cap_ironman | Cap's rank?

Well, uh... I was planning to de-lurk when I actually had something to contribute, like, you know, a drawing, but apparently the universe had other, better plans. Oh, well. Hi, hello, I'm Anna, I'm new, I'm a tyro at Marvel comics (because it appears Sweden hates superhero comics) and I'm pants at introductions. Nice to meet you! ♥

So, uh, back to the reason for my premature de-lurking.
Has it been made known which military rank Steve held? Was he a captain, or was it just a code name? I know he worked undercover or something as a "low ranker" but that wouldn't be his official rank, would it?
Am I even making any sense at all? No? Didin't think so. ::facepalm::

So. Enough rambling. I'll just spit it out and have it over with. At a social function, "present times", Steve wears a uniform, but which rank would he be holding? As a perfectionist, this detail is driving me nuts.

(And no, this is totally not research for that drawing I mentioned earlier. Why would you imagine that? ♥)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

In the modern day or the past?

In the modern day he's a somat-somat star General (the highest one, I suck at military stuff -- four?). I'm not sure about during the war.

Four star is currently the max number of stars a General can carry. I think there's only been one or two five star generals, both from World War II - they were breveted the fifth star so that they could be the highest in the chain of command for all the Allied countries.

So, conceivably, Steve could be a five-star General, but I think he's only four stars.

I *DO* know that whoever's in the room with him short of the president is under his command, so he very well might be 5-star.

Then he probably is. It would make sense - Captain America was the best the Allies have on the table, including France, England, Russia, and everyone else. As Captain America, he'd have to give out orders on the field without getting snarled in military protocol.

Which would be hella awkward after he gets defrosted. After Omar Bradley died, the rank was discontinued - Steve can technically command every single allied army that is currently fighting on our side. I doubt that would make them happy.

...and Nick Fury?

...cause I remember this cracky storyline that ends with the Black Falcon teaming up with Nick Fury. At first, Fury pulled rank and try to force Cap to work for Shield or something (like, there was a new superteam?), about how his tour actually didn't end with the war.

Highest you can be is four, I think. Five-stars are ceremonial and awarded in times of war.

I doubt Captain was his official rank, because a Captain needs to have minimum four years in the Army and Steve just didn't have time for that, plus IIRC officers are required to have a college education.

Five isn't exactly ceremonial. They were awarded because during WWII, America took command of the war effort, and were commanding men who were actually higher up on the military food chain than they. So the Allies agreed to brevet four army, four navy, and one air force generals up to five stars so they wouldn't be breaking chain of command. The rank was retired after the war, and after Omar Bradley died, they consigned the rank to (hopefully) history. I think. It's been a while since I took my WWII history class.

Ah, my bad. I was confusing it with Field Marshal of the Indian Army, which *is* ceremonial when we're not at war.

It's all right. It's sort of a convoluted history/rank. It originally was supposed to be called 'Field Marshal,' but General George C. Marshall sort of took exception for that (for obvious reasons). So they just tacked on a fifth star and said 'to hell with it.'

There were no time-in-grade requirements during wartime. For example, Eisenhower went from 2nd Lieut to Lieutenant Colonel (brevet) in three years during WWI, and there were similar cases in WWII.

Also, the military will start people at higher ranks in certain circumstances -- doctors in the Army enter as Captains, for example.

Captain was just a code name, as a Captain is the highest rank usually deployed in the field.

I vaguely recall him as either holding the rank of a one-star General, or as 'Captain America' being its own rank that slotted in just under one-star General - ie anything less than a General, Cap could tell you what to do.

I attempted to find a source but only found this article, which is not... helpful.

It's varied over the years, but in the last run of Captain American and the Falcon, the 2000s one, he was a general, one star I think.

If you go by uniform, I think he had a bird colonel's insignia when he was drawn in uniform marrying Jessica in the Avengers Disassembled What If.

Oh, thanks so much! ♥

De facto while not de jure, I'm pretty sure Captain America is its own rank, one above everybody else including heads of state and deities. Because if Captain America tells you to do something, and you are not a villain, you damn well do it and are proud he paid attention to you.

Is he even technically in the American military anymore? I always thought he wasn't...

Well, at the moment he's... legally dead? So no. :) But yeah, in the modern day he's retired from the military.

Because if Captain America tells you to do something, and you are not a villain, you damn well do it and are proud he paid attention to you.

I always thought that was more because of his charisma than anything else -- like, when a big guy who fights monsters with a shield orders you to do something, it just doesn't occur to you to say no. But I might very well be talking through my hat. =)

Dear Marvel, you and your so-called canon confuse me.

In the Marvel Knight Series (by Cassiday and Rieber)issue# 4 (Title: Never Give Up)a lieutenant salutes Captain America as Steve leaves a military compound. He looks at the man, salutes back and says

"I'm not an officer, Lieutenant"

So no, he's not really a Captain. I don't know that he ever got any higher than a Private. He might have, but never to any of the officer ranks.

NOW the problem? Not everything in this series stayed canon. So there is absolute comment one way or the other, in a series that got highly ignored to some degree. Still though, I think in 616, he is not an officer of any kind, really. The Captain is just a code name.

However, he's got official military clearance out the wazzoo, so like everyone says, Cap seems to be it's own rank. I'd think if there's Cap and a bunch of Officer's in a combat situation, Cap is certainly in charge. Because he's Captain America =P

Now, in Ultimates, despite it defying convention of rank . . . I did get the idea he actually held that position. If I were better at interpretting formal military dress I'd know for sure. Anyone, can we tell Steve's rank in Ultimates?

That's the problem with Marvel, isn't it? For every answer, there are at least five different answers. ::facepalm:: This is not being nice to the new kid in class.

So, basically, it seems that whatever "civilian" rank Steve had, it doesn't matter, because he is Captain America and thus trumps everyone. That... really doesn't help getting the details of my ~~uniform kink~~ research right. =D

Unless, does that mean that he can wear whatever the heck he wants? And if anyone asks, he'll just say that it's a special Captain America mess dress?

(... Will it have tiny wings on the cap, in that case?)

Tis true tis true. Marvel likes to have many answers for one question.

As far as uniforms go though, to be honest, for 616, I'd go with a WWII era Private uniform. That is what, as just Steve Rogers, he wore most often in comics (Steve in a normal Military uniform is a wonderful sight).

And as just Steve Rogers, I doubt he got many promotions given how "bad" an enlistee he had to pretend to be.

Aside from that, the Captain America uniform is kinda his uniform.

Cap's rank?

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rp account, I'm lazy

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Rank, Fury

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He said he wasn't an officer

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