Captain America (vol. 1) #215 (Nov. 1977):
“The Way It Really Was!”
by Roy Thomas, George Tuska, Pablo Marcos

Captain America (vol. 1) #215

Title: “The Way It Really Was!”

Medium: comic

Cover date: Nov. 1977

Publisher:
Written by: Roy Thomas
Art by: George Tuska, Pablo Marcos

44 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
Falcon (Sam Wilson)	Baptist	black; SHIELD Super-Agents...  The Avengers		531
Nazis	Nazi	[generic WWII Nazis]	, etc.	4,222
Bucky (Bucky Barnes) (pg. 8-10)	Protestant (nominal)	Kid Commandos; Liberty Legion...  The All-Winners Squad; The Avengers; The Invaders; The Young Allies		395
Iron Man (Tony Stark) (cover & 3-panel cameo, pg. 14, 16)	futurist; technophile; mostly secular; sometimes prays; Alcoholics Anonymous	Force Works; Illuminati...  The Avengers; The Ultimates; Weapon X (Exiles)		5,673
Red Skull (Johann Schmidt) (cover & 3-panel cameo, pg. 9, 15, 17)	Nazi	Axis Mundi; HYDRA...  The People's Militia; THEM [Captain America's arch-nemy]		298
The Sub-Mariner (Namor) (cover & 2-panel cameo, pg. 9, 13)	Atlantean Greco-Roman classical religion	Atlantean; Dark X-Men...  human; Illuminati; The All-Winners Squad; The Avengers; The Cabal; The Defenders; The Invaders; The Order; X-Men		1,864
Vision (cover & 1-panel cameo, pg. 16, panel 3)	synthezoid; Catholic (temporary)	A-Next; Galactic Guardians...  Guardians of the Galaxy; The Avengers; Weapon X (Exiles); Young Avengers		1,393
Human Torch (Jim Hammond) (cover & 1-panel cameo, pg. 9, panel 2)	N.A.	Heroes for Hire; Penance Council...  The All-Winners Squad; The Invaders; V-Battalion; West Coast Avengers		497
Agent 13 (Sharon Carter) (cover & 1-panel cameo, pg. 16, panel 2)	Christian (denomination unknown)	Femme Force; S.H.I.E.L.D.		262
Spitfire (Jacqueline Falsworth) (cover & 1-panel cameo, pg. 9, panel 2)		MI-13; The Hellfire Club...  The Invaders; V-Battalion		127
Black Panther (T'Challa) (only on cover)	African primal-indigenous religion; Black Panther Cult (leader)	black; Fantastic Force...  The Avengers; The Fantastic Four		786
Captain America (William Burnside) (7-panel cameo, pg. 12-13, 16)	idolizes Captain America	National Force [taught history]		13
Captain America (William Nasland) (6-panel cameo, pg. 11-12)  Appears as Captain America and also as Spirit of '76	Christian (denomination unknown)	The All-Winners Squad; The Crusaders...  The Invaders		15
Heinz Kruger (4-panel cameo, pg. 6, panels 1-4)	Nazi	[Captain America's 1st foe; Gestapo spy; killed Dr. Erskine]		15
Giant-Man (Hank Pym) (3-panel cameo, pg. 14, panels 1-3)	atheist	Commission on Superhuman Activities; Secret Defenders...  The Avengers; The Defenders; The Liberators		1,543
Harry S Truman (3-panel cameo, pg. 11, panels 2-4)	Baptist	U.S. Army		174
Thor (Donald Blake) (2-panel cameo, pg. 14, panels 2-3)	Norse/Teutonic deity	Asgardian; Cosmic Avengers...  The Avengers; The Ultimates; Thor Corps		4,362
Redwing (2-panel cameo, pg. 14-15)	N.A.	falcon; Pet Avengers [falcon; partner of Falcon (Sam Wilson)]		128
Professor Abraham Erskine (2-panel cameo, pg. 5-6)		[creator of the Super-Soldier Serum]		96
Sgt. Mike Duffy (2-panel cameo, pg. 8, panels 1-2)		U.S. Army [commanding officer of Steven Rogers (Captain America)]		7
The Patriot (Jeff Mace) (2-panel cameo, pg. 12, panels 1-2)  Inspired by William Nasland to become the next Captain America, but appears in this issue only in his Patriot costume.		Liberty Legion; The All-Winners Squad...  The Invaders		89
Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) (1-panel cameo, pg. 16, panel 3)	Gypsy/Roma; ethnic half Jewish; sorceress	A-Next; Brotherhood of Mutants...  Force Works; Lady Liberators; Secret Defenders; The Avengers; The Ultimates		1,624
Bucky (Rick Jones) (1-panel cameo, pg. 14, panel 4)		Loners (founder); The Avengers (honorary member)...  The Teen Brigade (leader)		572
HYDRA (1-panel cameo, pg. 14, panel 4)	HYDRA	[largest worldwide subversive organization]		283
Bucky (Jack Monroe) (1-panel cameo, pg. 13, panel 3)		Secret Defenders [sidekick of 1950s Captain America]		131
Union Jack (Brian Falsworth) (1-panel cameo, pg. 9, panel 2)		The All-Winners Squad; The Invaders...  V-Battalion		35
Toro (Thomas Raymond) (1-panel cameo, pg. 9, panel 2)		Kid Commandos; The All-Winners Squad...  The Invaders; The Young Allies		311
The Cosmic Cube (1-panel cameo, pg. 15, panel 2)	pseudo-cosmic entity	A.I.M.		10
Red Skull (Albert Malik) (1-panel cameo, pg. 13, panel 2)	Communist	[1st app: Young Men (vol. 1) #24 (Dec. 1953)]		10
Eskimos worshipping Captain America in ice (1-panel cameo, pg. 13, panel 5)	Inuit	[1st app: The Avengers (vol. 1) #4 (Mar. 1964)]		10
