The Life of Steve Rogers
The Star Spangled Man with a Plan. Captain America. The Man Out of Time.
These are just a few of the various titles the beloved Marvel Superhero, Steve Rogers, has held. Born July 4, 1918, to Sarah and Joseph Rogers in New York City, Steve Rogers was small, but mighty. His father died in WWI before his birth, leaving his mother to raise him all alone in Hell’s Kitchen. Steve would not grow up with any siblings.
That did not stop him from meeting a true brother, though. James “Bucky” Barnes and Steve Rogers met in 1930, quickly becoming fast friends. Steve struggled with many complicated ailments that hindered his growth and left him much smaller than the average boy. He had asthma, scarlet fever, and high blood pressure, just to name a few. Bucky was always there when bullies would make their way up to Steve and would quickly fight them off. Bucky was Steve’s biggest defender — he was always there to deal with the bullies.
In 1936, Steve’s mother died of tuberculosis, leaving Bucky and Steve to watch out for each other. Their bond was unbreakable. Steve had a passion for helping others and an undying need to fight for what was right. He decided to enlist in the Army with Bucky when the United States entered WWII in 1941. Having so many different afflictions, Rogers just was not healthy enough to get accepted for enlistment. This all changed when brilliant scientist Abraham Erskin approached Steve about taking a super serum he created. Erskine thought Steve was an incredibly good man with a big heart and would be the perfect candidate. Steve was out of options at this point, so he took a leap and said yes to the offer. The super soldier serum transformed Steve from a small, lanky boy into an extremely muscular and tall man. It completely transformed him from the inside out, ridding him of all previous illness.
The next few years Steve, Bucky and their group of soldiers, nicknamed the Howling Commandos, were the leading crew in WWII against the Red Skull and Nazis. They were constantly making headlines. One day in 1945 while searching for German scientist Arnim Zola, Bucky Barnes appeared to have fallen to his death from the side of a speeding train. Steve was crushed.
Soon after the death of Bucky, Steve was fighting the Red Skull, and he was taken up in a plane that held smaller jets. These jets were being flown to different big cities planning to bomb them. After fighting the Red Skull and knocking him out while they were still flying, Steve realized the only solution — he had to put the plane in the water. Otherwise, millions of people would die. Quickly, he radioed Peggy Carter, the love of his life, and told her what he had to do. She pleaded with him and told him not to do it, she could not lose him, but he had already made his choice. As he promised Peggy a dance, Steve put the plane full of nuclear weapons in the Arctic Ocean, where he slept for the next 70 years.
The year is 2011 when a team of S.H.I.E.L.D., Strategic Homeland Intervention and Logistics Division, agents discover the body of one Steven Grant Rogers underneath the ice in the Arctic Ocean. Remarkably, he was still alive and presented as a 27 year old, even though now he was technically 93. His first year back in civilization was spent getting slowly acclimated to new technology and the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury, reintroducing him to the world along with everything he missed. It was hard for Steve to learn that most of the people he once knew were now gone.
In 2012, Earth was posed with its first very big, outer space danger; Loki Laufeyson and his army of Chitauri warriors were coming for New York. Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Thor Odinson, and Bruce Banner, a group known as the Avengers, were called in to help take down the threat. It being Rogers’ first mission back as Captain America, he was definitely hesitant and did not know much yet about all the mechanics of everything in the 21st century. This mission was a learning experience for Rogers, just as much as everyone else. Earth had never been faced with this kind of threat. Following the successful job done in New York City, the Avengers were officially dubbed Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
In 2014, Steve met his new pal, Sam Wilson, known in the military as The Falcon. Not long after their first meeting, Nick Fury is shot down and killed suddenly. Steve is told by him before his death that S.H.I.E.L.D. is compromised. Rogers did not know if there was anyone he could trust. He eventually teams up with Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, and Sam Wilson to find the “Winter Soldier”, an assassin that had been around for decades, but had just begun to make his appearance again. Turns out, the Winter Soldier was Steve’s lost friend, Bucky Barnes. He had been brainwashed and given a serum similar to Steve’s by Hydra. After this discovery, they learn Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and taken it over from the inside. Nick Fury had faked his death because he did not know who he could trust and was able to help them take down S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra along with it. They lost Bucky in the process and would continue the hunt for him.
“For as long as I can remember, I just wanted to do what was right.” -Steve Rogers
After a few years and a few more arguments and threats, came the biggest one of all. Thanos. He was determined to eliminate half of all life on Earth. Thus, the Infinity War happened and Thanos won. He took half of all life on Earth using the infinity stones. It was the first time Steve and the Avengers ever lost.
Five years later, the remaining Avengers came up with a plan to bring everyone back. It was risky and it involved time travel, but they were set on it working in their favor. After a rough and tiring battle that had managed to bring everyone back, they finally ended Thanos. Once and for all.
Steve Rogers was a heroic man who accomplished many things throughout his extended life. Remembered for his bravery and strength through even the hardest of times, his legacy lives on in the other Avengers he left behind after his death in 2023.
Sources:
“A Complete Timeline of Steve Rogers and the Legacy of the Captain America Shield.” Ranker, www.ranker.com/list/captain-america-mcu-timeline/stephanroget. Accessed 31 Mar. 2022.
“Captain America: How Long Steve Rogers Was Frozen for (& How He Survived).” ScreenRant, 9 Sept. 2020, screenrant.com/captain-america-steve-rogers-frozen-ice-survive-how-long/. Accessed 31 Mar. 2022.
“Captain America: Why Steve Rogers Crashed the Plane in the First Avenger.” ScreenRant, 27 Sept. 2020, screenrant.com/captain-america-first-avenger-hydra-plane-crash-reason/. Accessed 31 Mar. 2022.
Cinematic, Marvel. “Ultron.” Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki, 2018, marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Ultron.
“Joseph Rogers.” Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki, marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Joseph_Rogers#:~:text=Joseph%20Rogers%20was%20the%20father. Accessed 31 Mar. 2022.
“Super Soldier Serum.” Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki, marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Super_Soldier_Serum.
“The Winter Soldier Complete MCU Timeline: Bucky’s Story Explained.” ScreenRant, 14 Mar. 2021, screenrant.com/winter-soldier-mcu-complete-timeline-bucky-barnes/#:~:text=March%2010th%2C%201917%2D%20Bucky%20Barnes. Accessed 31 Mar. 2022.