Captain America
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | 'Captain America |
| Abbreviation(s): | |
| Creator: | Joe Simon, Jack Kirby |
| Date(s): | December 1940 [1] - present (comics) July 2011[2]- present (MCU) |
| Medium: | comics |
| Country of Origin: | United States |
| External Links: | Marvel Profile Page |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Captain America is a Marvel Comics series and part of the MCU movie franchise.
Canon
Comics
Main character is Steve Rogers, the alter ego of Captain America. He had been deemed unfit for military service, but was transformed into the pinnacle of human perfection and the ultimate soldier. He carries on as Captain America, serving in WWII where he crashes a plane into the icy North Atlantic when trying to stop a villain.
Thanks to the Super Soldier Serum, the ice did not kill him, but instead kept him in a state of suspended animation. Years later he is found and when he wakes up, he joins the Avengers.
Cast
Captain America's supporting cast has grown to include:
Sharon Carter, Agent 13 of S.H.I.E.L.D. and his on-and-off girlfriend; Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon, a man from Harlem with a pet falcon named Redwing, whom Cap convinces to become a superhero and later partners with; Jack Monroe, one of the "Buckys" of the 1950s, having been appointed to the role by President Truman after the real Cap and Bucky disappeared, and who takes on the persona "Nomad" (a title originally created and carried by Steve Rogers himself for a short time after being shocked by a Watergate-type scandal); Bernie Rosenthal, a glass-blower and law student whom Steve Rogers dates during a time when Sharon Carter is presumed dead; Arnie Roth, Steve's childhood friend from the '30s with whom he reunites in the '80s when Arnie's boyfriend is taken hostage by Baron Zemo.
Captain America's main adversaries include the Red Skull, Baron Zemo, Batroc the Leaper, Crossbones, Dr. Faustus, and Madame Hydra.
In 2005, writer Ed Brubaker ran a storyline about the "Winter Soldier", a Soviet assassin. By the end of the story, it is revealed that the Winter Soldier is none other than Bucky Barnes, Captain America's sidekick during WWII.
Civil War
During the 2006-2007 Civil War event, Captain America goes underground when he opposes the Superhuman Registration Act, which requires all superheroes to register their identities with the U.S. Government. While the government already knows his identity, Cap believes the act to be a violation of the civil liberties of other superheroes. This stance pits him against long time friend and fellow Avenger Iron Man. In the end, Captain America surrenders for the safety of the ordinary citizens, and he is arrested. Later, as he climbs the courthouse steps, he is shot four times--once in the shoulder and three times in the stomach--and he dies soon after arriving at the hospital. It is soon revealed that the fatal shots were fired by none other than his love, Sharon Carter, who had been brainwashed by Dr. Faustus and the Red Skull.
The mantle of Captain America is eventually taken up by Bucky Barnes.
Movieverse
- See Captain America Movieverse for the full article about the movieverse of Captain America.
In July 2011 Marvel released the movie, Captain America: The First Avenger starring Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America. In April 2014, the sequel to the film, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released starring Evans as the main role again. Another sequel was released in Mary 2016, Captain America: Civil War, again starring Evans as the main role.
Fandom
As the spiritual center of the Marvel Universe, Captain America fandom is largely subsumed into general Marvel Comics fandom, with a more pronounced presence in the Avengers fandom.
Shipping
Canon pairings include Steve/Sharon, Steve/Bernie, and Steve/Rachel Leighton (reformed supervillian Diamondback)
Popular slash pairings include Steve/Tony (Iron Man), Steve/Sam, and Steve/Bucky.
Steve/Tony
The main Steve/Tony community is cap_ironman.
On July 4th, 2007 Elspeth Dixon and Seanchai began posting Resurrection, Reconstruction, and Redemption, the first Steve/Tony novel. Elspeth Dixon and Seanchai continue to be active in the fandom, and have been instrumental in its growth. They host the pairing's main archive, Tales of Suspense, which hosts fic and fanart.
Elspeth Dixon wrote the ship manifesto A Sword, A Horse, A Shield and a primer Printed Circuits: A Tony Stark character and fandom overview. Nix aka Crimson Quills ran a workshop on Writing Captain America/Iron Man and compiled The 62 Slashiest Moments.
Fanfiction
Captain America slash is more common than het or gen fanfiction. The main communities for slash are Marvel_Slash and cap_ironman (see Steve/Tony). Marvel_Drabbles features drabbles of all genres and ships. All genres of fic and drabbles featuring Steve Rogers could be found at MarvelFanFiction.com but the archive is no longer online.
#SayNoToHYDRACap
In late May 2016, it was revealed that Captain America/Steve Rogers is — and always has been — an agent of the organization Hydra in the new Marvel Comics’ Captain America: Steve Rogers series created by Tom Brevoort[3]. Once news hit fans, many started campaigning against the series - and Marvel - creating the hashtag #SayNoToHYDRACap[4].
Several years later, in 2021, some fans thought this scenario could work as a setup for the miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier:
Imagine giving your character the ultimate finale. They get their happy ending. They get to grow old with the person they love. They get to have a family. They get to rest and die happy.
Now imagine bringing that character back so he can fight Falcon and the Winter Soldier as an agent of HYDRA.[5]
Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fics
- For a full listing of Captain America fanfiction on Fanlore, see Category:Captain America Fanfiction
Arts
- Animatic thing of Peggy, Steve and lil’ Jamie by willow-s-linda
Vids
- Captain America: Theater of War (2014 Animated Fan-Film), a video based off the 2009 comic book series of the same name.
Recs
Meta
- The Traitor-Saint Of The Marvel Universe: More Thoughts Inspired By Ed Brubaker & Bryan Hitch's "Captain America: Reborn" meta about Captain America (5/2010)
- Captain America: Civil War, Archived version by Abigail Nussbaum ( May 2016)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier Spoiler-Filled Review by froborr (April 8, 2014).
Archives and Communities
LiveJournal Communities
Fannish Links
Resources
- Captain America page at Wikipedia (canon resource)
- Captain America page at the Marvel Universe wiki
References
- ^ Captain America Comics #1 debuts (first appearance)
- ^ Captain America: The First Avenger film released
- ^ 'Captain America' reveals a dark secret 75 years in the making USA Today. May 25, 2016
- ^ Comics Fans Respond to Captain America’s “Big Secret”. The Mary Sue. May 25th, 2016.
- ^ See: mac-darf on tumblr, January 27, 2021, Archived version