#1 Written by J Hammond Edited by Bob Gansler

Cast of Characters	Previously
Captain America ('Steve Rogers')  A man so devoted to original star-spangled patriot that he became him. Bucky (Jack Monroe)  The all-American kid empowered by the Super Soldier Formula

The beat up old pick up truck kicked up a cloud of dust as it sped up the hill. In the bed of the truck were several boxes and some bags full of clothes. Inside the cab of the truck were a blonde man, about twenty-nine years old, muscular and tanning, and an athletic looking brown haired boy of thirteen. In the boy’s hand was a map to the city. "It’s the one up on top of the hill, Steve…I think."

Steve looked at the address taped to the dashboard. "104 Oakland Street. I think that’s the place, Jack."

Steve pulled the truck up in front of the building and put it in park. He took the keys out of the ignition and, pocketing the keys, got out of the truck. Jack was already out, having exited as soon as Steve pulled up, not waiting for him to shut the truck off. "This place looks neat, Steve!"

They stood in front of a tall brick building. On the rooftop were four gargoyles, one in each corner. A woman exited the front door and walked down the stairs towards them. Steve put his hand on Jack’s shoulder to signal to him to calm down. "You must be Steve Rogers!" the woman said. She was about thirty years old, a brunette. Rather plain looking, but not unattractive. "My name is Marie Whitford. I own this building. My father left it to me when he died." She extended her hand and Steve shook it gently. "You’re right, I’m Steve Rogers and this is my…nephew, Jack. His parents died in a car accident last year and I’m the only family he has left."

Marie knelt down and tussled Jack’s hair. "How sad. I bet you miss your mom and dad, huh?" Jack looked away as he nodded. ‘Stupid girl’ he thought. ‘Why does she have to be so nosy?’

"Well, let me show you the apartment." Marie turned and began to walk back to the apartment building. Steve pushed Jack into a forward motion and the two of them followed her up. Their apartment was on the top floor of the six-floor building. Marie produced a keyring from her pocket and sorted through them, looking for the right key. Once she found it, she unlocked the door and the three of them walked inside. She hit the light switch on the wall, illuminating the entire place.

"The movers you sent already set things up for you. A couple of nice strong looking fellas," said Marie. She stood behind Steve. She placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Not quite unlike yourself, actually." Steve rolled his eyes and removed himself from her grasp to join Jack in looking around. Seeing that it was a lost cause…for the moment, Marie tossed the key on the table. "Let me know if you boys need anything." She said as she closed the door behind her. Marie smiled. Life was beginning to look brighter.

The moon shone brightly, making the streetlights unnecessary. The moon also had the effect of casting heavy shadows across the city. On a rooftop, two figures emerged from the darkness and walked to the edge of the building and fixed their attention to an old warehouse across the street. They are the star-spangled champions of the American way, Captain America and Bucky. Cap’s shield was strapped to his back and he had a pair of binoculars in his left hand. Bucky hopped up on the edge of the roof and sat down. "That Marie lady sure seemed awfully friendly with you today." Cap dismissed his partner’s comment with a dirty look. "We’ve got more important matters to attend to, Buck." Cap removed the lens caps from his binoculars and aimed them at the warehouse, looking through them. "Alright, Bucky. Let’s go!"

"I’ll see your five and raise it ten, Jackson!" Leonard and his friends had spent their Friday nights for the last two years playing cards at this warehouse. Jackson worked here after school and his boss, Mr. Leonardi, had no problem with them having their card games there. The boys always cleaned up after themselves and they never drank in his building. "Pass me some chips, man." Jackson was about to hand his friend Peter the bag of potato chips when the warehouse door slammed open. Captain America and Bucky confidentially walked in.

"It’s just like you said, Cap! These darkies have got a Communist conspiracy going on!" Jackson rose from his seat, confused and afraid. Confused because of Bucky’s allegations. He had heard Captain America and Bucky had been going around attacking innocent people, particularly in the African American community. ‘Tonight would seem to prove that’ he thought. Afraid because he wasn’t sure what Mr. Leonardi would do if the warehouse got trashed in a fight. "I don’t know what you’re talking about! We’re just playing cards, man!" The other boys all sat at the table, scared. Bucky was just a kid, but the pure hatred in the boy’s eyes was downright terrifying. Then there was Captain America himself. He was physically imposing, six foot two, two hundred and forty pounds; all muscle and he had the same burning hatred broiling in his eyes. It occurred to Jackson that they were in deep, deep trouble.

