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Captain America’s
shield has become an iconic piece of popular culture, but the Star-Spangled Avenger has another shield that’s been nearly forgotten by the world at large. Cap started out in the Golden Age with his first triangular shield, but Steve Rogers adopted a powerful energy shield in the late nineties after losing his trademark circular shield.
In Captain America Vol. 3 #2 (by Mark Waid and Ron Garney) Steve Rogers heads to a U.S. submarine taken over by a group of HYDRA terrorists. Cap ends up saving the day, but loses his famous shield to the ocean depths in the process.
Subsequent issues see Cap adopting a version of his old triangular shield, but soon finds it unsuited to his mission after it gets dented badly in battle with Kree mercenaries. Captain America Vol. 3 #9 (by Mark Waid & Andy Kubert) sees Sharon Carter bring Steve a new weapon: an energy shield.
Captain America’s Energy Shield is the Super-Soldier’s Most Powerful Weapon
An early version of the energy shield was invented by Tony Stark, which was later adopted by John Walker/U.S. Agent when he joined Iron Man’s Force Works super-team. Steve Rogers would later make use of a similar energy shield when he is stripped of the “Captain America” title and U.S. citizenship during the “Man Without A Country” storyline. The shield that Sharon Carter gifts him later has a number of upgrades, such as being able to absorb kinetic energy and discharge it in devastating energy blasts.
Captain America’s new energy shield also has the ability to take different forms. Cap most often has it take the appearance of his old shield, but it can be configured into a staff, sword and even a rope whenever the situation demands it. Captain America used the energy shield for an extended period in the Marvel Universe, until Iron Man is able to recover it from the ocean, albeit in an extremely weakened state. Traveling to Wakanda, Cap’s shield winds up being inadvertently repaired after a battle with Klaw, which saw the shield’s vibranium molecular structure restored from a sonic blast.
Steve Rogers wound up gifting his energy shield to the far-future warrior Primax/Jaromel, who rebelled against his former master Michael Korvac as the Captain America of the 31st century. Steve would get newer versions of the energy shield in the years since, most recently in the miniseries The United States of Captain America. Even though Captain America’s classic discus shield will always remain the Star-Spangled Avenger’s greatest tool, fans shouldn’t forget the energy shield he had to adopt in the late nineties.
Captain America
Initially debuting in 1940, Captain America is the patriotically themed superhero who has shared the title with only a few individuals. Beginning with Steve Rogers, Captain America’s birth resulted from a frail man taking part in an experimental U.S. Army super-soldier trial, which imbued him with super-human abilities. The character is often depicted wielding a nigh unbreakable and aerodynamic shield made of vibranium that they use to defend and attack their foes.
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