The Many Shields of Captain America

Taking a short break from the reviews to introduce a few different sections of the blog, today let's have a good look at the many shields Captain America has used over the years. 

ORIGINAL SHIELD

The Sentinel of Liberty was introduced a lot earlier than most other Marvel superheroes, in Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941). In fact, it was so early that Marvel wasn't Marvel yet, and was going by the name Timely Comics. The Pearl Harbor attack hadn't happened yet, but War World II was raging in Europe with many American volunteers fighting on England's side, and Timely started introducing a few superheroes for propaganda stories. Cap was created by Joe Simon and a young Jack Kirby, and had a shield from day one. Only, his original shield was triangular in shape, and only used as a defence weapon. It was bulletproof and made of steel or titanium steel (depending on the sources) but couldn't really be effectively thrown. 

Super Sunday Special: The Big Three - History Of a Friendship

The following essay was originally written by me for Assembled! 2, a book by Van Allen Plexico and the rest of the AA Boards published in 2009. I was moderator of the boards back then, and we were all offered the chance to contribute to this and the unfortunately unpublished Assembled! 3. I decided to chronicle the 45+ years of friendship between Cap, Thor and Iron Man, from the early days until the original Civil War. For various reasons, it took a while for the book to be printed, by which time it wasn't completely up to date anymore and some changes were necessary, but the following is the essay as it was originally written. Incidentally, two more contributors - Doug and Karen - have gone on to create the Bronze Age Babies blog. I recommend you check it out. 

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“When I awoke, decades later, the first thing I heard was a deep, jovial howl. Thor’s laughter. And then another voice. Educated. Proper. But hollow – as if it was spoken through a metal pipe… They were the future. The Avengers.” (Captain America @ Avengers V3 #63).

Captain America, Thor and Iron Man, often referred to by readers as “The Big Three”. The history of the group owes a lot to them: they are founders – retroactively in Captain America’s case – have been team leaders and served some of the longest stints of membership, and when you see them interacting with each other, using their real names, asking or giving advice, or discussing private matters that they hide from everybody else, you can almost feel how close they are.

But it was not always this way: like every real relationship, the friendship between Captain America, Thor and Iron-Man has evolved through the years, starting as simple respect between “colleagues” and going through good and bad times, moments of confidence and of betrayal, of support and of hostility. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss how this evolution occurred throughout the 500+ Avengers issues, and to try to understand what makes the Big Three essentially like each other, and where their disagreements stem from.

Avengers: "The Price Of Victory"

Avengers #277 (1987)

By Roger Stern, John Buscema, Tom Palmer

Background: The Masters of Evil have invaded Avengers Mansion, badly beating Hercules and Jarvis. Led by the Wasp and helped by Thor and Doctor Druid, the Avengers are counter-attacking.

So, What Happens? The final battle between the Avengers and the Masters of Evil rages on. Thor faces Goliath in a fight so fierce it completely compromises the structural integrity of the mansion, while a shieldless Captain America squares off against a revived Wrecker, who now has the strength of the entire Wrecking Crew. Meanwhile on the roof Zemo orders Blackout to send the entire building in the Darkforce dimension, but Druid's telepathy gives Blackout enough self-control to resist the Baron's mental commanding, until the effort causes a cerebral haemorrhage that kills him instantly. Inside, with some help from Wasp, Cap holds the Wrecker at bay long enough for Thor to finally defeat Goliath, whose giant body topples on top of the Wrecker, putting him out of commission. Moreover, the damage to the building is enough to make Zemo's ship collapse alongside the rest of the third floor, with Yellowjacket inside. The girl survives, but faced by Captain America and the US Army prefers to surrender. On the roof, Druid recovers and Captain Marvel also arrives, easily destroying Zemo's guns. The Baron is alone and only has Captain America's shield for defence, but Cap shows up and asks to fight him alone, in revenge for everything he's done. The duel isn't just physical, as Cap confutes Zemo's claims about the Baron's father and remembers everything the Zemos have done to him, killing Bucky and injuring Hercules and Jarvis. Eventually, in his blind rage Zemo jumps at Cap, only to hit his shield and fall off the roof, refusing any help. Some time later, the defeated Masters are taken away by the army and the medics. Inside what's left of the mansion, Captain Marvel finds Captain America crying over the destroyed contents of his footlocker, including the torn photo of his long dead mother, the only memento Steve had of her. Now that the battle is won, he suffers the loss of his memories and of the mansion itself, which for a long time had been his home. Sharing his pain, Monica encourages him to salvage the past and build towards the future.

