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New York Stock Exchange
NYSE Euronext LogoNYSE Euronext Logo NYSE Logo
Type	Stock exchange
Location	New York City, New York, United States
Founded	March 8, 1817 (1817-03-08)
Owner	NYSE Euronext
Key people	Duncan L. Niederauer (CEO)
Currency	United States dollar
No. of listings	2,308
MarketCap	US$ 14.242 trillion (Dec 2011)[1]
Volume	US$ 20.161 trillion (Dec 2011)
Indexes	Dow Jones Industrial Average S&P 500 NYSE Composite
Website	NYSE.com
New York Stock Exchange
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Front Elevation of New York Stock Exchange
Coordinates:	40°42′24.6″N 74°0′39.7″W / 40.706833°N 74.011028°W / 40.706833; -74.011028Coordinates: 40°42′24.6″N 74°0′39.7″W / 40.706833°N 74.011028°W / 40.706833; -74.011028
Built:	1903
Architect:	Trowbridge & Livingston; George B. Post
Architectural style:	Classical Revival
Governing body:	Private
NRHP Reference#:	78001877
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	June 2, 1978[2]
Designated NHL:	June 2, 1978[3]

The New York Stock Exchange, commonly referred to as NYSE is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street, Lower Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at US$14.242 trillion as of Dec 2011.^[4] Average daily trading value was approximately US$153 billion in 2008.

The NYSE is operated by NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX), which was formed by the NYSE's 2007 merger with the fully electronic stock exchange Euronext. The NYSE trading floor is located at 11 Wall Street and is composed of four rooms used for the facilitation of trading. A fifth trading room, located at 30 Broad Street, was closed in February 2007. The main building, located at 18 Broad Street, between the corners of Wall Street and Exchange Place, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978,^[5] as was the 11 Wall Street building.^[3][6][7]

History[link]

The Stock Exchange at 10–12 Broad Street, in 1882

The origin of the NYSE can be traced to May 17, 1792, when the Buttonwood Agreement was signed by 24 stockbrokers outside of 68 Wall Street in New York under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street.^[8] On March 8, 1817, the organization drafted a constitution and renamed itself the "New York Stock & Exchange Board." Anthony Stockholm was elected the Exchange's first president.

The first central location of the Exchange was a room, rented in 1792 for $200 a month, located at 40 Wall Street. After that location was destroyed in the Great Fire of New York in 1835, the Exchange moved to a temporary headquarters. In 1863, the New York Stock & Exchange Board changed to its current name, the New York Stock Exchange. In 1865, the Exchange moved to 10–12 Broad Street.

The New York Stock Exchange was closed for ten days starting September 20, 1873, because of the Panic of 1873.^[9]

The volume of stocks traded increased sixfold in the years between 1896 and 1901, and a larger space was required to conduct business in the expanding marketplace.^[10] Eight New York City architects were invited to participate in a design competition for a new building; ultimately, the Exchange selected the neoclassic design submitted by architect George B. Post. Demolition of the Exchange building at 10 Broad Street, and adjacent buildings, started on May 10, 1901.

The new building, located at 18 Broad Street, cost $4 million and opened on April 22, 1903. The trading floor, at 109 × 140 feet (33 × 42.5 m), was one of the largest volumes of space in the city at the time, and had a skylight set into a 72-foot (22 m)-high ceiling. The main façade of the building features six tall columns with Corinthian capitals, topped by a marble pediment containing high-relief sculptures by John Quincy Adams Ward with the collaboration of Paul Wayland Bartlett, carved by the Piccirilli Brothers, representing Integrity Protecting the Works of Man. The building was listed as a National Historic Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 2, 1978.^[11]

In 1922, a building for offices, designed by Trowbridge & Livingston, was added at 11 Wall Street, as well as a new trading floor called the Garage. Additional trading floor space was added in 1969 the Blue Room, and in 1988 the EBR or Extended Blue Room, with the latest technology for information display and communication. Yet another trading floor was opened at 30 Broad Street called the Bond Room in 2000. As the NYSE introduced its hybrid market, a greater proportion of trading came to be executed electronically, and due to the resulting reduction in demand for trading floor space, the NYSE decided to close the 30 Broad Street trading room in early 2006. As the adoption of electronic trading continued to reduce the number of traders and employees on the floor, in late 2007, the NYSE closed the rooms created by the 1969 and 1988 expansions.

The Stock Exchange Luncheon Club was situated on the seventh floor from 1898 until its closure in 2006.^[12]

The floor of the New York Stock Exchange in 1908

The NYSE announced its plans to merge with Archipelago on April 21, 2005, in a deal intended to reorganize the NYSE as a publicly traded company. NYSE's governing board voted to merge with rival Archipelago on December 6, 2005, and become a for-profit, public company. It began trading under the name NYSE Group on March 8, 2006. A little over one year later, on April 4, 2007, the NYSE Group completed its merger with Euronext, the European combined stock market, thus forming the NYSE Euronext, the first transatlantic stock exchange.

