, extensive training, combat experience, combined with his impressive physique, confidence, and will, Rogers was an excellent addition to the team. As a born leader, Rogers would come to be seen as the heart and soul of the team and his commands, while in the field, were often followed regardless of who might have been team leader at the time. Rogers would teach teamwork, tactics, and hand-to-hand combat to many Avengers over the coming years.
Seeing that Avengers associate Rick Jones bore a resemblance to Bucky,[31] Cap took him into tutelage,[32] trying to recover from the great trauma of losing his wartime partner. After a time, Jones even convinced Rogers to let him wear Bucky's old costume and initiate a partnership, although Cap strongly opposed Rick joining the Avengers as a full member.[33] The early adventures Cap had with Earth's Mightiest Heroes included a run-in with his wartime foe Baron Heinrich Zemo. Zemo organized the first incarnation of the Masters of Evil, a group of super-villains who each bore a grudge against a particular Avenger.[34] After several skirmishes between the two groups,[35][36][33] Zemo kidnapped Rick and Zemo was accidentally killed in a rock slide, caused by his own weaponry as he battled Cap.[37]
At this point, the remaining founding Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man and the Wasp) decided to take a leave of absence from the stress of super-crime-fighting. Captain America was thus left to lead a new team comprised of Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.[38] "Cap's Kooky Quartet" was at first regarded as less able than the previous lineup, but soon proved their worth by overcoming several threats including a resurgent Kang[39] as well as Doctor Doom.[40] While the hotheaded Quicksilver and Hawkeye were at first headstrong loose cannons, Rogers' leadership was able to mold them into valuable team members.
When Cap took his first leave of absence from the team,[41] it was the Black Panther who stepped in to take his place on the roster.[42] Though when Cap discovered that one of T'Challa's motives was to "spy" on the Avengers (as part of his duties as King of Wakanda was to observe foreigners), relations between the two became strained and stayed that way for some time. Eventually, they restored the bonds of alliance and friendship, symbolized by Rogers giving T'Challa the enhanced copy of his World War II triangular shield he had used while his round one was broken.[43]
Meanwhile, Cap's old nemesis, the Red Skull, was brought out of suspended animation by the subversive organization THEM. The Skull feigned cooperation with THEM (actually the ruling council of HYDRA led by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker) long enough to steal the Cosmic Cube from subsidiary organization AIM. This led to the first postwar clash between the two great symbols of World War II. The Skull later impersonated Rogers and drove Rick away, while wielding the Cosmic Cube.
Rogers often crossed paths with another World War II veteran as well, this one an ally: Sergeant Nick Fury, of the Howling Commandos, whom he had met during the war,[44] was now Colonel Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Captain America teamed with Fury many times after emerging from suspended animation and their relationship warmed and cooled over the years, depending on various circumstances. They often worked together towards the same goal(s) and the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. maintained a close working relationship, even sometimes sharing a common computer database. Rogers worked with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Agent 13 (Sharon Carter), sister to Peggy. Rogers would come to share a deep romantic relationship with Sharon, eventually admitting his love for her.[45]
In another plot by the Skull, a Cosmic Cube-empowered man named Sam Wilson attacked Rogers. Steve was able to break Wilson of the Skull's control and the two teamed together to defeat Cap's archenemy. Wilson became The Falcon and Steve's most reliable best friend. Cap and the Falcon would share an active partnership for a long time.[46] Wilson actively succeeded Rogers as Captain America, when Rogers was badly injured and was encouraged to continue on in the role by Rogers himself. Despite the encouragement, Wilson returned the role upon Rogers' recovery.
One of Rogers' and Wilson's most noted battles was against one of Rogers' earlier successors, Steve Rogers, and Jack Monroe, calling himself Bucky. Rogers was shaken at the fact that he could have shared his excessively conservative successor's fate, if not for the technical dedication of Dr. Erskine and his Vita Ray process.[47]
Following a battle with Viper, Rogers' Super-Soldier Serum reacted with the venom in his darts, temporarily granting him superhuman strength.[48]
=== Nomad ===
While investigating the subversive organization known as the Secret Empire, Rogers discovered that its leader was a high-ranking government official. While this traitor committed suicide after being discovered, the government covered up the whole affair by using a double. Disillusioned, Rogers abandoned his Captain America identity and took up the alias "Nomad."[49] Two men tried in vain to assume the Captain America title; Bob Russo and "Scar" Turpin, while in the meantime the young idealistic Cap fan, Roscoe Simons, actually succeeded Rogers and Rogers himself awarded Simons his indestructible shield. It was Roscoe's death, at the hands of the Red Skull, that would inspire Rogers to become the "Sentinel of Liberty", a symbol of American inspired ideals rather than the US Government Super Soldier he once was.