Iron Fist: "Assault On Avengers' Mansion!"

Iron Fist #12 (1977)

By Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Dan Adkins

Background: With Misty Knight taken hostage by the Wrecking Crew, Iron Fist is ordered to break into Avengers' Mansion and kill anyone he finds.

So, What Happens? Captain America is on monitor duty at the mansion, where he is investigating Iron Fist after his battle with the Wrecking Crew, unaware that the martial artist has just managed to break into the house. From newspaper scans, Cap reads about two deaths initially blamed on Iron Fist, and then leaves the monitors before noticing a later retraction clearing the hero. Meanwhile, Jarvis surprises Iron Fist, panics an falls down the stairs. Danny manages to save him from serious harm but the butler is unconscious, and right at that moment Cap arrives and jumps to conclusions, ignoring Danny's attempts at explaining the situation. A fight begins, but good as Danny is, Cap is much better and even the power of the Iron Fist can't break through the Avenger's shield. Realizing he can't win, Danny puts himself at risk under a collapsing generator, forcing Captain America to save him and to pause long enough to listen to Iron Fist's explanation. Finally believing his story, Cap agrees to help. Sometime later, Iron Fist lets the Wrecking Crew into the mansion and guides them to the still body of Captain America, but it's a trap and the villains are locked in the Avengers training room together with the heroes. Joining forces, and helped by the room's machinery set for Thor's training sequence, Iron Fist and Cap finally triumph. After the Wrecking Crew are taken away by the police Misty and Iron Fist depart from Avengers Mansion, parting from Captain America as friends. 

Avengers: "The Mighty Avengers Meet The Masters of Evil"

Avengers #6 (1964)

By Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Chic Stone

Background: The current roster of the Avengers is Thor, Iron Man, Giant Man, Wasp and Captain America, who has just joined the team.

So, What Happens? After his last mission with the Avengers, Captain America tests the new transistors Iron Man has built inside his shield, allowing it to always fly back to Cap's hands. Despite a bunch of fan letters from all over the world rejoicing his recent return among the living, Cap can't forget what happened to Bucky and vows to get revenge against the man who killed him. The villain in question is Baron Zemo, who has spent the last several decades in the South American jungle waiting for the creation of a solvent capable of removing the Adhesive X gluing his mask to his face. Reading that Captain America is alive, the Baron angrily remembers how it was the hero who made Adhesive X fall on his face and decides to form a group of villains to defeat the Avengers. He quickly enlists the Black Knight, the Melter and the Radioactive Men, who spray Adhesive X all over the city. The Avengers arrive and a battle begins, but soon Cap and Giant-Man get stuck to the road and the heroes need to fall back and regroup to find a way to free them. After a few failed attempts, the Wasp remembers about Paste-Pot Pete, an adhesive expert and former foe of the Human Torch, who indeed does have a super-dissolver that frees the two Avengers. With the help of the Teen Brigade, the Avengers replace the Adhesive with the dissolver, freeing the entire city, and have a rematch against the Masters, this time switching foes to take them by surprise. The Black Knight, Radioactive Man and Melter are quickly captured, leaving only Zemo for Captain America. Cap is a fury and Zemo is about to be defeated when one of his soldiers fires his gun and grazes the Avenger. Zemo looks about to escape with a can of super-dissolver, but Cap had replaced it with tear gas, so that the Baron loses control of his heli-overcraft and can be arrested by the police.

Captain America: "The Chasm"

Captain America #321 (1986)

By Mark Gruenwald, Paul Neary, John Beatty

Background: Trying to save a group of hostages, Captain America has had to kill one of the Ultimatum terrorists led by the Flag-Smasher.

