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| William Burnside | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:William_Burnside,_PhD_(Marvel_Comics_character).png) William Burnside, PhD, as he appeared prior to the surgical alterations on his features, in Captain America #155 (November 1972 Marvel Comics). Art by Sal Buscema and Frank McLaughlin. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Captain America #153 (Sept. 1972). (Captain America stories from Young Men #24 (Dec. 1953) through to 1955 retroactively ascribed to the character) |
| Created by | As Captain America: Steve Englehart Sal Buscema As The Grand Director: Roger McKenzie Jim Shooter |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | William Burnside, PhD.; legally changed to Steven "Steve" Rogers |
| Species | Human mutate |
| Team affiliations | United States Government National Force |
| Notable aliases | Captain America |
| Abilities | Trained boxer Superhuman strength Peak-level speed, agility, dexterity, reflexes, coordination, balance and endurance Access to various forms of advanced technology As Captain America: Wears a chain-mail costume Carries a bulletproof steel shield (Briefly): Use of an "atom-blaster" weapon |
William Burnside, PhD,[1] also known as the Captain America of the 1950s, Commie Smasher or Bad Cap,[2]: 50–51, 226–227 is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Sal Buscema in Captain America #153–156 (Sept.–Dec. 1972) as an explanation for the reappearance of Captain America and Bucky in 1953 in Young Men comics and their subsequent adventures in the 1950s. It established through retroactive continuity that the character was a completely different one from the original Captain America, who was firmly established in The Avengers #4 as disappearing near the end of World War II. Since this revelation, the character serves as a foil personality to his predecessor, serving as an example of what Captain America would have become and as a reactionary bigot driven violently insane by a flawed and incomplete copy of Project Rebirth's body enhancement treatment.
In a later storyline, the character was given a new white costume and the title The Grand Director by Buscema and writers Roger McKenzie and Jim Shooter, in Captain America #232 (April 1979), and altered to be a villain and leader of a group of white supremacists that included a brainwashed Sharon Carter. The character was killed off at the end of that storyline and not used again until Captain America vol. 5 #42, returning to being active as the Captain America of the 1950s separate from the then-current Captain America, James "Bucky" Barnes.
- ^ Captain America #602
- ^ Curtis, Neal (2019-12-13). ""America Is a Piece of Trash": Captain America, Patriotism, Nationalism, and Fascism". In Burke, Liam; Gordon, Ian; Ndalianis, Angela (eds.). The Superhero Symbol: Media, Culture, and Politics. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-9718-8.