CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1 (1940)
Written by Ed Herron
Pencils by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
March 1941 is the cover date, but the issue was actually published December 1940… a full year before Pearl Harbor.
The retrospective on villain origins is very DC centric because Marvel villains didn’t really come back from the Golden Age… with a single, major exception.
I’m not reviewing the cover story of Cap’s origin…
…and instead focus on the Red Skull story.
Despite the “by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby” signature, they are only responsible for the pencils of this story.
The writer of the first Red Skull story is actually Ed Herron, who is also the co-creator of Captain Marvel Jr. and who worked several years as DC editor.
Perhaps the reason why Red Skull is typically attributed only to Simon & Kirby is that the Red Skull appearing in this story will later be retconned to be an impostor.
While his connection to the Nazis isn’t exactly hidden (his costume has a swastika!!!), the original Red Skull has more in common with horror villains.
His mask still needs a little work, but he’s already suitably scary.
It helps him that the police is quite incompetent in these stories.
Since America hasn’t joined the war yet, Captain America is having to deal with domestic plots.
Which in turn means that the Red Skull’s objective is to rob a bank.
Bucky gets a surprising amount of screen time. The action is very good, even if Bucky himself kind of sucks.
In fact, his major contribution is being kept hostage for a few panels.
Why didn’t “I’ll come back with more murder” become the Skull’s catchphrase!?
In this period Cap’s secret identity is in the army, and by sheer coincidence the plot is connected to his camp.
See if you can spot which of these characters is Steve Rogers.
Guess who’s back with more murder!
When the general’s wife discovers his corpse, the Red Skull is quick to point out that he’s not an equal opportunity murderer.
Captain America versus Red Skull, round two!
Aaaand Cap is down.
OR IS HE?
In case you have ever read a comic book in your life, it shouldn’t surprise you that the villain’s real identity turns out to be the only other named bad guy in the story.
Also he didn’t really have a death stare, just drugs.
I bet you didn’t expect Golden Age Captain America to be this ruthless.
Don’t feel bad for Maxon, though. He was literally taking orders from Hitler!
And so we end the story with Captain America straight up lying to the FBI.
Historical significance: 8/10
The Red Skull is the only Marvel villain introduced in the Golden Age who proved to have enough staying power to return in future eras. Prevented from being a 10/10 by the fact that it’ll eventually turn out that this wasn’t the real Red Skull.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Even the death stare isn’t real.
Does it stand the test of time? 7/10
If you can get past some Golden Age tropes, this isn’t a bad story at all.
How close is this to the modern character? 6/10
The look is ALMOST there, and so is the Nazi connection. However there’s little else of the Red Skull of future decades… he’s no evil mastermind, just a politically motivated serial killer.