Presently, Marsh Carter is Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, having succeeded John S. Reed and the CEO is Duncan Niederauer, having succeeded John Thain.

Notable events[link]

The exchange was closed shortly after the beginning of World War I (July 31, 1914), but it partially re-opened on November 28 of that year in order to help the war effort by trading bonds, and completely reopened for stock trading in mid-December.

On September 16, 1920, a bomb exploded on Wall Street outside the NYSE building, killing 33 people and injuring more than 400. The perpetrators were never found. The NYSE building and some buildings nearby, such as the JP Morgan building, still have marks on their façades caused by the bombing.

The Black Thursday crash of the Exchange on October 24, 1929, and the sell-off panic which started on Black Tuesday, October 29, are often blamed for precipitating the Great Depression of 1929. In an effort to try to restore investor confidence, the Exchange unveiled a fifteen-point program aimed to upgrade protection for the investing public on October 31, 1938.

On October 1, 1934, the exchange was registered as a national securities exchange with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, with a president and a thirty-three member board. On February 18, 1971 the non-profit corporation was formed, and the number of board members was reduced to twenty-five.

One of Abbie Hoffman's well-known publicity stunts took place in 1967, when he led members of the Yippie movement to the Exchange's gallery. The provocateurs hurled fistfuls of real dollars mixed with fake dollars toward the trading floor below. Some traders booed, and some collected the apparent bounty.^{[citation needed]} The press was quick to respond and, by evening, the event had been reported around the world.^{[citation needed]} (The stock exchange later spent $20,000 to enclose the gallery with bulletproof glass.)^{[citation needed]} Hoffman wrote a decade later, "We didn’t call the press; at that time we really had no notion of anything called a media event."^[13]

NYSE's stock exchange traders floor before the introduction of electronic readouts and computer screens.

On October 19, 1987, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped 508 points, a 22.6% loss in a single day, the second-biggest one-day drop the exchange had experienced, prompting officials at the exchange to invoke for the first time the "circuit breaker" rule to halt all trading. This was a very controversial move and led to a quick change in the rule; trading now halts for an hour, two hours, or the rest of the day when the DJIA drops 10, 20, or 30 percent, respectively. The rationale behind the trading halt was to give investors a chance to cool off and reevaluate their positions. Black Monday was followed by Terrible Tuesday, a day in which the Exchange's systems did not perform well and some people had difficulty completing their trades.

Consequently,^[vague] there was another major drop for the Dow on October 13, 1989; the Mini-Crash of 1989. The crash was apparently caused by a reaction to a news story of a $6.75 billion leveraged buyout deal for UAL Corporation, the parent company of United Airlines, which broke down. When the UAL deal fell through, it helped trigger the collapse of the junk bond market causing the Dow to fall 190.58 points, or 6.91 percent.

Similarly, there was a panic in the financial world during the year of 1997; the Asian Financial Crisis. Like the fall of many foreign markets, the Dow suffered a 7.18% drop in value (554.26 points) on October 27, 1997, in what later became known as the 1997 Mini-Crash but from which the DJIA recovered quickly.

On January 26, 2000, an altercation during filming of the music video for "Sleep Now in the Fire", which was directed by Michael Moore, caused the doors of the exchange to be closed and the band, Rage Against the Machine, to be escorted from the site by security,^[14] after band members attempted to gain entry into the exchange.^[15] Trading on the exchange floor, however, continued uninterrupted.^[16]

On May 6, 2010, the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its largest intraday percentage drop since the October 19, 1987 crash, with a 998 point loss later being called the Flash Crash (As the drop occurred in minutes before rebounding). The SEC and CFTC published a report on the event, although it did not come to a conclusion as to the cause. The regulators found no evidence that the fall was caused by erroneous ("fat finger") orders.^[17]

Trading[link]

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Donald L. Evans rings the opening bell at the NYSE on April 23, 2003. Former chairman Jack Womack is also in this picture.

NASA astronauts Scott Altman and Mike Massimino ring 'The Closing Bell'.

The NYSE trading floor in August 2008.

The New York Stock Exchange (sometimes referred to as "the Big Board") provides a means for buyers and sellers to trade shares of stock in companies registered for public trading. The NYSE is open for trading Monday through Friday from 9:30 am – 4:00 pm ET, with the exception of holidays declared by the Exchange in advance.

On the trading floor, the NYSE trades in a continuous auction format, where traders can execute stock transactions on behalf of investors. They will gather around the appropriate post where a specialist broker, who is employed by an NYSE member firm (that is, he/she is not an employee of the New York Stock Exchange), acts as an auctioneer in an open outcry auction market environment to bring buyers and sellers together and to manage the actual auction. They do on occasion (approximately 10% of the time) facilitate the trades by committing their own capital and as a matter of course disseminate information to the crowd that helps to bring buyers and sellers together. The auction process moved toward automation in 1995 through the use of wireless hand held computers (HHC). The system enabled traders to receive and execute orders electronically via wireless transmission. On September 25, 1995, NYSE member Michael Einersen, who designed and developed this system, executed 1000 shares of IBM through this HHC ending a 203 year process of paper transactions and ushering in an era of automated trading.