In a graphic bit of scenery, Roscoe was crucified and tortured by the Red Skull, as a message to Rogers that any other person in the costume would also suffer the same fate, if the Red Skull encountered any of the "fake" Captain Americas. Rogers re-assumed his classic costumed identity and shield[50] and a rehabilitated Monroe joined Cap in a partnership, himself assuming the Nomad identity in a modified costume.[51] When Avengers Mansion was attacked and conquered by the Masters of Evil, under the leadership of Baron Helmut Zemo, Captain America was specifically targeted by Zemo, to avenge his father's death. Rogers was captured, during an attempt to retake the mansion and was forced to watch, as Mister Hyde tortured helpless butler Edwin Jarvis. The Masters proceeded to destroy a treasure trove of Rogers' memorabilia, including a picture with Bucky taken just before he was killed, Rogers' only picture of his mother, a baseball signed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, and Cap's original triangular shield. In the final battle, Cap defeated The Wrecker, with the aid of the Wasp, and defeated Baron Zemo in a rooftop duel. As Zemo fell, Cap tried to grab his hand and, though he was later revealed to have survived the fall, Zemo refused such charity.[52]
=== The Captain ===
Captain America continued to come into conflict with many foes, including the extreme anti-nationalist Flag-Smasher and the vigilante called the Scourge of the Underworld. Rogers was informed by the Commission on Superhuman Activities that he had never been officially discharged from the U.S. Army, and for this, he received a large back-pay, dating to the end of World War II, which he used to establish a nation-wide hot-line service to help him keep abreast of criminal activities. However, the Commission demanded that Rogers, as an "active" member of the armed forces, resume service as a government-directed operative. Finding himself unable to merely follow orders as a simple soldier any longer, especially after the events of the government that led to him becoming Nomad, Rogers again resigned the Captain America identity, even surrendering his legendary shield to the new Captain America, John Walker, who had previously clashed with Rogers as the "Super-Patriot".[53] During this time, Rogers used an Adamantium shield and, adopting a new costume, continued adventuring as "The Captain".[54]
Not long afterward, the Avengers were temporarily disbanded, due to a lack of active members. As the Captain, Rogers led a new lineup of the Avengers consisting of Thor, Gilgamesh, and temporary recruits Reed (Mr. Fantastic) and Sue Richards (Invisible Woman) of the Fantastic Four. Reed himself was accustomed to leading, however, and there were some conflicts of leadership between the two.
The Captain also led an unnamed, unofficial team during the same period that accompanied him on several missions. Along with The Falcon and Nomad, the group at times included Demolition-Man, who had assisted Rogers against Power Broker, Inc., and Vagabond, a tag-along of Nomad's.
It would later be discovered that the Red Skull was manipulating the Commission. The Captain and Nomad clashed with Walker and his Bucky. Resolving their differences, Rogers and Walker confronted the Skull.[55] Following the events and deeds that Walker had done while Captain America, Walker resigned from being Captain America and the Commission asked Rogers to take-up the mantle again. Rogers initially refused, but after Walker begged him, accepted. Later, Walker was apparently killed, but later reappeared in a new identity, after plastic surgery in the new name of "Jack Daniels" wearing Rogers' "The Captain" uniform and shield as the rechristened "USAgent".[56]
=== Continued Career ===
At one point, Cap avoided the explosion of a meth lab only to have the chemical effects of the blast react dangerously with his Super-Soldier Serum. To remove the problem, Rogers removed the serum and trained constantly to keep in peak condition. Cap discovered that the serum was not a drug per say, which would have metabolized out of his system, but in fact a virus that effected a biochemical and genetic change. This additionally explained how arch-nemesis, Red Skull, who at the time inhabited a body cloned from Rogers' cells, also had the formula in his body. Because of his altered biochemistry, Rogers' body began to deteriorate and, for a time he, wore a powered exoskeleton designed by Iron Man and Dr. Hank Pym, but was eventually placed again in suspended animation. During this time, Rogers was given a blood transfusion from the Red Skull, which cured his condition and stabilized the Super-Soldier virus in his system. Captain America returned both to crime-fighting and the Avengers.
Captain America was reunited with his WWII-era flame and former love interest, the now-aged American Maquis fighter Peggy Carter. Freeing her and others from the grip of the criminal Doctor Faustus, Rogers had her hired on as communications expert at Avengers Mansion as part of the expanded domestic staff called the Avengers Support Crew. Their romantic feelings diminished, but the two remained good friends. Another person taken on by Steve during this time was John Jameson, who acted as his pilot.
When the Avengers learned of the Kree-Shi'ar War and the danger the war efforts posed to Earth's sun, Rogers proposed to send diplomatic envoys to each superpower in an attempt to avert catastrophe known as Operation Galactic Storm. Captain America led the team bound for the Kree Empire. He had several conflicts of leadership with Iron Man, which culminated when the latter, against orders, led a team of Avengers to execute the Kree Supreme Intelligence for war crimes. His confidence in his leadership shaken, Cap offered to resign as chief executive and commanding officer of the two Avengers branches, but this was not the route the other Avengers wanted to take. Cap's old friend Hawkeye helped reinforce Cap's leadership confidence, as did the rescue by USAgent (John Walker and the Falcon of Demolition-Man from ULTIMATUM, Flag-Smasher's terrorist organization.
