#ComicBytes: Five characters who replaced Steve Rogers as Captain America
Steve Rogers is, and will always be Captain America. But he wasn't the only one. In Marvel Universe, there are many instances when this iconic mantle was taken up by others in order to serve the good, and sometimes the evil. The following list contains the story of the five best Captain Americas who fought for justice and of course, were not Steve Rogers.
Rogers' best friend through many decades, Bucky Barnes (the Winter Soldier) became the new Captain America after the former's death during the Civil War. With a new costume and the old shield, Bucky accepted his new responsibilities as Cap, after deleting the Winter Soldier programming from his head. He even kept the mantle for a while after Rogers' return in Captain America Reborn.
MCU has already established Sam Wilson (Falcon) as the new Captain America. But, let's see how this transition happened in comics. Shortly after Rogers reclaimed his identity from Bucky, he lost his abilities and was physically advanced to his actual age. So he passed the mantle to Sam. He served as Cap through drastic events but always managed to prove his worth.
Interestingly, Sam was not the first black Captain America. When the super-soldier serum was lost, the US government secretly administered a similar formula to 300 African-American soldiers including Isaiah Bradley, who survived. But he stole a Captain America costume and shield, to stop a German scientist from recreating the formula. Unfortunately, he was arrested, but he became a legend in the black community.
Daughter of superheroes, Danielle Cage inherited her father Luke Cage's bulletproof skin, and her mother Jessica Jones' super strength. While on Earth-616, Danielle was a normal toddler. But in an alternate timeline on Earth-15061, she became Captain America after joining the A.V.E.N.G.E.R.S. initiative. Based in the year 20XX, this Cap fought the Golden Skull along with other misplaced Avengers, with her technologically-advanced shield.
Peggy Carter as Captain America was first introduced in a mobile game, but this design became so popular that it was included in comics via Exiles#3 (2018). In this alternate universe-hopping series, Peggy went through Project Rebirth and led the Allied front with the iconic shield. In fact, MCU is going to showcase this version in the upcoming Disney+ series, What If...?