As of January 24, 2007, all NYSE stocks can be traded via its electronic Hybrid Market (except for a small group of very high-priced stocks). Customers can now send orders for immediate electronic execution, or route orders to the floor for trade in the auction market. In the first three months of 2007, in excess of 82% of all order volume was delivered to the floor electronically.^[18] NYSE works with US regulators like the SEC and CFTC to coordinate risk management measures in the electronic trading environment through the implementation of mechanisms like circuit breakers and liquidity replenishment points.^[19]

Until 2005, the right to directly trade shares on the exchange was conferred upon owners of the 1366 "seats". The term comes from the fact that up until the 1870s NYSE members sat in chairs to trade. In 1868, the number of seats was fixed at 533, and this number was increased several times over the years. In 1953, the number of seats was set at 1,366. These seats were a sought-after commodity as they conferred the ability to directly trade stock on the NYSE, and seat holders were commonly referred to as members of the NYSE. The Barnes family is the only known lineage to have five generations of NYSE members: Winthrop H. Barnes (admitted 1894), Richard W.P. Barnes (admitted 1926), Richard S. Barnes (admitted 1951), Robert H. Barnes (admitted 1972), Derek J. Barnes (admitted 2003). Seat prices varied widely over the years, generally falling during recessions and rising during economic expansions. The most expensive inflation-adjusted seat was sold in 1929 for $625,000, which, today, would be over six million dollars. In recent times, seats have sold for as high as $4 million in the late 1990s and as low as $1 million in 2001. In 2005, seat prices shot up to $3.25 million as the exchange entered into an agreement to merge with Archipelago and become a for-profit, publicly traded company. Seat owners received $500,000 in cash per seat and 77,000 shares of the newly formed corporation. The NYSE now sells one-year licenses to trade directly on the exchange. Licences for floor trading are available for $40,000 and a licence for bond trading is available for as little as $1,000 as of 2010.^[20] Neither are resell-able, but may be transferable in during the change of ownership of a cooperation holding a trading licence.

NYSE Composite Index[link]

In the mid-1960s, the NYSE Composite Index (NYSE: NYA) was created, with a base value of 50 points equal to the 1965 yearly close.^[21] This was done to reflect the value of all stocks trading at the exchange instead of just the 30 stocks included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. To raise the profile of the composite index, in 2003 the NYSE set its new base value of 5,000 points equal to the 2002 yearly close.

Timeline[link]

The NYSE at Christmas time (December 2008)

In 1792, The NYSE acquires its first traded securities.^[22][23] In 1817, The constitution of the New York Stock and Exchange Board is adopted.^[24] In 1867, The First Stock Ticker.^[25] In 1896, Dow Jones Industrial Average first published in The Wall Street Journal.^[25] In 1903, NYSE moves into new quarters at 18 Broad Street. In 1906, Dow exceeds 100 on January 12. In 1907, Panic of 1907. In 1914, World War I causes the longest exchange shutdown: four months, two weeks; re-opening December 12 brings the largest one-day percentage drop in the DJIA (24.4%). In 1915, Market price is given in dollars. In 1929, Central quote system established; Black Thursday, October 24 and Black Tuesday, October 29 signal the end of the Roaring Twenties bull market. In 1943, Trading floor is opened to women.^[26] In 1949, Longest (eight-year) bull market begins.^[27]

In 1954, Dow surpasses its 1929 peak in inflation-adjusted dollars. In 1956, Dow closes above 500 for the first time on March 12. In 1966, the NYSE begins a composite index of all listed common stocks. This is referred to as the "Common Stock Index" and is transmitted daily. The starting point of the index is 50. It is later renamed the NYSE Composite Index.^[28] In 1967, Protesters led by Abbie Hoffman throw mostly fake dollar bills at traders from gallery, leading to the installation of bullet-proof glass. In 1970, Securities Investor Protection Corporation established. In 1971, NYSE recognized as Not-for-Profit organization.^[28] In 1972, Dow closes above 1,000 for the first time on November 14. In 1977, Foreign brokers are admitted to NYSE. In 1980, New York Futures Exchange established. In 1982, Longest bull market in DJIA history begins. In 1987, Black Monday, October 19, sees the second-largest one-day DJIA percentage drop (22.6%) in history. In 1991, Dow exceeds 3,000. In 1995, Dow exceeds 5,000. In 1996, Real-time ticker introduced.^[29] In 1999, Dow exceeds 10,000 on March 29. In 2000, Dow peaks at 11,722.98 on January 14; first NYSE global index is launched under the ticker NYIID.