Adam II's androids (1-panel cameo, pg. 11, panel 5)  Captain America: "...the career of the first replacement Captain America was to come to a tragic end of its own in '46 -- at the lethal, inhuman hands of a metallic monster -- part of a mad android's scheme to conquer mankind!" The "mad android" Cap refers to was known as "Adam II". The footnote refers to What If? #4. The panel shows one of his androids killing William Nasland as Cap.	N.A.	[based on Phineas Horton's designs]		2
Nick Fury (mentioned & on cover, pg. 16, panel 3)  Captain America: "Since that day, I've fought alongside Sam and Sharon -- next to Nick Fury, my old buddy -- and at the forefront of several groupings of Avengers."	secular	black; S.H.I.E.L.D....  The Howling Commandos; The Ultimates		1,898
Adolf Hitler (mentioned & on cover, pg. 9, panel 1)  Captain America: "He [Red Skull] had been a simple bellboy in Berlin, until Adolf Hitler had personally picked him out -- and proved that ANY man, even the most obscure, could be turned into one of the most murderous villains this side of the Fuhrer himself!"	Nazi	[1st app: Uma Kaeru (1935)]	Shochiku Kinema	1,593
Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (mentioned, pg. 5, panel 1)  tourist (referring Captain America, who declined to sign autographs): "The Devil with him if he's gonna be that way!" 2nd tourist: "He's part of my parents' generation, anyway -- not mine." 3rd tourist (teen boy): "Yeah! I'm into Spider-Man and Nova!"	Protestant	Secret Defenders; Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends...  The Avengers; Weapon X (Exiles)		10,664
Nova (Richard Rider) (mentioned, pg. 5, panel 1)  tourist (referring Captain America, who declined to sign autographs): "The Devil with him if he's gonna be that way!" 2nd tourist: "He's part of my parents' generation, anyway -- not mine." 3rd tourist (teen boy): "Yeah! I'm into Spider-Man and Nova!"		Nova Corps; Secret Defenders...  The Champions of Xandar; The Defenders; The New Warriors [attended Harry S. Truman High]		427
The Devil (Satan) (mentioned, pg. 5, panel 1)  tourist (referring Captain America, who declined to sign autographs): "The Devil with him if he's gonna be that way!"	Devil	[generic Satan/Devil reference or appearance]	, etc.	1,024
Peggy Carter (mentioned, pg. 16, panel 2)  Captain America: "...and Sharon Carter, the girl I love... and sister of the girl I once loved."		S.H.I.E.L.D.; The Avengers (staff) [Captain America's WWII-era girlfriend; Agent 13's sister]		72
Adam II (mentioned, pg. 11, panel 5)  Captain America: "...the career of the first replacement Captain America was to come to a tragic end of its own in '46 -- at the lethal, inhuman hands of a metallic monster -- part of a mad android's scheme to conquer mankind!" The "mad android" Cap refers to in his recounting of the history of Captain America was known as "Adam II". The footnote refers to What If? #4.	manifestly non-religious	[conquered world; significant recurring character]		2
John Lennon (mentioned, pg. 3)  Captain America: "Maybe an ex-Beatle named Lennon said it best, when somebody asked why he wanted to live here more than any place on Earth! He said -- if you lived in the days of Rome, you'd want to live in Rome -- so he wanted to be in New York! An old warhorse like me surely can't add much to those sentiments."	Catholic/Anglican; Transcendental Meditation	The Beatles		320
George M. Barnes (mentioned, pg. 8, panel 3)  Captain America: "But, the only person in Camp Lehigh who learned my secret was the camp mascot -- an army brat named Bucky Barnes whose G.I. father had died in training..."		U.S. Army [Bucky's deceased father]		3
Charlie Chaplin (mentioned, pg. 2)  Quote: "...out-of-towners, mostly... in from Oakland or St. Louis or Dubuque to see a city they've seen shown on film from Charlie Chaplin to Martin Scorsese."	Anglican (nominal)	[actor; film director]		262
The Beatles (mentioned, pg. 3)  Captain America: "Maybe an ex-Beatle named Lennon said it best, when somebody asked why he wanted to live here more than any place on Earth! He said -- if you lived in the days of Rome, you'd want to live in Rome -- so he wanted to be in New York! An old warhorse like me surely can't add much to those sentiments."	Transcendental Meditation	[musical group]	Associated Television	114
Martin Scorsese (mentioned, pg. 2)  Quote: "...out-of-towners, mostly... in from Oakland or St. Louis or Dubuque to see a city they've seen shown on film from Charlie Chaplin to Martin Scorsese."	Catholic (lapsed)	[film director]		298

This issue is a full-length origin issue chronicling Captain America's origin and history up to the present time. The only characters who appear in "the present" are Captain America and his partner, The Falcon, as they recall Cap's past. All other characters who appear in this issue appear only in "flashbacks," mostly in brief cameo appearances.

Webpage for Captain America #215 (Nov. 1977) created 9 August 2012. Last modified 26 December 2013.

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