Warning: Contains spoilers for Captain America #6!!Steve Rogers’ journey from sickly young man to Captain America is a defining point in Marvel history, but it was not mere chance that led to him wielding the shield. Instead, his status as one of the world’s “Change Agents” always had him on that path. An encounter in his youth proves that Steve was a major force for good before he ever put on the uniform.
Captain America #6 – by J. Michael Straczynski, Lan Medina, Espen Grundetjern, and Joe Caramagna – offers a new viewpoint on Cap’s history. Everyone recognizes Captain America as a force to be reckoned with, but he is just as influential as a young man.
He foils a plan by the demon Asmoday to work through the Nazis, and destroys a bomb set to explode in Madison Square Garden. Steve’s ill health leads the demon to spare his life, assuming he will have a short, miserable few years. Instead, he receives the Super Soldier Serum, becomes Captain America, and continues to act as an unknowing (and superpowered) Change Agent.
Becoming Captain America Only Made Steve Rogers More Capable
While previous Captain America issues touched on Steve’s status as a Change Agent, the confirmation that he has been acting in that role since before ever becoming Captain America is groundbreaking. Young Steve Rogers always had a strong sense of right and wrong and bravery that bordered on recklessness, but his actions and strength of character mostly mattered in the sense that it led him to becoming Captain America. The reveal that he was essentially born as a Change Agent with the ability to foil even Asmoday’s plans turns that idea on its head.
Steve Rogers isn’t a force for good because he became Captain America. He became Captain America because he was already chosen to make a difference. It adds a sense of destiny and cosmic direction to his life – for better or worse. He was always meant to save the world, seemingly more than once, and even his own impending death didn’t slow him down. Instead, the universe unlocked a whole new path for him to continue and equipped him with extraordinary abilities, and Asmoday is still trying to undo the choice to let him live.
Steve Rogers is a Born Leader
Cap is one of Marvel’s most inspiring figures, and he’s carried that quality since long before he took up the shield. He has never hesitated to put himself on the line if it meant saving others. Those qualities have earned him the unwavering trust of many who encounter him, allowing him to lead the Avengers and other teams, and he has possessed them his entire life. Even if he were to lose his physical enhancements, he would still be the same capable person. Steve Rogers has always been a hero, and becoming a super soldier and Captain America made it easier to take action.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #6 (2023) | |
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