Captain America (vol. 1) #109 (Jan. 1969):
“The Hero That Was!”
by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Syd Shores

Captain America (vol. 1) #109

Title: “The Hero That Was!”

Medium: comic

Cover date: Jan. 1969

Publisher:
Written by: Stan Lee
Art by: Jack Kirby, Syd Shores

14 characters in this story:

Character (Click links for info about character and his/her religious practice, affiliation, etc.)	Religious Affiliation	Team(s) [Notes]	Pub.	# app.
Captain America (Steve Rogers) (lead character)	Protestant	Redeemers; Secret Defenders...  The Avengers; The Invaders; The Ultimates; Weapon Plus		5,992
Bucky (Bucky Barnes) (lead character)	Protestant (nominal)	Kid Commandos; Liberty Legion...  The All-Winners Squad; The Avengers; The Invaders; The Young Allies		395
Nick Fury	secular	black; S.H.I.E.L.D....  The Howling Commandos; The Ultimates		1,898
Nazis	Nazi	[generic WWII Nazis]	, etc.	4,222
Professor Reinstein (Professor Abraham Erskine)		[creator of the Super-Soldier Serum]		96
Agent R (Cynthia Glass)	Jewish Bundist	FBI		6
Heinz Kruger	Nazi	[Captain America's 1st foe; Gestapo spy; killed Dr. Erskine]		15
General Chester Phillips		Project: Rebirth (leader); U.S. Army [involved with Project: Rebirth, Captain America's origin]		17
Sgt. Mike Duffy (1-panel cameo, pg. 19, panel 1)		U.S. Army [commanding officer of Steven Rogers (Captain America)]		7
Albert Einstein (character based on)  (pg. 10, panel 2) Steve Rogers: (thinking) "That voice -- that face -- they can only belong to--" (aloud) "Professor Reinstein -- the world's greatest physicist! If-- if you're involved in this -- it must be a matter of world-shaking importance!" Prov. Erskine is called "Professor Reinstein" in this story (later this was revealed to be a codename). It's clear in context of story that his name, appearance, background is based on Albert Einstein	Jewish; Humanist; Ethical Culture	[1st app: Captain America (vol. 1) #269 (May 1982)]		252
S.H.I.E.L.D. (mentioned, pg. 20, panel 6)  Nick Fury: "I gotta git back to SHIELD now! Don't want the whole world to go ker-plunk -- just 'cause ol' Fury aint [sic] keepin' his eye on things!"		[government agency; intelligence agency...]		1,188
Adolf Hitler (mentioned, pg. 11, 16)  (pg. 11) Nazi submarine captain: "Ahh! The fuehrer's loyal Fifth Column has not failed us!" Heinz Kruger: "Heil Hitler! Project Super Soldier shall be destroyed!" sub captain: "Jawohl! None but we pure-blooded Nazis are the true super race! Heil Hitler!"	Nazi	[1st app: Uma Kaeru (1935)]	Shochiku Kinema	1,593
George M. Barnes (mentioned, pg. 19)  Captain America: "The only one who didn't think me the world's most pitiful private was Bucky Barnes, the regimental mascot -- a teenager who had been orphaned when his dad was killed in action--"		U.S. Army [Bucky's deceased father]		3
Dear Abby (Abigail Van Buren) (mentioned, pg. 20, panel 5)  Captain America: "Thanks for stopping by, Nick! Sometimes it makes a man feel better -- just to get things off his chest." Nick Fury: "Okay, okay! Just so's ya don't call me Dear Abby!"	Jewish	[columnist]	McNaught Syndicate; Universal Press Syndicate	14

In this issue, Captain America recalls one of the last missions he and Bucky went on together during World War II. After this recollection (pages 1 through 6), we see that Cap is talking to Nick Fury about his past. Then Captain America recalls his origin and history up until the time that he made Bucky Barnes his partner (pages 9 through 20). So most of this issue is a "flashback" to Captain America's World War II days, with 3 pages of framing material focusing on Cap with Nick Fury.

Webpage for Captain America #109 (Jan. 1969) created 30 July 2012. Last modified 26 December 2013.

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