Almost foreshadowing his future, Steven Rogers was born on July 4th, 1920, from a poor Irish immigrants family. Joseph Rogers, his father, died when frail and skinny Steve was still a kid, and Sarah, the mother, was killed by a pneumonia soon after. Steve found a job as a delivery boy and moved to a rooming house, trying his best to earn a living as an orphaned teenager. The only evasions he allowed himself were his art (he was a skilled drawer) and cinema, which he loved. Once, in 1940, he watched a documentary about the horrors of Nazism, and decided he would have done his part to protect America and the world from the German tyranny. He volunteered to enter the Army, but he was discharged because of his frail constitution. Steve’s determination was unique, and he came back, time after time, office after office, trying to enlist. His spirit attracted the attention of General Chester Phillips, an old, idealistic officer who offered him a chance to prove himself: Operation Rebirth, a secret project created by German scientist Abraham Erskine whose aim was to create a Super Soldier to fight Nazis. Steve gladly accepted, and started testing for the experiment. After some delays (caused by a Nazi spy, Cynthia Glass), Steve finally underwent the treatment. On the experiment’s day, yet another Nazi agent infiltrated the project, Heinz Krueger, who killed Erskine and tried to do the same with Steve, only to be subdued by the Super Soldier’s incredible abilities. Unfortunately, the formula died with Erskine, and Rogers was the one and only Super Soldier at USA’s disposal. In 1941, Steve Rogers, code-named Captain America and equipped with a unique costume and an indestructible shield built with Vibranium retrieved from Wakanda, was sent in mission for the first time. As an opposite to Hitler Youth, Captain America was paired with Bucky Barnes, a kid who served as a mascot in a military camp Cap had visited. Along with Bucky, Cap accomplished a mission after the other, becoming the Axis‘s main enemy