After returning to Earth, Cap rescued Diamondback (Rachel Leighton) from Red Skull's henchman Crossbones. Diamondback had previously, as a member of the Serpent Society, had a chance to kill Rogers in battle that she did not take. This was because she was smitten with him; the two began an on-and-off semi-romantic partnership afterwards.
Cap was part of the force raised to battle the psychic entity called Onslaught, and was one of the Avengers who seemingly gave their lives to absorb Onslaught's energy. In reality, they (the senior Avengers and the Fantastic Four) had been shunted to an alternate dimension created by Franklin Richards. After several months in this world, the heroes realized it was a construct and escaped.
During a rebuilding period with the Avengers, Captain America and the rest of the team (past and present) were duped by Morgan Le Fay into acting as her elite guard, the Queen's Vengeance. Rogers' alias in this alter-ego was "Yeoman America." He was the first Avenger to break out of Morgan's trance, and formed a resistance group that foiled the ancient sorceress' plans.
=== Secret War ===
At some point after this, Nick Fury asked Captain America for a favor. He and a number of other superheroes including: Spider-Man, Daredevil, Wolverine, Luke Cage and the Black Widow were asked to travel to Latveria to help Fury overthrow the government of Lucia von Bardas whom be discovered to be financing a number of technologically-based super-criminals in the United States.[57] Recognizing the potential terrorist ramifications of such an act, Fury decided to eliminate the threat despite being told to leave it alone by the American President.[58] Unbeknownst to the assembled heroes, Fury planned to make an example of von Bardas and brought down Castle Doom onto the city below, killing an untold number of people. Knowing that the superheroes could never condone such an action, he had the previous two days activities erased from their minds. Months later, while undergoing some tests for S.H.I.E.L.D., this block in the Captain's memory was discovered and removed, prompting Captain America to have words with Fury. On the year anniversary of their attack on Latveria, the heroes are all attacked by an army of technology-wielding super-criminals, led by von Bardas who survived their attack, although not without becoming horribly disfigured in the process. She synced up all of the criminals armors, creating a chain reaction which acted like a giant bomb in an attempt to get back at Fury and the heroes and destroy New York City in the process. She nearly succeeded except for the last-second interference of Daisy Johnson, a super-powered S.H.I.E.L.D. agent loyal to Nick Fury, who managed to defeat von Bardas before she could detonate her bomb.[59]
=== Avengers Disassembled ===
On a day that would become the darkest in Avengers history, the Scarlet Witch suffered a breakdown that, combined with her powers, had catastrophic consequences. Cap had recently had a strange encounter with Wanda, as well as the beginnings of romance, and was struck hard by the devastation of the team, which disbanded shortly thereafter.[60]
In future events, Rogers moved into the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, revealed his identity to the world (although he lived in a S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house), and resumed his off-and-on relationship with Sharon Carter.
Cap was among those heroes present at the Raft when Electro instigated a jailbreak. The next day, he spoke with Tony Stark, and convinced him to help form the New Avengers. Most of those present during the jailbreak were founding members of the team. The new S.H.I.E.L.D. Director, Maria Hill, was opposed to their incorporation, but Rogers reminded her that he had Full Champion License, that is, he was authorized by S.H.I.E.L.D. to assemble any team he deemed necessary for any mission he deemed necessary, and therefore did not need her permission. The New Avengers embarked on several missions under his leadership.[61]
=== Winter Soldier and Civil War ===
Meanwhile, Cap had also been dealing with more personal matters. Having been made a special SHIELD operative, Rogers, Sharon Carter, and Nick Fury began an investigation into Aleksander Lukin and his powerful Kronas Corporation. After the apparent assassination of the Red Skull, Lukin was in possession of the Cosmic Cube, but he also had a more personal weapon: the Winter Soldier (a revived Bucky Barnes). A KGB assassin who had been occasionally let out of suspended animation to perform only the most difficult missions, the Winter Soldier encountered Sharon Carter, who believed that he was the real Bucky. Cap at first refused to believe it, but Fury presented him with solid evidence.
Winter Soldier killed Jack Monroe and caused major devastation in Philadelphia before Cap, the Falcon, and Agent Carter stormed a hidden underground base operated by Lukin. Cap and Winter Soldier dueled, and the latter showed no sign of memory. Cap used the Cosmic Cube to restore his memory; Bucky then used it himself to teleport to Camp Lehigh, where he began to cope with his past.
Months later, Cap and Sharon tracked Bucky to a small mid-western town that was actually controlled by AIM. Distracted by storming the AIM compound and battling Crossbones and Sin (Synthia Schmidt), they were unable to catch up with him.
