To say that eventually, Captain America prevailed against the Red Skull and his cosmic cube would be belaboring the obvious – not because the Skull was a two-bit hood that could be pushed around – far from it, but because one of Cap’s indefatigable traits was his ability to find ways to win in the most unlikely situations. Steve Rogers never relented, never gave up and he could think fast, had great martial arts skills and lots of combat experience.
This was one thing the Skull could not copy – even if he inhabited Steve Rogers’ body and tried to assume his identity. Cap got his life back and he now had a new partner in Sam Wilson – the Falcon. If this did not signify how unique Steve Rogers was – the fact that he and the Falcon would soon come face to face with another set of Captain America and Bucky, whose identities were Steve Rogers (an assumed alias) and Jack Munroe respectively, made it apparent that there was nothing like the original. Once again, Steve probably thought how lucky he was that he was Erskine’s legitimate recipient of the Super Soldier Serum, and not someone who later (or earlier) tried the serum in its incomplete state.
This Steve Rogers apparently was someone who adored the adventures of the ‘old’ Cap and had accidentally discovered the Super Soldier serum and recreated it than imbibed it with Jack – he likewise suffered the same fate as the other recipients and started getting too aggressive – to the point of actually becoming quite sadistic. He was captured by the government and placed in suspended animation… with the hope of reviving him (and ‘Bucky’) in the future, when a cure was found.
It would be at this point that Cap and the Falcon would bump into the newly revived Captain America and Bucky and fight them. Needless to say, the original Captain America and the Falcon would prevail.
Fighting villains, however, would not be a great a pain as the realization Cap would face when he would discover just how untrustworthy his own government could be when it came to defending the rights of Americans and people of the free and modern world. In a battle against the Secret Empire – one in which he received help from an underground team of X-men, Steve chased after the Secret Empire’s leader, following him all the way to a Washington office – and when Cap saw the identity of the leader, he was so shocked, and disillusioned that his morale was shaken to the core, his trust betrayed.
Bear in mind that Steve came from a time when the government was more trust-worthy, and less manipulative, while evil had a more obvious image in the Nazis. He skipped the darker history of the Kennedy and Luther King assassinations, and had not been exposed to the possible cover-ups that may have followed. Steve, for all intents and purposes, seemed naïve in this respect – owing to filters he had about the American Dream being lived fully by everyone.
Although living the dream may be an ideal – many people were becoming jaded for the very reason of having lived through these incidents. Gray areas were seemingly the norm – and in Steve Roger’s black and white considerations, he may have seen inflexible or outdated by some in this respect. Still, no one showed him how different the world really was until that particular discovery – some would say that this ‘scandal’ was the Marvel Universe’s version of Watergate.
How do I put this into perspective? I remember watching a movie called Capricorn One and thought to myself – wow… this plot was so incredible, only Hollywood would dream of such a conspiracy. Today, as I watched this same movie, and thought that the plot looked simplistic, almost outdated. That could be an example of the difference between Steve and the regular modern man. What others may see as ordinary and shrug about, probably stating ‘such is life’ in a jaded way, Steve would say otherwise because he did not think, nor would he believe such things as possible. The Secret Empire scandal was a very cold splash to his face. A wake-up call to reality… one that shook his foundation of trust and belief for what he was proudly defending whenever he fought a villain.
The evidence before his eyes were unmistakable – the leader of the secret Empire was a well known – highly placed, political figure; one who had great influence in the government, and one who deserved the trust of the people – including, Steve Rogers. Rather than being caught, the Secret Empire’s leader committed suicide in front of Cap. Steve could not bear to accept the fact that his government’s leader (some of the evidence alluded to Nixon – but, of course, we know he did not take his life) – through this politician, had somehow betrayed its people, and he suddenly questioned the modern American dream, since it was being controlled by unethical beings for patriotic purposes.
