Birth(s) Of A Living Legend

 

There have been no less than four full-fledged origin tales of the star-spangled Avenger known as Captain America, which in a way is astonishing considering that Cap's origin is among several that could probably be easily repeated by any number of comics aficionados or laymen, even if one doesn't go into detail. Nor did that change (and you'll discover why shortly) when Marvel decided in 2010 to revise the origins of a number of select characters whose pasts were deemed to need a fresh approach or were otherwise too dated to bring forward through the years. And yet, researching this topic yielded a certain level of fascination for me--and I imagine similar feelings must have occurred to writer Roger Stern and artist John Byrne when they put together the definitive (emphasis by Mr. Stern) origin to celebrate the character's fortieth anniversary issue, a story which weaves in elements of those four tales as well as new tidbits of history for Cap as well as Steve Rogers prior to the latter's astounding transformation.

Add to that the curious coincidence that three of those four tales were published in the same month of their respective years, and taking place roughly fifteen years apart each, and you have to figure that their creators might have each been tipping their hats to history.

So in the spirit of both discovery and nostalgia, let's take a look at the ways in which writers in more contemporary times did their part to add to the material which Joe Simon and Kirby first crafted in 1941, introducing their readers to a character who would continue to endure over eighty years later.

Going in, you may as well know which other key characters stood the test of time, even if their names were tweaked depending on the writer's whim:

• The Curio shop "owner," who guarded entry to the Operation: Rebirth project. Originally known as FBI Agent X-13, her name was changed in the story's next iteration to Agent R.


• Our ill-fated scientist, Abraham Erskine, whom we didn't know on a first-name basis until Stern's anniversary issue. Alternating between "Professor" and "Doctor" in every origin retelling, even writer Stan Lee couldn't make up his mind whether to retain the original surname ("Reinstein"), changing it to Erskine in the second tale and then back to Reinstein in the third. Stern's tale would find a way out of the entanglement, as you'll see.


• Dr. Anderson, who came aboard as Director of Projects in the second tale. It's a safe assumption that Anderson's role was originally assumed by J. Arthur Grover, Head of the F.B.I., in Simon's story, but it would be Anderson who would go the distance in further retellings.

Speaking of Agent R, who by all appearances was as deadly an agent as they come, she nevertheless dropped the ball a couple of times over the years when checking the credentials of those requesting entry to the Project. It was Lee who instigated a password check ("The watchword is: 'Rebirth shall occur this night!'"), but let it slide in his second origin tale; Stern, however, brought it back, to be thorough ("The password is 'Eagle'"), though paring it down from resembling an old pulp phrase that usually found new life in satire spy episodes.

As we see in Simon's and Kirby's tale, it reads in an abridged way, foregoing Steve Rogers' disappointing medical exam and folding that discussion into the scene with Reinstein so as to provide just enough information for the reader to absorb the gist of the circumstances which led to this new character: The secret project... the candidate and the scientist... the experiment's success... and the project's tragic end. Through it all, Rogers is simply known as the experiment's volunteer or "the young man," his name only coming up when he would later report for duty to Camp Lehigh.

Simon's story shares similarities with Lee's later effort with Kirby in 1965, which like its predecessor also supplied Bucky's introduction as well as including a segment showing the two foiling enemy agents (in this case, a Nazi raiding party). Here, though, Steve Rogers is brought into the spotlight.

And what a difference nearly four years makes when Lee and Kirby return to recap the origin in Cap's own book in 1969. Framed in the context of Steve Rogers recounting to Nick Fury one of his last missions with Bucky, the story becomes vivid and detailed, eventually segueing to the circumstances which led to his becoming Captain America.

Kirby and Lee use the remaining pages to full effect, generously expanding on limited scenes from prior tellings--and in particular, we're witness to the first scene which would introduce the added step of bombarding the candidate with "vita rays" designed to work in tandem with the administered serum. It's clear over the years that this acclaimed artist had come into his own--but when our assassin makes his move, Kirby's work virtually explodes off the page.

Twelve years later in 1981, Stern and Byrne would provide additional material with greater emphasis on Rogers' motivations for joining the war effort as well as scenes of his family life and childhood while growing up in New York's lower east side. As for Operation: Rebirth, just as we've seen in the other tales, both writer and artist would provide enough of the project to cover the essentials.

From here, the rest is history, which we know was filled with both triumphs and tragedy.  Before he makes his mark overseas, we would see Cap begin his service to America by serving stateside, protecting vital American defense installations that were vulnerable to spies and saboteurs--scenes which were detailed to some degree in all four issues, as represented in the following montage.

Finally, on a closing note...

Assembling these scenes, there appeared to me to be a curious trend in relation to the segments of the assassin facing the music from Rogers' fists: a seeming effort to make it clear that the man finally identified as Heinz Kruger died by his own hand, rather than as a direct consequence of Rogers' attack. Whether that was felt necessary to absolve Rogers of behavior that might have tainted the image of Captain America in the reader's eyes is probably fair game for any forum of discussion; but for myself, I honestly don't think I ever gave it any thought before now, after lining up these scenes sequentially.

BONUS!
Cap's revised origin from 2010's Origins Of Marvel Comics. (Look how cleverly the addition of three words made his origin apply universally.)

Also, if you're curious... A very different ending to Operation: Rebirth.