Security after the September 11 attacks

In 2001, Trading in fractions (n/16) ends, replaced by decimals (increments of $.01, see Decimalization). When the September 11, 2001 attacks occur, the NYSE was closed for 4 sessions. In 2003, NYSE Composite Index relaunched and value set equal to 5,000 points. In 2006, NYSE and ArcaEx merge, creating NYSE Arca and forming the publicly owned, for-profit NYSE Group, Inc.; in turn, NYSE Group merges with Euronext, creating the first trans-Atlantic stock exchange group; DJIA tops 12,000 on October 19. In 2007, US President George W. Bush shows up unannounced to the Floor about an hour and a half before a Federal Open Market Committee interest-rate decision on January 31.^[30] NYSE announces its merger with the American Stock Exchange; NYSE Composite closes above 10,000 on June 1; DJIA exceeds 14,000 on July 19 and closes at an all time peak of 14,164.53 on October 9. This was the peak before the 2008–2009 bust.

On September 15, 2008, the DJIA loses more than 500 points amid fears of bank failures, resulting in a permanent prohibition of naked short selling and a three-week temporary ban on all short selling of financial stocks; in spite of this, record volatility continues for the next two months, culminating at 5½-year market lows. In 2009, Dow closes at 6547.05 on March 9 reaching a 12 year low. Returns to 10,015.86 on October 14.

Derailed planned merger with Deutsche Börse[link]

On February 15, 2011 NYSE and Deutsche Börse announced their merger to form a new company, as yet unnamed, wherein Deutsche Börse shareholders will have 60% ownership of the new entity, and NYSE Euronext shareholders will have 40%.

On February 1, 2012, the European Commission blocked the merger of NYSE with Deutsche Börse, after commissioner Joaquin Almunia stated that the merger "would have led to a near-monopoly in European financial derivatives worldwide".^[31] Instead, Deutsche Börse and NYSE will have to sell either their Eurex derivatives or LIFFE shares in order to not create a monopoly.

On February 2, 2012, NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Börse agreed with strong opposition by the EU for the planned merger, to scrap the merger.^[32]

Trading schedule[link]

Regular trading hours are from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm.

See also[link]

New York City portal

• Economy of New York City
• List of American stock exchanges
• List of presidents of the New York Stock Exchange
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• List of market opening times

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Buck, James E. (1992). The New York Stock Exchange: The First 200 Years. Greenwich Pub. Group. ISBN 0-944641-02-4. 
• Geisst, Charles R. (2004). Wall Street: A History – From its Beginnings to the Fall of Enron. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-517060-1. 
• Kent, Zachary (1990). The Story of the New York Stock Exchange. Scholastic Library Pub.. ISBN 0-516-04748-5. 
• Sloane, Leonard (1980). The Anatomy of the Floor. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-12249-7. 
• Sobel, Robert (1975). N.Y.S.E.: A History of the New York Stock Exchange, 1935–1975. Weybright and Talley. ISBN 0-679-40124-5. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: New York Stock Exchange

• Official website
• List of planned and unplanned historical closings
• Price of membership and a seat
• New York Stock Exchange collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• The New York Stock Exchange Began in a Coffe Shop

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Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero who appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (cover-dated March 1941), from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics,^[1] and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. As of 2007, an estimated 210 million copies of "Captain America" comic books had been sold in 75 countries.^[2] For nearly all of the character's publication history, Captain America was the alter ego of Steve Rogers, a frail young man who was enhanced to the peak of human perfection by an experimental serum in order to aid the United States war effort. Captain America wears a costume that bears an American flag motif, and is armed with an indestructible shield that can be thrown as a weapon.^[3]

An intentionally patriotic creation who was often depicted fighting the Axis powers of World War II, Captain America was Timely Comics' most popular character during the wartime period. After the war ended, the character's popularity waned and he disappeared by the 1950s aside from an ill-fated revival in 1953. Captain America was reintroduced during the Silver Age of comics when he was revived from suspended animation by the superhero team the Avengers in The Avengers #4 (March 1964). Since then, Captain America has often led the team, as well as starring in his own series.

Steve Rogers was purportedly assassinated in Captain America vol. 5, #25 (March 2007), although he was later revealed to be alive. The comic-book series Captain America continued to be published,^[4] with Rogers' former sidekick, James "Bucky" Barnes, having taken up the mantle, and keeping it at the insistence of Rogers, who upon his return began operating as an intelligence agent in the Secret Avengers title, and in the limited series Steve Rogers: Super Soldier, before resuming the identity after Bucky was killed in the line of duty.

Captain America was the first Marvel Comics character adapted into another medium with the release of the 1944 movie serial Captain America. Since then, the character has been featured in several other films and television series, including Chris Evans' portrayal in Captain America: The First Avenger, released on July 22, 2011, and The Avengers, released on May 4, 2012. Captain America was ranked sixth on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes in 2011.

