Although he wasn’t the first patriotic U.S. superhero, Captain America is considered by many to be the best. And he is most certainly the most recognizable, with a basic design that has lasted 70 years now.

Born in New York, the child of two Irish immigrants, Steve Rogers was on his own by the time he was in his late teens. As World War II began, Steve became a test subject for Operation: Rebirth, a program intended to create a super-soldier through chemical and radioactive means. The experiment was a success and Steve was now operating at the peak strength, endurance and agility a human being can possess. Originally intended to be just the first of many, Nazi sabotage ensured that the full secret of the super-soldier serum was lost and Steve was now one-of-a-kind. He was given a colorful costume and asked to be a rallying symbol, taking on the name Captain America, Sentinel of Liberty. Alongside his young partner Bucky Barnes and other superheroes of the era, Cap fought against Axis agents and other menaces.

Strange circumstances led Steve to being lost in suspended animation for decades, waking up soon after the rise of modern superheroes. He was discovered by the Avengers and joined their ranks. At various times, he served as the team’s leader, proudly shouting the battle cry: Avengers Assemble! After recent events, Steve has turned over the mantle of Captain America to another. Now, he fights for justice in a new way as an international trouble-shooter, a super-soldier who also commands a team of Secret Avengers.

So let’s take a gander at the different looks this patriotic hero, and those who have followed him, have worn. Join with me as the battle cry goes out: “Avengers Ensemble!” (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

FIRST ATTEMPT

Consider the time period Captain America appeared in. Comic book artists were taking a lot of inspiration from circus outfits and so there were many crime-fighters whose designs were meant to be colorful and recognizable rather than functional. But Captain America was a bit of an exception, as we can see with this uniform designed by the Joe Simon, who created the character with famous artist Jack Kirby.

This is supposed to be a patriotic outfit and it certainly says that. On first glance, it looks like the good Captain had Betsy Ross herself design this look. But this is also supposed to be something he can wear into battle and I’d say it fits that bill. The chain mail protects him from edged weapons and small arms fire while also blunting the impact of anyone who might try to punch him. The comics would later say that this chain mail was made of duralumin, which is one of the earliest aluminum alloys. Often used in aircraft construction, this metal’s name actually derives from “durable aluminum” and it’s known for being both strong and lightweight. Later still, the costume would be said (and shown) to involve scale mail rather than chain mail.

Since the chain mail is lightweight and only covers his upper body, it doesn’t give us an impression that it is weighing Steve down or impeding his movements, which is important since he performs acrobatic feats in most of his adventures. The colors of his undershirt complete the outfit, giving us a striped look all around his lower half. The gloves and boots are leather and practical for battle in different terrains, but their colors also complete and balance out the suit.

The leggings make sense for a character who is performing acrobatic maneuvers on a regular basis. The loose shorts are in keeping with the style of the time, when artists seemed to think that superheroes needed to wear briefs over their pants. Since the shorts are the same color as the pants, I’m more forgiving toward them. It doesn’t make Captain America look like a circus strongman in the same way that some other heroes do.

The mask is a simple thing that covers his face and speaks of the time period. It looks like someone simply took a leather helmet that an American football player would wear at the time and extended it to cover his eyes. In recent flashback stories, artists have taken to adding a strap to this flexible helmet.

Now, the wings may seem silly, but I like them. There’s the obvious eagle reference, but there’s also the fact that they echo the look of the Greek god Hermes. This suits Cap, I think, since he has been engineered to be the perfect man, a living incarnation of the Ancient Greek ideal of physicality. It lets us know that he’s not quite like the rest of us and adds to his silhouette.

Cap’s original shield is, like him, pretty patriotic and functional. But this shield actually got the character into a bit of trouble, because MLJ Comics (now called Archie Comics) complained that it looked too similar to the shirt of their own patriotic hero “the Shield”, who had made his debut about fourteen months before Steve Rogers was introduced. So Cap got a new shield starting with his very next issue.

