This is "Foundationed Deep," a feature where we look at particular odd/strange/interesting instances of retroactively connecting different comic book characters (for instance, Uncanny X-Men #268 retroactively established that Wolverine knew both Captain America and the Black Widow from World War II). Today, we look at perhaps the REAL first Super-Soldier!

The funny thing to understand about Timely Comics (now Marvel Comics) is that they were around for more than TWO YEARS before Captain America Comics #1 actually was released. So it wasn't like Captain America launched the company. It was already doing well due to Carl Burgos' Human Torch character and Bill Everett's Namor character. Of course, those weren't the only superheroes being featured at Timely. In 1940, they launched Daring Mystery Comics #1, which was a clear response to their already popular Marvel Mystery Comics (which starred Human Torch and Namor). The lead feature was The Fiery Mask, a new superhero invented by writer/artist Joe Simon (who later did some patriotic-themed superhero who was marginally successful).

The second feature in the story, though, was an odd tale by Larry Antonette (using the pseudonym Dean Carr) about a soldier of fortune named John Steele. It looked like he was fighting in World War I, but it is possible that this was supposed to be World War II (with Steele just being a guy who went over to Europe to help fight the Nazis before the United States entered the war, as well).

The comic is a blast. It shows Steele encounter a nurse who needs to deliver vital information to a general. Steele has to get her through some tough terrain, and he does so in an over-the-top spectacle of action...

Let's skip ahead past a number of other death-defying feats and get to the final action bit...

Man, that sounds like it could have been a movie, right?

Here's the thing about Daring Mystery Comics. The concept was basically "Throw out whatever ideas you have and see if any of them stick." The first three issues introduced, no joke, something like 12 different new superheroes. Most of them never made a second appearance.

Steele seemed like he was going to be consigned to the dust bins of comic book history. However, nearly 70 years later, Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting found him, dusted him off and featured him in their grand unifying Marvel Golden Age miniseries, The Marvels Project.

Here, we see that the Germans have had him since World War I and Professor Abraham Erskine has been studying him...

Later in that issue (Marvels Project #2), Erskine is freed from the Nazis by Nick Fury and Red Hargrove...

In the following issue, an Allied bombing run accidentally freed Steele from his containment tube...

In the next issue, we see a now freed Steel adjusting to being woken up 20 years after his time and he defaulted to fighting the Germans...

As the series ends, Steele is still fighting against the Axis in Europe. Okay, so what comes next?

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As you likely know by now, both Captain America...

and Luke Cage...

owe their superpowers to experiments that were performed on them.

Well, in Secret Avengers #7 (by Ed Brubaker and Mike Deodato), we discover that the bad guys are working alongside John Steele, who is still somehow alive in 2010.

Brubaker even notes "The FIRST Super-Soldier" in the caption there.

In case you were wondering, "But Brian, these things usually reveal a more direct connection between characters that had never been shown before," and sure, fair enough, in Secret Avengers #8, we see that Steele and Cap fought together during World War II...

In Secret Avengers #9, however, we learn from Steve Rogers that the experiments run on Steel while he was in captivity directly led to the experiments that caused Captain America and Luke Cage...

Fascinating stuff.

Okay, that's it for this installment! If you can think of a good example of two comic book characters being retroactively connected to each other, drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com and I might feature it here!