Editing Captain America (section)

==Supporting cast==
===Sidekicks and partners===
Captain America's first [[sidekick]] was [[Bucky Barnes]], introduced in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 as the teenaged "mascot" of Steve Rogers' regiment. He is made Captain America's partner in that same issue after accidentally discovering the character's secret identity.{{sfn|Rizzo|Licari|2021|p=15}} Joe Simon described Bucky's creation as being largely motivated by a need to give Captain America "someone to talk to" and avoid the overuse of dialogue delivered through [[internal monologue]], noting that "Bucky was brought in as a way of eliminating too many [[thought balloons]]."{{sfn|Dutter|1990|p=11}} Bucky was retroactively established as having been killed in the same accident that left Captain America frozen in suspended animation; the character remained deceased for many decades, contrasting the typically ephemeral nature of [[comic book death]]s,<ref name="StaysDead"/> until he returned in 2005 as the Winter Soldier. Initially introduced as a brainwashed assassin and antagonist to Captain America, Bucky's memories and personality were later restored, and he was re-established as an ally to Steve Rogers.{{sfn|Rizzo|Licari|2021|pp=148–150}} [[Rick Jones (character)|Rick Jones]] briefly assumed the role of Captain America's sidekick and the public identity of Bucky following Captain America's return to comics in the 1960s.<ref name="CASidekicks"/>{{sfn|Dowsett|2008|p=137}}

In 1969, [[Falcon (comics)|Sam Wilson]] was introduced as the superhero Falcon and later became Captain America's sidekick, making the characters the first interracial superhero duo in American comic books.{{sfn|Kaplan|2006|p=56}} Possessing the power to communicate with birds, Wilson is initially depicted as a former [[social worker]] living in [[Harlem]], though this identity is revealed to be the result of memories implanted by the Red Skull. He later receives a winged suit from the superhero [[Black Panther (character)|Black Panther]] that enables him to fly.{{sfn|Rizzo|Licari|2021|p=56}} Other characters who have served as Rogers' sidekick include [[Betsy Ross (character)|Golden Girl]] (Betsy Ross), [[Demolition Man (character)|Demolition Man]] (Dennis Dunphy), [[Jack Flag]] (Jack Harrison), and [[Free Spirit (comics)|Free Spirit]] (Cathy Webster).<ref name="CASidekicks"/><ref name="CBRSidekicks"/>

===Enemies===
{{Main|List of Captain America enemies}}

Over the course of several decades, writers and artists have established a [[rogues' gallery]] of [[supervillain]]s to face Captain America. The character's primary archenemy is the [[Red Skull]], introduced from the character's origins as an apprentice to [[Adolf Hitler in popular culture|Adolf Hitler]].{{sfn|DiFruscio|2010|p=46}}{{Sfn|Hayton|Albright|2009|p=16}} Just as Red Skull represents [[Nazism]], many of Captain America's villains represent specific ideologies or political formations: for example, the [[Serpent Society]] represents labor unionism, and [[Flag-Smasher]] represents [[anti-nationalism]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Olsen |first1=Jason |title=Mark Gruenwald and the Star Spangled Symbolism of Captain America, 1985-1995 |date=2021 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=9781476642611 |page=147}}</ref> The political character of Captain America's enemies has shifted over time: the character fought enemies associated with communism during his brief revival in the 1950s{{Sfn|Hayton|Albright|2009|p=17}} before shifting back to Nazi antagonists in the mid-1960s,{{Sfn|Hayton|Albright|2009|p=19}} while comics since 9/11 have frequently depicted the character facing terrorist villains.{{Sfn|Steinmetz|2009|p=199}}

===Romantic interests===
Steve Rogers' first love interest was Betsy Ross, introduced in his World War II-era comics as a member of the [[Women's Army Corps]] who later became the costumed superhero Golden Girl.{{sfn|Dittmer|2012|p=30}} [[Peggy Carter]], an American member of the [[French Resistance]], was retroactively established in comics published in the 1960s as another of Rogers' wartime lovers.{{sfn|Walton|2009|pp=161–162}} When Rogers is revived in the post-war era, he begins a partnership and on-again off-again relationship with [[S.H.I.E.L.D.]] agent [[Sharon Carter]]; introduced as Peggy's younger sister, she was later retconned as Peggy's grandniece to reflect Marvel's [[floating timeline]].{{sfn|Rizzo|Licari|2021|p=186}} In comics published in the 1980s, Rogers dated and became engaged to civilian [[Bernie Rosenthal]], though they ended their relationship amicably after Bernie left New York to attend law school.{{sfn|Dowsett|2008|pp=198, 208}} In the 1990s, Rogers had a romantic entanglement with the alternately villainous and antiheroic [[Diamondback (Rachel Leighton)|Diamondback]], a member of the [[Serpent Society]].<ref name="Diamondback"/>

===Alternate versions of Captain America===
{{main|Alternative versions of Captain America}}

The title of "Captain America" has been used by other characters in the [[Marvel Universe]] in addition to Steve Rogers, including [[Spirit of '76 (Marvel Comics)|William Naslund]], [[Jeffrey Mace]], and [[William Burnside (character)|William Burnside]].{{sfn|Stevens|2015|p=16}} [[U.S. Agent|John Walker]], also known as U.S. Agent, was introduced as a villainous Captain America in 1988,{{sfn|Weiner|2013|p=107}} and [[Isaiah Bradley]] was established in the 2003 [[Limited series (comics)|limited series]] ''[[Truth: Red, White & Black]]'' as an African American man who acquired superpowers after being used as a test subject for the Super-Soldier Serum.{{sfn|Weiner|2013|p=109}} Rogers' sidekicks Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson have also alternately held the title of Captain America: Barnes in 2008 following [[The Death of Captain America|Rogers' death in 2007]],{{sfn|Weiner|2013|p=107}} and Wilson during Marvel's 2012 rebranding campaign [[Marvel Now!]], following Rogers’ loss of the Super Soldier serum.<ref name="FalconCap"/> Within the [[Multiverse (Marvel Comics)|multiverse]] of [[Parallel universes in fiction|parallel universes]] that compose the Marvel Universe, there are many variations of Steve Rogers and Captain America; this includes Marvel's [[Ultimate Comics]] universe, which possesses [[Captain America (Ultimate Marvel character)|its own version of Steve Rogers]] that is more overtly politically conservative.{{sfn|Stevens|2015|pp=225–226}}