Although it only lasted for his first issue, as far as continuity is concerned, Steve used this first uniform and the triangle shield for the first several months of his career. Starting in the 1960s, modern-day Marvel artist depicted the triangle shield a bit differently and it’s one of those items where the colors and details vary from comic to comic. Some of these flashbacks also picture Cap with a gun holstered to his side during these early days, since he needed a weapon for long-distance attacks.

THE GOLDEN AGE DESIGN

Starting with Captain America Comics #2, Steve began using a new circular shield with four circular lines surrounding a stylized star. These days, we take it for granted that the shield can be thrown like a discus, ricocheting off of walls and ceilings in order to take down multiple enemies at once if Cap wants. But in the original golden age comics, this was not the case. The shield was just a shield.

The first time Cap tossed it was in a story written by Stan Lee and featured in Captain America Comics #3. Steve threw it like a weapon later again in that same issue. But after that, it was very rare indeed to see him hurl it. The idea of the shield-toss attack wouldn’t become a regular thing until the 1960s when Stan Lee brought the character back.

Starting in Captain America Comics #2, Steve also made a couple of cosmetic changes. The mask was now extended into a full cowl, with the neck connecting to the shirt. This looks a bit better and is also more functional. Many years later, writer Roger Stern and artist John Byrne revealed that Cap had decided to adopt this full cowl when he found that his first mask could be easily dislodged during a fight. The full neck attachment lowered this risk considerably.

The comics tell us that Cap’s second costume covered his neck with a layer of chain mail that was thinner than the armor that composed his shirt. This meant that enemies won’t find it as easy to choke or garrote the good Captain. And many years later, we saw that this neck protection was able to save Steve’s life from the Nazi vampire called Baron Blood.

Reason #12 why I love comics: I get to see heroes fight a villain who is both a Nazi AND a vampire.

Now, one change Steve made to his costume didn’t quite make sense to me. In his first appearance, the stripes of Captain America go all the way around his lower torso and back. But with this new costume, the stripes only cover his stomach (with a few occasional exceptions when an artist would make a mistake).

Why design the suit like this? Before, we had the chain mail thrown over a striped undershirt. Now we are implying either that Cap’s entire shirt is chain mail (which is fine, but then the artists should do a better job of conveying that) or that he decided to protect his back but not his stomach because then he couldn’t show off his abs while in battle. It’s a strange design choice that breaks an otherwise symmetrical suit.

THE COMMIE SMASHER & THE ACROBAT!

After World War II, Captain America fell out of popularity for a while and later simply vanished. In the 1950s, he returned to comics, now called “Commie Smasher” rather than the “Sentinel of Liberty.” His costume mostly remained the same, though he now wore a star-decorated belt like his younger partner Bucky Barnes. And his shield changed slightly, losing two of its stripes. During some of these stories, artists would occasionally alter the color of Cap’s “A” from white to red. In any event, the Commie Smasher adventures didn’t last too long and Steve vanished again for a few years.

In the early 1960s, Marvel considered bringing Captain America out of retirement. To test the waters, they first did a story where Johnny Storm (AKA the second Human Torch) ran across what seemed to be the WW II hero, still young and kicking. The Torch figured out that this wasn’t the real Sentinel of Liberty and unmasked the impostor as a villain called the Acrobat. The Torch was left disappointed, musing on how cool it would be if the real Cap had actually shown up in the modern day.

The Acrobat wore Cap’s second WWII outfit with two differences. First, the stripes now went around his lower back again. Secondly, the shorts were now colored red which brings us into the danger zone of the circus look I mentioned earlier. His shield also regained a stripe.

THE CLASSIC LOOK

The Marvel Universe truly formed in the 1960s, when Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Don Heck and others began forming a shared world populated by characters who would be in continuous publication for decades. There was Spider-Man, the Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Iron Man and many others. There were groups such as the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. And in Avengers #4, the team discovered a man literally frozen alive and wearing a familiar star-spangled costume. It was Steve Rogers, having been in suspended animation since just before the end of World War II. Now a “man out of time,” he did his best to continue the life of a hero in a more cynical world.

