While logic would dictate that a comic would have a singular “Issue 1”, the reality is much more convoluted. Rebranding, marketing efforts, and distribution rights all contributed to multiple “Issue 1s” being created, as well as some issues that aren’t numbered at 1 but still represent the start of a series.
Captain America Comics #1
Captain America Comics #1, created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, first appeared on the newsstands on December 20th, 1940 (Disney Publishing Worldwide 13). This issue was remarkable for a few reasons beyond being the first appearance of the title character. First is the cover image, showing Captain America punching Hitler. This was nearly a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States’ entry into World War 2, so the image was extremely political and controversial. It was so political, in fact, that Simon and Kirby received death threats that were seen as serious enough to warrant investigation by the FBI (Simon 110).
In addition, this issue was significant due to it being named after a specific character. At this point in time American comics contained multiple stories with multiple characters, so the comic would be given a more generic title such as Action Comics or All Star Comics. While superheroes who had already proven successful in these anthology issues could be broken off into self-named titles, such as Superman and Batman, having a comic named after a brand new character was a substantial risk. Luckily, this proved to be a successful gamble, as Captain America Comics #1 ended up selling around a million copies (Simon 111).
Captain America Comics continued until 1949 when it was cancelled due to a lack of sales. There was a brief revival of the title in the 50s, but it was short-lived and cancelled again soon thereafter. Captain America would return to comics in Avengers #4 in 1964.
Tales of Suspense #59
While not strictly a “#1” issue, Tales of Suspense #59 was the first comic in a new run for Captain America. The star-spangled superhero had been appearing in The Avengers for months, and had featured in other titles previous to this issue, but this was the first solo Captain America story since his revival. Due to a restriction from their distributor, Marvel was only allowed to print 8 monthly titles (Disney Publishing Worldwide 48). As such, certain titles would feature two separate stories from different characters. Captain America and Iron Man would share the title through Tales of Suspense #99, after which the two heroes got their own title.
Captain America #100 Vol. 1
Similar to the Tales of Suspense issue we just covered, this issue is not a #1 issue, but represents the start of the line. Once the restriction of 12 monthly titles was removed, the stories that had previously been combined were now separated into separate titles. In this instance, Iron Man received a new series with brand new numbering to start at #1, while Captain America kept the same numbering of Tales of Suspense and started the solo series at issue 100.
Captain America #1 Vol. 2
In 1996, a number of titles were relaunched as part of the Heroes Reborn initiative. This storyline saw numerous heroes in a parallel universe with modified back stories and new creative teams. Furthermore, these new series were outsourced to other publishing companies owned by Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld (Howe 373).
Captain America #1 Vol. 3
Once the heroes affected by the Heroes Reborn event returned to the main Marvel universe, they were given brand new issue #1s. Volume 3 of Captain America started with the creative team of Mark Waid and Ron Garney, the same team who had created the last 11 issues of volume 1.
Captain America #1 Vol. 4
In 2002 Captain America joined the Marvel Knights imprint, a subset of Marvel’s lines that was meant to allow for more mature themes and bring in talent from fields other than comics (Disney Publishing Worldwide 139). This volume was heavily impacted by the September 11th terrorist attacks in the US, with this first issue opening on the attack and the cleanup after.
Captain America #1 Vol. 5
Volume 5, written by Ed Brubaker and drawn by artists such as Steve Epting and Mike Perkins, was an influential run for many reasons. This volume would include the revival of Bucky Barnes as The Winter Soldier, the Civil War event, and the death of Captain America. The volume would be numbered normally for 49 issues, after which it resumed the “legacy numbering” for issue #600.
Captain America #1 Vol. 6
Starting at issue 620, the Captain America title got split into two lines. One of these lines continued the legacy numbering, but would intermittently change the title to include whoever was co-starring in the title at the time. These included Captain America and Bucky, Captain America and Black Widow, and more. The other title became Volume 6 and restarted the numbering at issue 1. Ed Brubaker continued writing with this series, which ended when he left the series after issue 19.
Captain America #1 Vol. 7
This storyline began with Steve Rogers being sent to an alternate dimension called “Dimension Z” for 12 years, only to return and find that nearly no time had passed in the main universe. While in Dimension Z, Steve saved and raised a young boy. The two were separated when Steve was brought back from Dimension Z, though the two were later reunited for a brief period towards the end of the volume. The volume then ends with the super serum being removed from Steve’s system, and Sam Wilson taking over the responsibilities of the Captain America mantle.
All-New Captain America #1
In 2015 Marvel launched their “All-new, All-Different Marvel” initiative, in which many established superhero identities were taken over by other people. Sam Wilson, generally known as The Falcon, took over the mantle of Captain America.
Captain America: Sam Wilson #1
Nick Spencer took over the writing duties for Captain America after Rick Remender finished his run on the All-New Captain America series. During this run we would see Steve Rogers’s youth restored, and the two would share the mantle of Captain America until the end of the 2017 Secret Empire event. The name of this series was returned to simply “Captain America” for the singular issue #25, and that issue is generally recorded as being the single issue for volume 8. In a single issue called “Generations: Sam Wilson Captain America & Steve Rogers Captain America”, Sam returned full ownership of the Captain America to Steve Rogers.
Captain America: Steve Rogers #1
One of the most controversial runs in Captain America’s publishing history, Captain America: Steve Rogers reveals that when Steve’s youth was restored by the sentient cosmic cube, Kobik, his past was simultaneously rewritten to make it so that he had secretly been part of the organization of Hydra since childhood. This storyline culminated in the 2017 Secret Empire storyline, during which Steve’s past was corrected to remove the Hydra influence. When this series ended, as well as Sam Wilson’s series, the “Legacy Numbering” for the series was resumed in anticipation of the upcoming issue 700.
Captain America #1 Vol. 9
Volume 9 starts after the Secret Empire storyline concluded and Steve Rogers resumed sole ownership of the Captain America mantle. This volume was interrupted due to shutdowns from the COVID-19 pandemic, causing a significant pause in the publication schedule. While not part of the main publication line, this series was followed up by two mini series, The United States of Captain America and Captain America / Iron Man that filled the publication gap between volume 9 and the next series.
Captain America: Symbol of Truth #1
In 2022 Sam Wilson once again took up the mantle of Captain America alongside Steve Rogers. When brainstorming names for the series the name “Captain America: Stripes” was suggested as a possibility. While that name wasn’t chosen, it is referenced by the red, white, and blue stripes in the logo. This series was also chosen as the series to continue the legacy numbering, though that information wouldn’t be included until issue 2. As of the last review of this article (March 2023) this series is still being published.
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1 Vol.2
This is not the first series to be given the subtitle Sentinel of Liberty. The first series was a side-series published in the late 90s. While this new series has no connection to the original series other than the title character, this quirk in numbering makes this series a second volume.
When brainstorming names for the series, the name “Captain America: Stars” was suggested as a possibility. While that name wasn’t chosen, it is referenced by the stars present in the logo. As of the last review of this article (March 2023) this series is still being published.
Works Cited
Disney Publishing Worldwide. Captain America: The First 80 Years. Titan Magazines, 2021.
Howe, Sean. Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. HarperCollins, 2012.
Simon, Joe. Joe Simon: My Life in Comics. Titan, 2011.
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