When SHIELD suggested the Superhuman Registration Act, Special Agent Hill ordered Rogers and the Avengers to help enforce it. When he refused, Hill had her trained Superhuman Restraint Unit" attack him. During the scuffle Rogers avoided being tranquilized and managed to escape by lodging his shield in an aircraft and forcing the pilot to fly him to safety. Soon after, at the Baxter Building, the Watcher told the heroes who had gathered there about Cap's escape. He became the leader of the resistance to the registration act, fearing that the freedom of America's heroes and the safety of their families were in danger.[62]
Adopting the alias "Brett Hendrick", a mall security guard to avoid government detection, Rogers became more and more extreme in his desire to win the Civil War. He allowed the Punisher to join his "Secret Avengers," and worked (albeit reluctantly) with the Kingpin. Since his old friend Iron Man was leading the Pro-Registration Superhero Unit, their rivalry was especially bitter. The two attempted to meet twice during the conflict, but each time it devolved into combat. They even refused to attend the wedding of Black Panther and Storm together. Cap was nearly captured by Paladin but escaped with the aid of Shang-Chi and the Heroes for Hire. In the final battle against the Pro-Registration forces, Rogers' teammate the Vision disabled Iron Man's armor, evening the odds for Cap and allowing him to take down Stark in Times Square. However, a crowd of civilians approached in support of Stark. Realizing that his fight against the registration act was endangering the people that he was trying to protect, he surrendered to Iron Man. He then gave his followers the order to stand down.[63]
=== Death of the Dream and the Legend ===
Following his surrender, Steve Rogers was indicted on several criminal charges. It was noted S.H.I.E.L.D. had restrained Steve with strength dampeners, while he was in custody. A successful assassination was orchestrated by the resurgent Red Skull which involved Crossbones deployed as a sniper. He fired the first shot, hitting Captain America in the back as he entered a federal courthouse to stand trial for his criminal charges. In addition, Doctor Faustus, posing as a S.H.I.E.L.D psychiatrist, had manipulated Sharon Carter and implanted in her mind a hypnotic suggestion that caused her to shoot Rogers, three times in the stomach and chest in the chaos that ensued. Rogers was taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds.[64]
Captain America was given a state funeral, but the body in his memorial at Arlington was a fake. Immediately after his death, Rogers' body was taken to SHIELD Headquarters as the only perfect super-soldier specimen in the world. Inexplicably, his body was discovered to have withered back to its original frail state. Tony Stark, accompanied by Hank Pym, and Janet Van Dyne, returned Steve Rogers' body to the Arctic where they had found him frozen in ice. Namor also attended the small private ceremony swearing that as long as he ruled the seas, no one would disturb Captain America's rest.[65]
Many people mourned him including various heroes that knew him. Others such as reformed Winter Soldier James Buchanan Barnes and Wolverine swore to avenge his death. Before the day of his assassination, Rogers prepared a package to be delivered to Stark in the event that he would not survive. It contained a photo of himself as Captain America and Bucky in World War II, and his final requests: that Stark "save" Bucky, and that the mantle of Captain America should continue. A SHIELD agent presented it to Stark confirming that it was delivered by an unknown attorney.[66]
Thor communicated with Steve Rogers' spirit on the first anniversary of his death. Though Thor vowed to avenge him in full, Rogers declined, saying that their world was already too stained with the taint of death and violence. Thor granted Steve a minute of silence, by using his powers to cut off all the electronic media in America for exactly sixty seconds.[67]
=== Rebirth ===
It was later discovered that, while his body was killed, Rogers' essence was "locked into a fixed point in space and time". Rogers' mind was being transported through time, forcing him to relive certain segments of his life such as World War II and becoming Captain America as well in various other scenes. Some changes were revealed to what was previously known (See notes below). While reliving the Kree-Skrull War, he was able to ask the Vision to record a message about his time travel condition to Mister Fantastic and Wasp (Henry Pym) in the future, which was duly relayed by the current Vision (Jonas).[68] With this data, Richards concluded that Sharon was the key to bringing Steve out of time, although they were too late to stop Doctor Doom and Arnim Zola from doing just that, however the Red Skull was now in control of Steve's body.[69]
Barnes and Rogers fought to drive the Red Skull from his body and succeeded in doing so. Rogers considered retirement from the role and allowed Barnes to continue operating as Captain America, thinking that there should not be two formal active Captain Americas. Rogers visited the current US President who gave "Captain America", not Steve Rogers specifically, a full pardon for his actions during the Civil War. Rogers explained that he didn't intend to resume wielding the shield, but would if asked. The President mentioned that this was fine, as he had another idea for Steve's services in the future.