So, What Happens? In the middle of a blizzard, Cap and SHIELD storm the Ultimatum base in the Swiss Alps, with the Avenger especially motivated to capture the Flag-Smasher after the recent events. Seeing his enemy about to leave on board of a helicopter, Cap jumps on it, and in the ensuing fight the out-of-control chopper smashes into the Alps and explodes. Both Cap and the Flag-Smasher are saved by the soft snow and resume their fight, but eventually the terrorist falls into a deep chasm. Unable to help due to the raging snowstorm, Cap is forced to dig a burrow for himself and wait until the weather improves. He's eventually able to get out and reach the bottom of the chasm, recovering the unconscious terrorist who appears to have a broken leg. Once again, Cap digs a shelter for the both of them, struggling to stay warm and keep his foe alive during the frosty alpine night. The next morning, Cap takes the now conscious Flag-Smasher and starts the long journey towards civilization, trying to explain his point of view and philosophies. He's interrupted by a Ultimatum helicopter, but it turns out to be a blessing in disguise as the hero quickly takes the terrorists down. The Flag-Smasher takes the chance to grab a gun and reiterate that his opinion of Captain America hasn't changed any despite their conversation or the fact that the hero has saved his life. However he eventually accepts he doesn't have a chance and gives up, promising to kill Cap another day. Focused on the principle that every life is precious, Cap flies the chopper back to base and delivers the Flag-Smasher to SHIELD.

Captain America: "Ultimatum!"

Captain America #321 (1986)

By Mark Gruenwald, Paul Neary, John Beatty

Background: Captain America has setup a hotline for people to get in touch with him and is travelling across America on a special van.

So, What Happens? The terrorist group called Ultimatum, led by the Flag-Smasher, hijacks a plane en route to London and threatens to kill all passengers if Captain America doesn't deliver himself to them. Wanting to save the hostages without falling into a trap, Cap gets some help from SHIELD and finds Ultimatum's base, hidden in the Swiss Alps, where he proceeds to incapacitate a few soldiers and wear one of their uniforms, complete with firearm. He eventually manages to find the hostages, but not before the deadline given by the Flag-Smasher. With only a few seconds left, Cap attacks the terrorists guarding the hostages, but when the last of them starts shooting on the crowd, he has no option other than gunning him down in front of everyone. Immediately horrified by his actions, Cap swears to capture the Flag-Smasher.

Captain America: "Death, Where is Thy Sting?"

Captain America #249 (1980)

By Roger Stern, John Byrne, Joe Rubinstein

Background: Over the past few weeks, Captain America has been attacked by mysterious robots, and is now fighting the bestial Dragon Man.

So, What Happens? Prisoner in the bone-crushing grasp of Dragon Man, Captain America throws his gauntlet at the creature's eye, causing DM to release him. The hero takes advantage of the moment's respite to destroy the flying metal ball responsible for Dragon Man's aggressive behaviour and tries to calm him down. Remembering who did this to him, Dragon Man takes flight, but Cap manages to hold on to him with a makeshift lasso. Eventually, Dragon Man lands in the countryside and smashes through what looks like a barn, but is actually the entrance to a massive underground laboratory. With Captain America a short distance behind, Dragon Man finds and attacks the maker of the flying metal ball, a scientist named Machinesmith, but is quickly taken down by his gadgets. Cap confronts the man, only to discover Machinesmith is himself a robot, capable of jumping from one body to another. With the hero busy fighting an onslaught of half-finished robot replicas and spare parts, Machinesmith gradually reveals that he fell to his death some time ago in a battle against Daredevil, only to be found by his robots, who could only save him by transferring his consciousness into a mechanical body. Now facing an army of Machinesmiths, Captain America notices they seem to be protecting a central computer and destroys it in the hope of identifying the real Machinesmith. Unfortunately, they all collapse as the central computer was Machinesmith. Made suicidal by this mockery of a life, and yet unable to go against his programming and destroy himself, Machinesmith had essentially manipulated Cap into killing him. Despite the dying villain's gratitude, Cap, who considers freedom the only thing worth dying for, is aghast at what he was made to do.