Publication history[link]

In 1940, writer Joe Simon conceived the idea for Captain America and made a sketch of the character in costume.^[5] "I wrote the name 'Super American' at the bottom of the page," Simon said in his autobiography. "No, it didn't work. There were too many 'Supers' around. 'Captain America' had a good sound to it. There weren't a lot of captains in comics. It was as easy as that. The boy companion was simply named Bucky, after my friend Bucky Pierson, a star on our high school basketball team."^[6]

Simon recalled in his autobiography that Timely Comics publisher Martin Goodman gave him the go-ahead and directed that a Captain America solo comic book series be published as soon as possible. Needing to fill a full comic with primarily one character's stories, Simon did not believe that his regular creative partner, artist Jack Kirby, could handle the workload alone:

I didn't have a lot of objections to putting a crew on the first issue.... There were two young artists from Connecticut that had made a strong impression on me. Al Avison and Al Gabriele often worked together and were quite successful in adapting their individual styles to each other. Actually, their work was not too far from [that of] Kirby's. If they worked on it, and if one inker tied the three styles together, I believed the final product would emerge as quite uniform. The two Als were eager to join in on the new Captain America book, but Jack Kirby was visibly upset. 'You're still number one, Jack,' I assured him. 'It's just a matter of a quick deadline for the first issue.'

'I'll make the deadline,' Jack promised. 'I'll pencil it [all] myself and make the deadline.' I hadn't expected this kind of reaction ... but I acceded to Kirby's wishes and, it turned out, was lucky that I did. There might have been two Als, but there was only one Jack Kirby.

I wrote the first Captain America book with penciled lettering right on the drawing boards, with very rough sketches for figures and backgrounds. Kirby did his thing, building the muscular anatomy, adding ideas and pepping up the action as only he could. Then he tightened up the penciled drawings, adding detailed backgrounds, faces and figures.^[6]

Al Liederman would ink that first issue, which was lettered by Simon and Kirby's regular letterer, Howard Ferguson.^[7]

Simon said Captain America was a consciously political creation; he and Kirby were morally repulsed by the actions of Nazi Germany in the years leading up to the United States' involvement in World War II and felt war was inevitable: "The opponents to the war were all quite well organized. We wanted to have our say too."^[8]

Captain America Comics #1 — cover-dated March 1941 and on sale in December 1940, a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor, but a full year into World War II — showed the protagonist punching Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in the jaw; it sold nearly one million copies.^[9] While most readers responded favorably to the comic, some took objection. Simon noted, "When the first issue came out we got a lot of... threatening letters and hate mail. Some people really opposed what Cap stood for."^[8] The threats, which included menacing groups of people loitering out on the street outside of the offices, proved so serious that police protection was posted with Mayor Fiorello La Guardia personally contacting Simon and Kirby to give his support.^[10]

Though preceded as a "patriotically themed superhero" by MLJ's The Shield, Captain America immediately became the most prominent and enduring of that wave of superheroes introduced in American comic books prior to and during World War II,^{[citation needed]} as evidenced by the unusual move at the time of premiering the character in his own title instead of an anthology title first. This popularity drew the attention and a complaint from MLJ that the character's triangular shield too closely resembled the chest symbol of their Shield character. In response, Goodman had Simon and Kirby create a distinctive round shield for issue 2, which went on to become an iconic element of the character.^[11] With his sidekick Bucky, Captain America faced Nazis, Japanese, and other threats to wartime America and the Allies. Stanley Lieber, now better known by his pen name Stan Lee, contributed to the character in issue #3 in the filler text story "Captain America Foils the Traitor's Revenge," which introduced the character's use of his shield as a returning throwing weapon.^[12] Captain America soon became Timely's most popular character and even had a fan-club called the "Sentinels of Liberty."^[8]

Circulation figures remained close to a million copies per month after the debut issue, which outstripped even the circulation of news magazines like Time during the period.^[13] After the Simon and Kirby team moved to DC in late 1941, having produced Captain America Comics through issue #10 (January 1942), Al Avison and Syd Shores became regular pencillers of the celebrated title, with one generally inking over the other. The character was also featured in All Winners Comics #1-19 (Summer 1941 – Fall 1946), Marvel Mystery Comics #80-84 and #86-92, USA Comics #6-17 (Dec. 1942 – Fall 1945), and All Select Comics #1-10 (Fall 1943 – Summer 1946).

In the post-war era, with the popularity of superheroes fading, Captain America led Timely's first superhero team, the All-Winners Squad, in its two published adventures, in All Winners Comics #19 and #21 (Fall–Winter 1946; there was no issue #20). After Bucky was shot and wounded in a 1948 Captain America story, he was succeeded by Captain America's girlfriend, Betsy Ross, who became the superheroine Golden Girl. Captain America Comics ended with issue #75 (Feb. 1950), by which time the series had been titled Captain America's Weird Tales for two issues, with the finale being a horror/suspense anthology issue with no superheroes.

Atlas Comics attempted to revive its superhero titles when it reintroduced Captain America, along with the original Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner, in Young Men #24 (Dec. 1953). Billed as "Captain America, Commie Smasher!" Captain America appeared during the next year in Young Men #24-28 and Men's Adventures #27-28, as well as in issues #76-78 of an eponymous title. Atlas' attempted superhero revival was a commercial failure,^[14] and the character's title was canceled with Captain America #78 (Sept. 1954).

