The 10 Best Captain America Stories Of All Time

As one of Marvel’s longest tenured characters, Captain America has captured the idealism of America that swept through the country during World War II. Created to capitalize off of the superhero trend that was topping the charts through the comics industry in the late ‘30s, and then later instituted as propaganda material for the U.S. Army, Cap’s influence has been felt throughout comics for over seven decades.

He has been part of some of the best storylines that Marvel has ever put out and he has been at the center of some stories that nearly ruined the company, but no matter what happens to the character there is always going to be a creator waiting in the wings to revolutionize Cap for a new generation.

The story of a 100 pound weakling named Steve Rogers who gets transformed into a hero in order to fight America’s greatest threat is a timeless one that has spanned generations and influenced everyone that ever cracked open an issue. With Marvel set to launch Captain America #1 this Wednesday, we’re taking a look back at The 10 Best Captain America Stories of All Time!

Operation: Rebirth

10. OPERATION: REBIRTH (CAPTAIN AMERICA #444-448 & 450-454, 1995-1996)

During much of the ‘90s, Captain America was basically on life support after a neverending cavalcade of underwhelming writers, artists, and creative directions drove the character straight to mediocrity. However, for a brief time in the middle of the decade, writer Mark Waid and artist Ron Garney had a run on the character that brought him from the dregs of the comics industry and back into prominence.

By reintroducing the world to Cap’s ex-flame, Sharon Carter, and re-emphasizing the Red Skull as the pure master of evil in the Marvel Universe, Waid made Cap relevant again. His scripts leaned more towards the surreal, including such things as a Nazi cult looking to resurrect Hitler, but his sophisticated storytelling made his over-the-top style work flawlessly.

It's not as politically charged as some of the other stories on this list, but Operation: Rebirth does prove to be an extremely fun read with some ludicrous moments sprinkled throughout.

Under Siege

9. UNDER SIEGE (AVENGERS #270-277, 1986-1987)

Under Siege has a simple premise: Baron Zemo and the Masters of Evil storm the Avengers mansion in order to surprise and systematically take out the super team. The sheer brutality that Zemo employed was so jarring, though, that it sticks with us. Roger Stern has always had the ability to take a simple plot and fill it with enough emotion to turn any story into a classic, and Under Siege is no different.

Throughout the story, members of the Avengers are beaten within an inch of their life and their home is virtually destroyed, but what really makes the story work is when Zemo ruins Cap’s personal collection of mementos from his pre-WWII life. With everyone from his early years long dead, all Steve Rogers has left are photos and keepsakes from his friends and family.

The lone panel of Cap cradling the demolished mementos from his past life is still one of the most heartbreaking moments in Marvel’s history. It recalls the isolation that Captain America is built around and reminds the audience of all that he has lost over the years. Simple, yet effective; this is comic writing 101.

Winter Soldier

8. WINTER SOLDIER (CAPTAIN AMERICA #1-9 & 11-14, 2005-2006)

In 2005, Ed Brubaker began writing Captain America and quickly turned it into the best book at Marvel during that time. His first major storyline, Winter Soldier, broke onto the scene and finally got fans excited about the 64-year-old character again. By boiling the character down and getting back to the roots of what made him work in the first place, Brubaker created a globetrotting epic that was carefully plotted with fantastic art from Mike Perkins, Steve Epting, and Michael Lark.

Winter Solider wasn’t without it’s controversy, though, as it featured the return of Cap’s old war buddy, Bucky Barnes, who was thought to be dead. It turned out that Bucky was captured by Russian scientists after his plane crash in the '40s and was brainwashed into becoming a killing machine.

The concept may sound a little convoluted, but Brubaker’s strong grasp on the characters and inventive plotting made the whole story work without a hitch. Pulling inspiration from spy flicks like The Bourne Identity, Winter Solider was a little more intense and grim than most other Captain America stories, but Brubaker wove the grittiness and superhero action together seamlessly.