=== Siege ===
With his own house in order, Rogers set about the next great task: removing Norman Osborn, current head of American national security agency H.A.M.M.E.R., from power. Rogers soon came to assist in bringing back Tony Stark, who was in a vegetative state, having diminished his intelligence to erase the Superhuman Registration database to keep Osborn from abusing it. To do so, Rogers and his associates resorted to a quite radical step in rebooting Stark's brain: channeling Thor's thunder through Rogers' shield connected to the implant on Stark's chest, a move which could very well have killed him. The process restarted Tony's heart, but for some reason his mind didn't reboot. Steve left to get Doctor Strange's help in going inside Tony's mind.
Following this, Steve was in the New Avengers hideout in New York when he learned that Osborn was laying siege to Asgard.[70] Enraged, Steve assembled the New Avengers, the Young Avengers, and Nick Fury's Secret Warriors to provide support for the Asgardians and finally bring down Osborn. Bucky gave Steve the shield, saying that they needed him leading the counterattack. Bucky told Steve that he needed the shield in the fight against the Dark Avengers. Steve took the shield but asked Bucky what he would do, to which Bucky replied "I will do what I do", holding a large gun in his hands. Before they left, Edwin Jarvis gave Steve a briefcase for Tony Stark.[71]
Steve Rogers was called to the White House, where the President offered to make him the new head of security of the United States. Steve agreed on the condition that he would get to do the job his way. The Super-Human Registration Act was repealed and, during a gathering at Avenger Tower, Steve appeared and told them it was the start of a new day for all of them and he needed their help.[72] Steve oversaw the incarceration of Norman Osborn at the Raft penitentiary, under his new role as Captain Steve Rogers.[73]
=== The Erskine Legacy ===
As the head of Nixtin Pharmaceutics and grandson of Abraham Erskine, Jacob Erskine set out to cure cancer using the Super Soldier Serum, but was killed before he could finish.[74]When Steve attempted to find who killed Erskine, he was caught in a trap by Machinesmith and his serum was deactivated.[75] Through the help of one of Machinesmith's robots who Steve previously believed to be a woman imbued with the serum, he was able to have his serum activated once again, and together they pursued Machinesmith.[76] They eventually seemingly killed Machinesmith and recovered the serum he was attempting to auction, at the cost of the robot's life. Upon further investigation, the serum Steve recovered turns out to be completely useless, and unbeknownst to him, the entire exploit was set up by Aloysius Thorndrake of the Shadow Council, who sought Rogers' blood in order to create an army of super-soldiers.[77]
=== Fear Itself ===
When Skadi (Sinthea Shmidt) freed the Serpent, he caused seven hammers to fall to Earth so that Midgard could fear him and his legions. Steve Rogers was present when each of these hammers landed and gave the order to send the Avengers to each of the crash sights. When Bucky was killed by Skadi at Washington D.C. during a blitzkrieg, Steve decided to avenge Bucky and resume the title of Captain America once more. And while Cap, Iron Man, and Thor were sent to different locations, Cap joined the Avengers in New York to stop Skadi. After the Serpent broke his shield during the fight in NY and left, he moved the fight to Oklahoma, where he used Mjolnir to defeat Skadi.
=== Spider-Island ===
Captain America was captured by the Jackal and forcibly mutated into a giant spider mutant, whom the Jackal calls "Spider-King."[14] As Spider-King, Steve Rogers was impregnated with thousands of spider eggs in order to spread the virus that gave people spider-powers.[78] He was stopped and captured by the new heroic version of Venom, but he escaped captivity by vomiting out the now-hatched mutant spiders. Ultimately he was recaptured and put into suspended animation, while Venom disguised himself as Spider-King to infiltrate the Jackal's organization.[79]
When the cure for the Spider-Island virus was discovered, he was returned to normal and later joined Venom in his fight against the Spider-Queen, the true mastermind behind the virus. Venom stabbed her with Captain America's shield, an attack that should have killed her. Instead, she mutated into a 28-story spider monster.[80]
The two led her to Union Square, where they were joined by other heroes while Spider-Man distributed the cure to the infected New Yorkers. This weakened her enough for Kaine, Spider-Man's clone, to kill her.[81]
=== The Vengeance of Codename: Bravo ===
During the funeral of Peggy Carter, Steve was attacked by an old ally he had not seen since WWII, a man called Bravo. This meant that Jimmy Jankovicz woke up from coma. In a secret sanatorium in Virginia, Rogers, Nick Fury, and Sharon Carter visit this man who is catatonic. Back in 1944 he helped the allies find enemy headquarters by entering a different dimension which he called Land of Nowhere until a spy put him in comatose state, leaving Bravo and Hydra soldiers trapped there. When Jimmy woke up, Bravo managed to return to this world. Later, Hydra agents kidnapped Jimmy and it was revealed that Codename: Bravo was behind the attack at the same time he was allied with Baron Helmut Zemo to kill Captain America.
Bravo manages to use Jimmy in a machine to open a portal to Land of Nowhere and trap Captain America, until Sharon Carter, with the help of Fury and Falcon managed to find Jimmy, and he, with his last act of will, managed to get Bravo and Steve out of Nowhere. Bravo is incarcerated but the Hydra Queen, who helped him, escaped to build a new Hydra along Baron Zemo.