Silver Age revival[link]

In the Human Torch story titled "Captain America" in Marvel Comics' Strange Tales #114 (Nov. 1963),^[15] writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby depicted the brash young Fantastic Four member Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, in an exhibition performance with Captain America, described as a legendary World War II and 1950s superhero who has returned after many years of apparent retirement. The 18-page story ends with this Captain America revealed as an impostor: it was actually the villain the Acrobat, a former circus performer the Torch had defeated in Strange Tales #106, who broke two thieves out of jail, hoping to draw the police away while trying to rob the local bank. Afterward, Storm digs out an old comic book in which Captain America is shown to be Steve Rogers. A caption in the final panel says this story was a test to see if readers would like Captain America to return.

Captain America was then formally reintroduced in The Avengers #4 (March 1964), which explained that in the final days of WWII, he had fallen from an experimental drone plane into the North Atlantic Ocean and spent decades frozen in a block of ice in a state of suspended animation. The hero found a new generation of readers as leader of that superhero team. Following the success of other Marvel characters introduced during the 1960s, Captain America was recast as a hero "haunted by past memories, and trying to adapt to 1960s society."^[16]

After then guest-starring in the feature "Iron Man" in Tales of Suspense #58 (Oct. 1964), Captain America gained his own solo feature in that "split book," beginning the following issue. Issue #63 (March 1965), which retold Captain America's origin, through issue #71 (Nov. 1965) was a period feature set during World War II and co-starred Captain America's Golden Age sidekick, Bucky. Kirby drew all but two of the stories in Tales of Suspense, which became Captain America with #100 (April 1968); Gil Kane and John Romita, Sr., each filled in once. Several stories were finished by penciller-inker George Tuska over Kirby layouts, with one finished by Romita Sr. and another by penciller Dick Ayers and inker John Tartaglione. Kirby's regular inkers on the series were Frank Giacoia (as "Frank Ray") and Joe Sinnott, though Don Heck and Golden Age Captain America artist Syd Shores inked one story each. The new title Captain America continued to feature artwork by Kirby, as well as a short run by Jim Steranko, and work by many of the industry's top artists and writers. It was called Captain America and the Falcon from #134-222 (although the Falcon's name was not on the cover for issues #193, 200, and 216).

This series — considered Captain America volume one by comics researchers and historians,^[17] following the 1940s Captain America Comics and its 1950s numbering continuation — ended with #454 (Aug. 1996).

After the Silver Age[link]

This series was almost immediately followed by the 13-issue Captain America vol. 2 (Nov. 1996 – Nov. 1997, part of the "Heroes Reborn" crossover),^[18] the 50-issue Captain America vol. 3 (Jan. 1998 – Feb. 2002),^[19] the 32-issue Captain America vol. 4 (June 2002 – Dec. 2004),^[20] and Captain America vol. 5 (Jan. 2005 – July 2009).^[21] Beginning with the 600th overall issue counting these series, Captain America resumed its original numbering, as if the series numbering had continued uninterrupted after #454.

As part of the aftermath of Marvel Comics' company-crossover storyline "Civil War", Steve Rogers was ostensibly killed in Captain America vol. 5, #25 (March 2007). Series writer Ed Brubaker remarked, "What I found is that all the really hard-core left-wing fans want Cap to be standing out on and giving speeches on the street corner against the George W. Bush administration, and all the really right-wing fans all want him to be over in the streets of Baghdad, punching out Saddam Hussein."^[22] The character's co-creator, Joe Simon, remarked, "It's a hell of a time for him to go. We really need him now."^[22] Artist Alex Ross designed a slightly revised Captain America costume that former sidekick Bucky Barnes began to wear as the new Captain America in vol. 5, #34 (March 2008)^[23]

The storyline of Rogers' return began in issue #600.^[24][25] Rogers, who was not dead but caroming through time, returned to the present day in the six-issue miniseries Captain America: Reborn (Sept. 2009 – March 2010).^[26]

After Rogers' return, Barnes, at Rogers' insistence, continued as Captain America, beginning in the one-shot comic Captain America: Who Will Wield the Shield? (Feb. 2010). While Bucky Barnes continued adventuring in the pages of Captain America, Steve Rogers received his own miniseries (Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier) as well as taking on the leadership position in a new Secret Avengers ongoing series.