Captain America was back and once again his costume was altered a bit. His co-creator Kirby had him wear the same basic suit that the Acrobat had worn, except the shorts went back to being blue, thankfully.

The cover of Avengers #4 showed a shield with four stripes, just like what Cap used in WW II except with two red stripes as opposed to one red and one blue. The interior pages, however, had Steve using the same shield that the Acrobat had used, with two red stripes and one white stripe surrounding a stylized star over blue. This design became the standard not just for years to come but also retroactively. From now on, in all flashbacks, Steve’s circular shield would be depicted this way.

It was also at this time that Captain America truly developed his method of shield-slinging, mentally calculating his throws so his shield would take down his enemies and then ricochet back into his grasp moments later. For this reason, artists began drawing the shield a bit more carefully, conscious to shape it more like a discus and never to make it seem flat. As time went on, we also got more history behind the discus shield.

Readers learned that Captain America’s shield was presented to him by FDR months after he began his career and that it is composed of an iron-vibranium or steel-vibranium alloy. For any of you who don’t know, “vibranium” is a fictional metal that exists in the Marvel Universe and has the unique property of absorbing sound and kinetic energy. Created one night by accident, this shield is one of a kind and the fact that it is part-vibranium allows Cap to block incredible fire power or punches from someone like the Hulk and yet not break his arm in the process.

The kinetic absorption property is also how the shield can ricochet off multiple surfaces with little to no loss of velocity. The fact that it absorbs sound also makes this a great sneak-attack weapon, since enemies don’t hear it whistling through the air as it closes in on them.

The shield’s creator, Dr. Myron MacLain, spent years attempting to re-create this unique alloy and never succeeded. His experimentation eventually created a new metal he called “adamantium.” For this reason, Cap’s shield is occasionally (but erroneously) referred to as being an adamantium-vibranium alloy. Adamantium is, of course, the same metal that is surgically bound to Wolverine’s skeleton.

This classic look is, in my mind, just about perfect. It is stylistic and symmetrical, while also being functional and streamlined. The wings, star and letter “A” stand-out nicely even when the character is in shadow.

The disc shield is a fantastic accessory. It’s stylish but not overly complicated. Its design of co-centric circles and a large star in the middle also makes it a target of sorts, as if Cap is daring his enemies to attack at their own risk. The discus nature of the shield also matches our character metaphorically. Steve is not a guy who goes looking for trouble. He is, more than anything, a protector, a metaphorical shield for those who need him. But when he must, he can go on the offense and enemies won’t know what hit them.

It is a unique weapon for our hero, as intrinsic to him and his whole design as Thor with his hammer and Spider-Man with his web-shooters. Any other time I see a hero with a rounded shield, my first thought is “that looks like Cap.”

A couple points of fun trivia here. First, soon after Cap was revived in the modern world, Tony Stark AKA Iron Man outfitted his shield with magnetic technology so that Cap could cause it to fly through the air and move at his remote control. But Steve later removed this technology since it threw off the balance of his shield.

Second point of trivia. Before he became a government-created super-soldier, Steve Rogers was an artist and did some commercial work here and there. In one version of his origin story, presented in a mini-series entitled The Legend of Captain America, we saw that the famous star-spangled outfit was actually based on some sketches he jokingly did of a patriotic superhero he called both “American Eagle” and “Mr. America” (both names that were indeed used by other patriotic WW II heroes). The design shows us how the simple additions of a flag-cape and an eagle belt buckle are enough to make Cap look a lot more outlandish. This might work for a wrestler, but not for someone we’re supposed to take seriously as a soldier-turned-superhero.

THE OTHER COSTUMES

Soon after the Watergate scandal, art imitated life and then took it to a further level. After taking on the subversive terrorist group known as the Secret Empire, Cap cornered its leader in the oval office, realizing he was really a “high-ranking White House official” (possibly the President) moments before the villain killed himself. This story caused Cap to lose faith in the country he was serving. He decided he could not trust the government anymore and became “Nomad, man without a country.” As we saw in the comic, Steve designed this new outfit to have an adventurous, swashbuckler feel.

