Editing Captain America (section)

===Return to comics (1960s)===
[[File:Avengers (1964) March poster 4.jpg|thumb|right|Cover of ''[[The Avengers (comic book)|The Avengers]]'' #4 (March 1964). Art by Jack Kirby and [[George Roussos]].|alt=The front page of The Avengers #4, depicting Captain America leading Avengers members Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man and The Wasp under the subtitle "CAPTAIN AMERICA LIVES AGAIN!". An inset image indicates that Namor the Sub-Mariner also appears in the issue.]]

Captain America made his ostensible return in the anthology ''[[Strange Tales]]'' #114 (November 1963), published by Atlas' corporate successor [[Marvel Comics]]. In an 18-page story written by Lee and illustrated by Kirby,{{efn|Kirby returned to the company as a freelancer in 1956.{{sfn|Ro|2004|p=60}}}} Captain America reemerges following years of apparent retirement, though he is revealed as an impostor who is defeated by [[Human Torch]] of the [[Fantastic Four]]. A caption in the final panel indicates that the story was a "test" to gauge interest in a potential return for Captain America;{{Sfn|Cunningham|2009|p=188}} the reader response to the story was enthusiastic,{{Sfn|Thomas|2011|p=9}} and the character was formally reintroduced in ''[[Avengers (comic book)|The Avengers]]'' #4 (March 1964).{{Sfn|Wright|2001|p=215}}

''The Avengers'' #4 [[Retroactive continuity|retroactively established]] that Captain America had fallen into the [[Atlantic Ocean]] in the final days of World War II, where he spent decades frozen in ice in a state of [[suspended animation]] before being found and recovered.{{Sfn|Wright|2001|p=215}}{{efn|This revised backstory did not acknowledge stories set in the post-war period that had featured the character. These depictions would later be retconned as individuals who were not Steve Rogers assuming the role of Captain America; the 1950s "Commie Smasher" incarnation of the character, for example, was retconned as the villainous [[William Burnside (character)|William Burnside]] in the 1970s.{{Sfn|Hayton|Albright|2009|pp=17–18}}}} Captain America solo stories written by Lee with Kirby as the primary penciller were published in the anthology ''[[Tales of Suspense]]'' alongside solo stories focused on fellow Avengers member [[Iron Man]] beginning in November 1964; the character also appeared in Lee and Kirby's World War II-set ''[[Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos]]'' beginning in December same year. These runs introduced and retroactively established several new companions of Captain America, including [[Nick Fury]], [[Peggy Carter]], and [[Sharon Carter]].{{sfn|Dowsett|2008|p=103}}
 
In 1966, Joe Simon sued Marvel Comics, asserting that he was legally entitled to [[Copyright renewal in the United States|renew the copyright]] on the character upon the expiration of the original 28-year term. The two parties settled out of court, with Simon agreeing to a statement that the character had been created under terms of employment by the publisher, and was therefore [[work for hire]] owned by the company.<ref name="Lawsuit1"/> Captain America's [[Captain America (comic book)|self-titled ongoing series]] was relaunched in April 1968, with Lee as writer and Kirby as penciller; Kirby later departed the series, and was replaced by [[Gene Colan]].{{sfn|Kaplan|2006|p=56}} In 1969, writer and artist [[Jim Steranko]] authored [[The Strange Death of Captain America|a three-issue run of ''Captain America'']]. Despite the brevity of Steranko's time on the series, his contributions significantly influenced how Captain America was represented in post-war comics, reestablishing the character's [[secret identity]] and introducing a more experimental art style to the series.{{sfn|Morse|2007|pp=33–34}}{{sfn|Hayton|Albright|2009|p=19}}