The Shadows of the Past

June, 1945

Captain America and the Invaders are flashing with Japanese forces. As the team deals with the ground troops, they are ambushed by the solar powered tank they have come to destroy. It’s during this battle, that Captain America pauses to reflect on the fact that he’s not the original Captain America, but his replacement and how — until recently — he was the hero known as the Spirit of ‘76.[1] This momentary distraction causes Cap to get caught in blast from the tank, knocking him unconscious.

July, 1954

The Captain America of the 1950s and his partner Bucky have staked out what they believe is a secret communist operation. However, what they are actually crashing is a harmless poker game being played by innocent Black men.

However, in their fevered minds briefly question if this is what the original Captain America would have done.[2] However, the 50’s Cap reaffirms that he did the right thing and begins chasing after one of the Black men who is trying to escape. However, as he runs out the door, this Captain America finds himself caught in a time warp and blacks out.

August, the Present Day

The original Captain America is on patrol on his motorcycle when he comes upon the Scarecrow robbing a bank.[3] Although Captain America stops the Scarecrow from getting away with his stolen loot, the villain’s army of trained crows keep the Avenger at bay while the Scarecrow makes his getaway. As Captain America tries to follow the getaway vehicle he too begins falling through time and space and blacks out.

When he comes around, Captain America finds his two replacements contained in glass cylinders before Mister Budda. Captain America demands to know what Budda wants this time. Budda reveals to Cap that he is actually one of the Elders of the Universe and his proper name is the Contemplator and that he does what he does because he is seeking universal enlightenment.[4] The Contemplator then introduces the man responsible for kidnapping him and the other Captain Americas: Jeff Mace, previously known as the Patriot and yet another man who took on the mantle of Captain America. Jeff explains how he took over the role when the All-Winners Squad tried to stop the android known as Adam II from killing John F. Kennedy. When the man who was once the Spirit of ‘76 was killed by Adam II’s androids, Jeff took over the identity. Although he was accepted as Captain America’s replacement, he ultimately retired before the 1950s. The entire time he believed that he was unworthy of the role and always wondered if he had what it took.[5]

Mace, now an old man, is dying of cancer and was contacted by the Contemplator who wanted to provide him with one last moment to prove his worth.[6] To this end, when the Contemplator plucked the other Captain Americas out of history, he created a divergent reality where Adam II succeeded in conquering the world and humanity is now under his complete control.[7] Steve Rogers is horrified that they would manipulate reality just so Mace can relive his glory days and tries to attack the Contemplator, but the Elder of the Universe makes himself intangible. With no other choice, the four Captain Americas are sent to this alternate reality to put an end of Adam II’s robot empire.

The team is split up into two groups. The first team, with the Spirit of ‘76 and 1950’s Captain America being deposited along a roadside where Adam II’s robots are leading a group of captured slaves to a nearby factory to be turned into cyborgs. Although the two work together to take down the robots, the 50’s Cap — seeing the various non-white people among the crowd — decides to go off and save “true Americans” from the tyranny. This leaves Spirit of ‘76 alone when the robots come back to life and he is quickly captured. The 50’s Cap soon arrives at the cyborg factory where he is approached by someone claiming to be part of the human resistance. Because this man is white, the 50’s Cap takes him at his word only to walk into a trap. As it turns out the “resistance fighter” was actually one of Adam II’s android and this Captain America is quickly captured.

Meanwhile, Steve Rogers and Jeff Mace are deposited in this world’s version of Washington, DC. Here they are ambushed by this reality’s version of the All-Winners Squad, who have been turned into cyborg slaves of Adam II. Although they put up a good fight, the two Captain Americas are quickly defeated and brought to Adam II’s fortress, which stands at the former site of the White House. There Adam II is intrigued by these invaders and shows them the futility of their attempts to overthrow him by showing that he has turned the Spirit of ‘76 and the 50’s Captain America into loyal cyborgs. Adam II is interested in fighting Steve Rogers, but Jeff Mace insists on proving himself by defeating the android. During the battle, Mace suddenly feels a surge of energy and is about to win the fight. However, when he looks over his shoulder he sees that he is somehow siphoning power from Rogers. When the Contemplator tells him that he can take all of Steve’s power for his own, at the expense of the original Captain America’s life, Jeff decides against it and is knocked out by Adam II.