The cape, boots and gloves certainly say “swashbuckler.” He almost looks like a modern-day pirate. But the V-neck reaching all the way to his belt is just ridiculous and, coupled with the black leather mask, make him again look like a wrestler. Or possibly a figure skater in disguise. There’s also nothing marking this costume. There’s no symbol, no unique design. Just a black outfit with a belt and cape.

The cape didn’t last long, though. While chasing some enemies, Steve tripped over it and then realized that there was a very practical reason he had never worn a cape before. He quickly ripped it off and continued wearing the Nomad suit without it. A while later, Steve resumed his Captain America identity, reaffirming his belief that he could represent the ideals of his country without necessarily agreeing with its government.

Years later, the Commission on Superhuman Activities formed and demanded that Steve be under their direct control. The US government had created the super-soldier serum and the Captain America persona and therefore, they argued, no one could use that identity or the shield without their permission. Still determined that he would serve American ideals rather than solely the government or any single administration, Steve said no and turned over his outfit and shield.

It wasn’t long before he started acting as a superhero again, though. The CSA said he couldn’t be Captain America but there was nothing to stop him from putting on a new costume and identity. Now he simply called himself “The Captain.” Whereas Nomad had been a completely new persona, Steve’s new role as “The Captain” was meant to let people know who he had been before and that he was still that person no matter what colors he wore. It was also a way of saying “screw you” to the CSA. This costume says all of that. It’s very clearly still Captain America, just with a different agenda. It also kind of suits the darker feelings of 1980s superhero comics, where the world seemed grim and grittier and moral ambiguity was increasing.

With his shield gone, Cap tried a couple of replacements. First, he had an adamantium shield he used. This was functional, but from a design perspective just didn’t look right with the character, whatever costume he was wearing. It was just too plain.

The second shield Steve got was much better. It emulated his old weapon but again made it clear that things were now different. The lack of a star in the center is very telling. But while serves its purpose, it’s still just not as eye-catching as the classic shield. A bunch of co-centric circles doesn’t give a lot of graphic impact.

Eventually, of course, Steve returned to his Captain America identity. He first had to fight his replacement, John Walker, and then expose certain government officials who had wanted him to retire in order to pursue his own agenda. When all was said and done, Steve got his uniform and his old shield back and John Walker wound up taking the black “Captain” costume and using it in his new job as an agent for the Commission on Superhuman Activities. In the black costume, Walker started going by the name U.S. Agent. But that’s a whole other story.  Now let’s fast forward a few years …

Have we talked about how much the 90s sucked for superhero designs? We have? Well, here’s further evidence. A story-arc was written where the super-soldier serum in Steve’s veins was finally taking its toll, causing a degenerative illness. As his health and abilities weakened, he found it more and more difficult to even move on his own. To help him continue operating as a superhero, Tony Stark offered to make Cap a special exo-skeleton and Steve (apparently forgetting the horrible outfit Stark had made for Hawkeye just a few years earlier) accepted the gift.

This armor… man, I don’t know what to say about it. It really looks to me as if a homeless man got a bunch of trash cans and painted them in patriotic colors. It’s bulky and clunky and kills any sense of Cap being an agile acrobat. The shoulder pads are ridiculous, the helmet is just oddly designed, and I don’t know why you would want metal armor to emulate the extra cloth of swashbuckler boots.

Thankfully, this storyline ended and Steve’s health was restored in the following story “Operation: Rebirth” by Mark Waid and Ron Garney. That same story saw Cap return to his classic outfit. During this story, though, Cap found himself forced to go against the direct orders of the President of the United States. Though ignoring the order enabled him to save the world, he had still, in effect, committed treason.

In the following storyline, Cap was not imprisoned or executed for his actions due to his record of service and the fact that the had, in fact, been trying to save the world. But he’d still gone against direct orders from the President of the United States and so, as punishment, he was deported and told he was no longer allowed to step onto U.S. soil. To reflect his new status, his love interest and occasional fighting partner Sharon Carter, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., gave him a new outfit that reflected his “ex-patriot” status. It is, rather cleverly, the Captain America outfit with all the stars and stripes removed. With his shield gone at the time, Steve instead used an energy weapon that created a disc-shaped force field.

