) didn't ask them to handle this revival of the character they created, so they decided to show how it
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 in the 1940s after
Steve Rogers and
Bucky Barnes were believed to be KIA (Killed in Action)!