This realization made him rethink his role in being America’s living legend, and quit becoming Captain America – but before he left the role of Cap, however, Steve found himself, once again, time-displaced; though with a different set of other Avengers, including some he had never seen before – familiar faces were there, like the Wasp and Giant-man, though seemingly more experienced - but characters like Songbird and Captain Marvel would be complete strangers. Steve was so out of focus that he was simply running on instinct, and Jan – having come from Steve’s ‘future’, thus recognized this part of Steve as living the low point in his career as Cap, and she had to take up the role of leader for this time-displaced group.
Needless to say, this adventure would take them to many places and times – teaming this team with the Avengers foe, Kang the Conqueror – and once the clash to later be dubbed as the ‘Forever wars’ had been won, Steve Rogers was returned to his timeline with nary a memory of what had transpired.
Steve decided, for the very first time, to give up the role of Captain America – it was his feeling that America did not seemingly deserve nor need a Captain America and he was having a hard time being Captain America – in truth, he was questioning his role as America’s champion and defender of liberty. But Steve was not willing to give up heroics just yet – so he gave up the identity of Cap, and took on the role of “Nomad, a man without a country”.
It seems that Steve may have fancied seeing how capes worked around a hero – perhaps he admired how Thor look, with his flowing cape, and upon his taking the role of Nomad, Steve designed a costume lacking any nationalistic fervor, and naturally – Steve would include a cape. This fashion statement would be short-lived, however, as in his first-ever mission as the Nomad, aside from the fact that he was adjusting his fighting style with throwing disks in place of his regular shield, Cap was in the process of stopping the Viper and her men, when he accidentally tripped on his own cape – thus letting the Viper escape while commenting that she was sure to see a hero eventually stumble and trip on his own cape some day. Out of frustration for letting the Viper escape, Nomad ripped the cape off from his shoulders – thus putting to rest a fanciful, but seemingly bad idea.
Meanwhile other people were being considered as viable replacements to Steve Rogers for taking on the mantle and role of Captain America, but such were large boots to fill, and eventually they would fail. Steve would don the costume of Cap once again, once he reconciled the fact that the country and its dreams/ideals are not necessarily reflected by its politicians/leaders. This was the start of Steve’s new focus. Captain America would still believe in the American Dream – that of freedom, justice for all and other ideals that shaped the nation… and he would, as Captain America, be defending these ideals and would not be a simple order-following super soldier for any person who may have a warped idea of what these ideals or the American dream should be.
Steve Rogers now championed what was right about the country… corrupt politicians and narrow-minded members of the military started finding this out. Steve was never a blind follower – but he once assumed that the people’s leaders knew what they were doing. After the Secret Empire fiasco, Steve’s trust of politicians and certain military officers tapered towards realism. He now weighed what they told him with what was right for the country – for the nation. Steve transitioned to be a more thinking and feeling Super Soldier, and he would champion those ideals in any way – even if it meant going against the country’s leaders.
It was at this time that Steve decided to once again try to pick up his more private life, and he found a second floor apartment in Brooklyn Heights, He wanted to build a life as Steve and spend less time in the mansion – but still be close enough to be reachable had he been needed by the Avengers.
This is where Steve started meeting his neighbors: Anna Kapelbaum – WWII survivor and self-appointed mother figure / match maker to the people living in said apartment; Joshua Cooper – former army medic, now teacher for children with special needs; Michael Farrel – holder of three different college degrees, yet happy with his job as a full-time fireman; and of course, Bernadette Rosenthal – ‘one of the most-talented glass blowers’, recently moved in and showing a more than passing interest to Steve.
It was in one surprise birthday party organized by his new friends/neighbors that Steev saw flashbacks of himself as a boy, attending a similar party – but the memory troubled Steve, for it led him other memories of a childhood in New York, living in a struggling neighborhood… obviously different from what he recalls as having grown up in a well to do family. Steve was beginning to question his past, and he needed to resolve this.