Although this is a very plain and generic costume, it works for the reasons mentioned above and because it was only meant for this one story. The only thing about it that bugs me is the bandanna. I would’ve preferred Cap in a real mask and cowl rather than wearing a bandanna that makes him look like a gang member.

In the story event Heroes Reborn, Steve and several other superheroes wound up transported to “Counter-Earth” where they were reincarnated and lived out lives that were similar but still noticeably different from the ones they used to lead. In this version of things, Cap wore basically the same outfit except that the “A” on his cowl was replaced with a stylized eagle.

As a concept, this is not a bad idea. The execution isn’t great though. That eagle doesn’t look as proud as the big white “A” did. And what’s more, this actually looks a lot like Wonder Woman’s symbol.

 

ENTERING THE 21st CENTURY

After the Heroes Reborn came to an end, Cap and the other heroes returned to the mainstream Marvel Earth. Steve went back to his classic outfit but soon afterward he lost the famous shield. So, starting in 1998, he began using a new high-tech energy weapon instead. The idea was to give Cap a new challenge of having to master and rely on a different weapon than the trusted “old friend” he’d been equipped with for several decades. It was never meant to be a permanent replacement, of course.

This energy shield could be summoned forth at will via a device on his wrist. Its shape could also be warped so that it became a staff instead. While this allowed him to have a weapon and a defensive tool, the nature of this meant that Steve couldn’t do his classic shield-toss attacks at all. It was okay for the story’s purpose but, naturally, Steve regained his old, trusted shield about a year later.

 

When Captain America’s regular series was relaunched months after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, artist John Cassaday redesigned the outfit a bit. The chain-mail was replaced with thicker scale mail and now we saw a visible division between the outer armor and the shirt worn underneath that attached to the cowl.

Of course, this new design meant that Cap no longer had any kind of chain mail (or even scale mail now) protecting his neck as he had in the past. Cassaday also dropped the shorts entire, leaving Steve with simple blue, canvas trousers.

The design has been so effective in appealing to people that nowadays most artists use this design when they depict Captain America in flashback as well. Likewise, the characters U.S. Agent and Isaiah Bradley began to be depicted as wearing scale mail that ended at a visible seam at the neck rather than chain mail that extended to the mask. We’ll talk more about those two characters in just a bit.

Starting a few years ago, our Star-Spangled Avenger had his look slightly altered again. Nowadays, whenever the classic design is used, Cap has pouches decorating his previously simple belt. There are also now seams on the mask, emphasizing that it’s leather and not cloth.

Considering Cap is both a soldier and a superhero who believes in being prepared, so a utility belt definitely makes sense for him. And it isn’t so large or complicated that it takes away from the stream-lined appeal of the outfit.

There’s also been a new retroactive change, inspired no doubt by the design of “Ultimate Captain America” (whom we’ll discuss later) and possibly by the new film designs. In the recent mini-series Captain America Reborn, we’ve learned that on at least one mission toward the close of World War II, Cap used different, more practical boots and also wore a helmet over his mask. This helmet had wings painted on the side and its letter “A” was of a different, more military font.

I dig this look and it’s definitely more practical for a guy if he’s going to be operating in the European Theater. But that same quality makes it very dated and, unlike some of the other looks, this doesn’t work as well as a superhero costume.

 

THE OTHER CAPTAINS

Several years ago, there came a miniseries called TRUTH: Red, Black and White. In that story, we learned that following Operation: Rebirth, a government experiment was put into action that attempted to repeat the creation of Captain America. Except in this case, an imperfect super-soldier formula was used exclusively on African-Americans, as they were seen as expendable. One successful test subject was Isaiah Bradley. When things went wrong and he was forced to go on a suicide mission, he decided to go in style and stole one of Captain America’s uniforms.

