Captain America's Failed Second Appearance Neglected To Turn Him Into A Hero

Marvel tries to "fix" Captain America, giving him a tragic background and his father's problems - and nearly destroying their greatest superheroes in the process.

Marvel's Captain America is often portrayed as one of the purest superheroes in comics, but the House of Ideas does not always believe his character is an asset. In fact, Stan Lee's heroes are known for their weaknesses, character flaws, and frequent tendencies to fight each other instead of the villain of the week. In Captain America # 225, written by Steve Gerber with the art of Sal Bussema and Esposito & Dartok, Marvel did their best to create Captain America, which was very close to their previous superheroes - and this attempt almost destroyed him. .
 
In the previous few issues, Captain America struggled with memory loss. He can remember every war he fought as a soldier during World War II and as a revenge fighter in modern times, but the pre-war events are completely blurred. Thanks to a Dr. Harding's machine that can bring repressed memories to the forefront, Captain America was finally able to see his "true" original story.
 
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In his newly suppressed memoirs, Captain America recalls the pre-war period in which his brother Michael Rogers was his father's favorite son. Strong and physically active, Michael was on the baseball team, while the younger, screenwriter Steve was content to read books and draw ("Why can't he be a little more like Mike?" His father asks). When Michael went to Annapolis, Steve's father rebuked him and said, "... he's not worried about the problems in Europe - or that madman Hitler! He's going to college this fall - to study fine art - and hug his socialist, pacifist, dirty friends of the earth!"

A phone call came while Steve was in college that his brother had been killed during a Japanese attack on the port of Pearl. His mother was frustrated - but his father refused to talk to Steve. In part, this prompted him to drop out of college and eventually follow in his brother's footsteps and join the U.S. Army. The writers' intent is clear - give Steve character flaws in the form of his desire to persuade his father - but they fall apart. Steve will no longer join the military for the greater good - he joins because of his personal life.
 
Fortunately, Marvel found an error in their ways, and then in all three issues, Steve's exaggerated brother and frustrated father were both misinterpreted as part of the Super Soldier Serum process (if Captain America was ever captured in battle). Steve's parents are not mentioned in the modern sequel, which is part of the character's appeal. Like Peter Parker, Steve Brooklyn was the average kid who wanted to help others long before he became Captain America.