List of incarnations of Captain America


Captain America is the name of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and primary character is Steve Rogers, who was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Other characters have adopted the alias over the years, most notably Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson.

Earth-616

Steven Rogers (Revolutionary War Era)

Captain Steven Rogers, the 18th century ancestor of the World War 2 Super-Soldier serum recipient, wore a colorful costume and carried a round cast iron shield.

Steve Rogers

Steve Rogers, a scrawny Army reject, was given the Super-Soldier Serum, becoming the only complete success for Project: Rebirth, and the first person to officially be called "Captain America" by the Marvel Universe's American government.

Isaiah Bradley

The Super-Soldier program experimented on African American test subjects, including Isaiah Bradley, to re-create the formula that had been used to turn Steve Rogers into Captain America, similarly to the Tuskegee syphilis study.
Considered to be the "Black Captain America", Bradley became an underground legend among much of the African-American community in the Marvel Universe. Isaiah is also the grandfather of Young Avengers team member the Patriot II.

William Naslund

After Rogers goes missing in action and is presumed dead, William Naslund, the former Spirit of '76, on appointment by U.S. President Harry S. Truman, becomes the next Captain America. The story was used to reconcile Marvel's conflicting accounts of Captain America in the 1950s and 1960s.

Jeffrey Mace

Following William Naslund's death, Jeffrey Mace, the former Patriot I, assumes the identity of Captain America.

William Burnside

After Jeffrey Mace's retirement, a college professor named William Burnside assumes the identity of Steven Rogers and, in response to the threat of a Communist Red Skull, the identity of Captain America. He and his Bucky battle communism throughout the 1950s. Unfortunately, he used a flawed Nazi copy of Project: Rebirth to enhance his body, which results in his developing a violent paranoia, necessitating his arrest and placement into suspended animation.

Bob Russo, "Scar" Turpin, and Roscoe Simmons

In a time when Rogers had abandoned the Captain America identity, Bob Russo and "Scar" Turpin appear using the alias for an issue each, but both of them quickly abandon the identity after being injured. Roscoe Simmons wears the star-spangled costume during Rogers' time as the Nomad I, and is given the shield by Rogers. He briefly serves as the Falcon's junior partner, but is killed by the Red Skull a mere two issues after adopting the identity.

John Walker

When the U.S. Government strips Rogers of his mantle, it appoints the former Super-Patriot John Walker in his place.

Sam Wilson

Wilson, former crimefighting partner and friend of Steve Rogers, briefly assumes the mantle of Captain America in comics published in 1999. He resumes the identity in 2014 when Rogers loses the Super-Soldier Serum, remaining in the role for three years real time before relinquishing it to Rogers once more.

James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes

Following Steve Rogers' apparent death, his close friend and former sidekick James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes/Winter Soldier assumes the identity of Captain America and became a member of the New Avengers fending off the Secret Invasion by the Skrulls. Even after Steve Rogers came back from the dead, James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes continued to use the mantle and share it with him until he died only to be brought back to life by the Infinity Formula.

Dave Rickford

Dave Rickford is a former special forces soldier who attained an augmentation, giving him superpowers, from Dr. Malus and the Power Broker. He becomes the new Captain America when Bucky is entangled in legal difficulties and Steve Rogers is the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.. He is kidnapped by A.I.M. and rescued by Rogers, who convinces him to drop the identity.

Alternate universes