By dropping the sleeves from the undershirt, the white of the uniform is basically replaced by dark colored skin. The shield is not star-spangled but instead decorated by the seal of “Double-V for Victory.” You may have heard of “V for Victory,” but this symbol has a different story to it and was an important idea for many black Americans during World War II. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, an article written by the editor of The Pittsburgh Courier, which was the most widely-circulated black American publication of the time, called for a “Double-V” campaign, demanding “Victory over our enemies at home and victory over our enemies on the battlefields abroad.” He went on to say: “We call upon the President and Congress to declare war on Japan and against racial prejudice in our country. Certainly we should be strong enough to whip both of them.”

The shield is also sadly ironic because victory as a general concept is something he never gets to really know.

This design is a nice take on things, faithful to the classic look but with just enough difference that it stands out. I’m even okay with the bandanna here since it emphasizes that Isaiah was someone who put this together and wasn’t someone pampered or taken care of by the government, given a custom-made suit and personalized mask.

Now, there is the Marvel Universe and then there is the Ultimate Marvel Universe, a parallel reality where familiar heroes lead different lives. In the world of Ultimate Marvel, Captain America was a much more aggressive person with actual superhuman strength. And as we can see, he had a very different look.

Ultimate Cap’s World War II look is definitely utility over design. This is basically real battlefield gear that happens to be painted in a fantastic way. No fancy chain-mail, so customized cowl, no specially weighted one-of-a-kind shield. Just a guy in leather with survival gear, goggles and a bullet-proof shield.

This makes sense in a practical way. But if half the purpose of Captain America was to make him a rallying symbol for U.S. soldiers and for civilians watching newsreels, this just isn’t cutting it. This just isn’t iconic or inspiring. Here, Steve looks more like a mascot.

In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Steve is frozen and wakes up in the modern-day, after which he adopts a new outfit. This is definitely better than his WW II outfit, but parts of it don’t work for me. The extra stars on his shoulders seems a bit more decorative than a guy like Steve would go for. The black looks out of place on an otherwise colorful costume.

And while the wings seem silly to some, I actually like them for the reasons I mentioned earlier. This costume works, but I still prefer the classic look.

When Steve was just calling himself The Captain, a man named John Walker took his place as Captain America for the Commission on Superhuman Activities. When Steve returned to the role, Walker adopted his black outfit and began operating under the name “U.S. Agent.”

For Walker, the outfit works. He has a darker philosophy than Steve but sees himself as trying to do the same job. But I think for him, a further alteration is necessary because Walker should not be confused with Cap either or seen as a Captain America clone. Removing the mask or, at least, removing the wings from the cowl would, I think, be all that’s necessary to let him stand on his own as a character, at least in a visual sense.

Over the years, Walker’s tried a few different variations on his outfits. But this article is about the Captain America identity so we’ll just focus on only one of his alternate looks. A few years back, Walker attempted to form a new team of heroes, with himself as a new Captain America. He set himself up in this outfit which was obviously taking a big nod from the Ultimate Captain America design. But this looks like something that was thrown together at Ranger surplus and then painted. It’s not form-fitting, it feels mismatched.

The shield is fairly interesting, decorated with the names of the victims of 9-11. Morbid, but it fits with Walker’s personality. Walker later wielded a similarly decorated shield that was designed with a star-burst form. Later on, he also tried an eagle-shaped shield that utilized an energy field and looked rather lame.

Basically, this design shows very little imagination. I can imagine it at a Halloween party, but I wouldn’t want to see it in a film or in a comic.

In a parallel timeline, there’s this girl called American Dream. Shannon Carter, the daughter of Sharon Carter, grows up hearing about the exploits of Captain America. Eventually, she finds herself thrown into the superhero life and makes a costume that echoes her hero. Finally, she even inherits Steve’s shield.

