While several heroes immediately come to mind when mentioning Marvel Comics, few are as highly regarded and iconic as Captain America. Captain America has become, in many ways, the hero that so many other Marvel heroes are either inspired by or measure themselves against, and the World War II aspect of his origin and story makes him incredibly unique compared to some of the other more fantastical heroes in Marvel’s world. That’s why Captain America #1 is so highly coveted, but the issue also set up one of Marvel’s most shocking returns decades later.
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Captain America #1 was created by the team of Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, Al Liederman, and Howard Ferguson, and first hit stores in 1940. The issue featured 7 different stories, starting off with the introductory story titled Meet Captain America. In this story, fans witness the transformation of Steve Rogers into Captain America after he is given a special serum known as the Super Soldier Serum, which gives him incredible strength, resilience, and speed. Unfortunately, the possibility of creating more is dashed when the Gestapo’s undercover agent shoots the scientist responsible and the rest of the serum, leaving Cap to fight this battle as the one and only Captain America.
Captain America #1 Set The Course For One of Marvel’s Best Stories
While Captain America was clearly the star of his own series, he wasn’t the only major Marvel character to make his first appearance within the issue. The book also introduces Steve’s best friend and partner, Bucky Barnes, though fans these days are more familiar with him as Winter Soldier.
Towards the end of the first story, Bucky Barnes discovers that Steve Rogers is Captain America, and that’s when Steve tells Bucky he has to help him keep his identity secret. He also brings Bucky into the fold as his sidekick, and the two end up going on all sorts of adventures over the course of the issue and the series moving forward. Wherever Cap went, Bucky went, and that’s why Captain America was so devastated when Bucky died during a plane explosion in Avengers #4, and no one expected him to make a return.
There used to be two deaths that stuck in comics, and those were Uncle Ben and Bucky Barnes, but that all changed when Barnes made his shocking return years and years later. It was later revealed that Bucky had managed to survive the explosion, but he lost his left arm in the blast and had been frozen in ice after he landed. Bucky was then discovered by the Russians and turned into an unstoppable assassin with a bionic arm, and fans lost their minds when Steve and Bucky finally reunited face to face.
The beloved storyline would then lead to Winter Soldier eventually breaking his programming and becoming a hero in his own right, and he even took over for Steve as Captain America when he was thought to be dead. That story ultimately became a hit movie and one of the MCU’s best to this day, and it all started right here in Captain America #1.
Now you have a chance to add Captain America #1 to your collection with the ComicBook Vending Machine, which features issues that were directly purchased from a local comic book store.
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