There have been several heroes to take on the mantle of Captain America beyond Steve Rogers. But on at least one occasion, a replacement was needed not because Rogers was gone, but because he no longer wanted to represent the U.S. government.
This pivotal moment happens in a 1974 storyline where Rogers walks away from his role as Captain America after the U.S. President is revealed to be behind a criminal plot. Though the president’s face is never shown, the intention of writer Steve Englehart (who once wrote a Doctor Strange story you’ll never see on the big screen) was that it was the disgraced President Richard Nixon. Englehart confirmed this in a 2017 interview with Newsarama.
“I was reacting to Watergate,” Englehart said, referencing the scandal that saw Nixon caught in a corruption probe and forced to resign. Because Marvel Comics ostensibly takes place in the real world, Englehart felt this level of government scandal had to be addressed by Captain America.
“Some of it was just hubris and luck — they could have convicted Nixon the next day, and I would have been writing a story about something that was already over with. But it looked like it was going on for a while, so I capitalized on that,” he explained.
However, Englehart isn’t sure such a story could work today, even with figures like Donald Trump — the twice-impeached president who regularly flouts the Constitution and ignores court orders.
“In those days, there was a real idealism in the air,” he said. “And the thought that the president of the United States could commit such a crime was unthinkable.”
### Captain America and the Oval Office
The “Secret Empire” storyline wasn’t the only time Steve Rogers has been involved with the White House. Elsewhere in the comics and beyond the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Captain America has found himself in politics — at times running for office and even assuming the role of President of the United States.
The first run-in with the Oval Office came in 1980, in *Captain America* #250. In that issue, a group of populists tries to persuade Rogers, the Sentinel of Liberty, to run for president. Although Cap ultimately dismisses the idea at that time, he does run in a 21st-century storyline set in an alternate continuity known as the Ultimate Universe.
In *Ultimate Comics: Ultimates* #15, a national crisis prompts an emergency write-in vote for a new American president. Steve Rogers wins and steps in as President of the United States. This storyline is part of a massive arc that sees America torn apart from within, with Hydra once again rising to threaten the nation.
### Captain America as President Onscreen
Steve Rogers’ presidential story doesn’t end in the comics. In the MCU, he also becomes President — but in an unexpected place: the animated *What If…?* series. Although we don’t see much of him serving in this role, Steve Rogers is shown taking the oath of office on television in an alternate timeline.
Could something like this play out in live-action, perhaps with Chris Evans returning to portray President Cap? With rumors swirling about *Avengers: Secret Wars* introducing countless new realities, anything is possible.
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Captain America’s legacy as both a superhero and a symbol of American idealism continues to evolve, reflecting the complexities of the world around him — from Watergate to modern political turbulence, and perhaps beyond.
https://www.looper.com/2015695/how-disgraced-us-president-nixon-forced-steve-roger-quit-captain-america/