Superman + Captain America = Super Soldier

Super Soldier #1
“Secret of the K-Bombs”
Script and Co-Plot: Mark Waid
Co-Plot, Art and Lettering: Dave Gibbons
Colors: Angus McKie
Cover: Gibbons
Editors: Mike McAvennie and KC Carlson
Published by: DC
Released: Feb. 29, 1996

Captain America and Superman may fall on different ends of the power spectrum, but each one's status as an iconic leader who virtually all other heroes look up to make them ideal candidates to be amalgamated – and to kick off this read-through. Then there's the creative team of Waid and Gibbons, living legends in their own right.

The issue starts off with a mix of two of the most famous origins in comicdom: A spacecraft that crash-landed in Kansas and a patriotic young man whose physical limitations left him unable to fight for freedom and his country in World War II. But in this world, the infant occupant of the rocket did not survive, and it was the U.S. government, not a kindly farming couple, that found the crash site. DNA samples taken from the body were used in the super-soldier serum the American volunteer took to become, well, Super Soldier.

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and more unstoppable than the original Cap, Super Soldier has the conflict headed to an early end until he encounters Ultra-Metallo, an amalgam of Metallo and – guessing this before I look it up – Ultimo?* Anyway, like the rocket Cap thwarted in Marvel continuity, this fight sends the patriotic hero plunging into the icy depths of the ocean, only to be revived decades later.

All that's summed up in three pages before we jump to the present, where journalist James Olsen is being roughed up by Hydra goons at the direction of Lex Luthor, whose Skull is rather Green. Whatever world we're in, Lex messing with kryptonite usually has unpleasant side effects.

Olsen was the official P.R. guy for Super-Soldier during the war, but hid the fact that the hero was missing in action so as not to destroy the nation's morale. Luthor has uncovered the truth and directs his henchmen to kill Olsen, who somehow escapes and returns to the Daily Bugle, where staffer Clark Kent excuses himself to remove a distinctive S-shield from his briefcase and opens his shirt to reveal a stars-and-stripes-adorned costume.

Using a clue from Olsen, Super Soldier flies to Washington, D.C., to confront Hydra, Luthor and a salvaged Ultra-Metallo. The robot resumes its original mission: to detonate a bomb at the White House.

It's even harder for Super-Soldier to battle the 'bot this time, because his powers aren't at the same level they were in the '40s. Luthor's green skin and the source of original recipe Metallo's powers provide a clue why, and soon it's revealed that a glowing green element is in fact providing the juice for the mech and the payload for the bomb. Luthor identifies it as “Green K,” from a meteorite that landed near the original Kansas crash site.

But Super-Soldier notices the energy-draining effects of the Green K are tempered by the lead pipes he landed in when Ultra-Metallo swatted him away. So he impales the robot with one of the pipes, shielding the bomb/power source and dropping it in Luthor's lair to prevent the villain from detonating it anyway.

Back at the Planet, the staff and Olsen celebrate Super-Soldier's victory, while Clark muses that fallout from the K-bombs Luthor developed to help win the war after his disappearance caused the weakening of his powers.

A letters page follows, where “fans” with names homaging famous comic creators provide insight into the “real” Amalgam world and discuss how Super Soldier was revived in the pages of JLA, aka Judgment League Avengers. It's a nice way to build the world without cramming even more story into the issue itself, something I remember the “Speed Demon” issue suffering from when we covered it on the Unspoken Issues podcast.

Overall this is a solid story that reflects a love and appreciation for the source material. I was surprised it wasn't more amalgamated. The reporter with whom Clark is infatuated is simply named Sharon Carter, and Olsen is referred to as “Chief,” suggesting a combination with Perry White, although his role in World War II makes me suspect “Buchanan” may be his middle name. Waid and Gibbons mix concepts more than characters, which is not what my limited memory of Amalgam was expecting, but which works well and doesn't feel forced.

Although if Lex is mixed with the Red Skull, who the heck is that on the cover of Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.?

Best Amalgam: Super-Soldier, who is also one of the only obvious ones.

Most Confusing Amalgam: Ultra-Metallo. Fandom wikis and other sources suggest it was a combination of Metallo and the Sleepers, which are Captain America foes. The name confused me, although I missed the most obvious misinterpretation, which was Ultron instead of Metallo.

* - Nope.