The Avengers: Captain America

Every team needs a leader, some one who is fearless, smart and above all else will do the best in the grand scheme of things. In comes Steve Rogers, Captain America, for The Avengers team. Past his incredibly corny and pro-America costume lies another tragic character. He is a solider from the time of World War 2 who awakens from a cold slumber to find him in modern time away from everything and everyone he loved. He was however the living symbol of freedom in the comic book realm and you could even argue the case for real life. Frequently comic book characters were placed at the scene of some controversial material during some horrible times in America's history, and none more than Captain America as he proved his readers with hope of better times. While he didn't have the powers of the likes of a Norse God, or a man with a seemingly unlimited amount of money, Steve Rogers started as a small child with a huge heart. His fortitude made him a prime candidate to be a test subject of a super solider serum that turned him into the leader of the Marvel Universe.

Steve Rogers was a scrawny man who studied fine arts during the Great Depression. In his childhood, he saw death first hand as his alcoholic father passed away and his mother died of pneumonia after he graduated high school. When the war started up with the Nazis, he was appalled by them and decided to enlist in the Army. As a scrawny man he failed all of the physical requirements. However, they must have saw something in him as they invited him to volunteer for Operation Rebirth, a project intended to enhance US soldiers to the height of physical perfection via injections thanks to the fine work of Professor Abraham Erskine. Rogers eagerly accepted as he wanted to do whatever was possible to help his country and became the the first test subject. He was then injected with the Super Solider Serum and exposed to "Vita-Rays" that activated and stabilized the chemicals within his system. The process proved successful, with no awful side effects. Steve now had enhanced strength, reflexes, and his body went from a scrawny man to a tall muscle bound man. After the process was complete, a Nazi assassin murdered Erskine leaving Steve as the sole beneficiary of his work. Over the years the government tried to remaster the Super Solider Serum but to no real success like in Steve's case.

Rogers would go on to be assigned to serve as a counter intelligence agent and a symbolic US hero to counter the Nazi Germany's propaganda successes headed by the Red Skull. Steve would go on to wear a costume modeled after the American flag while also given a triangular bulletproof shield, a personal firearm, and a codename Captain America, the Sentinel of Liberty. His first opponent was in the form of Red Skull as he and his scientists were attempting to re-create the Super Solider Serum for themselves. During a subsequent mission, he traveled to Wakanda in Africa and befriended the nation's leader T'Chaka. As a reward for being an ally, the leader gave him a sample of the rarest form of metal know as Vibranium. Experiments showed that the metal was indestructible and they made it into a disc which would later prove nearly impossible to replicate. Steve became friends with the army's mascot Bucky Barnes, who quickly learned of his alter ego Captain America. Bucky offered to keep it a secret as long as he could tag along to be his sidekick. Rogers would agree and then go on to train the boy so he could defend himself. Throughout 1941, the two shared many adventures together in the states and around the world. In the closing days of World War 2 in early 1945, Steve and Bucky broke through Nazi troops for his final wartime confrontation with the Red Skull, who they previously thought was slain by bombing debris but apparently lived on in suspended animation. The duo arrived in England two days later but were to late as villain Baron Zemo had gained control of an flying explosive device. They reached the plan and Bucky attempted to defuse but to no luck. When he began to tinker with it the bomb exploded in mid-air sending Steve hurling into the freezing waters of the north Atlantic. The US Government declared both Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes dead. However, Bucky was picked up by Soviet operatives and Steve was buried in suspended animation in ice.

Years later, Rogers body was discovered in the northern Atlantic by a group of superheroes that were in a team called The Avengers. Once revived, he was taken a back by his new surroundings and even more distraught over the supposed death of his closest friend in Bucky Barnes. He felt that he had lost everything that was dear to him, even the people that he loved. All of these feelings made him feel displaced. The Avengers would eventually be attacked by a former teammate of his, Namor. Namor's lackey, Vuk turned all the heroes into stone. Steve would then confront the alien and reason with him forcing his hand to turn the heroes back into their normal state. After that adventure the founding members of The Avengers extended an invitation his way as their first recruit. As a member of The Avengers he created many relationships and close bonds most notably with Tony Stark (Iron Man), Thor, Hank Pym, the Wasp and even the team's personal butler Jarvis. The return of Captain America caught the attention of the media and he was quickly all over the place. The media once again had fallen in love with him, and then his old enemy Baron Zemo caught wind of his return and took back to his devious ways. Baron Zemo organized many super villains together to create a group called the Masters of Evil and set against The Avengers which would be the first of many encounters between the groups. In one of their later battles, Baron Zemo accidentally killed himself in a battle with Captain America as he triggered an avalanche.