The Avengers have iconic outfits and Captain America’s is a classic that has remained over decades of Marvel Comics. However, like other heroes, he has also had a few special occasion suits. While some have been good, his worst came as a result of the Heroes Reborn event in the 1990s.
Heroes Reborn began in 1996 and was followed up by Heroes Return in 1998. Heroes Reborn was an attempt by Marvel to reboot many of the companies’ characters. The Avengers and other heroes were placed in a pocket-universe by Franklin Richards – the son of Reed Richards. The issues involved in this initiative were created by Image Comics and Wildstorm Publications comic creators, but this proved to be one of Marvel’s worst moves. Many titles were cancelled early and the characters were put back into their usual continuity through the follow-up event, Heroes Return.
Captain America’s appearance fitting the alternate reality changed in Avengers #2 (1998), one of the titles in Heroes Return. In this comic, he has been placed in a Medieval world along with his fellow Avengers and Marvel heroes. While there his traditional suit is changed to fit the setting, as is his name. Captain America was outfitted with a suit of armor in his traditional color scheme and was called Yeoman America – and it definitely isn’t one of his better looks.
Yeoman America sports a fancy patriotic tunic over a blue bodysuit. He has a little bit of armor around his waist and on his knees. As usual, he sports red boots and he carries a shield different from his usual. While his shield is an intriguing design and the Medieval concept is one that could be really exciting, the execution just falls flat and has several problems. For starters, Yeoman America’s armor only seems partially placed in many regards due to the texturing and coloration. If he’s wearing blue chain mail, his helmet has a strange way of fitting with it. His helmet also doesn’t escape the realm of the strange considering it has painted on eyebrows. These seem to be part of keeping his winged motif, usually placed on the sides of his headgear. The placement on this particular costume, however, is bizarre to say the least. Some components of the tunic and the shield are the best points of it, but collectively, this outfit just does not work.
This iteration of Cap is one of the worst visually. While Captain America serves as a great leader still and is able to awaken his comrades from a spell they’re under, he doesn’t look good doing it. This is especially ironic since the Captain America illustrated by Rob Liefeld within Heroes Reborn is also highly criticized. This era was definitely one of the biggest visual lows in Captain America’s history. Marvel has had some big hits, from the adaptations made for Cap’s MCU costume to his Secret Avengers suit. However, when this super-soldier hits a low, he hits it big, as with this iteration and his Nomad suit from the 1970s. Captain America’s best suits will always be the ones that stick close to his traditional outfit and Marvel’s worst event was a direct cause of one of the hero’s strangest.