Steve decided to pay a visit to Fury in S.H.I.E.L.D. (since Fury was with him when he tired to get his memories back) and found Dum Dum Dugan instead. Director Dugan then informed Steve that Nick found Cap’s memories as too convenient and did more digging around – and they had found something Steve might want to take a look at. This turned out to be Private Steve Rogers’ old WWII foot locker – complete with many of Steve’s personal belongings, including an old shield, a picture of his ‘real’ mother and his old journal which then explains what had transpired on a particular Christmas night prior to his extended assignment with the Invaders.
The journal explained everything and with this, a more confident and self-assured Captain America resurfaced. Steve now had his complete set of memories – more importantly, he knew himself, and was not confused.
Life moved back to normalcy – or at least, what resembles normalcy with Steve Rogers, and it was also around this time that Steve was reclaiming a life as Steve Rogers – outside of Captain America, hence the need for Steve to move out of the Avengers Mansion and fend for himself. He once, unsuccessfully, tried to be a police officer, but had a hard time explaining his sudden comings and going when he had to change to Cap, so this time he decided to try a less time-bound, and more freestyle-oriented career… as a freelance artist… after all, he did draw when he was young – it was time to try this potential gift as a way to make a living. Times were struggling, though, and Steve even wondered how everyday heroes like Spider-man would cope with the mundane task such as cost of living
As mentioned earlier, “Bernie” Rosenthal was attracted to Steve and her slightly assertive nature may have been the one thing that a very formal and gentlemanly (in a 1940s kind of way) Steve seemed to need in getting a date, since she was more often enough the one doing the invite, and moves – the latter ones, it seemed, that Steve was more than welcome to reciprocate, had his life as Cap not always seemingly have gotten in the way.
But Steve needed Bernie – having recovered from Sharon’s death a long time now, he still had no love interest, and his role as Cap demanded so much of his time. Having Bernie just one floor down promised some easy access time to Steve. Yep, you read it right, it was more Bernie pursuing Steve – or at least making the opportunities happen between them. But not to take anything away from Steve – he was living a double life, one he luckily seemed to explain away with tight deadlines needing all-nighter artwork.
Steve could relate to Bernie – and his neighbors, as Steve Rogers the person and not as Captain America, the super hero. Under his apartment’s roof, he was Steve Rogers, freelance artist and neighbor / friend … a real great and friendly guy with an anachronistic taste in the classics. Steve was starting to have a life aside from his being the Living Legend and Avenger, and it seemed apparent that Steve was starting a more intimate relationship with Bernie.
Captain America’s seemingly independent nature – specially after the Secret Empire situation, worried the government, but it was this independence, tempered by values attributed to the America Dream, that brought him much closer to the people, and in one particular Presidential election period, he would even be considered a viable independent alternative candidate running for the highest position – that of the United States presidency.
This started as a simple misquote – actually, more like putting words into Cap’s mouth, and hopefully scooping the political catch of the election by a seemingly overzealous political campaign manager. Never mind that it was basically way late into the campaign period. The idea was so fantastic, thatn when this campaign manager called the Daily Globe with his scoop, the news took a life of its own – now remember, at around this time, CNN was probably not as widely watched and influential as it is now, still, I’d bet that with new like this, and a broadcast distribution capability like them, many people would quickly hear about this particular news.
Said news seemingly caught on like wildfire, and Steve – who happened to be helping Bernie move her furniture into her apartment, did not know of the news until he read the Globe’s headlines. He was surprised that his friends did not bother about the fact that Cap was an anonymous personality – they still trusted him enough. Steve tried playing things down, but wherever he went – including Avengers mansion, he was the topic of discussions.
Cap even received invites from both major political parties of the United States (within a day of the news spreading), to run using their party, and their candidates were willing to step down, should Steve take up the race and their platform. Steve was surprised that many people, including it seemed, his neighbors, his close friends and fellow Avengers, started taking seriously and discussing the pros and cons of having Cap run - and win.
