Captain America is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by Marvel Comics. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941), from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics. The 1995 Marvel Milestone Edition: Captain America archival reprint has no cover date or number, and its postal indicia says "Originally published ... as Captain America #000". Timely's first comic Marvel Comics #1, likewise had no number on its cover, and was released with two different cover dates. Over the years, an estimated 210 million copies of "Captain America" comic books have been sold in a total of 75 countries. blank">Death to ‘America’: Comic-book hero killed off MSNBC.com, March 7, 2007

While the term "Captain America" technically applies to whomever is chosen to wear the costume and given the Shield (the U.S. Government sees itself as "owning" the persona), for nearly all of the character's publication history Captain America was the alter ego of Steve Rogers, a sickly young man who was given enhanced strength and reflexes by an experimental serum in order to aid the _United States war effort. Captain America wears a costume that utilizes an American flag motif, and is armed with an indestructible shield that can be thrown as a weapon.

An intentionally patriotic creation who was often depicted fighting the Axis powers of World War II, Captain America was Timely's most popular character during World War II. After the war ended, the character's popularity waned and he disappeared by the 1950s aside from an ill-fated revival in 1953. Captain America was reintroduced during the Silver Age of comics when he was revived from suspended animation by the superhero team the Avengers in The Avengers #4 (March 1964). Since then, Captain America has often led the team, as well as starring in his own series. Steve Rogers was killed in Captain America vol. 5, #25 (March 2007), although the Captain America series continues publication.