Steve Rogers

Early Life
Steven "Steve" Rogers was born to Grant and Sarah Rogers in Brooklyn, New York, on July 4, 1918. Steve and his mother were often the target of verbal, and sometimes physical abuse, from Grant Rogers. One day, his father went to attack his mother, and Steve jumped in the way. After this incident, Sarah Rogers kicked her husband out of the house and began life with Steve as a single mother.

Origin of the Super-Soldier
After repeatedly being turned down from joining the U.S. Army in World War II, a scientist named Doctor Erik Erkstine--after witnessing Rogers stand up to a bully in the street--recruited Rogers, who was now in his late-twenties, to be augmented to peak human condition so he could participate in the war. Erkstine brought Rogers to the SSR to undergo the procedure. Rogers was injected with a serum created by Erkstine that the doctor had named the Super-Soldier Serum. After the procedure was a success, Rogers was given a circular, stripped shield with a white star in the center and was used as a propaganda man for country morale. During this time, Rogers befriended war photographer Bucky Barnes and SSR agent Peggy Carter.

Joining the Fight
At some point during the propaganda pieces, Rogers discovered that Barnes and a small squad of soldiers had been captured behind enemy lines. Convincing Peggy Carter to fly him behind enemy lines so he could rescue the squad. After dropping off Rogers, Carter flew back to Camp Hammond--the military base the SSR was stationed at. After knocking out the guards in the prison, Rogers rescued Bucky and the squad and led them back to Camp Hammond on foot. When he arrived, Steve was promoted to captain and given a revised version of the uniform he used as a propaganda piece. Becoming Captain America, Steve led the squad and Bucky, who had become known as the Howling Commandos. Cap and the Howling Commandos served together for two years, until 1948...

Missing in Action
In 1948, the Nazi science division known as Hydra unveiled an airship that was powered by an unstable energy source called the Tesseract. The leader of Hydra, the Red Skull, had a plan to use the energy source as a bomb. Captain America infiltrated the airship and defeated the Red Skull, but the airship's engine was damaged, leading to the airship crashing into icy waters and seemingly killing Captain America.