Seeing this all unfold the two cyborg Captains break free from Adam’s mental conditioning and the four Captain Americas work together to destroy Adam II. With the contest over, the Contemplator congratulates them for a job well done. He restores Spirit of ‘76 and the 1950’s Cap to normal and returns them to their proper times with no memory of what happened. He then returns Steve Rogers and Jeff Mace to the present day. In the aftermath of their ordeal, Jeff admits that he feels at peace and can finally put the past behind him and make peace with death. Steve believes him and wouldn’t expect any less from a man who calls himself Captain America.

Recurring Characters

Captain America (Rogers), Captain America (Mace), Captain America (Nasland), Captain America (Burnside), Bucky (Monroe), Invaders (Sub-Mariner, Human Torch, Toro, Miss America, Whizzer), Scarecrow, the Contemplator, Imperial Japan

Continuity Notes

1. William Nasland was active as the Spirit of ‘76 in Invaders #14-15. When Steve Rogers went MIA in 1945, as seen in Avengers #4, the United States government covered it up and selected Nasland to take his place as the new Captain America, per What If? #4. He was active as Captain America from Captain America Comics #52-58.

2. This Captain America is actually William Burnside (his real name is not revealed until Captain America #602). He was obsessed with Captain America to the point where he legally changed his name to Steve Rogers and underwent plastic surgery to look just like him. When there was nobody active as Captain America, Burnside uncovered the Super Soldier Serum and when the government refused to sponsor him he injected himself with the serum. However, the formula was incomplete and it slowly drew him and his Bucky insane. This is all detailed in Captain America #155. This Captain America was active from Young Men #24-28 and Captain America Comics #76-78.

3. Captain America says it has been a while since he fought the Scarecrow. He battled the villain when he was part of the Cowled Commander’s Crime Wave in Captain America #158-159.

4. Captain America last encountered “Mister Budda” in Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles #1.

5. Jeff Mace became Captain America after Nasland died in What If? #4. He was active as the Patriot starting in Human Torch Comics #4. He was Captain America from Captain America Comics #59-73. Although it’s not revealed here, Mace was originally inspired to become the Patriot after meeting Steve Rogers as Captain America, as seen in Captain America: Patriot #1.

6. In this story, Jeff Mace is still alive in the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe. This becomes increasingly impossible due to the Sliding Timescale. As of this writing (November, 2021) Marvel has yet to explain this. See below for more.

7. The reality where Adam II has taken over the Earth has been designated Earth-8206. Per the Captain America profile in All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update #2.

Topical References

• The present day is said to be taking place in the year 1982. This date should be considered topical due to the Sliding Timescale.

How is Jeff Mace Still Alive?

This story and Captain America #284-285 depict Jeff Mace as still being alive in the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe. Mace has always been portrayed as a normal human being with no super-human abilities and a normal life span.

As such, the idea of him being alive in the Modern Age becomes increasingly impossible. This is due to the fact that the Sliding Timescale pushes the Modern Age forward in time making the years between the end of World War II and the start of the present day Marvel Universe longer with each passing year. While it was possible for Mace to still be alive when this story was published in 1982, it is increasingly impossible now.

As stated above, Marvel has yet to explain how this could be. Typically, an important character lives a prolonged life thanks to a method of slowing, retarding, or stopping the aging process. However, given Jeff Mace’s publication history, this seems unlikely since he wasn’t overly connected to anyone with access to such methods. In fact, Captain America: Patriot #1-4 presents him as being at odds with the government and he retires out of the role of Captain America in disgust.

In lieu of an official explanation, perhaps the Contemplator pulled Mace out of an earlier point in history and when his experiment was over he put Mace in the present day, thus explaining his appearances in issue #284-285 so Jeff could get the proper closure at the end of his life. The guy can created alternate realities on a whim, this doesn’t seem that outlandish.