Abraham Erskine

Doctor Abraham Erskine was a scientist who created the original Super Soldier Serum. Whilst living in Nazi Germany, he was forced to use a preliminary version of the serum on HYDRA leader Johann Schmidt. Fleeing to the United States of America, Erskine joined the Strategic Scientific Reserve where he managed to perfect his serum and chose Steve Rogers to be its recipient. However, moments after Rogers' transformation, Erskine was assassinated by HYDRA agent Heinz Kruger.

## Contents

* Biography
* Early Life
* Adolf Hitler's Offer
* In Captivity
* Saved by Agent Carter
* Project Rebirth
* Meeting Steve Rogers
* Training Soldiers
* Transforming Steve Rogers
* Assassination
* Legacy
* Remembered in History
* Recreating the Serum
* Personality
* Abilities
* Equipment
* Facilities
* Prisons
* Relationships
* Family
* Allies
* Enemies
* Appearances
* Trivia
* Behind the Scenes
* References
* External Links

## Biography

### Early Life

#### Adolf Hitler's Offer

Abraham Erskine was a German-born scientist from Augsburg, noted for his work in developing a serum to enhance human strength and abilities to superhuman levels. Erskine's work coincided with the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany. When Erskine refused to cooperate with the Nazis and tried to escape with his family to Switzerland in 1935, Hitler sent Johann Schmidt, the head of his SS research division HYDRA to force Erskine to finish the formula.

#### In Captivity

While Erskine was forced to continue working for the Third Reich, he came into conflict with Johann Schmidt who had intended to use the Super Soldier Serum for his own ends without Erskine's approval. Schmidt had also heard legends of an ancient artifact attainable only to a superior man and believed Erskine's formula would make him that superior man, although Erskine believed that his formula would not only enhance Schmidt's strength, but also his rage.

Erskine refused to hand over his formula until Schmidt threatened him with a gun and took an early version of the formula, which indeed gave him enhanced strength, but also demonstrated severe side effects. Schmidt would lose his hair, his skin would turn a deep red, and his face and head would also be deformed into a grotesque skull-like appearance. Erskine would later say the formula had also enhanced Schmidt's already-malevolent personality as well.

#### Saved by Agent Carter

Furious because of his disfigurement caused by the serum, Johann Schmidt had Erskine thrown into the dungeon to die a slow and painful death. However, with the help of Agent Peggy Carter, Erskine managed to be broken out of his dungeon and escaped to the United States of America, where Colonel Chester Phillips employed Erskine into the Strategic Scientific Reserve to perfect his formula in order to breed an army of super-soldiers to fight the Nazis, while Erskine relocated to Queens in New York City while he worked.

### Project Rebirth

#### Meeting Steve Rogers

While reviewing some more potential test subjects inside a recruiting station at Howard Stark's Stark Expo in 1943, Erskine happened to encounter Steve Rogers, who was having an argument with Bucky Barnes over his own right to go overseas and fight, showing himself to have a strong moral standing. As Erskine looked closer into his recruitment documents, he discovered Rogers had only recently attempted to enlist under assumed names in four different cities.

Intrigued by the lengths Rogers had gone to enlist, Erskine came to speak with him in private and asked Rogers if he wanted to kill Nazis during World War II, admitting that this was indeed a test for Rogers. When Rogers briefly questioned where Erskine was from, he claimed he came from Queens in New York City before admitting he was born in Germany. When Erskine asked his question again, Rogers claimed he did not wish to kill anyone but simply disliked bullies.

Rogers' answer satisfied Erskine enough to approve Rogers' draft card as 1-A and had him stationed at Camp Lehigh. As he signed the draft card, Erskine noted that he would be offering only a chance with Project Rebirth and no guarantees, but Rogers insisted that he would take whatever chance he was given. When Erskine questioned where Rogers was really from, he admitted he was from Brooklyn before Erskine called him a soldier and then left.

#### Training Soldiers

At Camp Lehigh, Colonel Chester Phillips did not like the idea of bringing a frail boy into the war, but Erskine was sure that he had made his choice for the Super Soldier Program. Though Steve Rogers struggled through basic training due to his small size and poor health, his perseverance and ingenuity impressed Erskine, who regarded Rogers as the clear choice. Erskine resisted Colonel Phillips' efforts to persuade him to select Gilmore Hodge, who was physically superior, but whom Erskine regarded as a bully. Erskine's confidence in Rogers was cemented when he witnessed Rogers throw himself on what he thought was a live grenade in order to protect his fellow soldiers.

The night before the test, Erskine came to the private quarters to offer Rogers a drink from Augsburg, but did not give it to him because the experiment was tomorrow so Rogers could not have any fluids. Erskine admitted his reasons for selecting him. Erskine told him about Schmidt and explained while someone like Schmidt, who had known power all his life, might lose respect for that power, a weak man like Rogers would know the value of strength. Erskine urged Rogers not to forget who he was, not a perfect soldier, but a good man.

