The Super-Soldier Serum undoubtedly holds a rich history within the Marvel Universe. Since its introduction in Captain America Comics #1 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, numerous storylines have featured its attempted reproduction. While the results have produced a few heroes such as Isaiah Bradley, others fell terribly short of the mark. One such failed experiment was the government agent later known as ‘the Anti-Cap’ whose enhanced abilities, unstable mentality, and penchant for fulfilling personal agendas through potent means argue him to be Marvel’s wildest super-soldier.
The unnamed test subject first appeared in 2004’s Captain America and the Falcon #1 by Christopher Priest and Bart Sears through a series of flashbacks detailing his proposed enlistment in the Navy following his girlfriend’s death in the Oklahoma City bombing. However, his desire to participate in the War on Terror was halted when, similar to Steve Rogers’s attempted army enlistment, he was rejected on medical grounds.
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Also like Rogers, he too participated in an experimentation program designed to create enhanced beings for warfare advantage. Overseen by Admiral Westbrook of the O.N.I. (Office of Naval Intelligence), ‘Protocol Six’ used an ‘AVX’ patch to release regulated doses of a super-steroid (‘Acetovaxidol’) through a spinal implant which granted recipients advanced abilities in regards to strength, reflexes, stamina, durability and accelerated recovery.
Alongside being skilled in unarmed combat, the operative was an expert with knives, explosives, and various firearms – talents that benefitted his time as an operative. However, alongside impacting his physical abilities, the drug deteriorated his mind and he later went rogue.
When the Falcon (Sam Wilson) freed reporter Leila Taylor, who was incarcerated for stealing evidence relating to the ‘AVX’ project, the operative tracked them to a cartel-owned compound where Westbrook and the O.N.I. were working on a weaponized virus. When their U.S. bound plane was struck mid-flight, the operative – since dubbed ‘Anti-Cap’ due to his similar costume and wildly opposing symbolism – was forced to flee, but was later apprehended by Captain America whom S.H.I.E.L.D. had commissioned to detain him after the O.N.I. voiced concerns regarding his wayward behavior.
Certain that government custody would result in his execution, Anti-Cap pulled rank on the Super-Soldier before being subdued by Falcon. The heroes, unwilling to send the young man to his death, sought his refuge at the Wakandan embassy during which time Captain America began to liken him to his fallen partner, Bucky Barnes. However, despite their best efforts, Anti-Cap seemingly died from AVX withdrawal and was subsequently buried at sea.
It was later discovered that his death had been staged using a paralytic which simulated a comatose state – a plan facilitated by Falcon who had also been set up to take the fall for the O.N.I.’s illegal activities. However, when an attempted confrontation went astray, Anti-Cap resumed executing his personal agenda, causing global political tensions to rise.
Falcon’s later disappearance while tracking Anti-Cap resulted in Captain America confronting the rogue operative in France where their final battle ensued. Despite initially overpowering the super-soldier, an attack by Redwing coupled with the disappearing effects of AVX (without which his abilities ceased to exist) cemented his defeat. Preferring death to capture, Anti-Cap stepped in front of a train, dying a martyr. An alternate version of Anti-Cap named ‘Major America’ later featured in Roger Stern and Phil Briones’s Captain America Corps (2011) in which he led a team of patriotic vigilantes known as the Americommand.
When compared with other failed super-soldiers, Anti-Cap’s profound skillset suggests him to be one of the more successful subjects. However, though stronger than Protocide and with titanium steel-like skin akin to Warhawk, his impressive abilities are ultimately undermined by his warped patriotic pride, violent tendencies, and a magnified mental deterioration which he and many others suffered as a result of the stimulant. But with no reproduction attempt having yet attained the results of Erskine’s Project Rebirth, Anti-Cap remains equally as overshadowed as the others by the serum’s one true success story.
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