Ultimates

7. ULTIMATES VOLUME: 1 (THE ULTIMATES #1-12, 2002-2004)

In 2000, Marvel Comics created the Ultimate Universe; a concept that updated the company’s most popular characters for the new millennium. Mark Millar’s first volume of The Ultimates saw the creation of the world’s first superhero team led by a more modern depiction of Captain America and run by S.H.I.E.L.D.

This version of Cap was more aggressive than the classic ‘60s interpretation, as he had no qualms about indiscriminately killing his enemies. He was viewed as the perfect solider that would serve his country no matter what the price, and would often spout racial epithets without thinking twice about it. He was hard hitting, completely out of touch with the modern world, and quickly shed the “boy scout” image that previously plagued the character. He was everything a modern audience wanted from their heroes in a world that was increasingly painted with shades of gray.

The story itself revolved around Marvel staples such as Cap, Thor, Iron Man, and Hulk as they tried to quell an impending invasion of shape shifting aliens. The shocking violence and grit of the comic was only accentuated by the cinematic artwork by Bryan Hitch. The story questioned the role of a superhero in the modern world and depicted them as a deeply flawed group of people who perhaps shouldn’t be trusted with humanity’s safety. It may not be classic Cap, but it's thought-provoking Cap.

War & Remembrance

6. WAR & REMEMBRANCE (CAPTAIN AMERICA #247-255, 1980-1981)

Woefully brief yet absolutely brilliant, War & Remembrance featured the creative team of writer Roger Stern and superstar artist John Byrne tackling the character for the first time. The run only lasted nine issues, but the team managed to elevate some of Captain America’s goofier villains into real threats by providing more than just some thin moustache twirling motivations for them to opine about.

Batroc the Leaper, Mister Hyde, and Baron Blood were all temporarily elevated to A-list status after Stern and Byrne were finished with them. And in what became the team's single most famous moment, Byrne created one of the most memorable comic panels of all time when Cap was forced to decapitate Baron Blood using his famous shield.

While watching Nazi vampires get beheaded may sound better than a supermodel pillow fight, the real highlight of this nine-issue run was Captain America #250, where Cap briefly contemplated a Presidential run. In an era where big business was running unregulated and actors were masquerading as politicians, this issue served as succinct commentary for the state of the country at the time. It’s the perfect blend of intelligence and fantasy that makes the comic book medium one of the most unique artistic platforms around.

Man Out of Time

5. MAN OUT OF TIME (CAPTAIN AMERICA: MAN OUT OF TIME #1-5, 2010-2011)

Despite never really getting to fully stretch his wings on the character for a proper amount of time, Mark Waid has truly cemented himself as one of the best Captain America writers currently working in comics. But, as he proved writing Spider-Man, the Flash, and the Fantastic Four, Waid pretty much nails any character that he writes, so this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

In Man Out Of Time, Waid revisits Cap’s early days with the Avengers after he was thawed out of a block of ice in the Arctic. He spends most of the story trying to acclimate himself to a world that has moved on without him and views him simply as a relic from the past. These issues have been dealt with before in passing, but Waid really deconstructs the man behind the mask and explores the isolation that Cap first felt when he was brought back to life thanks to the Avengers.

Man Out Of Time is a perfect example for why comics don’t need to be wall-to-wall action in order to be entertaining. Like any form of literature, all they need is a strong concept and characters to work. Waid knows this and that’s why he can take a 70-year-old character and still manage to surprise his audience.

Civil War

4. CIVIL WAR (CIVIL WAR #1-7, 2006-2007)

In 2006, Marvel set out to shake up its roster of characters by pitting them against each other in an all-out war of ideals. The heroes were split over the proposal of the Superhuman Registration Act, a bill that would force all heroes to disclose their identities to the government and become agents of the United States.

This was too much freedom for Cap to give up, so he broke off from the pro-registration heroes, led by Iron Man, and created a renegade squad focused on stopping the passage of the law. The tale was emotionally charged and showed just how unwavering Cap really is with his beliefs. The story is also perhaps most famous for spurring the assassination of Captain America in its aftermath.

