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

[Lorendiac]

The serum's responsible for him being able to survive the freezing process and come back from it, but the slowing down/stopping of all metabolic processes while he was in the ice was indeed the product of the cold temperatures.

I don't claim to know what was stated or heavily implied the last time the "scientific basis" of his revival from "decades of suspended animation" was discussed in any detail in a recent comic book story, but what you're saying is the version with which I've been most familiar for many years, and which I am perfectly willing to accept as the basic excuse. In other words: the Super-Soldier Serum acted as a sort of "antifreeze" which prevented drops of water in his brain (and elsewhere) from turning into nasty little ice crystals which could rupture the surrounding cells and cause permanent damage. But the reason he didn't look any older when he was defrosted in "Avengers #4" was simply that his chilled body hadn't been doing much of anything in all those years when he was "on ice."

And even if it had been the serum, it was the serum preventing the aging process from happening in the first place by, again, slowing everything down, not constantly reversing it or 'holding it back'.

Likewise, that's the version that makes more sense to me -- even if the Serum "keeps Steve young," withdrawing the serum should simply mean "he's now a perfectly normal human being, with the same height and build and youthful skin and muscles and very healthy internal organs and so forth that he had yesterday morning -- except now he's going to start aging normally from this day forward, same as anybody else -- unless and until he gets the serum back!"

[cranger]

Nick Fury Sr. has rapidly aged as well since losing the last traces of the formula in his system during Battle Scars. We have yet to see him tell anyone exactly why. Just like Cap, might as well come up with your best theory and ask for a No Prize.

[Harpoon]

"Something which isn't as silly." Heheheh... uh huh... riiiiight.

The made-up science serum is definitely less silly than him being preserved in a block of ice IMO. I'd also ask you to not be so patronizing.

[MyriVerse]

The made-up science serum is definitely less silly than him being preserved in a block of ice IMO. I'd also ask you to not be so patronizing.

I'm not patronizing you.

Preserving in ice is not so made-up science. Super drugs is far, far sillier.

[Harpoon]

I'm not patronizing you.

Preserving in ice is not so made-up science. Super drugs is far, far sillier.

Springing up, alive and well, however is definitely made-up science. That's not what being preserved in ice means, he'd still be a corpse after the ice came off, and that's why I find it a lot sillier. It's not like if he was drifting through space, the ice that would form around his body would somehow keep him alive. At least the super drugs are pseudo-science-y enough to allow this kind of stuff.

[doctormistermaster]

I really hope that this is all building up to an elderly Avengers title!

[Aaric Rivad]

Who knows anymore? These days, all the cool kids are immortal. It's really kind of tiresome.

Losing the Super Soldier Serum should not have aged Steve.

[Maclimes]

Age and aging are weird things in comic books.

If you assume Steve was in his mid-20s when they woke him up in 1964, he'd be in his mid-70s right now (50 years later). So if he no longer had whatever technomagic was keeping him from aging, yeah, he'd be old.

But Iron Man was also in his mid to late 20s (maybe older) in 1963, so Tony Stark should be close to 80 by now.

When it comes to age/aging/time/current events in comic books, it's best to just ignore it and enjoy the story.

[CliffHanger2]

Brubaker did a similar story a few years ago. I don't think Steve was aged just puny again. I guess it's just bad writing.

[Harpoon]

Brubaker did a similar story a few years ago. I don't think Steve was aged just puny again. I guess it's just bad writing.

I mentioned a possible explanation on the first page.

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

The serum was still in Steve's body in that story (well, stories--Machinesmith did the same thing to him twice), it was just being suppressed.

[pageturner]

I'm not patronizing you.

Preserving in ice is not so made-up science. Super drugs is far, far sillier.

you mean like steroids? That is all the formula is a super steroid. It retards aging by keeping the cells healthy or something along those lines.

Now the formula is out of his system to such a degree it is causing him to age. Honestly it is comic book science hard to get worked up over this stuff. Well it should be.

[vitruvian]

Age and aging are weird things in comic books.

If you assume Steve was in his mid-20s when they woke him up in 1964, he'd be in his mid-70s right now (50 years later). So if he no longer had whatever technomagic was keeping him from aging, yeah, he'd be old.

But Iron Man was also in his mid to late 20s (maybe older) in 1963, so Tony Stark should be close to 80 by now.

When it comes to age/aging/time/current events in comic books, it's best to just ignore it and enjoy the story.

They didn't wake him up in 1964. The sliding timeline means that the FF's rocket flight that gave them powers and made them the FF was no more than fourteen years ago.

[vitruvian]

Springing up, alive and well, however is definitely made-up science. That's not what being preserved in ice means, he'd still be a corpse after the ice came off, and that's why I find it a lot sillier. It's not like if he was drifting through space, the ice that would form around his body would somehow keep him alive. At least the super drugs are pseudo-science-y enough to allow this kind of stuff.

Again, the serum would be what kept ice crystals from forming in his tissues, serving as a cryoprotectant, but not what slowed down his metabolism... that would be the freezing itself. It's not as though there aren't living organisms (albeit smaller, simpler ones than large mammals like us humans) in the real world which survive freezing and thawing quite well, and whose bodily processes seem to be suspended while frozen.

[Daggdag]

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.

That would not cause him to age faster.

he does not look "a bit" older. He looks like he's in his 90's, which he would be, if he had aged normally.

[Doc Omega]

I'm assuming that more than the SSS was drained from him. I'm assuming he had his life force drained as well.

He's had the SSS removed before and it didn't age him