It was awkward for Steve to give his insight on Cap’s viability to be a good President in front of his new neighbors – but he saw how their faces lighted up – some even insisting that they would register to vote for Cap. His being untried in the political arena was seemingly an issue swept aside, and many were willing to vote for him due to the ideals he represented and upheld – never mind that he was a person in a mask, and that no one hardly knew him.
Even the Avengers were split on the issue – with Iron Man and the Vision stating their more practical viewpoint and Wanda espousing the good Steve could do in office – of course, the Beast was all ready to hit the campaign trail for and with Cap… guaranteeing the mutant voting bloc. But Steve assured them that he had yet to decide on the mater of running, and that said decision was his – and his alone, to make. What stunned Tony Stark (in Iron Man armor) was a call that Steve received from the White House, asking if Captain America needed Secret Service protection – remember, all candidates have to be protected by the Secret Service… even if the candidate is a super soldier. But as ridiculous as it seemed – the incumbent President was obviously taking the news seriously. When Iron Man asked why this was so – Jarvis, of all people, reminded Tony that ‘because his party was likewise taking the news seriously’.
Cap had to step out to think, and he ended up in a seemingly abandoned building in one neighborhood – and he remembered that this was his old school grounds. His memory went to a teacher who ‘seemingly in deaf ears of playful children (with obvious exception to Steve), she asked them to be prepared to defend their liberty and country.
This made Steve realize that if he had accepted any nominations, he would have to sacrifice a few (or more) of these ideals that he was championing. He may have been unsure about the capacity and capability that he would be in as a president, and he did believe that there were others more qualified – though perhaps not as trustworthy as Cap himself. But he already had a vow and responsibility to uphold… one he took when he donned the uniform of Captain America.
Needless to say, in a nationwide televised campaign meeting where people were expecting him to accept the nominations as a candidate for president – he instead told the gathered crown of his regrets – and that he had to represent the nation, and not just a few interests… and how he would better accomplish the mission he took upon himself as Cap, rather than as President of the United States. For some, a golden dream may have been missed – but for Steve, he really believed that remaining independent was the better way to do things. If the saying, “power corrupts” had any meaning – it would seem that by turning down this nomination, Steve avoided that particular bullet… and America got Ronald Reagan.
Next: An Invaders Reunion, the Captain?
This was one thing the Skull could not copy – even if he inhabited Steve Rogers’ body and tried to assume his identity. Cap got his life back and he now had a new partner in Sam Wilson – the Falcon. If this did not signify how unique Steve Rogers was – the fact that he and the Falcon would soon come face to face with another set of Captain America and Bucky, whose identities were Steve Rogers (an assumed alias) and Jack Munroe respectively, made it apparent that there was nothing like the original. Once again, Steve probably thought how lucky he was that he was Erskine’s legitimate recipient of the Super Soldier Serum, and not someone who later (or earlier) tried the serum in its incomplete state.
This Steve Rogers apparently was someone who adored the adventures of the ‘old’ Cap and had accidentally discovered the Super Soldier serum and recreated it than imbibed it with Jack – he likewise suffered the same fate as the other recipients and started getting too aggressive – to the point of actually becoming quite sadistic. He was captured by the government and placed in suspended animation… with the hope of reviving him (and ‘Bucky’) in the future, when a cure was found.
It would be at this point that Cap and the Falcon would bump into the newly revived Captain America and Bucky and fight them. Needless to say, the original Captain America and the Falcon would prevail.
Fighting villains, however, would not be a great a pain as the realization Cap would face when he would discover just how untrustworthy his own government could be when it came to defending the rights of Americans and people of the free and modern world. In a battle against the Secret Empire – one in which he received help from an underground team of X-men, Steve chased after the Secret Empire’s leader, following him all the way to a Washington office – and when Cap saw the identity of the leader, he was so shocked, and disillusioned that his morale was shaken to the core, his trust betrayed.
Bear in mind that Steve came from a time when the government was more trust-worthy, and less manipulative, while evil had a more obvious image in the Nazis. He skipped the darker history of the Kennedy and Luther King assassinations, and had not been exposed to the possible cover-ups that may have followed. Steve, for all intents and purposes, seemed naïve in this respect – owing to filters he had about the American Dream being lived fully by everyone.