This is a very cool female take on the Captain America design. I miss the chain mail, but the form-fitting leather is nice and the cute and style of it definitely implies that it doubles as body armor. I’ve gone to conventions where people will wear a female version of the Captain America outfit and it usually involves bare legs and/or removing the chest star to create a cleavage-window. But just by angling and curving the lines of the mid-section and the shoulders, this uniform advertises a female quality without being overtly sexual. It pays homage to Cap, yet isn’t just a cheap knock-off and doesn’t try to downplay that this character is all woman.

The knee pads on the boots may be a bit much and I think this girl could do with a more practical haircut, but otherwise this is a great look.

In the story event Heroes Reborn, Steve and several other superheroes wound up transported to “Counter-Earth” where they were reincarnated and lived out lives that were similar but still noticeably different from the ones they used to lead. In this version of things, Cap wore basically the same outfit except that the “A” on his cowl was replaced with a stylized eagle.

As a concept, this is not a bad idea. The execution isn’t great though. That eagle doesn’t look as proud as the big white “A” did. And what’s more, this actually looks a lot like Wonder Woman’s symbol.

NEW CAPTAIN, NEW JOB

Things have changed a bit in recent years. Bucky Barnes, thought dead for years, turned up alive again. When Steve Rogers was believed to have been killed, Bucky took on the identity of Captain America, with a new costume.

I have mixed feelings on this suit, designed by artist Alex Ross. I agree that Bucky needs his own look, to show that he is Steve’s successor but not his replacement. And I do think it’s clever that Ross has basically taken the design of Steve’s original triangle shield and turned it into the costume. But there are still some issues I have. All the black, for one thing.

I understand Ross’s explanation that he’s wearing a lot of black for stealth mission purposes. But if this guy wants to be stealthy and takes the time to make most of his outfit black, why would he then make the top half out of reflective material? Steve’s outfit was colorful, but Bucky’s literally shines in the light.

I don’t mind Bucky wearing a lot of black, since he’s of a darker mentality than Steve and has done darker things in life. But it’s a bit too dominant here when you make the pants, belt, boots and half the shirt all black. And I’m not sure I like the idea of Cap with a gun. It made sense in World War II when he was a soldier with a shield he couldn’t throw. As a modern-day superhero with a shield that can be used for long-distance attacks, it seems unnecessary.

Steve turned up alive again, but rather than taking back his costume, he’s found a new station in life. With S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer around to act as an international peace-keeping force, Steve Rogers has become a police officer for the world, sometimes working alone and sometimes leading his team of “Secret Avengers.” His new outfit is a nod to the U.S. but he’s no longer as star-spangled as he used to be. The stripes are more subtle, going down the legs and across the shoulders. The chest design isn’t bad. It looks a little like an air force symbol, but it can grow on me.

This isn’t a costume so much as a general purpose jumpsuit. It works with or without extra things strapped on. It seems a little colorful for a guy who’s going to be going on covert ops missions half the time now, but hey, it’s comics. I’ll deal.

Recently, the net has been buzzing about design artwork for how Captain America will look in the World War II period film Captain America: The First Avenger. As we can see, this look emulates the classic costume but is very utilitarian. The chain mail is replaced by leather and the red stripes are part of practical gear he is wearing. I’m mostly okay with this design, but I do personally wish the wings were at least painted on the side of the helmet. Cap just doesn’t seem right to me without them. But this is just design art, so who knows what the final product will look like?

And that about wraps it all up for us, folks. Bucky can be seen in the Captain America and Avengers comics. And Steve Rogers can be found in several different stories, as well as leading the charge in the new Secret Avengers comic series. This is Alan Kistler, Agent of S.T.Y.L.E., signing off!

Alan Kistler writes the comic book history/fashion column Agent of S.T.Y.L.E. He is an actor and freelance writer living in New York who has been recognized by Warner Bros. Films and major media/news outlets as a comic book historian. He is also the creator/host of the web-show “Crazy Sexy Geeks: The Series.” He knows entirely too much about the history of comics, Star Trek, Doctor Who, time travel, and vampires that don’t sparkle.

Alan can be followed via Twitter: @SizzlerKistler. His work can be found at http://KistlerUniverse.com or http://www.youtube.com/user/CrazySexyGeeksSeries

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