Spirit of '76 (Marvel Comics): Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Marvel comics superhero}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2016}}

{{notability}}

{{Infobox comics character <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->

|character_name = Spirit of '76

|image = spiritof76-comics.jpg

|converted = y

|caption = Art by [[Jack Kirby]]

|alter_ego = William Naslund

|publisher = [[Marvel Comics]]

|debut = ''[[Invaders (comics)|The Invaders]]'' #14 (March 1977)

|creators = [[Roy Thomas]]<br>[[Frank Robbins]]

|species = [[Human]]

|alliances = [[Crusaders (Marvel Comics)|Crusaders]]<br>[[Invaders (comics)|Invaders]]<br>[[All-Winners Squad]]

|aliases = [[Captain America (set index)|Captain America]]

|supports =

|powers = Brilliant athlete<br>Superb hand to hand combatant<br>'''As Spirit of '76''':<br>Wears a cloak made of an unknown bulletproof and fireproof material<br>'''As Captain America''':<br>Carries a steel shield

The '''Spirit of '76''' (real name '''William Naslund''') is a <!--Do not add "fictional" as it is tautological; superheroes (and characters in general) are by definition implied to be fictionalized to some extent.-->[[superhero]] appearing in [[American comic book]]s published by [[Marvel Comics]]. Created by writer [[Roy Thomas]] and artist [[Frank Robbins]] as part of a [[World War II]]-era [[superhero]] team, the [[Crusaders (Marvel Comics)|Crusaders]], and patterned on the [[DC Comics]] group the [[Freedom Fighters (comics)|Freedom Fighters]], the character [[first appeared]] in ''[[Invaders (comics)|The Invaders]]'' #14 (March 1977).<ref>{{cite book |last1=DeFalco |first1=Tom |last2=Sanderson |first2=Peter |last3=Brevoort |first3=Tom |last4=Teitelbaum |first4=Michael |last5=Wallace |first5=Daniel |last6=Darling |first6=Andrew |last7=Forbeck |first7=Matt |last8=Cowsill |first8=Alan |last9=Bray |first9=Adam |title=The Marvel Encyclopedia |date=2019 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-7890-0 |page=350}}</ref>

The Spirit of '76 was the equivalent of Freedom Fighters member [[Uncle Sam (comics)|Uncle Sam]], originally a [[Quality Comics]] character.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/c/capamer1.htm | title=Captain America (Spirit of '76)|work=International Hero|date=July 16, 1945|access-date=January 9, 2011}}</ref> In the stories, the character briefly assumed the role of Captain America after the original – Steve Rogers – was presumed dead. However, he was killed in action.

==Publication history==

Marvel's Spirit of '76 appeared as a member of the short-lived superhero team the Crusaders in ''The Invaders'' #14–15 (March–April 1977). In a [[Canon (fiction)|canonical]] portion of a story in issue #4 (Aug. 1977) of the [[Multiverse (Marvel Comics)|alternative universe]] series ''[[What If (comics)|What If?]]'', Naslund succeeds Steve Rogers as [[Captain America]], the first of three official replacements until Rogers resumed the role years later. This [[retcon]] became necessary after Marvel's conflicting accounts of Captain America in 1950s and 1960s comics had created a discrepancy.

==Fictional character biography==

William Naslund was born in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]. An athletic young man, hoping to help the Allies' World War II efforts in a unique way, he develops exceptional fighting skills and learns to copy some of the moves Captain America employed with the discus-like shield that he carried. He is recruited by a mysterious man called "Alfie" to become a costumed hero in the new team of adventurers called the [[Crusaders (Marvel Comics)|Crusaders]], alongside [[Dyna-Mite]], [[Ghost Girl (Marvel Comics)|Ghost Girl]], Thunderfist, [[Captain Wings]], and Tommy Lightning. The team eventually learns that Alfie is a German agent, but not before he has manipulated them into fighting the Allied super-team the [[Invaders (comics)|Invaders]]. Upon learning how they had been duped, all the Crusaders but Naslund left costumed adventuring.<ref>''The Invaders'' #14–15 (Mar–April 1977)</ref>

When the original Captain America, Steve Rogers, and his sidekick, [[Bucky Barnes|Bucky]], went [[missing in action]] in 1945, U.S. President [[Harry S. Truman]] recruited Naslund and a young man named [[Bucky (Marvel Comics)|Fred Davis]] to become the new Captain America and Bucky.<ref>''What If'' #4 (August 1977)</ref> Alongside [[Namor]] the Sub-Mariner and the original [[Red Guardian#Aleksey Lebedev|Red Guardian]], the new Captain America stopped a Nazi plot to destroy the Potsdam Conference.<ref>''Namor, the Sub-Mariner Annual'' #1 (1991)</ref> They briefly fought alongside the post-war [[All-Winners Squad]], battling [[Isbisa]]<ref>''All-Winners Comics'' #19 (Fall 1946)</ref> and, with the [[Blonde Phantom]], fought to prevent a criminal attempt to steal the atomic bomb, encountering a time-traveling [[She-Hulk]] during this mission.<ref>''The Sensational She-Hulk'' #22 (December 1990)</ref> Naslund was killed in 1946 in the line of duty when he was crushed to death by a robot serving the [[android (robot)|android]] named [[Adam II]] while warning the rest of the All-Winners Squad of Adam II's attempt to kidnap or kill then-Congressional candidate [[John F. Kennedy]] in Boston. Naslund was succeeded as Captain America by [[Jeffrey Mace]], formerly the superhero [[Patriot (comics)|Patriot]].<ref>''What If'' #4 (August 1977; canonical story)</ref> Naslund was later brought through time by the [[Contemplator (Marvel Comics)|Contemplator]] to battle an [[Adam II]] of an alternate world alongside the original Captain America, Jeffrey Mace, and the [[Grand Director|1950s Captain America]].<ref>''Captain America Annual'' #6 (1982)</ref>

==Powers and abilities==

William Naslund had no superhuman powers but was a brilliant athlete and a superb hand-to-hand combatant. As the Spirit of '76, he designed and wore a cloak made of an unknown bulletproof and fireproof material. As Captain America, he carried a steel shield, approximately 2.5 feet in diameter and fashioned by the U.S. government after the design used by the original Captain America.

==References==

{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==

*[http://www.marvel.com/universe/Spirit_Of_%2776 Marvel.com: Spirit of '76]

*[http://www.marvel.com/universe/All-Winners_Squad Marvel.com: All-Winners Squad]

*[http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=30854 Grand Comics Database: ''The Invaders'' #14]

{{Captain America characters}}

[[Category:Captain America characters]]

[[Category:Characters created by Frank Robbins]]

[[Category:Characters created by Roy Thomas]]

[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1977]]

[[Category:Fictional characters from Philadelphia]]

[[Category:Fictional shield fighters]]

[[Category:Fictional World War II veterans]]

[[Category:Incarnations of Captain America]]

[[Category:Marvel Comics military personnel]]

[[Category:Marvel Comics superheroes]]

[[Category:United States-themed superheroes]]