Although living the dream may be an ideal – many people were becoming jaded for the very reason of having lived through these incidents. Gray areas were seemingly the norm – and in Steve Roger’s black and white considerations, he may have seen inflexible or outdated by some in this respect. Still, no one showed him how different the world really was until that particular discovery – some would say that this ‘scandal’ was the Marvel Universe’s version of Watergate.
How do I put this into perspective? I remember watching a movie called Capricorn One and thought to myself – wow… this plot was so incredible, only Hollywood would dream of such a conspiracy. Today, as I watched this same movie, and thought that the plot looked simplistic, almost outdated. That could be an example of the difference between Steve and the regular modern man. What others may see as ordinary and shrug about, probably stating ‘such is life’ in a jaded way, Steve would say otherwise because he did not think, nor would he believe such things as possible. The Secret Empire scandal was a very cold splash to his face. A wake-up call to reality… one that shook his foundation of trust and belief for what he was proudly defending whenever he fought a villain.
The evidence before his eyes were unmistakable – the leader of the secret Empire was a well known – highly placed, political figure; one who had great influence in the government, and one who deserved the trust of the people – including, Steve Rogers. Rather than being caught, the Secret Empire’s leader committed suicide in front of Cap. Steve could not bear to accept the fact that his government’s leader (some of the evidence alluded to Nixon – but, of course, we know he did not take his life) – through this politician, had somehow betrayed its people, and he suddenly questioned the modern American dream, since it was being controlled by unethical beings for patriotic purposes.
This realization made him rethink his role in being America’s living legend, and quit becoming Captain America – but before he left the role of Cap, however, Steve found himself, once again, time-displaced; though with a different set of other Avengers, including some he had never seen before – familiar faces were there, like the Wasp and Giant-man, though seemingly more experienced - but characters like Songbird and Captain Marvel would be complete strangers. Steve was so out of focus that he was simply running on instinct, and Jan – having come from Steve’s ‘future’, thus recognized this part of Steve as living the low point in his career as Cap, and she had to take up the role of leader for this time-displaced group.
Needless to say, this adventure would take them to many places and times – teaming this team with the Avengers foe, Kang the Conqueror – and once the clash to later be dubbed as the ‘Forever wars’ had been won, Steve Rogers was returned to his timeline with nary a memory of what had transpired.
Steve decided, for the very first time, to give up the role of Captain America – it was his feeling that America did not seemingly deserve nor need a Captain America and he was having a hard time being Captain America – in truth, he was questioning his role as America’s champion and defender of liberty. But Steve was not willing to give up heroics just yet – so he gave up the identity of Cap, and took on the role of “Nomad, a man without a country”.
It seems that Steve may have fancied seeing how capes worked around a hero – perhaps he admired how Thor look, with his flowing cape, and upon his taking the role of Nomad, Steve designed a costume lacking any nationalistic fervor, and naturally – Steve would include a cape. This fashion statement would be short-lived, however, as in his first-ever mission as the Nomad, aside from the fact that he was adjusting his fighting style with throwing disks in place of his regular shield, Cap was in the process of stopping the Viper and her men, when he accidentally tripped on his own cape – thus letting the Viper escape while commenting that she was sure to see a hero eventually stumble and trip on his own cape some day. Out of frustration for letting the Viper escape, Nomad ripped the cape off from his shoulders – thus putting to rest a fanciful, but seemingly bad idea.
Meanwhile other people were being considered as viable replacements to Steve Rogers for taking on the mantle and role of Captain America, but such were large boots to fill, and eventually they would fail. Steve would don the costume of Cap once again, once he reconciled the fact that the country and its dreams/ideals are not necessarily reflected by its politicians/leaders. This was the start of Steve’s new focus. Captain America would still believe in the American Dream – that of freedom, justice for all and other ideals that shaped the nation… and he would, as Captain America, be defending these ideals and would not be a simple order-following super soldier for any person who may have a warped idea of what these ideals or the American dream should be.
