By Marc Strom
 The shield from "Captain America: The First Avenger" at SDCC 2010 |
For those readers unfamiliar with Captain America's shield, however, we've got you covered with a retrospective look at all the shields Cap has thrown throughout his almost 70-year history in the comics.
The Kite Shield
While the circular shield displayed at Comic-Con has long
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| Captain America and his kite shield |
The Classic Shield
Later stories, such as the classic CAPTAIN AMERICA Vol. 1 #355 by Roger Stern and John Byrne, revealed that President Franklin Roosevelt presented the hero with the traditional, circular shield that fans around the world know and love shortly after Steve Rogers became Captain America.
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| The classic shield |
But it's not just the shield's iconic status that makes it unique amongst all the other weapons in the Marvel Universe. During a mission in AVENGERS Vol. 1 #215, the villainous Molecule Man reduced Cap's shield down to its primary elements along with Thor's hammer, Iron Man's armor and the Silver Surfer's board, but it was the shield's atomic makeup that the villain described as the "weirdest of all."
"The Captain's" Shield
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| The Captain and his shield |
Following this, the Black Panther created a shield of pure vibranium for the Captain with a series of concentric circles colored black, red and white on its surface. Rogers, clearly most comfortable wielding a shield as a weapon, would not use his traditional shield as it belonged to Captain America, an identity that stood for something larger than-and apart from-just himself.
Steve Rogers served America as the Captain in CAPTAIN AMERICA Vol. 1 #332-350
The Photonic Shield
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| The photonic shield |
Shortly thereafter, when Cap lost his shield to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean saving a submarine full of people, he would try using a number of others before finally taking on an improved energy shield that packed enough wallop to fend off an attacking from a stampeding Rhino.
Though the new shield had its benefits, Cap never quite got over the loss of his original. When James Rhodes recovered its shattered remains from the ocean floor, Captain America had to utilize a taped-together shield to defend himself from the villain Klaw, and somewhat miraculously the shield became fused back together thanks to the enemy's sound-based powers.
For the full story on Cap's exile, read CAPTAIN AMERICA Vol. 1 #450-453, collected in "Captain America: Operation Rebirth," and for the full story of Cap's lost shield check out CAPTAIN AMERICA Vol. 3 #1-22
The Present: Two Shall Wield the Shield
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| Bucky wields the shield |
The Ultimate Shields
Ultimate Captain America and his shield
While Steve Rogers in the Ultimate Universe has used similar shields to his Marvel Universe counterpart, a number of differences exist. Ultimate Captain America used a kite shield throughout the entirety of his time fighting in World War II. After Nick Fury discovered his frozen body and reawakened him, Rogers decided to once again take up the mantle of Captain America and was given a shield of pure adamantium, which he continues to use to this day.
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@ Havok, Oh, I know which one you're talking about now. Isn't that one at the bottom of the sea when they buried Cap??@ Comicmaker, I like your ideas the only thing with I would change is the pure adamantium sheild. Cap's original shield I believe was a combination adamantium and vibranium. Adamantium to be unbreakable, Vibranium to redirect and absorb energy. I can't recall the issue but ...
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@ Havok, Oh, I know which one you're talking about now. Isn't that one at the bottom of the sea when they buried Cap??@ Comicmaker, I like your ideas the only thing with I would change is the pure adamantium sheild. Cap's original shield I believe was a combination adamantium and vibranium. Adamantium to be unbreakable, Vibranium to redirect and absorb energy. I can't recall the issue but Cap was falling from a building and used his shield to break his fall, the shield took the impact and redirected the force and energy of the fall as well as not breaking when he fell to the ground.
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U.S. Agent may have the vibranium shield, but the adamantium shield tony stark made is still out there somewhere. This was the other shield I was referring to.
cant wait for the big movie.
U.S agent has a energy shield he has 1 shield. and his energy shield is not the same as my Shield, i never saw U.S. agent or Captain America with a shield that when they throw it, that 3 shields come out of the first shield. and i never ever saw a energy shield that can change the length,size & weight when using or throwing the shield. So if there is a shield like that now, show me the proof ...
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U.S agent has a energy shield he has 1 shield. and his energy shield is not the same as my Shield, i never saw U.S. agent or Captain America with a shield that when they throw it, that 3 shields come out of the first shield. and i never ever saw a energy shield that can change the length,size & weight when using or throwing the shield. So if there is a shield like that now, show me the proof or link. My idea is Unique and its just a good idea for Marvel. you have it or not!
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yes i;ve been wating to know this