Warning: contains spoilers for Captain America #6!As fans see Captain America‘s first true act of heroism, it’s revealed that Steve Rogers should never have lived to pick up the shield. Indeed, the only reason that Steve Rogers lived to fight in WWII is because his first enemy spared his life, believing it was crueler than going through with his planned assassination.
In Captain America #6, readers see the outcome of Captain America’s fight against the Emissary – a mystically empowered serial killer targeting those destined to make the world a better place. The narrative dovetails with flashbacks to Steve’s earlier life in 1939, thwarting the bombing of Madison Square Garden back before he had the Super Soldier Serum running through his veins. It turns out that in both adventures, Steve was unknowingly fighting against the influence of the demon Asmoday, who actually planned to have Steve assassinated after his adventure in the ’30s. Even as Steve was treated for his injuries, he was in the sights of Asmoday’s sniper.
The comic shows that after almost drowning to save the people inside Madison Square Garden, Steve Rogers’ various illnesses were made far worse, and he was given only five years to live. Asmoday therefore called off the assassination, as the demon believed Steve would suffer more if left to live out his days in obscurity. Little did the fiend know that the Super Soldier program would not just save Steve Rogers’ life, but ensure he lived to foil Asmoday yet again.
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Steve Rogers Was Targeted for Assassination Before He Gained Powers
He Only Lived Because Asmoday Believed It Was a Crueler Fate
Recently, Captain America has discovered the existence of Change Agents – individuals who have the capacity to advance human progress through ‘Nexus Events.’ However, he also discovered their counter-force – the demonic Asmoday, who can possess a chosen Emissary to kill Change Agents before they see through their mission. What’s more, Captain America is himself a Change Agent, with the suggestion that beating the demon in 1939 (as well as his efforts in WWII) ensured the world took a better path than Asmoday intended.
Captain America’s New Shield Upgrade Makes Him More Powerful Than Ever Before
As Captain America faces the deadliest Super Soldier he’s ever met, a major shield upgrade finally allows him to stand a chance in their fight.
Meeting up with Cap in the modern day, Asmoday admits that it regrets letting him live, and even calls him the most dangerous Change Agent of all, suggesting that another Nexus Event is on its way that Steve will play a part in. What makes this particularly triumphant is that Asmoday could have killed Steve back in 1939. An agent of the demon had Steve in his sights, with no protection around and no-one aware of the planned assassination. Steve was totally defenseless, and only survived because Asmoday wrongly thought he was out of the fight and on the road to a painful death, wanting him to leave the world “lost,” “in pain” and “irrelevant.”
As fans known, Steve Rogers’ life took a different path, and he not only became an immense force for good, but survived long beyond a human lifetime (and the five years his doctor gave him in 1939) to keep fighting for a better world. It’s a triumphant reveal that confirms Steve Rogers was a hero long before he became Captain America, and that his demonic enemy had the chance to remove the ultimate thorn in its side, but instead ended up banished because it underestimated a sick kid from Brooklyn.
Captain America #6 is available now from Marvel Comics.
