Superman and Captain America have frequently been compared to each other. While Steve Rogers might not possess the Man of Steel’s great powers, there’s no denying that Cap possesses a heart and moral center that’s just as strong as Superman’s. And while they might normally exist in two different universes, in one story, Captain America actually got to acquire Superman’s powers, making him a real “Super Soldier!”

This happened during the original Marvel vs. DC miniseries where it was revealed that the Marvel and DC Universes were actually two cosmic beings who pitted their superhuman champions against each other to see which universe was superior. However, at one point the cosmic beings chose to merge with each other, causing the two universes to become a single “Amalgam” Universe full of some very unique characters…

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Instead of a universe where Marvel and DC characters lived side-by-side, the Amalgam Universe merged various characters together, creating all-new creations. These included the mysterious Dark Claw (Wolverine and Batman), Spider-Boy (Spider-Man and Superboy), and even Lobo the Duck (Lobo and Howard the Duck… yes, really). When the Amalgam Universe decided to merge Superman with Captain America, they created someone with a very interesting history.

A REAL “Super Soldier” Serum

In the one-shot Amalgam comic Super Soldier #1, readers learned that in 1938 (the year Superman made his first appearance in Action Comics #1), the Kryptonian spacecraft carrying the infant Kal-El crashed in the Amalgam Universe’s version of the United States. However, in this reality, Kal-El died during his journey and his ship was discovered by government scientists. Over the next few years, the scientists experimented with the alien DNA found in the baby’s corpse – and by World War II, they were able to use it to synthesize a much more powerful version of the Super Soldier Serum.

Once again, Steve Rogers was recruited to be the original test subject (although his name would be classified in official records). Instead of Vita Rays, Steve received an infusion of solar energy which not only turned him into a perfect human specimen but granted him all of Superman’s powers, including flight, super strength, heat vision, and super hearing. Now code-named “Super Soldier” the newly empowered “Man of War” was sent to fight for his country as a costumed hero.

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Super Soldier even got his own “Bucky” in the form of Jimmy Olson, a photographer who snuck onto the military base where the Super Soldier experiment was being conducted. Functioning as Super Soldier’s personal photojournalist, Jimmy made sure to document the hero’s World War II exploits for the entire world. Unfortunately, history soon repeated itself when Super Soldier apparently died battling the giant robot Ultra-Metallo and fell into the Arctic.

Fifty years later, the JLA – a group of modern-day heroes – discovered Super Soldier frozen in ice and managed to revive him. As he struggled to adjust to the modern world, Super Soldier learned much had changed in his absence. Jimmy was now the elderly editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet, a major newspaper. His old enemy Lex Luthor, once a military profiteer, was still alive and in charge of the criminal cartel Hydra. And worst of all, some unknown factor was gradually draining his powers, making him weaker as time went on.

Adjusting to the Modern Age

Still, Super Soldier tried to make a life for himself – adopting the alias “Clark Kent” and getting a job at the Daily Planet thanks to Jimmy Olson (who knew who he really was). And he continued to battle injustice as Super Soldier, still wearing his World War II outfit and carrying his stylized “S” shield (which was probably inspired by insignias from the original alien craft). Even so, his job continued to get tougher, thanks to his reduced powers and the fact that Luthor had been corrupting the world for the last five decades in his absence.

Despite his power loss, Super Soldier still managed to stand with god-like superhumans when he joined the JLA and eventually rose in rank to become their team leader. This wasn’t the Justice League of America of DC Comics, however – this JLA called themselves the Judgement League Avengers and consisted of Dark Claw, a new Hawkeye (Green Arrow/Hawkeye), and Angelhawk (X-Men’s Angel and DC’s Hawkman). Unfortunately, several of the JLA’s “metamutant” teammates later split away to form their own group, the JLX, and found themselves in conflict with Super Soldier and the JLA.

Super Soldier finally got a few answers to the mysteries in his life when he took on Hydra and came face-to-face with Lex Luthor, now calling himself “The Green Skull” after injecting himself with the properties of a green meteorite that landed near Super Soldier’s old alien rocket ship. Discovering it extended his life (at the cost of turning his skin green), Luthor discovered that the strange element, which he dubbed “Green-K” since it landed in Kansas, also weakened Super Soldier. After using some of the meteors to power the “Ultra-Metallo” robot that sent Super Soldier into suspended animation decades earlier, Luthor used the rest to create his “K-Bombs” that helped end World War II.

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Resurrecting Ultra-Metallo to fight Super Soldier in the present, the Green Skull received a rude surprise when Super Soldier realized that lead could block the K-radiation. Using this knowledge to beat Ultra-Metallo, Super Soldier realized that fallout from the K-bombs had blanketed the entire world and was responsible for his failing powers. Unable to do anything about this, Super Soldier still managed to expose Luthor’s crimes and make sure he went to jail.

The Future of Super Soldier?

Shortly after that adventure, however, the Amalgam Universe split apart (although Super Soldier did get to enjoy one final team-up with his JLA ally Dark Claw before the end) and Super Soldier became Captain America and Superman once more. Thankfully a copy of the merged universe proved popular enough to survive in a separate pocket dimension, allowing Super Soldier to return in a later Super Soldier: Man of War one-shot that flashed back to his World War II days. Super Soldier also appeared briefly in the JLX Unleashed one-shot which saw him team up with the weather-controlling Amazon (Wonder Woman/Storm) before she joined the JLX.

Fanboy goofiness aside, the creators of Super Soldier managed to deliver some genuinely fun stories about this Captain America/Superman hybrid that celebrated both characters’ histories. Super Soldier’s gradual depowerment (which reflected Superman’s own power loss during the modern era) was an intriguing plot point that would have been interesting to explore had the comic lasted beyond a couple of issues. At this point, one can only speculate how the Man of War’s story turned out in his own universe.

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About The Author


Michael Jung
(700 Articles Published)

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Michael Jung is a mild-mannered freelance writer-for-hire, actor, and professional storyteller with a keen interest in pop culture, education, nonprofit organizations, and unusual side hustles. His work has been featured in Screen Rant, ASU Now, Sell Books Fast, Study.com, and Free Arts among others. A graduate of Arizona State University with a PhD in 20th Century American Literature, Michael has written novels, short stories, stage plays, screenplays, and how-to manuals.

Michael’s background in storytelling draws him to find the most fascinating aspects of any topic and transform them into a narrative that informs and entertains the reader. Thanks to a life spent immersed in comic books and movies, Michael is always ready to infuse his articles with offbeat bits of trivia for an extra layer of fun. In his spare time, you can find him entertaining kids as Spider-Man or Darth Vader at birthday parties or scaring the heck out of them at haunted houses.

Visit Michael Jung’s website for information on how to hire him, follow him on Twitter Michael50834213, or contact him directly: michael(at)michaeljungwriter(dot)com.

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