10 Unbelievable Retcons That Changed Comics For The Better
2. Captain America Was Frozen
The Marvel Universe has revolved around the fact that Captain America was frozen towards the end of World War II. His time with the Avengers, his solo series, the epic of Civil War where he stands against the government, that other time he quit being Captain America by standing against the government - everything hinged on his idealism as it stood at the end of World War II, when there was a clear answer of who the bad guys were and why they needed to be stopped.
Except, that wasn't always the case.
Long ago, after World War II ended, Timely Comics still published Captain America adventures, except now he was a schoolteacher with a young girl sidekick, Golden Girl. It did not do so well. But then came a new 'threat' to the foreground of the American mindset. Communism! So Timely got Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. to create tales trying to capture the same spark as the Nazi-punching days, with Golden Girl out as his sidekick and Bucky back in, but it wasn't successful.
But then the sixties swung around and the Marvel Age had taken root. This time Lee and Kirby came up with a means to bring Captain America back, and bypass the awkward Commie-smashing years. Cap was actually frozen in ice and Bucky was dead by the end of WW2. That Cap running around punching Commies? Oh that was just an obsessed fanboy who decided to try and be the character for a while - a premise that would eventually inform one of the best stories from Ed Brubaker's run on the character.