Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (cover dated March 1941) from Timely Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics. Captain America was designed as a patriotic supersoldier who often fought the Axis powers of World War II and was Timely Comics’ most popular character during the wartime period. The popularity of superheroes waned following the war, and the Captain America comic book was discontinued in 1950, with a short-lived revival in 1953. Since Marvel Comics revived the character in 1964, Captain America has remained in publication.

The character wears a costume bearing an American flag motif, and he utilizes a nearly-indestructible shield that he throws as a projectile. Captain America is the alter ego of Steve Rogers, a frail young artist enhanced to the peak of human perfection by an experimental “super-soldier serum” after joining the military to aid the United States government’s efforts in World War II. Near the end of the war, he was trapped in ice and survived in suspended animation until he was revived in modern times. Although Captain America often struggles to maintain his ideals as a man out of his time, he remains a highly respected figure both with the American public and in the superhero community, which includes becoming the long-time leader of the Avengers.

Captain America was the first Marvel Comics character to appear in media outside comics with the release of the 1944 movie serial, Captain America. Since then, the character has been featured in other films and television series. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the character is portrayed by Chris Evans. Captain America was ranked sixth on IGN’s “Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time” in 2011, second in their list of “The Top 50 Avengers” in 2012, and second in their “Top 25 best Marvel superheroes” list in 2014.