Captain America #1-2

Captain America #1-2

Originally released in 1941

Written by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby

Art by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon

Earlier today, it hit me that while I've seen the cover of Captain America's first comic, and I know the historical importance (at the time that it was released, America hadn't entered World War 2 yet), I've never read the comic.  I was a little concerned when the page after the cover was a content warning; the only time where I've seen one of those on Marvel Unlimited was when the writer of a Luke Cage comic unknowingly used a racial slur in Yiddish.

My first impression upon reading the comics is gaining an appreciation for how Jack Kirby's art style evolved.  I'm mainly familiar with his work on the Fantastic Four and the New Gods; he has a very recognizable art style, but that's not the case here, with Captain America's face being so tall and thin that it looks uncanny.

It's funny to see this first issue not quite being set in the real world, but not quite in the shared universe that Marvel would become famous for either.  The head of the FBI is J. Arthur Grover (a play on J. Edgar Hoover), but the Human Torch (Jim Hammond, not Johnny Storm) is noted to be a comic book character.  It would be like if a Batman comic had Bruce trying to find a spot to change into his costume, only to groan and say "how does that Clark Kent fellow from the comics do it?"

We get the origin of Captain America and his treatment with the Super Soldier Serum, as sickly Steve Rogers quickly grows in body and mind before the eyes of the military observers.  When he's given the name of Captain America, it feels surprisingly critical towards America - the professor says that, like Steve, America will gain the will to protect and safeguard itself, implying that they don't have the will or the strength to do that yet.

A Nazi saboteur kills the professor, meaning that Steve is the only successful recipient of the Super Soldier Serum. Captain America's escapades are handled through a montage of newspaper headlines.

Bucky's introduction is a little rushed.  He's the mascot of the regiment that Steve is a part of (as a private, not a captain), and in literally the very next panels after he's introduced, he discovers Captain America's secret identity and becomes his sidekick. (Having a young child as part of the war effort seems questionable, even if as the mascot, he presumably wouldn't see any combat; later adaptations, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, would have him be around Steve's age to dodge the issue of child soldiers)

The issue is pretty straightforward - it's over sixty pages long, and a good portion of that is Captain America and Bucky beating up Nazi saboteurs and spies in comic and prose form.  The fourth story introduces the Red Skull, who would go on to be Captain America's most enduring foe. (I'm a little surprised he was introduced so early - even the Joker first appeared a few years after Batman, while Doctor Doom didn't show up until the fifth issue of the Fantastic Four, but I guess they came up with the idea of Captain America's equivalent among the Nazis fairly quickly)

Rather than wearing a military uniform, the Red Skull wore a brown jumpsuit-looking article of clothing with a giant swastika on the front.  Between that and the red skull (he doesn't even wear a hat or scarf to hide his face), it's a wonder that he managed to last long as a spy.

The Nazis are unambiguously evil in this (as the Red Skull leaves he declares "I'll be back --- with more murder!!") and yet it doesn't even come close to how awful the Nazis were in reality. (Understandable, given the age group this would have been made for; the full extent of the Nazi's atrocities might not have been known at the time, but given the amount of refugees fleeing Europe, some of it must have been suspected) It doesn't shy away from violence, with one Nazi spy being shown bleeding profusely after being shot when he's about to confess details of the plan to Captain America.

The issue contains other stories, but they aren't as interesting and contain a questionable understanding of mythology. (They seem to mix up Greek and Norse mythology in the introduction alone, though for all I know, the character Hurricane is part of Marvel canon and the son of Thor and one of the Greek goddesses)

The cover of issue 2 has Captain America leaping into a Nazi stronghold to beat up Hitler. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The second issue is also over sixty pages, surprisingly.  Throughout these stories, we're introduced to Betsy Ross, an obvious Lois Lane homage.  She's a reporter who's attracted to Captain America but doesn't have any interest in Private Steve Rogers.

When a financier who vows to pledge whatever money he can to stop the Nazi menace is kidnapped, Captain America and Bucky go undercover to Europe in order to find him.  Inexplicably, this involves Captain America dressing like an old woman, though even in that disguise, he can't resist the opportunity to punch a Nazi in the face.

Some aspects of the overseas war effort are acknowledged, such as France's occupation by the Nazi forces and the existence of concentration camps.  The financier was replaced with a disguised Nazi spy who intends to sabotage any attempts at fighting against the Nazis, so Cap and Bucky expose the spy and track down the genuine article. (and they humiliate Hitler and Goering in the process)

Captain America has a secret identity at this point, which causes problems since he's in the military. (I get that, due to the influence of Superman and Batman, it was expected that a superhero would have a secret identity, but his superior officer has no idea that Steve Rogers is Captain America, leading to Steve getting seen as as slacker or punished for being absent without leave)  It seems kind of pointless, because in one of the stories, a Nazi agent kidnaps Bucky when he's out of costume, knowing full well that he's Captain America's sidekick.

The stories are very straightforward, but it does feel like the first few Superman comics in a way where the writer and artist duo are using this work to vent their frustrations at the state of the world for entirely justified reasons.  You can definitely see the Superman inspiration at work here (though with more of a focus on the military), though it's easy to see how the character endured based on these early issues.