Steve Rogers now championed what was right about the country… corrupt politicians and narrow-minded members of the military started finding this out. Steve was never a blind follower – but he once assumed that the people’s leaders knew what they were doing. After the Secret Empire fiasco, Steve’s trust of politicians and certain military officers tapered towards realism. He now weighed what they told him with what was right for the country – for the nation. Steve transitioned to be a more thinking and feeling Super Soldier, and he would champion those ideals in any way – even if it meant going against the country’s leaders.
It was at this time that Steve decided to once again try to pick up his more private life, and he found a second floor apartment in Brooklyn Heights, He wanted to build a life as Steve and spend less time in the mansion – but still be close enough to be reachable had he been needed by the Avengers.
This is where Steve started meeting his neighbors: Anna Kapelbaum – WWII survivor and self-appointed mother figure / match maker to the people living in said apartment; Joshua Cooper – former army medic, now teacher for children with special needs; Michael Farrel – holder of three different college degrees, yet happy with his job as a full-time fireman; and of course, Bernadette Rosenthal – ‘one of the most-talented glass blowers’, recently moved in and showing a more than passing interest to Steve.
It was in one surprise birthday party organized by his new friends/neighbors that Steev saw flashbacks of himself as a boy, attending a similar party – but the memory troubled Steve, for it led him other memories of a childhood in New York, living in a struggling neighborhood… obviously different from what he recalls as having grown up in a well to do family. Steve was beginning to question his past, and he needed to resolve this.
Steve decided to pay a visit to Fury in S.H.I.E.L.D. (since Fury was with him when he tired to get his memories back) and found Dum Dum Dugan instead. Director Dugan then informed Steve that Nick found Cap’s memories as too convenient and did more digging around – and they had found something Steve might want to take a look at. This turned out to be Private Steve Rogers’ old WWII foot locker – complete with many of Steve’s personal belongings, including an old shield, a picture of his ‘real’ mother and his old journal which then explains what had transpired on a particular Christmas night prior to his extended assignment with the Invaders.
The journal explained everything and with this, a more confident and self-assured Captain America resurfaced. Steve now had his complete set of memories – more importantly, he knew himself, and was not confused.
Life moved back to normalcy – or at least, what resembles normalcy with Steve Rogers, and it was also around this time that Steve was reclaiming a life as Steve Rogers – outside of Captain America, hence the need for Steve to move out of the Avengers Mansion and fend for himself. He once, unsuccessfully, tried to be a police officer, but had a hard time explaining his sudden comings and going when he had to change to Cap, so this time he decided to try a less time-bound, and more freestyle-oriented career… as a freelance artist… after all, he did draw when he was young – it was time to try this potential gift as a way to make a living. Times were struggling, though, and Steve even wondered how everyday heroes like Spider-man would cope with the mundane task such as cost of living
As mentioned earlier, “Bernie” Rosenthal was attracted to Steve and her slightly assertive nature may have been the one thing that a very formal and gentlemanly (in a 1940s kind of way) Steve seemed to need in getting a date, since she was more often enough the one doing the invite, and moves – the latter ones, it seemed, that Steve was more than welcome to reciprocate, had his life as Cap not always seemingly have gotten in the way.
But Steve needed Bernie – having recovered from Sharon’s death a long time now, he still had no love interest, and his role as Cap demanded so much of his time. Having Bernie just one floor down promised some easy access time to Steve. Yep, you read it right, it was more Bernie pursuing Steve – or at least making the opportunities happen between them. But not to take anything away from Steve – he was living a double life, one he luckily seemed to explain away with tight deadlines needing all-nighter artwork.
