10 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Captain America
8. He Was One Of The First Rebooted Superheroes
When the second Flash, Barry Allen, debuted in the 1950s, he was an instant hit. The Scarlet Speedster proved so successful, his comic popularised superhero reboots in comics.
But he wasn't the first person to do so. Although Captain America Comics came to an end in 1949, Timely Publications brought him back in Captain America, Commie Smasher! in 1953, which was three years before Barry Allen's first appearance.
Now, since WWII had ended, the concept of a hero facing Nazis felt outdated. Because the Red Scare was all the rage in the US at the time, this series had Captain America facing Communists. To the complete surprise of no one, the series sold so badly, it was cancelled in under a year.
Even though Marvel Comics could've pretended this failed reboot never happened, they incorporated this incarnation of Cap into their continuity. In Captain America #153-155, it is explained that this "Cap" is actually William Burnside, a Super-Soldier created by the US government for combat in the Korean War.
After being endowed with the same powers and undergoing plastic surgery to resemble Cap, Burnside was ready to carry on his hero's legacy. But when the Korean War came to an abrupt end, his crusade was abandoned. Enraged, Burnside went insane and became a supervillain.