Civil War was socially relevant and hard-hitting, as Millar questioned the morality of working outside of the law and also how much power the government should really have. It also didn’t hurt that Steve McNiven provided some jaw-dropping fight scenes between Iron Man and Captain America. This was a comic event done right and the attention to detail was apparent in every panel.

Rarely do mainstream superhero comics weave politics and Spandex, but Millar shedded that notion and used Cap as the focal point of an entire movement. Civil War shows off Steve Rogers as a hero who aims to preserve America’s ideals, even if that means fighting the American government to do so.

The Death Of Captain America

3. THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA (CAPTAIN AMERICA #25-42, 2007-2008)

Death is nothing but a lame way to spend a weekend in the world of comic books. Characters seemingly die and then rise from the grave on a monthly basis, and it’s usually before their loved ones’ funeral clothes even come back from the dry cleaners. So, when Ed Brubaker killed off Captain America in 2007, fans didn’t actually believe that the star spangled Avenger would be kicking it with Saint Peter for long; however, what they didn’t anticipate was that the storyline would be nearly flawless.

Brubaker removed Captain America from his own book and somehow made an already extraordinary comic even better. By having his longtime partner, Bucky Barnes, become the new Cap, Brubaker added a level of vulnerability and self-doubt to the character that had never been seen before. Featuring battles with Iron Man, the Red Skull’s daughter, and corrupt corporations, this story was much more sophisticated and methodically paced than earlier comics. And as the sprawling plot continued to unfold, Brubaker added heaping piles of political commentary, mystery, and action to go along with the bubbling emotions.

This is widescreen comic book storytelling at its finest, and even though character deaths tend to be a bit gimmicky, The Death of Captain America is a landmark story in the genre.

Captain America Comics #1

2. CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1 (1941)

This is the issue that started it all. Created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon in 1941, Captain America was a direct response to DC Comics’ success with superheroes such as Superman and Batman during the previous decade. Captain America Comics #1 hit newsstands just months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor and sported a cover featuring the eponymous character landing a haymaker flush on the jaw of Adolf Hitler. It was brash, controversial, and wound up selling over 1 million copies. Timely Comics (later known as Marvel) had a hit on its hands, but little did anyone know the character would still be around 70 years later.

The inside of the comic is broken up into multiple stories, but the most famous one is Meet Captain America. Showcasing how a scrawny army reject named Steve Rogers that gets transformed into a patriotic behemoth, Captain America’s origin still stands up despite being crafted in the '40s. It needs no updating, no reimagining, no remaking; it simply captures everything that is great about the character. It’s quaint, and somewhat campy, yet still amazingly relevant.

Combining real world problems with comic fantasy, Captain America Comics #1 created such a perfect image of the character that there hasn’t been a need for very many changes over the years. This issue needs to be read by anyone who claims to be a comic fan and is interested in seeing how the industry has progressed over the years.

Captain America No More

1. CAPTAIN AMERICA NO MORE (CAPTAIN AMERICA #332-350, 1987-1989)

Despite Cap’s recent success under writers such as Ed Brubaker and Mark Millar, Mark Gruenwald still holds the distinction of being the best talent to ever work on the character. His Captain America stories provided the comic book action that all fans crave, but they also contained a healthy amount of social commentary to elevate the book into something more.

Gruenwald’s magnum opus on the character was the sprawling epic Captain America No More, which spanned a then-unheard-of 18 issues. It focused on Cap’s forced retirement after his refusal to become a government sponsored agent. This was a groundbreaking premise as Captain America very rarely spoke out against the government that he admired so much. While the government scrounged to find his replacement, Cap began to work outside of the law and adopted a new identity, The Captain.

By having Steve Rogers stand up to the government in order to preserve his own beliefs, Gruenwald broke the mold of many other writers on the character and shocked readers in the process. Captain America No More is a seminal comic work that deconstructs the personality of the hero and reconstructs him as a vastly improved and more interesting character.