That wiki entry linked above me is a bit confusing, because the way it is written there would imply that he dropped his shield into the ocean and then afterwards became 'the Captain', which is out of order. 'The Captain' thing was a late 80's storyline, and dropping the shield in the ocean happened in the late 90's (I guess Steve needs to lose his shield every decade).
To match your questions on the shield's timeline point for point:
-The thing that happens to the shield: The US Government wants/demands Steve work for them again, and Steve refuses. He gives up the title of Captain America and the shield with it. Steve starts going by 'the Captain'. - Tony gives Steve a shield made of pure adamantium. - Steve returns it because of the whole Armor Wars thing. Steve gets another replacement shield, this one made of pure vibranium, from Black Panther. - The guy who had taken over the role of Captain America quits for reasons and wants Steve to take the title back. Steve ends up with the title of 'Captain America' and the original shield back. - Steve drops the original shield in the ocean near the beginning of volume three and pouts really hard about it. Then he gets the light/force field shield from Sharon. This doesn't really stop his whining about losing his shield. Tony has the ocean dragged to search for the original shield. He finds the original shield, but it is broken. Tony then does tons of research to figure out how and why it broke. The reason is its molecules are funny. So funny that it might just end up destroying the earth by making all vibranium everywhere explode. But luckily random circumstance fixes Steve's shield and ends the threat to the world. (...I'm not kidding) - So the shield he was wielding during Civil War was the original one. And by original one, I mean the vibranium-steel alloy circular one we're used to seeing him with.
... I'm pretty sure, at least. If I am wrong, I am sure someone will pop by to correct me. But he definitely dropped the shield into the ocean after the Armor Wars mess, and he definitely had his vibranium-steel baby back by the time Civil War rolled around.
Also re: Maria Stark, people have cover her very few minor appearances pretty well, but there is one good moment hiding out in the Iron Man: Legacy of Doom mini-series, which as far as I know is canon (going by the 'until proven it isn't' theory of 616 mini series). While she doesn't make an appearance, we learn about Tony's perception of her (and we rarely ever hear about how he feels about her, despite the volumes we have on his feelings regarding his father).
Basically, Tony gets tricked into going to Hell by Dr. Doom, and while there Mephisto summons up a demonic Howard Stark to torment Tony (... so the devil's perfect torture for Tony's soul is to trap him with his father...). Tony can't bring himself to fight his father, up until the point where demon Howard tells Tony he was a disappointment to him and to his mother, which Tony refuses to believe because his mother loved him (and Howard) unconditionally. He also says something to the effect that all the good in him came from her.
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To match your questions on the shield's timeline point for point:
-The thing that happens to the shield: The US Government wants/demands Steve work for them again, and Steve refuses. He gives up the title of Captain America and the shield with it. Steve starts going by 'the Captain'.
- Tony gives Steve a shield made of pure adamantium.
- Steve returns it because of the whole Armor Wars thing. Steve gets another replacement shield, this one made of pure vibranium, from Black Panther.
- The guy who had taken over the role of Captain America quits for reasons and wants Steve to take the title back. Steve ends up with the title of 'Captain America' and the original shield back.
- Steve drops the original shield in the ocean near the beginning of volume three and pouts really hard about it. Then he gets the light/force field shield from Sharon. This doesn't really stop his whining about losing his shield. Tony has the ocean dragged to search for the original shield. He finds the original shield, but it is broken. Tony then does tons of research to figure out how and why it broke. The reason is its molecules are funny. So funny that it might just end up destroying the earth by making all vibranium everywhere explode. But luckily random circumstance fixes Steve's shield and ends the threat to the world. (...I'm not kidding)
- So the shield he was wielding during Civil War was the original one. And by original one, I mean the vibranium-steel alloy circular one we're used to seeing him with.
... I'm pretty sure, at least. If I am wrong, I am sure someone will pop by to correct me. But he definitely dropped the shield into the ocean after the Armor Wars mess, and he definitely had his vibranium-steel baby back by the time Civil War rolled around.
Also re: Maria Stark, people have cover her very few minor appearances pretty well, but there is one good moment hiding out in the Iron Man: Legacy of Doom mini-series, which as far as I know is canon (going by the 'until proven it isn't' theory of 616 mini series). While she doesn't make an appearance, we learn about Tony's perception of her (and we rarely ever hear about how he feels about her, despite the volumes we have on his feelings regarding his father).
Basically, Tony gets tricked into going to Hell by Dr. Doom, and while there Mephisto summons up a demonic Howard Stark to torment Tony (... so the devil's perfect torture for Tony's soul is to trap him with his father...). Tony can't bring himself to fight his father, up until the point where demon Howard tells Tony he was a disappointment to him and to his mother, which Tony refuses to believe because his mother loved him (and Howard) unconditionally. He also says something to the effect that all the good in him came from her.