#### Transforming Steve Rogers

The next day, when Steve Rogers arrived at the Strategic Scientific Reserve Brooklyn Facility, Erskine, with help from fellow scientist Howard Stark, injected him with penicillin and multiple injections of the Super Soldier Serum and bombarded him with Vita Radiation. Erskine nearly stopped the procedure when it appeared Rogers was having difficulty enduring the procedure, but Rogers urged him to continue. Moments later, Rogers emerged from the chamber significantly taller and noticeably more muscular.

#### Assassination

Erskine's experiment was successful, but his satisfaction was short-lived as Heinz Kruger, an operative sent in by Johann Schmidt to sabotage Erskine's work, had infiltrated the facility disguised as an observer from the State Department, detonated a bomb, destroying Erskine's machinery and shot him before attempting to escape with a sample of the Super Soldier Serum. When Steve Rogers rushed to the fatally wounded Erskine's side, Erskine's final act was to point to Rogers' heart, to remind him of who he was inside.

### Legacy

#### Remembered in History

Abraham Erskine was memorialized on the Wall of Valor, and also in a mural in Midtown School of Science and Technology. In 2015, Erskine was remembered by WHiH World News as "one of the brilliant minds that helped shape the world".

#### Recreating the Serum

With the last vial destroyed during the pursuit of Heinz Kruger, who committed suicide to avoid capture, Abraham Erskine would take the secret of the formula to his grave, leaving Steve Rogers the only example of his realized dream. Immediately after Erskine's death, Peggy Carter acknowledged that the only hope to recreate the formula was locked in Rogers' genetic code, but it could take years without Erskine to aid them. Nevertheless, scientists and military personnel would attempt to duplicate Erskine's work well into the 21st century, including Bruce Banner who believed gamma radiation held the key, and Thaddeus Ross.

Between late 2023 and early 2024, through trace elements found in Isaiah Bradley's blood, the Super Soldier Serum was finally recreated successfully by Dr. Wilfred Nagel, a former HYDRA operative who was originally recruited by the CIA to recreate Erskine's formula and improved it before being claimed by Thanos' Snap in 2018, causing the loss of the project's funding, which led Nagel to work for the Power Broker before his serum was stolen by the Flag Smashers. Nagel took great pride of his work for succeeding in what no scientist since Erskine had failed to achieve, but his nefarious actions led to his death at the hands of Baron Zemo, killing him and, in a similar way to Erskine, sending him along with his formula to the grave.

## Personality

Erskine was a scientist of integrity. He understood the importance of compassion for the weak, refusing to accept Gilmore Hodge as a candidate for Project Rebirth because of how the latter treated Steve Rogers in boot camp, referring to him as "a bully" despite his physical qualifications, which confounded the traditional Chester Phillips. His decision to elect Rogers for the Super Soldier operation was solidified when Rogers selflessly ran to cover a grenade, which was, in reality, a dud.

## Abilities

* **Genius-Level Intellect**: *To be added*
* **Master Scientist**: Erskine was an extraordinarily advanced chemist, having devised, created and perfected the Super Soldier Serum in the 1940s. Erskine is one of the few modern scientists famous and prominent enough to be painted on the walls of Midtown School of Science and Technology.
* **Bilingualism**: Erskine was fluent in his native German, as well as English.

## Equipment

* **Super Soldier Serum**: *To be added*
* **Vita-Ray Chamber**: *To be added*

## Facilities

* **Camp Lehigh**: *To be added*
* **Strategic Scientific Reserve Brooklyn Facility**: *To be added*

## Relationships

* Greta Erskine † - Wife
* Marlene Erskine † - Daughter
* Klaus Erskine † - Son

Allies* Strategic Scientific Reserve
	+ Chester Phillips † - Friend
	+ Howard Stark † - Friend and Colleague
	+ Peggy Carter † - Friend
* Steve Rogers - Friend and Test Subject
* HYDRA
	+ Johann Schmidt/Red Skull
	+ Arnim Zola †
	+ Heinz Kruger † - Killer

## Trivia

* In the comics, Erskine went under the alias of Josef Reinstein in order to hide from Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Zemo. Erskine's alias is seen on the cryo container in *The Incredible Hulk*.

## Behind the Scenes

* One reason for which Stanley Tucci accepted the role of Abraham Erskine in *Captain America: The First Avenger* was the opportunity of using a German accent for the character, something he had always wanted to try.
* Peter Pedrero was a stunt double for Stanley Tucci in the role of Abraham Erskine.
* Dave Bean was a stand-in for Stanley Tucci in the role of Abraham Erskine.

## References

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Abraham Erskine.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of quotes related to Abraham Erskine.

1. ↑ Jump up to:1.0 1.1 *The Incredible Hulk*
2. ↑ Jump up to:2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 *Captain America: First Vengeance*
3. ↑ *Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Captain America: The First Avenger*
4. ↑ Jump up to:4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 *Captain America: The First Avenger*
5. ↑ *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1.12: Seeds*
6. ↑ *Spider-Man: Homecoming*
7. ↑ *Google+ Profile/WHiH World News*
8. ↑ *The Avengers*
9. ↑ *The Falcon and The Winter Soldier: 1.03: Power Broker*
10. ↑ Stanley Tucci Says Captain America Has a Very Good Script

## External Links

* Abraham Erskine on Marvel Database
* Abraham Erskine on Wikipedia