Man-Thing’s demise just led to Captain America being haunted by the twisted versions of himself that he has faced off against time and time again.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Avengers: Curse of the Man-Thing #1 by Steve Orlando, Francesco Mobili, Guru-eFX, and VC’s Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Ever since his introduction to the Marvel Universe four decades ago, Man-Thing has been one of the most shocking characters around. The combination of a tragic accident, experimental science, and mystic energies transformed Ted Sallis from an extraordinary scientist into a literal force of nature as Man-Thing.
Now, a new threat has emerged trying to twist Man-Thing’s powers into a weapon that they can harness to wipe mankind off the map, and one of the first caught in the line of fire is none other than Captain America himself. Caught in the place somewhere between subconscious minds, Cap has just been confronted with the ghosts of his past. Specifically, the ones who all tried to take his place.
William Burnside
William Burnside, the Captain America of the 50’s, made his first appearance in 1953’s Young Men #24 in the chapter “Back From the Dead” by Don Rico, John Romita, and Mort Lawrence. William was a child when Steve Rogers was created, and after Captain America’s apparent death in 1945 William became obsessed with finding him. In his quest he discovered a copy of the Super-Soldier Serum, which he brought to the United States government under the condition that he be the next Captain America. William changed his name and underwent cosmetic surgery to become Steve Rogers in every way, though the imperfect serum would eventually drive him mad and into a cryogenic prison, at least for a time. Always on the edge of losing his cool and unstable on every level, Bucky Barnes believed he had killed William during their last confrontation, but he has secretly been put into intensive therapy to be given a second chance at a civilian life.
Nuke
First introduced in 1986’s Daredevil #232, Frank Simpson was born into the arms of a wealthy and abusive family. Desperate for affection, Frank was goaded by his babysitter into murdering his own mother, setting the tone for the rest of his life. Frank’s life only got worse when Wolverine, then part of Weapon X, was sent to dispatch Frank’s father and new maternal figure as well as bring him back for another clandestine operation. Tortured and brainwashed by Wolverine, Frank took on the name Nuke as he tore through the Vietnam War with an insatiable bloodlust, committing horrific atrocities along the way. Though he never took up the mantle proper, Nuke has always considered himself to be a champion of his country just like Captain America, causing them to come to blows every time they have met.
The Anti-Captain America
The first appearance of the still unnamed Anti-Captain America was as recent as 2004 in Captain America and the Falcon #1 by Christopher Priest and Bart Sears. Like Steve Rogers before him, this mysterious figure was turned away from the US military as unfit, only to undergo experimental procedures and be turned into a super soldier himself. When his Navy handlers began to lose control of their asset, they set the Anti-Cap on a collision course with Falcon and the real Captain America, who surprisingly decided to try and help the unnamed soldier overcome his addiction to the drugs which gave him his powers. Unfortunately, the withdrawals from the drug were almost as bad as the psychosis they induced, and Anti-Cap would go on to torment the heroes until ultimately taking his own life rather than falling back into the government’s control.
Protocide
Introduced in 2000’s Captain America #28 by Dan Jurgens and Andy Kubert, Clinton McIntyre was an Army recruit who was experimented on by rogue members of the top brass after he was discovered to have killed his commanding officer. When this process killed him, he was left in a warehouse to be discovered by whoever came next, which just happened to be an A.I.M. agent working inside S.H.I.E.L.D. After discovering the body still had a latent Super-Soldier Serum in its veins, Clinton was resurrected with false memories and named Protocide. Believing he had been personally chosen to be Captain America, Protocide was used as a pawn of A.I.M. as well as HYDRA until his apparent death, though it seems he has found a new lease on life hiding as a civilian.
Ted Sallis
It was Ted’s attempt to create another Captain America which led to his ultimate fate, but meeting the real Captain America was one of the last things he had ever wanted. While Ted was the one to save Captain America from the manifestations of the imposters who had tormented him, he isn’t happy about the situation at all. The fact that recreating Cap led him to this leaves Ted blaming Steve Rogers for his predicament in the first place, for losing everything he ever had. Even still, Cap is willing to help, but Ted’s selfish nature makes him feel like he isn’t the man to do so himself. On top of it all comes the revelation that Ted wasn’t the one who created the serum in the first place, setting up a new mystery revolving around one of Marvel’s most curious characters.
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