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Posted on Jul 16, 2002 - 02:53 AM by Admin |
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Captain America is back in the comic book news again! Fans are quickly snatching up copies of the new Marvel Knights Captain America! And now Marvel has revealed that this fall Captain America's origin will be changed forever with the miniseries called The Truth! However, one thing has always remained the same: Steve Rogers has been the man wearing the red, white and blue. Or has he? Would you believe there was a time when Steve Rogers called it quits and turned in his star spangled outfit?! And would you believe Steve Rogers was replaced by a wrestler-wannabe redneck?! Flashback to September, 1987 with The Fan Man to find out "Who Will Be The Next Captain America" in Captain America #333.
In 1987, the late, great writer Mark Gruenwald did the unthinkable: he stripped Captain America of the red, white and blue! Comic book fans around the world were shocked and stunned when the American icon turned in his star spangled uniform and familiar shield. No Captain America?! Say it ain't so! Well, it wasn't for long!
Steve Rogers was faced with an ultimatum in Captain America #332: allow his activities to be "coordinated" by a government superhuman council or give up the identity of Captain America. His decision shocked us all. Steve Rogers turned in his heroic identity! Suddenly, this superhuman council has bullied themselves right out of a much needed American icon! So what could they do? Why replace him, of course! (A decision that was almost as shocking as Steve Rogers quitting!)
The first two prospects were guys named Nuke and G.I. Max. Nuke was the recipient of a replicated super soldier formula. It was successful to an extent, but without something called "vita rays" to stabilize the process, Nuke became psychotic.
The second candidate, G.I. Max, was the product of an L.A. contractor. He was a soldier 40 times stronger than any human. Unfortunately, before he was fully trained, he was shot by his superior. Ironically, Steve Rogers just happened to be in the vicinity when both of these candidates met their demises.
The council then turned down three more candidates: Nomad, Falcon and Nick Fury. A fan favorite to replace Captain America, Nomad was turned down simply because he was a friend of Steve Rogers. Falcon was turned down because "the country is not ready for a black Captain America", the actual premise behind this fall's The Truth miniseries! And Fury was dismissed because he wouldn't give up his duties as head of S.H.I.E.L.D., and he was simply too old! So who will be the next Captain America?
Coincidentally council member Val Cooper has a copy of The Washington Post. Their lead story involves a new patriotic hero who had saved the city just the day before. This character's name? The Super Patriot.
The Super Patriot had saved the Washington Monument from a terrorist named Warhead. Warhead had demanded that the United States declare war on anyone or he would detonate a nuclear device. The Super Patriot makes his way to the top of the Washington Monument and struggles with Warhead. Warhead jumped from the platform and detonated some explosives, apparently killing himself.
After an appearance on a Washington television show, the Super Patriot is confronted by FBI agents who want to take him to the superhuman council. The Super Patriot leaves his agent behind and meets with Val Cooper.
Cooper asks the Super Patriot for his life story. The Super Patriot reveals that his real name is John Walker and he's from Custer's Grove, Georgia. John's parents are farmers. He became a patriot when his older brother was killed in Vietnam. John signed up to be a soldier, but ended up peeling potatoes. Wanting to do more for his country, John and a service buddy went to see the Power Broker, who claimed he could turn men into super men.
John and his buddy were put through a process that made them superhumans who could lift over 10 tons. Before he could do anything to make his parents proud, he had to pay the Power Broker for the treatment. John then planned on trying out for the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation. It was then that John met a man who had a better idea.
Ethan Thurm became John's manager and they decided to forgo the wrestling career in favor of becoming an all American hero. Ethan rounded up the funding, helped design the costume and mapped out the Super Patriot's strategy. They then toured the country, holding patriotic rallies and doing community service projects.
Val is apparently impressed with John's story, and reveals to him why he was brought to see her: Captain America has resigned and they would like him to be the new Captain America. John finds the idea funny since he has spent the past few months speaking out against Captain America, saying he didn't cut it as an American symbol anymore. But since John is a true patriot, he accepts Val's offer. Val tells John that they will have to run a background check on him, and asks where she can reach him when the decision is made.
John heads back to his hotel room and informs Ethan about the big news. Ethan's agent brain kicks in and he starts rattling off a list of demands that John must ask for. John leaves Ethan to his schemes to go out for a little jog.
While jogging, John starts to wonder why Captain America resigned. He decides that the easiest way to find out is to simply ask Cap himself! John dials up Captain America's national hotline service and leaves a message from the Super Patriot. John tells Cap that he has heard what happened and he wants to talk to him at the Lincoln Memorial at midnight.
Midnight comes and goes and Cap doesn't show. 45 minutes later, John decides to head back to the hotel. As he starts to leave, John is attacked by someone wearing a Captain America uniform. That someone is then joined by two others! The attackers are John's patriotic buddies that tour the country with him known as Bold Urban Commandos, or Buckys! They had heard of John's possible new job from Ethan and thought they would congratulate him.
Two days later, John is called back before the council. The officials reveal that John's background check was okay and they want him as the next Captain America. John asks them if they will look at his demands, provided to him by Ethan. The council agrees to look at them while John is led away by Val Cooper to be fitted for his own Captain America uniform.
After suiting up, John is then led to his first training session against Freedom Force, criminal operatives working for the government including The Blob, Avalanche and Pyro. John eventually takes down Pyro and Avalanche only to end up in the hands of The Blob. The Blob is on the verge of crushing John's windpipe when Val halts the exercise. Val then send John off to the archive library to study original footage of Captain America in combat.
Three days later, John is brought back before the council. They have turned down nearly all of his requests. In particular, they tell John he will have to get rid of his agent, and two of the three Buckys he proposed to assist him didn't meet with FBI approval. When asked, "Do you have any problems with this Captain?" John responds, "No, sir." And a new Captain America's career is begun.
As we comic fans learned in later issues, the John Walker Captain America was volatile and never worked out. Steve Rogers didn't quit the hero game. At first he didn't don the red, white and blue. Instead, Steve Rogers donned a red, white and black outfit and assumed the identity of The Captain. In an inevitable confrontation, The Captain and Captain America fought for the right to be Captain America. It was a fight that Steve Rogers won.
Meanwhile, John Walker never truly faded away. He later donned The Captain's outfit and went by the name The U.S.Agent. He was even a member of the West Coast Avengers for awhile. The last time John Walker was seen, he was working for the government under the guise of The Agent wearing a uniform that looked more like a jazzy policeman's uniform. But those are all possible Fan Man Flashbacks for the future!
Captain America #333 was a big, controversial issue when it was first released. Comic fans were still reeling from the shock of Steve Rogers giving up the red, white and blue. Who could even guess who would take Captain America's place?! And the cover of this issue provided not only some likely suspects, but also some comedic possibilities! According to the cover, possible candidates included Dr. Octopus, The Falcon, Nomad, The Super Patriot, Nick Fury, Ben Grimm with a beard, Tony Stark, Wyatt Wingfoot, Hank "The Beast" McCoy, Laura Hitchcock (Assistant Editor of Star Comics), Dawn Giger (Designer of the Marvel bullpen) and even Stan Lee himself! Oh, the possibilities there!
Captain America (Vol. 1) #333
Published: September, 1987
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Artists: Tom Morgan and Dave Hunt
Current Value: A very affordable $3.00!
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