Later, Cap and his allies caught word that HYDRA had been smuggling Madbombs across the city. Unfortunately, Cap was in no position to help, as he was suffering from a power decrease that returned him to his scrawny self. Fortunately, Iron Man was able to develop a cure to Steve's condition and construct a device that dispelled the Madbombs' effects.
Afterwards, a new Scourge had been attacking former villains that had entered Witness Protection. Cap fights Scourge, discovering that he was in fact Dennis Dunphy, Demolition Man. HYDRA had brainwashed Dunphy into attacking former villains and leak Witness Protection information into the public. Cap tries to reason with Dunphy, but Dunphy is too unstable and Sharon is forced to kill him.[82]
Eventually, Hydra initiates its endgame by brainwashing entire American populations through news broadcasts, causing civilians to rise up against the government. Cap directs an assault on Hydra's flying island, where he finally goes against Bravo and his Queen. HYDRA's plot is foiled while Bravo is killed and the Queen is left catatonic.
=== Avengers: X-Sanction ===
Rogers, along with the rest of the Avengers were tracking down and fighting the Lethal Legion after they escaped from prison. Unnoticed by the others, Falcon was shot down by Cable. However, Steve soon noticed that Redwing was flying alone and followed the bird to where Falcon was; in a ship container inside a Weapon X Tube. Immediately Cable fought with him, and at first, Rogers had the upper hand.
Eventually Cable defeated him and strapped him to an inhibitor chair, invented by Magneto, and shot Rogers with an EMP gun, knocking him unconscious, but not before revealing his desire that the Avengers not kill Hope.[83]
Eventually, Cable was brought down and Captain America was freed. As Cable was consumed by the Techno-Organic Virus, Cyclops asked Captain America for permission to take Cable back to Utopia, which Captain America agreed to in exchange for the Avengers keeping all the weapons used against them.[84]
=== Avengers vs. X-Men ===
Sometime after the event with Cable, a Nova Corps member crashed on Earth and managed to stutter that "it" was coming before falling into a coma. Rogers and Iron Man later found out that the "it" was the Phoenix Force, and that it was coming to Earth. The heroes went to the White House to brief the President about this threat, but not before sending a team of Avengers to try and stall/stop the Phoenix Force. During the briefing at the White House, Iron Man suddenly picked up a mysterious new source of the Phoenix Force on Earth. Knowing what had previously happened, Captain America and Iron Man stopped by the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning to consult with Wolverine, whom replied that the X-Men believed its new host is Hope Summers. With this knowledge, Captain America went to Utopia in order to negotiate with Cyclops. He asked that Hope be turned over to him and Avengers for protective custody.
Cyclops refused to hand over Hope since he and the other mutants believe she was their messiah, and that the Phoenix Force would allow Hope to fully restore the mutant race. Cyclops then blasted Steve with an optic blast, causing Steve to give the order for the Avengers to invade Utopia.
The Avengers seemingly defeated the mutants of Utopia although Hope manages to flee. The surrender however turned out to be a ruse and Cyclops teleported away from Utopia with several powerful mutants.[86]
The Avengers started searching for Hope (as well as the X-Men), after Wolverine helped Hope with her journey he betrayed her, and told Steve and the Avengers where she was. The Avengers arrived on the moon to confront her and take her into custody but are greeted by the X-Men who have also arrived to claim Hope. Before a fight can start a wounded Thor fell from the sky, closely followed by the Phoenix.[87] When Iron Man used a disruptor in his Phoenix-Killer armor on it, the cosmic entity wasn't killed but divided into five parts which possessed each one of the X-Men present at the scene.[88] The Phoenix-possessed X-Men started changing the world into a better place for living, but knowing that Phoenix's ultimately destructive nature would bring chaos, Steve and the Avengers tried to get Hope from Utopia in order to use her knowledge about the Phoenix against it, after the Scarlet Witch helped them against the X-Men (previously having visions of the Phoenix destroying Earth), Cyclops decided to hunt down every Avenger.
The Thunderer offered the Avengers to hide in K'un-Lun, as well as to train Hope to face the Phoenix, because of his past experience with the Phoenix Host and Iron Fist Fongji, and the prophecy of the Phoenix bringing chaos to Earth. Before the entire Avengers could teleport to K'un-Lun, Namor attacked where they were hiding, Wakanda, along a full army of Atlanteans. After defeating Namor with the price of the partial destruction of Wakanda, the Avengers teleported to K'un-Lun, in order to help Hope to train to face the Phoenix.