"You can’t lie to me, darkie! You jungle bunny, spear chuckers are holding a Communist meeting here!" Jackson opened his mouth, intending to defend himself and his friends once more, but he a stiff right by Bucky dropped him. Jackson fell back, crashing through his chair and into the filing cabinet behind him. He slumped, unmoving and then collapsed to the floor. The other boys stared in disbelief. Cap kicked the table over, sending cards and potato chips scattering about the floor. Their glasses of soda shattered on the floor. The boys all scrambled to their feet. "I don’t know what you is talkin’ about, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let you just beat us senseless!" Leonard charged at Cap and the other boys took his lead, rushing at Cap and Bucky. Cap caught Leonard with a hard kick to the sternum before the boy could even throw a single punch. Two boys jumped at Cap, each grabbing and arm. Cap laughed at their futile attempt to restrain him. He simply swung his arms together, smashing the boys into one another, hard. He looked over to see if Bucky was in need of his help, but Bucky had overcome his opponents as quickly as Cap had.

"Nice work, Bucky. These Commie jungle bunnies never stood a chance."

The doctors whispered to one another, discussing their foreign patient. His demands were…unusual, to say the least. The orderlies carted in a table with metal appendages on it. Surgery was about to begin…

Steve Rogers walked through the courtyard of Roosevelt Community College. Director Hoover had set him up as an American History professor. This was his first day on the job, but he wasn’t nervous at all. He was still annoyed about that morning’s events. It had taken him forty-five minutes to get Jack out of bed and the boy ended up being late for school. He’d have to have himself a talk with him before they went out on patrol as Captain America and Bucky that night. Steve entered the classroom building. He felt good this morning. The bust last night had given him such a rush. Beating up Commies was always fun, but DARKIE Commies was even better. It had been quite a while since he’s taught. It was nice to return to it. It gave him freedom to act as Captain America when need be, and the income was nice, too.

He walked into his first class of the day and set his briefcase down on the podium. His students were already in their seats, waiting for him to begin. "Hello. I’m Professor Rogers and this is American History 101. I suppose I should begin by calling roll." He took out his attendance list and began to call off names, checking those in attendance. One name and face stood out in his mind as soon as he saw and heard it. "Jackson Adams". The boy raised his hand and Steve looked up. He was a young Negro boy, and his face was bruised. He was one of the boys from the card game the night before. Steve muttered under his breath as he checked the name off.

Captain America and Bucky looked off the roof of Spinelli’s Jeweler’s. They had been staking it out on hunch. Cap had a feeling the young, black boys who worked at the YMCA next door were Commie sympathizers. Cap took a long sip from his bottle of water when something caught his attention. A black man carrying a large duffel bag walked into the YMCA. Cap motioned for Bucky to follow him. They leapt off the building in one fluid motion. Cap tackled the man and began to pummel him. Several black boys came rushing out and Cap and Bucky tore into them.

In the shadows, a dark figure observed. He was not pleased.

A Word of Note
I know this is not the Captain America most of you are familiar with. The man who would become Captain America in the 1950s grew up idolizing the original Captain America, and, through research of his own, he discovered the super-soldier serum in a Nazi scientist’s notes. When a new Red Skull appeared, he took the serum to become a new Captain America. Unfortunately, he did not have the advantage of the stabilizing vita-rays that the first Captain had and the serum began to affect his mind.

My first encounter with this character was Captain America Annual #6. This story showed him to be a racist, arrogant madman. I’ve tried to accurately portray his character in my story. The idea of a man who is supposed to represent the ideals of America…liberty, equality and the like… who obviously does not believe in these ideals himself intrigues me to no end.

I apologize if this story has offended anyone, but that is the type of man this Captain America is.

Next Issue… Who is the mysterious man in the shadows? What is the mysterious operation about? Will Steve give into Marie’s advances? Find out…Next Issue!

Comments, criticisms, and concerns for this issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA 1958 accepted at captainamerica3@mailcity.com