Our favorite Captain America saga of all time is the looooong arc that hooked us to the character in the first place: the epic where the Star-Spangled Avenger is forced to evaluate his beliefs and very identity after unmasking the leader of a would-be revolutionary cult, The Secret Empire.
(Pssst. It was Richard Nixon …)
The revelation led a disillusioned Steve Rogers to abandon his role of Captain America and - after a very brief retirement - battle crime as the brilliantly named Nomad, Man Without A Country!
Yeah, he’s fighting a gang of toughs who are dressed like roosters. The Bronze Age of Comics was a very strange and funky time, children …
Of course, a hero as prominent as Captain America can’t just up and retire so a long parade of yahoos - including a star baseball player and a Hells Angel - attempt to fill the icon’s shoes and … fail miserably.
Finally, a scrappy - if somewhat generic - Dead-End Kid™ named Roscoe impresses the Falcon enough to earn the title of Captain America and it seems all will be well in the Marvel Universe.
Too bad The Red Skull had to return from the dead and ruin everything …
What followed is perhaps one of the best scenes to ever appear in a comic, as Nomad ponders his next step.
A hero’s journey in three pages … complete with a salute to Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.
Now remember, Fortress Fans, this took place a good 10-15 years before disillusioned heroes commonly abandoned their identities … only to step back into the breach after a younger, less experienced replacement has failed.
It was a lot for our pre-adolescent mind to absorb, and pretty much ensured that we’ll always have a soft spot for Steve Rogers.
By the by, the hapless Scar Turpin’s sole appearance as the Star-Spangled Avenger took place in Captain America #179, written by Englehart and drawn by Sal Buscema and Vince Colleta.
Nomad’s battle with *giggle* The Gamecock - as well as the fate of poor Roscoe and the original Cap’s subsequent return - are courtesy of Captain America #183, written once again by Englehart and drawn by Frank Robbins & Frank Giacoia.
Robbins wasn’t the most popular super-hero artist back in the day, but few others could elicit so much drama through the use of little more than facial expressions.