The Avengers were attacked by Cyclops who now possessed half of the Phoenix. He made quick work of anyone that opposed him but was defeated by Hope who in an act of desperation combined the powers of the Iron Fist, Scarlet Witch's chaos magic and Shao-Lao's flames to teleport Cyclops to the Moon. The Avengers then teamed up with several X-Men who had realized that Cyclops and Emma had completely lost control. Together they attacked Cyclops and Emma and gained the upper hand until Cyclops was forced to take the final piece of the Phoenix from Emma, making him the sole host. The complete Phoenix proved too much and finally turned him into Dark Phoenix.
The Avengers fought Summers around the world with the help of the X-Men and Nova, as well as trying to contain the chaos the gigantic force produced around Earth, but who finally managed to defeat him were Scarlet Witch and Hope, the Phoenix left Scott and possessed Hope, but she managed to control it, repairing all the damage Scott caused on the planet, and finally, using the powers of the Scarlet Witch to manipulate reality, she destroyed the Phoenix Force with a final blast of energy which caused millions of people around Earth to manifest mutant powers.
=== Uncanny Avengers ===
Cyclops was finally incarcerated, and Steve accepted the Avengers should have done more to help mutants, and allowed the world to hate them. As a result, he started planning a new sub-team of Avengers in hopes of unify mutant and humankind. He chose Havok to lead his team and become the new face to represent mutants as Professor X and Cyclops once were.[89]
Their first threat was the return of Red Skull, who usurped Professor X's body to provide himself telepathic powers, which he would use to provoke citizens of New York into a mass assault against mutants, or anyone who could be one, and force Scarlet Witch and Rogue to allow themselves to be attacked. With the help of the S-Man Honest John, he managed to even manipulate Thor.[90]
However, Red Skull's skills where still erratic, and couldn't completely control Captain America, an attack against him was enough of a distraction to lose control of Rogue and Scarlet Witch. After being overpowered by the rest Uncanny Avengers, Red Skull decided to escape, but promised a return. In the aftermath, both Rogue and Scarlet Witch joined the team.[91]
=== Adventures in Dimension Z ===
After battling a villain called the Green Skull, an eco-terrorist, Cap meets up with Sharon in a lone alley. Walking to a subway station, Steve and Sharon enter to a secret elevator that leads to a subway car hidden within the station. The car then disappears into a flash of light, entering a mysterious realm and also injected with an anesthetic. He finds himself strapped into an operating table. In that moment, Arnim Zola appears before him, welcoming Steve to the Dimension Z. Steve frees himself from the table and jumps through a window and escapes with a baby, only to realize later that the baby was Zola's son. Cap then tries to escape Z Dimension on a jet, but is shot down by enemy forces.[92] Later, Cap and Zola's son, named "Ian" are trapped in a desert like environment in Dimension Z. Suddenly, Steve is attacked by two of Zola's mutates. Steve manages to fight them off, but is later captured with Ian and encounter the Phrox, an alien-like species living in Dimension Z, and Steve becomes partially mind-controlled by Zola because of an implant.[93]
Steve then begins training Ian in how to throw his shield properly and become very close, even to the point where Steve tells him that Zola is his real father.[94] Later on as Steve and Ian return the Phrox's hideout and being ambushed by Zola's forces there, Steve grabs a blade and stabs himself in the chest, destroying Zola's implant, while Ian is being held captive.[95] Steve then infiltrates Zola's stronghold and kills all the mutates guarding its gates and has reached the tunnel that brought him to Dimension Z. Steve briefly considers returning to Earth and getting help from the Avengers, but he cannot leave Ian to his fate and crawls into the waste tunnels in order to infiltrate the fortress.[96]
Jet and Steve briefly fight each other in the fortress, but she reveals the truth behind Zolandia and they agree to work together to stop Zola. But however Ian, fully brainwashed by Zola, shoots Steve in the back. [97] Steve later battles Ian again and urges him to make his own decision. However, Ian is shot by Agent 13 through the neck from behind and falls into an abyss below.[98] Sharon later reveals that she rigged Zolandia to detonate. Meanwhile, Jet Black is fighting her father and is losing until Cap arrives and intervenes. Jet Black then frees the Phrox prisoners of Zola. Later, Zola is impaled and savaged by Cap and finally on the verge of destruction and complete shut down.[99]
The group later prepares to detonate Dimension Z as they leave so that Zola's mutates will not invade and infest the earth. But, Jet Black punches Sharon, steals her detonator, and races off on a sky sled. Later on after Cap and Sharon pursue her, Zola tells his daughter, Jet, that she has failed him again. He shoots deadly eye beams. Sharon almost falls to her death but Captain America grabs her hand. Sharon then tells Steve that she has a plan that they can still detonate Dimension Z and return safely to earth. She slips from Cap's grasp, telling him that she loves him. Cap urges Jet to take their sky sled, but it is too late. Jet and Cap return back to New York and Steve is later crying over his loss of Sharon.[100]
=== Captain America No More ===
