Thor has his hammer, Green Lantern has his power ring and Wonder Woman has her lariat. But Captain America's shield came first — and it's still one of the coolest superhero accessories in the comics.
There were other distinctions for the star-and-stripes-clad avenger created by writer-artists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in 1940, prior to America entering World War II.
"Cap" was the first superhero to debut in an eponymously titled book, "Captain America Comics." (Superman and Batman, for instance, debuted in "Action Comics" and "Detective Comics" respectively.) And "Captain America Comics" No. 1 made what was, for its time, a bold editorial statement: Right on the cover, Cap is seen socking Adolf Hitler in the jaw, forcefully established the patriotic intentions of this character.
Cap has gone through many incarnations since debuting 70 years ago. The latest is on the big screen: Marvel Entertainment's "Captain America: The First Avenger," which was directed by Joe Johnston and stars Chris Evans as the titular hero. It opens on Friday.
'GOLDEN AGE' ICON
Captain America co-creator Simon is an icon of the so-called "golden age" of comics along with Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Bill Everett. The difference is that, unlike those revered artists and writers, Simon is still very much with us.
"I've always considered myself very patriotic," Simon said in an interview last week.
(The artist, 97, spoke with The Star-Ledger via e-mail. His replies were transcribed by Steve Saffel, an editor for Titan Books, publisher of Simon's new memoir, "Joe Simon: My Life in Comics.")
"Joe Simon: My Life in Comics" (Titan Books)Simon explained that he and Kirby created Captain America as a response to Hitler's rise to power.
"We both read the newspapers," Simon said. "We knew what was going on over in Europe. World events gave us the perfect comic-book villain, Adolf Hitler, with his ranting, goose-stepping and ridiculous moustache. So we decided to create the perfect hero who would be his foil. I did that first sketch of Captain America, and Jack and I did the entire first issue before showing it to (publisher) Martin Goodman at Timely Comics. He loved it immediately.
"But when Captain America came out, America wasn't yet in the war, so the American Nazis weren't happy with what we did to their beloved Führer. ... We had a couple of personal encounters with the Bund (an American Nazi group). But that didn't stop us. If anything, it added fuel to the fire."
Beneath his hooded mask and chain-mail union suit, Captain America's secret identity was Steve Rogers, a citizen deemed too sickly to be accepted by the Army, who instead agreed to undergo a government experiment developed in the hopes of creating a race of super-soldiers.
As Batman did with Robin the previous year, Cap took on a young sidekick, Bucky. He also acquired a unique and scary nemesis: the Red Skull, a Hitler cohort.
Cap's shield was initially triangular in shape, but rival publisher MLJ (later Archie Comics) complained that it looked too similar to a costume design worn by their character, the Shield. With the second issue of "Captain America Comics," Simon and Kirby modified the shield into the circular model that Cap has lobbed at America's enemies ever since.
Simon and Kirby both served during World War II — in fact, Simon guarded New Jersey's coastline during the war.
Recalled the artist: "I joined the Coast Guard rather than wait to be drafted. My first posting was at Long Beach Island, north of Atlantic City, where the Barnegat Lighthouse is located. I've always loved horses, and was assigned to the mounted beach patrol, scanning the shores for enemy ships and submarines.
"We had one fellow who claimed he saw a submarine, and before you knew it, we had soldiers parachuting onto the beach in the middle of the night. They didn't find anything, so they threw him into the brig. Later, we figured out that there really might have been a Nazi sub.
"In the Coast Guard, I met some amazing people — guys like Sid Caesar and Jack Dempsey. I loved it, and even considered making the military my career."
BUSY CHARACTER
In the meantime, Captain America stayed busy. Timely assigned other artists to "Captain America Comics," and the company featured Cap in more comic books in its line, such as "All Winners Comics" and "Marvel Mystery Comics."
Dick Purcell as Cap in the 15-chapter serial of 1944.In 1944, Cap made the transition to the big screen with the 15-episode serial "Captain America" starring Dick Purcell as the hero and Lionel Atwill (a specialist in horror movies) as the hissable Scarab. A likeable actor, Purcell died of a heart attack that same year at age 35.
Captain America's popularity petered out in the 1950s, a time that saw the cancellation of many superhero comic books. In 1964, the character was revived by Timely's descendant, Marvel Comics, in "The Avengers" No. 4. In the story, which was written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Kirby, it was explained that Cap had been frozen within an iceberg in a state of suspended animation. Thawed by the Avengers, Cap was back in action.
Suddenly popular with a new generation of readers, Cap co-headlined Marvel's "Tales of Suspense" with fellow Avenger Iron Man before taking over the title in 1968.
In 1966, Cap landed on television in the animated series "The Marvel Superheroes," alongside fellow Marvel offspring Iron Man, Sub-Mariner, Thor and the Hulk. The cartoon provided the character with a memorable theme song: "When Captain America throws his mighty shield ... all those who chose to oppose his shield must yield ..."
In 1990, Matt Salinger played Cap in a straight-to-video American-Yugoslavian co-production named for the character. In 2007, Marvel Comics "killed" Captain America in a storyline that garnered much media attention — an old trick comic publishers use to attract media interest. Predictably, the company revived the character two years later in "Captain America: Reborn."
Simon believes one reason Captain America has lasted for 70 years is that he was rooted in reality — a hero created at a time when heroes were needed.
"My first encounter with a great American hero came when my grade-school class was visited by a Union veteran from the Civil War," Simon recalled.
"That had a profound effect on me that has lasted to this day. I still consider the United States to be the greatest place to live."
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