20 Patriots, 5 Codenames: A Salute To Marvel's Red White & Blue Heroes

**CBR News** · 07-04-2014, 05:58 AM

Nobody in the Marvel Universe shares their codenames quite like the heroes that rock the red, white, and blue.

Full article here.

**jonny_anonymous** · 07-04-2014, 06:21 AM

The original patriot hero was The Shield

**Andy E. Nystrom** · 07-04-2014, 06:51 AM

True about the Shield, but he's MLJ/Archie.

While's it's true that Marvel at one point intended Bradley to be the first Cap, they changed their mind and moved him a little further along in WW2 so Rogers remains the first.

American Eagle is an interesting case: while in main/616 timeline Jason Strongbow's the only American Eagle, the Squadron Supreme's James Dore Jr (Blue Eagle) also used that alias. It is fair to say however that being on a different Earth, it's unlikely in the extreme that Strongbow would have been aware of Dore's existence.

**Ravin' Ray** · 07-04-2014, 07:29 AM

There's a third (chronologically second) Miss America, though she's made very few appearances; a member of the Pennsylvanian Initiative team The Liberteens.

**mugiwara** · 07-04-2014, 07:29 AM

They should have mentioned the other Miss America, th one from the Liberteens.
I wish somebody did at least a mini featuring that team.
1737017-ms_america2.jpg

**vitamin** · 07-04-2014, 08:11 AM

Yeah, don't mention Miss America Chavez's influental creators at all coughJoeCaseyandNickDragottacough. Nor their superior version.

**Tom Foolery** · 07-04-2014, 09:05 AM

There was another guy running around in a Cap uniform. I can't remember his name, but he was in Priest/Sears Cap&Falcon series.

And isn't the Rikki Barnes Nomad dead now? Marvel likes to kill off its teen heroes.

**Holt** · 07-04-2016, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by vitamin

Nor their superior version.

Did anyone even read Vengeance?

**Loki** · 07-04-2014, 09:20 AM

Originally Posted by Andy E. Nystrom

While's it's true that Marvel at one point intended Bradley to be the first Cap, they changed their mind and moved him a little further along in WW2 so Rogers remains the first.

Not so much moved him further along WW2 as moved him into canon. When Truth was a stand alone, not set in 616 series, Isaiah could be first, but part way through the series that idea, if it was intended, went out the window. Once he was in 616, there was no way to for him to be first, since he was clearly established as only enlisting after Pearl Harbor, by which time Steve was already working alongside the Invaders.

It'd be nice if CBR could correct the article, rather than perpetuating the misconception.

**Charles RB** · 07-06-2014, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by Loki

Once he was in 616, there was no way to for him to be first, since he was clearly established as only enlisting after Pearl Harbor, by which time Steve was already working alongside the Invaders.

Which is a pity because him being first makes more sense - the series was promoted with "wouldn't the US Army have tested the serum on other soldiers they thought more expendable before doing it to the blond blue-eye guy?" and apparently, no they wouldn't but they do test the attempted replacement.

**Loki** · 07-06-2014, 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by Charles RB

Which is a pity because him being first makes more sense - the series was promoted with "wouldn't the US Army have tested the serum on other soldiers they thought more expendable before doing it to the blond blue-eye guy?" and apparently, no they wouldn't but they do test the attempted replacement.

Depends on how you look at it. Erskine comes along claiming he can create a super-soldier. There's little belief in his claims, but he convinces enough people to get a small scale test justified. Erskine is confident however, so he has no qualms about who he is going to test on (or he's only got one shot to convince the brass, so he may as well test whoever he thinks is the best candidate, regardless of race). Plus Erskine isn't a racist, so he sees risking a white guy as no different than risking a black guy. His choice is as much a PR exercise as anything else (we've seen that Dominic Fortune, for example, was considered but turned down because of his hedonistic lifestyle), picking someone puny so that the process will be that much more impressive. As far as the army are concerned, Steve is easily as expendable as any black man - 4F, poor working class background, and, iirc, Irish descent. Risking fighting fit, All-American types before black men, no, but one guy like Steve? Not a problem.

Then against all odds it works. Steve becomes a super-soldier, but now Erskine is dead. Now the army knows the process works, but they've lost it, because Erskine is dead. Worse, around the time of Pearl Harbor the Nazis, who have also been working on creating super-soldiers, succeed not once but twice! Master Man and Warrior Woman are both created using variations of the process, and feedback from the Invaders' foray into Europe on January 1942 reveals that the Destroyer is another successful recipient of a super-soldier serum created in Europe. The race to mass produce a formula is on. Another defector from Nazi Germany, Wilfred Nagel, replaces Erskine and, using an almost identical Reinstein codename, in May 1942 he begins mass testing on African American troops taken from Camp Cathcart. By this point the US army knows the process can work, but it will take time to find it, and yes, they consider the African American troops much more expendable than the white ones.

Regardless of how anyone wants to perceive it though, the fact remains - per Marvel's timeline, Steve was Captain America for months, if not a whole year, before Isaiah and his compatriots were first taken from Cathcart.

**FredII** · 07-07-2014, 03:44 AM

Originally Posted by Loki

Not so much moved him further along WW2 as moved him into canon. When Truth was a stand alone, not set in 616 series, Isaiah could be first, but part way through the series that idea, if it was intended, went out the window. Once he was in 616, there was no way to for him to be first, since he was clearly established as only enlisting after Pearl Harbor, by which time Steve was already working alongside the Invaders.

It'd be nice if CBR could correct the article, rather than perpetuating the misconception.

Actually I believe you are slightly mistaken here. The Chronology in Red White and Black has Steve Rogers as the first recipient of the Super Soldier Serum, then after Erskine's death Isaiah and the others are part of the effort to recreate the Super Soldier Serum. As always, some cases are successful (Isaiah) and others are not in the recreation process. Now, in the series, they show the African American test Subjects Reading Captain America #1, showing that while they were being tested on, Steve was being Trained as Captain America and used for Public Relations purposes.

However, Isaiah Bradly is sent into actual combat in a Captain America Uniform with a Variant Shield, Prior to Steve Rogers being so sent. The reason provided in the Series was that Steve's Transport was delayed, and the African American soldiers were more easily moved into position. As such, Isaiah is the first Captain America in both Red White and Black and official 616 Cannon, however, Steve Rogers is still the first successful Super Soldier experiment. Given the long term deleterious effects that Isaiah Bradley suffered, it is arguable that he was not successful either, however he was successful enough to establish himself as a Captain America, operating behind enemy lines in WWII, separate from Steve Rogers.

**Loki** · 09-12-2014, 12:41 PM

Apologies for reviving this thread, but I came across it again and realised I'd overlooked this comment, which I feel does need responding to, in order to correct inaccuracies.