When Captain America was in battle with the Iron Nail, the Super-Soldier Serum within Steve's body was neutralized, which caused him to age rapidly into an old man.[101] Following an attack on New York from Arnim Zola, Steve decided to appoint Sam Wilson as his successor.[102]
=== Time Runs Out ===
Months earlier, a new threat had appeared before the Illuminati, that of the incursions, the collision of two universes' planets Earths which ensured the destruction of at least one of those realities.[103] After opposing the Illuminati's willingness to probably destroy whichever Earth would encounter theirs, Steve was subjected to a mindwipe which made him forget his affiliation with the Illuminati.[104]
Shortly before losing the effects of the serum, Steve was exposed to the explosion of the Watcher's eye, which revealed deep secrets related to them to those in its blast radius,[105]Captain America remembered the mindwipe the Illuminati submitted him to, as well as their activities regarding the possible destruction of worlds, and confronted Iron Man about it.[106] He decided that the Illuminati's actions shouldn't be tolerated, and disposed the Avengers to hunt them down.[18]
After falling into a trap set by the Illuminati, Steve was convinced to put their differences aside and start working together on a solution to save the Earth.[107]When the final incursion was finally about to happen, and with only a few minutes before the event, Steve confronted Tony to settle up. The ensuing fight between the two old friends led Steve to force Tony to admit that he had lied to him and all of their allies, when he had known about the incursions all along, but Tony also confessed that he wouldn't change anything of his course of action. The final incursion started, and Earth-1610's planet Earth started approaching Earth-616's planet Earth while Tony and Steve kept fighting. Earth-1610's S.H.I.E.L.D. launched an invasion to Earth-616 and both Tony and Steve were crushed by a Helicarrier.[108] The two Earths ultimately collided, destroying each of the universes.[109]
=== Assault on Pleasant Hill ===
When the universe was brought back to existence, so did Steve Rogers and the rest of the world. A few months after these events, he became the new Chief of Civilian Oversight for S.H.I.E.L.D.,[110] and returned to the Avengers Unity Division, now based in the Schaefer Theater.[111]
Steve became at odds with Captain America after a hacktivist named the Whisperer leaked to the public the existence of a top-secret reality-warping project from S.H.I.E.L.D. named Kobik. While Steve and Sam took the same stance and opposed the project, which was ultimately shut down, their friendship was fragmented when Sam helped the Whisperer evade arrest from S.H.I.E.L.D., fearing potential unfair retribution for his crimes.[110]
Some time later, Steve was alerted by the Winter Soldier that the Kobik program had actually never been closed down, but instead downgraded and used to create a prison in the form of a town named Pleasant Hill, where its prisoners' memories and appearances were tampered by Kobik, a sentient Cosmic Cube with the appearance and mentality of a child, to turn them into model citizens. When Rogers confronted S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill about her deceptions, she took him to the town for a tour, trying to convince him to change his perspective.
The peaceful town soon became a warzone when a number of inmates that recovered their memories and powers led by Baron Zemo unleashed a coordinated assault.[112] Steve tried to find Kobik and have her restore peace. When he found her, Steve was brutally assaulted by Crossbones. On the brink of Steve's death, Kobik used her powers to restore him to his physical prime, granting him the power to gain the upperhand in the fight and defeat Crossbones.[113]
Reunited with both Bucky and Sam, Steve made his way across town, taking down many of the villains that roamed the town and coming to grips with his restored power. Ultimately, Steve apologized to Sam for his actions, stating that it was a mixture of different circumstances, including missing being out in the field, that made him act the way he did. He also apologized to Bucky for not keeping in touch more. The Captain Americas united, Steve gave the rallying cry to unite both the Avengers and its Unity Division, which had arrived to Pleasant Hill to contain and resolve the conflict, for the final assault on Pleasant Hill.[114]
After rescuing the citizens and S.H.I.E.L.D. staff that Zemo held hostage in the town hall, the Avengers took the fight to him and his army of villains, while trying to stop him from using Kobik, whom Zemo had recently captured, to rewrite reality as he pleased. Once freed, Kobik teleported Zemo far away. With no leadership, the army of villains fell apart. While the Avengers were rounding up the escapees, Sam convinced Steve that he needed to take up the mantle of Captain America once more, claiming that the country needed the type of unity that he had fomented in the Avengers.[115]
=== Steve Rogers, Agent of Hydra ===
Unbeknownst to anyone, Kobik had been indoctrinated in secret by the Red Skull in the ways of Hydra. Her innocently deranged set of values caused her to rewrite Steve's past when she restored his youth, as part of her desire to turn him into what she thought to be the most perfect version of himself. Thus, Rogers now had lived a life as a Hydra double-agent.[116]
After the events of Pleasant Hill, Steve became Captain America once again, this time with a new shield and having Rick Jones as tech support, Sharon Carter as his congregational liaison, and Jack Flag and Free Spirit as field support to combat the growing threat of Hydra. Steve's altered mind caused him to seemingly kill Jack Flag when they tracked down Baron Zemo.[117]