Russkie-Smashers YOUNG MEN COMICS "Captain America Turns Traitor!"

Last Time, We Presented a Captain America Pastiche...

...This Time, He's the Real Deal!

(At least 1950s readers thought he was, though he was later retconned into one of several Cap replacements before the real Star-Spangled Avenger was defrosted by The Avengers!)

The Super-Soldier Serum makes Cap invulnerable to psyche-controlling drugs?

Written by Don Rico and illustrated by John Romita Sr, this tale from Atlas' Young Men Comics #26 (1954) also features Bucky killing an entire Russkie sub crew!

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Russkie-Smashers YOUNG MEN COMICS "Return of...the Human Torch"

When Atlas revived Timely's "Big 3" golden age heroes in 1953...

...look who got the spotlight!

(Heck, colorist Stan Goldberg couldn't even get Captain America and Bucky's costumes correct on the cover by Carl Burgos!)

Though no Russkies are seen in this tale from Atlas' Young Men Comics #24 (1953), they did supply the criminals with Solution X-R and brainwashed Toro into fighting for fellow Communists in Korea!
(And they do appear later on, though the strip emphasizes homegrown American criminals!)

Written by Hank Chapman and illustrated by Russ Heath (with the Human Torch in the splash panel rendered by his creator, Carl Burgos), this story actually handles the explanation of where the flaming felon fighters were for the previous four years very well! 

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Russkie-Smashers YOUNG MEN COMICS "Captain America: Back from the Dead!"

Wonder why Simon & Kirby created Fighting American?

Because Atlas (Once Timely, later Marvel) didn't ask them to handle this revival of the character they created, so they decided to show how it should be done!
Now., let's look at what inspired them to do a new patriotic superhero...

Written by Don Rico and illustrated by John Romita Sr (with a splash panel by Mort Lawrence), this story from Atlas' Young Men #24 (1953) ostensibly continued the adventures of Captain America, Bucky, and The Red Skull from the 1940s.
When Cap was revived in 1964, this (and other 1950s Atlas superhero tales) were considered apocryphal, since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby postulated the Star-Spangled Avenger had been frozen since the end of World War II until he was defrosted in Marvel's The Avengers V1N4 (1964).

But, in 1968, writer Stan Lee, pencilers Larry Lieber and John Romita Sr and inker "Mickey Demeo" (actually Mike Esposito), revealed the 1950s Red Skull was a Russkie imposter who killed CIA agents Richard and Mary Parker (Peter Parker/Spider-Man's parents) in Marvel's Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5 (1968)!

Then, in 1972, writer Steve Englehart and penciler Sal Buscema revived the 1950s Cap and Bucky, showing them to be government-approved replacements for the original Cap and Bucky in Marvel's Captain America and the Falcon #153-156 (1972)...

...thereby bringing their 1950s tales (and, presumably the Sub-Mariner's and Human Torch's 1950s stories) into official continuity!
It also created the concept that others filled-in for Cap and Bucky during that era.
In fact, the "1950s Cap" is actually now considered the fourth official "Captain America", after already-existing patriot-themed heroes The Patriot and Spirit of 76 filled-in during the 1940s after Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes were believed to be KIA (Killed in Action)!

Support Hero Histories!
Visit Amazon and Order...

Marvel MasterWorks
Atlas-Era Heroes
Volume 1

(which features this tale)