Steve could relate to Bernie – and his neighbors, as Steve Rogers the person and not as Captain America, the super hero. Under his apartment’s roof, he was Steve Rogers, freelance artist and neighbor / friend … a real great and friendly guy with an anachronistic taste in the classics. Steve was starting to have a life aside from his being the Living Legend and Avenger, and it seemed apparent that Steve was starting a more intimate relationship with Bernie.
Captain America’s seemingly independent nature – specially after the Secret Empire situation, worried the government, but it was this independence, tempered by values attributed to the America Dream, that brought him much closer to the people, and in one particular Presidential election period, he would even be considered a viable independent alternative candidate running for the highest position – that of the United States presidency.
This started as a simple misquote – actually, more like putting words into Cap’s mouth, and hopefully scooping the political catch of the election by a seemingly overzealous political campaign manager. Never mind that it was basically way late into the campaign period. The idea was so fantastic, thatn when this campaign manager called the Daily Globe with his scoop, the news took a life of its own – now remember, at around this time, CNN was probably not as widely watched and influential as it is now, still, I’d bet that with new like this, and a broadcast distribution capability like them, many people would quickly hear about this particular news.
Said news seemingly caught on like wildfire, and Steve – who happened to be helping Bernie move her furniture into her apartment, did not know of the news until he read the Globe’s headlines. He was surprised that his friends did not bother about the fact that Cap was an anonymous personality – they still trusted him enough. Steve tried playing things down, but wherever he went – including Avengers mansion, he was the topic of discussions.
Cap even received invites from both major political parties of the United States (within a day of the news spreading), to run using their party, and their candidates were willing to step down, should Steve take up the race and their platform. Steve was surprised that many people, including it seemed, his neighbors, his close friends and fellow Avengers, started taking seriously and discussing the pros and cons of having Cap run - and win.
It was awkward for Steve to give his insight on Cap’s viability to be a good President in front of his new neighbors – but he saw how their faces lighted up – some even insisting that they would register to vote for Cap. His being untried in the political arena was seemingly an issue swept aside, and many were willing to vote for him due to the ideals he represented and upheld – never mind that he was a person in a mask, and that no one hardly knew him.
Even the Avengers were split on the issue – with Iron Man and the Vision stating their more practical viewpoint and Wanda espousing the good Steve could do in office – of course, the Beast was all ready to hit the campaign trail for and with Cap… guaranteeing the mutant voting bloc. But Steve assured them that he had yet to decide on the mater of running, and that said decision was his – and his alone, to make. What stunned Tony Stark (in Iron Man armor) was a call that Steve received from the White House, asking if Captain America needed Secret Service protection – remember, all candidates have to be protected by the Secret Service… even if the candidate is a super soldier. But as ridiculous as it seemed – the incumbent President was obviously taking the news seriously. When Iron Man asked why this was so – Jarvis, of all people, reminded Tony that ‘because his party was likewise taking the news seriously’.
Cap had to step out to think, and he ended up in a seemingly abandoned building in one neighborhood – and he remembered that this was his old school grounds. His memory went to a teacher who ‘seemingly in deaf ears of playful children (with obvious exception to Steve), she asked them to be prepared to defend their liberty and country.
This made Steve realize that if he had accepted any nominations, he would have to sacrifice a few (or more) of these ideals that he was championing. He may have been unsure about the capacity and capability that he would be in as a president, and he did believe that there were others more qualified – though perhaps not as trustworthy as Cap himself. But he already had a vow and responsibility to uphold… one he took when he donned the uniform of Captain America.
Needless to say, in a nationwide televised campaign meeting where people were expecting him to accept the nominations as a candidate for president – he instead told the gathered crown of his regrets – and that he had to represent the nation, and not just a few interests… and how he would better accomplish the mission he took upon himself as Cap, rather than as President of the United States. For some, a golden dream may have been missed – but for Steve, he really believed that remaining independent was the better way to do things. If the saying, “power corrupts” had any meaning – it would seem that by turning down this nomination, Steve avoided that particular bullet… and America got Ronald Reagan.
Next: An Invaders Reunion, the Captain?
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