Am I the only one confused by how losing the Super Soldier serum causes Cap to age?

[Daggdag]

Last time I checked, Captain America's lack of age came from the fact that he was frozen for years, and not from the super soldier drug he took. So, why did losing the serum cause him to age rapidly? Did Marval do a rewrite that I missed? I admit I haven't followed CA in a few years.

[Lorendiac]

Last time I checked, Captain America's lack of age came from the fact that he was frozen for years, and not from the super soldier drug he took. So, why did losing the serum cause him to age rapidly? Did Marval do a rewrite that I missed? I admit I haven't followed CA in a few years.

I haven't closely followed Cap's adventures for quite a while, either. But I know he's "lost" the Serum before -- for instance, during Mark Gruenwald's "Streets of Poison" story arc, due to a total blood transfusion -- and I don't remember his getting visibly older as a result. (Granted, it later turned out there were still traces of the serum in other parts of his body, outside the bloodstream, and somehow it gradually self-replicated until Super-Soldier Serum molecules saturated his blood all over again.)

I strongly suspect this is just a case of a writer saying -- as often happens in the superhero comics industry -- "I have a nifty new idea that will shock the readers, and I don't care if it contradicts some stuffy old continuity in stories written by other people!" And the editor doesn't care, either, so he green-lights it.

[scribbleMind]

Dagg, you aren't the only one who's thought so, and you are absolutely right, it doesn't add up. I once thought that situations like these is what they had editorial staffs for. That was back in the days when I was an innocent.

[ETMike1988]

Last time I checked, Captain America's lack of age came from the fact that he was frozen for years, and not from the super soldier drug he took. So, why did losing the serum cause him to age rapidly? Did Marval do a rewrite that I missed? I admit I haven't followed CA in a few years.

Steve being old is the after affect of what Iron Nails was done to him! Iron Nail already temporary turned Nick Fury and Dum-Dum Dugans into old men decades ago.

[scribbleMind]

It's different for them though, because they actually are that old, and that's the infinity formula. There's no reason it should have the same effect on the Serum because it's only sustaining Caps youth by 10 or 20 years. At most he'd be in his early 50s, which he might be, but he looks much older. It's possible that he took the finite formula and injected it in Cap, but I somewhat expect the serum to somewhat counteract that. Even if that's not the case, even if he took the finite formula and injected it into Cap, or removed the SSS and injected the finite formula simultaneously, it could not have been more poorly explained.

[MajorHoy]

It's different for them though, because they actually are that old, and that's the infinity formula. There's no reason it should have the same effect on the Serum because it's only sustaining Caps youth by 10 or 20 years. At most he'd be in his early 50s, which he might be, but he looks much older. It's possible that he took the finite formula and injected it in Cap, but I somewhat expect the serum to somewhat counteract that. Even if that's not the case, even if he took the finite formula and injected it into Cap, or removed the SSS and injected the finite formula simultaneously, it could not have been more poorly explained.

Actually, Cap is that old, but his youth was preserved for a long period of time when he was frozen. I'm assuming his aging would have caught up to him at some point after being defrosted if not for the Super Soldier Serum. Also, don't forget he aged another ten years while trapped in Dimension Z (or whatever it was called), so he should be really old now.

[scribbleMind]

The years he's preserved in ice shouldn't count, is the line of thought I'm having. If I was put in a cyrogenic chamber today, and woke up 200 years from now, physically I shouldn't be 200 years old. Assuming he got frozen in his 20s, was in his 30s before dimension z, then he should be going on about 50.

[Harpoon]

It was retconned so that the super soldier serum had been keeping Steve young, not the ice--something which isn't as silly. That's also why he didn't age in Dimension Z.

[scribbleMind]

But how recently? Because when Steve lost the Serum in Brubaker's run, he didn't turn old. I can understand if that's the case, but I totally missed it.

[Harpoon]

But how recently? Because when Steve lost the Serum in Brubaker's run, he didn't turn old. I can understand if that's the case, but I totally missed it.

Could be because it was still in his body even then. Now, though, it's all gone.

[scribbleMind]

Makes sense. Harpoon, you wily informative scoundrel. You solved the thread!

[Harpoon]

I try my best.

[Daggdag]

Actually, Cap is that old, but his youth was preserved for a long period of time when he was frozen. I'm assuming his aging would have caught up to him at some point after being defrosted if not for the Super Soldier Serum. Also, don't forget he aged another ten years while trapped in Dimension Z (or whatever it was called), so he should be really old now.

But as it stands, even with 20 years from the infinity formula, and 10 years from being trapped in Dimension Z, he would only be in his mid 50's. He did not age much while frozen. So, when he was revived, he was still in his late 20's, or perhaps his early 30's.

No matter how you look at it, his aging 60 years at once does not add up.

[Ceebiro]

But as it stands, even with 20 years from the infinity formula, and 10 years from being trapped in Dimension Z, he would only be in his mid 50's. He did not age much while frozen. So, when he was revived, he was still in his late 20's, or perhaps his early 30's.

No matter how you look at it, his aging 60 years at once does not add up.

What you're forgetting is that Steve was far from fit prior to receiving the SSS. That would actually contribute to his looking quite a bit older than his actual age.

[pageturner]

WEll it is comic science so look at it like this. The SS formula makes his body the perfect body at the cellular level. He is as strong, fast and quick as a man can be. His cells also breakdown slower so he ages slower.