Spinoff series included Captain America Sentinel of Liberty (Sept. 1998 – Aug. 1999) and Captain America and the Falcon (May 2004 – June 2005). The 1940s Captain America appeared alongside the 1940s Human Torch and Sub-Mariner in the 12-issue miniseries Avengers/Invaders.^[27][28] The 2007 mini-series Captain America: The Chosen, written by David Morrell and penciled by Mitchell Breitweiser, depicts a dying Steve Rogers' final minutes, at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, as his spirit guides James Newman, a young American Marine fighting in Afghanistan. The Chosen is not part of the main Marvel Universe continuity.^[29][30]

Marvel stated in May 2011 that Rogers, following the public death of Bucky Barnes in the Fear Itself miniseries, would resume his Captain America identity in a sixth volume of Captain America, by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve McNiven.^[31]

Fictional character biography[link]

This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (March 2011)

1940s[link]

Steve Rogers was born July 4, 1920, in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, to Irish immigrants Sarah and Joseph Rogers.^[32] Joseph Rogers died when Steve was only a child and his mother, Sarah, died of pneumonia while Steve was a teen. By early 1940, before America's entry into World War II, Rogers is a tall but scrawny fine arts student specializing in illustration, and a comic book writer and artist, a career he willingly set aside upon his transformation into Captain America. Despite some forays into graphics, Steve Rogers never created another character^[33]

Disturbed by the rise of the Third Reich, Rogers attempts to enlist, only to be rejected due to his physically frail body. His resolution however allows him to be noticed by U.S. Army General Chester Phillips and "Project: Rebirth." Rogers is used as a test subject for the Super-Soldier project, receiving a special serum made by "Dr. Josef Reinstein",^[34][35] later retroactively changed to a code name for the scientist Abraham Erskine.^[36]

The serum, coupled with the stabilizing "Vita-Rays," is a success, and transforms the frail Steve Rogers into a perfect specimen--a nearly perfect human being with peak strength, agility, stamina, and intelligence. The success of the program leaves Erskine wondering about replicating the experiment on other human beings.^[35] The process itself however has been inconsistently detailed: while in the original material Steve Rogers is shown receiving injections of the Super-Serum, when the origin was retold in the sixities, the Comic Code Authority had already put a veto over graphic description of drug intake and abuse, and thus the Super-Serum was retconned into an oral formula.^[37] Later accounts hints at a combination of oral and intravenous treatments, culminating in the Vita-Ray exposure and a strenuous training regimen.

Erskine refused to write down every crucial element of the treatment, leaving behind a flawed, imperfect knowledge of the needed steps. Thus, when the Nazi spy Heinz Kruger killed him, Erskine's method of creating new Super-Soldiers died as well. Captain America, in his first act after his tranfsormation, avenges Erskine. In the 1941 origin story and in Tales of Suspense #63, Kruger dies when running into machinery but is not killed by Rogers; in the Captain America #109 and #255 revision, however, Rogers causes the spy's death by punching him into machinery.^[35]

Unable to create new Super-Soldiers, and willing to hide the Project Rebirth fiasco, the U.S.A. Government casts the now-powerful Rogers as a patriotic superhero, able to counter the menace of the Red Skull as a counter-intelligence agent. As such, he's supplied with a patriotic uniform (designed by Rogers himself) ^[32]) a bulletproof shield, a personal side arm, and the codename Captain America, while Steve Rogers himself poses as a clumsy infantry private at Camp Lehigh in Virginia. He forms a friendship with the camp's teenage mascot, James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes.^[34]

Eventually Barnes learns of Rogers' dual identity and offers to keep the secret if he can become Captain America's sidekick, being trained himself to act as the perfect partner. During their adventures, Franklin D. Roosevelt presents Captain America with a new shield, forged from an alloy of steel and vibranium, fused by an unknown catalyst, so effective that it replaces his own firearm.^[36] Throughout World War II, Captain America and Bucky fight the Nazi menace both on their own and as members of the superhero team the Invaders (as seen in the 1970s comic of the same name).^[38] Captain America also battles a number of criminal menaces on American soil, including a wide variety of costumed villains: the Wax Man,^[39] the Hangman,^[40] the Fang,^[40] the Black Talon,^[41] and the White Death,^[41] among others.

In late April 1945, during the closing days of World War II, Captain America and Bucky try to stop the villainous Baron Zemo from destroying an experimental drone plane. Zemo launches the plane with an armed explosive on it, Rogers and Barnes in hot pursuit. The pair reach the plane just before take off. When Bucky tries to defuse the bomb, it explodes in mid-air. The young man is believed killed. Rogers is hurled into the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. Neither is found, and both are presumed dead. It is later revealed that neither character actually died.^[42]

Late 1940s to 1950s[link]

Captain America continued to appear in comics for the next few years changing from World War II-era hero fighting against the Nazis to trying to defeat the United States' newest enemy, Communism. The revival of the character in the mid-1950s is short-lived, and events during that time period are later retconned to show that multiple people operated using the code name in order to explain the changes in the character. These Post World War II successors are listed as William Naslund and Jeffrey Mace.

The last of these other official Captains, William Burnside,^[43] was a history graduate enamored with the Captain America's mythos, going so far to have his appearance surgically altered to resemble Rogers and legally change his name into "Steve Rogers", becoming the new "1950s Captain America".^[44] Furthermore, he self-administered to himself and his pupil James "Jack" Monroe a flawed, incomplete copy of the Super-Serum, which made no mention about the necessary Vita-Ray portion of the treatment. As a result, while Burnside (now known as Steve Rogers) and Monroe became the new Captain America and Bucky, they also became violently paranoid, often raving about innocent people being communist sympathizers during the height of the Red Scare of the 1950s. Their insanity forced the US Government to place both of them in indefinite cryogenic storage by the US Government until they could be cured of their mental illness.^[45] The 1950s Bucky would be cured ^[46] and go on to be the original Steve Rogers' Captain America partner for a time under the Nomad identity.

