Captain America is a distinctly iconic hero. From his inception, every design detail from his star-spangled outfit to his red-and-white-striped shield still persists as the character’s iconographic rubric. However, Steve Rogers wasn’t originally named “Captain America.” While Rogers had always been intended to be America’s symbol, Cap’s co-creator, Joe Simon, itted that he had a different name picked out for America’s most iconic champion.

Steve Rogers reigns as Marvel’s, and arguably the entire comic industry’s, most iconic American hero.

Captain America is a time-tested American staple, born in a world dominated by global terror and an unshakable assault on human freedom. Created by writers Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America debuted in Captain America Comics #1 (1940) under Marvel’s predecessor publisher, Timely Comics.

Today, Cap has appeared in tens of thousands of comics, which thrive because of the purity of his message and look. However, Timely’s original goal was to create a hero that rivaled DC’s American poster boy: Superman. In Simon’s autobiography, The Comic Book Makers, he reveals that Rogers’s first hero-name was too unoriginal to keep.

Captain America Was Originally Called “Super American”

The Comic Book Makers (2003) by Joe Simon

When Captain America was first conceptualized, he, like Superman, was designed to inspire Americans to unite for the betterment of the world. The United States at the time hadn’t yet ed World War II, but the looming war was still on the minds of many. Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, two Jewish Americans, wanted to show a characterized version of the United States’ core patriotic beliefs. While coming up with the character’s basic concept was simple enough, naming the character took an extra thought. In Simon’s autobiography, he divulges his original thought process and Cap’s original name:

"I wrote the name 'Super American' at the bottom of the page. No, that 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."

Looking back on it, “Super American” certainly fits with the creators’ earliest hopes for the character. Steve Rogers was, and still is, supposed to be a super-American. He’s an American who welcomes lost and fleeing immigrants. He’s an American who always s a fight to protect the little guy, even when he’s not prompted. He’s an American who goes above and beyond to lend a hand to his struggling neighbors because that’s what the U.S.’s patriotic ideals promote. Hence, Captain American was simply super when it came to living up to American ideals.

While 'Super American' Could Have Worked, Simon Made the Right Choice

There Were Already Too Many Supers

Joe Simon ultimately made the right call. Timely needed a hero who could compare to Superman’s noble nature but was notably distinct enough not to be conflated with DC’s pride and joy. Within five years of Captain America’s debut, the comic industry would only be flooded with more “Super” characters. In 1941, Fiction House introduced their own “Super-American.” In 1942, Coo Coo Comics premiered “Supermouse.” In 1945, DC debuted “Superboy,” and the list continues. What was, at first, a simple and small change, helped diversify Captain America as a stand-out pioneer character for Timely and later as Marvel’s mascot .

It’s hard to say whether Cap would have garnered the relevance and popularity he holds today if he had remained “Super American.” Comic readers are quick to call out similar characters across publishers and often joke about which publisher ripped off whom. Now, Captain America is only one of dozens of patriotic and superheroic characters with “Captain” in their name. But still, Steve Rogers reigns as Marvel’s, and arguably the entire comic industry’s, most iconic American hero. While Superman may still rank higher in global popularity, Captain America will always be the United States' unmistakably perfect hero.