8 Captain America Questions That Always Confused You

6. If Cap Was A Soldier, Why Wasn't He Drafted Into Other Wars?

This one's a bit of a doozy. Partially because of Marvel's sliding timeline, and also due to the fact retcons are frequent and also frequently confusing. Either way the question still stands: if Steve Rogers enlisted in the US Army during World War II, why didn't he serve in subsequent conflicts upon his return? The answer, unsurprisingly, is actually really interesting.

When Steve Rogers was thawed out of the Arctic ice in 1963, he came back to a country that had changed rapidly in the space of twenty years. The Cold War and Vietnam dominated the headlines, and the battle-lines were no longer clearly demarcated. Steve Rogers had signed up to confront the Nazi menace - a clear and present danger to the world - but everything had changed when he returned. The United States was no longer an isolationist nation spurred into action by the invasion of Europe and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but instead a true global superpower engaging in proxy conflict with a supposed enemy.

It wasn't a cause Rogers believed in.

On a purely technical level, when Rogers returned in 1963, he'd never actually been discharged by the US Army. This actually becomes a major point of contention when Cap designs to walk back on the identity in the eighties, as the gov threatens to treat him like a US operative and not as an independent superhero.

So, why didn't Rogers serve in Vietnam? The answer is simply that he didn't believe it was his battle to fight. In fact, Cap spent the next few decades exposing US corruption rather than serving overseas. That hasn't stopped What If? stories from asking what might've happened had Cap served, with Spider-Man: Life Story showcasing Steve fighting against US forces in Vietnam after witnessing war crimes firsthand.