1960s to 1970s[link]

Years later,^[42] the superhero team the Avengers discovers Steve Rogers' body in the North Atlantic, the Captain's uniform under his soldier's fatigues and still carrying his shield. After he revives, they piece together that Rogers had been preserved in a block of ice since 1945, surviving in such a state only because of his enhancements from Operation: Rebirth. The block had begun to melt after the Sub-Mariner, enraged that an Arctic Inuit tribe is worshiping the frozen figure, throws it into the ocean. Rogers accepts membership in the Avengers, and although long out of his time, his considerable combat experience makes him a valuable asset to the team. He quickly assumes leadership,^[47] and has typically returned to that position throughout the team's history.

Captain America is plagued by guilt for having been unable to prevent Bucky's death—a feeling that does not ease for some time. Although he takes the young Rick Jones (who closely resembles Bucky) under his tutelage, he refuses for some time to allow Jones to take up the Bucky identity, not wishing to be responsible for another youth's death. Insisting that his hero finally move on from that loss, Jones eventually convinces Rogers to let him don the Bucky costume,^[48] but this partnership lasts only a short time; a disguised Red Skull, impersonating Rogers with the help of the Cosmic Cube, drives Jones away.

Rogers also reunites with his old war comrade Nick Fury, who is similarly well-preserved due to the "Infinity Formula." As a result, Rogers regularly undertakes missions for the security agency S.H.I.E.L.D. for which Fury is public director.^[49] Through Fury, Rogers befriends Sharon Carter, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent,^[50] with whom he eventually begins a romantic relationship.

Rogers later meets and trains Sam Wilson, who becomes the superhero the Falcon,^[51] the first African-American superhero in mainstream comic books.^[52] The characters established an enduring friendship and adventuring partnership, sharing the series title for some time as Captain America and the Falcon.^[53] The two later encounter the revived but still insane 1950s Captain America.^[54] Although Rogers and the Falcon defeat the faux Rogers and Jack Monroe, Rogers becomes deeply disturbed that he could have suffered his counterpart's fate.

The series also dealt with the Marvel Universe's version of the Watergate scandal, making Rogers so uncertain about his role that he abandons his Captain America identity in favor of one called Nomad, emphasizing the word's meaning as "man without a country". During this time, several men unsuccessfully assume the Captain America identity.^[55] Rogers eventually re-assumes it after coming to consider that the identity could be a symbol of American ideals and not its government; it's a personal conviction epitomized when he later confronted a corrupt Army officer attempting to manipulate him by appealing to his loyalty, "I'm loyal to nothing, General... except the [American] Dream." Jack Monroe, cured of his mental instability, later takes up the Nomad alias.^[56] During this period, Rogers also temporarily gains super strength.^[57] Immediately after witnessing Number One's suicide, he is summoned to the future to participate in the Destiny War between Kang the Conqueror and Immortus (it is revealed over the course of the story that Rogers was selected from this time frame as, had he been taken from any other time period, his strong personality- shaken at this point by the events he had just witnessed- would have dominated the team and deprived them of the flexibility required to succeed in their mission, although his presence alone still brought cohesion to the group).^[58] He also learns of the apparent death of Sharon Carter.^[59]

1980s to 1990s[link]

The early 1980s included runs from such creators as Roger Stern, John Byrne, and J. M. DeMatteis. Stern had Steve Rogers consider a run for President of the United States in Captain America #250 (June 1980), and introduced a new love interest, law student Bernie Rosenthal, in Captain America #248 (Aug. 1980). Stern also revisited and expanded Captain America's origin story.

DeMatteis revealed the true face and full origin of the Red Skull in Captain America #298-300, and had Captain America take on Jack Monroe, Nomad, as a partner for a time.^[56] It is also around this time that the heroes gathered by the Beyonder elect Rogers as leader during their stay on Battleworld in the 1984 miniseries Secret Wars

Also during the 1980s, Mark Gruenwald wrote 137 issues of the book for 10 consecutive years from 1985 to 1995, the most issues by any single author in the character's history. Gruenwald created several new foes, including Crossbones and the Serpent Society. Other Gruenwald characters included new love interest Diamondback.,^[60] Super Patriot (who would go on to become a replacement Captain America in a two-year story arc ^[61] and became USAgent at that arc's conclusion), and some short-lived new partners that included Demolition Man.^[62]

Gruenwald explores numerous political and social themes as well, such as extreme idealism when Captain America fights the anti-nationalist terrorist Flag-Smasher;^[63] and vigilantism when he hunts the murderous Scourge of the Underworld.^[64] Homophobia was also dealt with as Steve Rogers runs into a childhood friend named Arnold Roth who is gay.^[65][66]