CAPTAIN AMERICA IV (William Burnside, aka The Grand Director)
Created By: Steve Englehart & Sal Buscema
First Appearance: Captain America #153 (Sept. 1972)- First appeared in Young Men #24 (Dec. 1953) retroactively
Role: Retcon Hero, Crazy Mirror Image Villain
Group Affiliations: National Force
PL 12 (161)
STRENGTH 7 STAMINA 7 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 3
Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+8)
Athletics 4 (+11)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 4 (+15)
Close Combat (Shield) 3 (+14)
Deception 4 (+7)
Expertise (Soldier) 3 (+5)
Expertise (Teacher) 2 (+4)
Intimidation 9 (+12)
Perception 4 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Shield) 4 (+12)
Vehicles 3 (+5)
Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Chokehold, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Equipment 3 (Assorted Gear, Protection +1), Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Aim, Improved Critical 3 (Unarmed, Shield Bash, Shield Toss), Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Startle, Takedown 2
Powers:
"Super-Soldier Serum Enhancements"
Speed 3 (16 mph) [3]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]
Immunity 2 (Poison, Disease) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [1]
Regeneration 2 [2]
"Rip-Off of Captain America's Mighty Shield" (Feats: Restricted to Those Trained) (Flaws: Easily Removable) [14]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Evasion, Withstand Damage (2)
"Shield Toss" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Dynamic, Ricochet 3, Split 2) (Extras: Ranged 9) (Diminished Range -1) (16) -- (19)
- Dynamic AE: "Shield Bash" Strength-Damage +3 (3)
- Dynamic AE: "Bouncing Shield" Strength-Damage +0 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable 7, Selective 7) (14)
- Dynamic AE: Enhanced Dodge 2 & Parry 2 (Extras: Sustained +0) Linked to Enhanced Strength 2 (Flaws: Limited to Resisting Movement) (6)
Offense:
Unarmed +15 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Shield Bash +14 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Shield Toss +12 (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
Bouncing Shield +7 Area (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +10
Defenses:
Dodge +12 (+14 Shield, DC 24), Parry +11 (+13 Shield, DC 23), Toughness +7 (+8 Chain-Mail), Fortitude +11, Will +5
Complications:
Motivation (Patriotism)- Inspired by Captain America himself, William Burnside is devoted to his country, though far more fanatical than the other Caps.
Responsibility/Involuntary Transformation (Insane)- The Super-Soldier Serum in his body drove Burnside insane, and he frequently suffers from delusions or alternate personalities.
Total: Abilities: 76 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 27 / Powers: 22 / Defenses: 15 (161)
The "1950s Cap":
-The "1950s Cap" as he was known for decades (nobody bothered to give him a real name until recently) has an interesting story. See, Timely/Atlas Comics tried to renew their old Captain America & Bucky characters in the 1950s alongside their other popular Golden Age heroes, turning him into "Captain America- COMMIE SMASHER", but non-DC super-heroes were kind of low-sellers compared to all the Westerns & Romance Comics of the age. Thanks to low sales, despite scenes of Cap brutalizing Soviet agents and a Communist Red Skull, the feature was cancelled. When Cap finally came back for real in the 1960s, it was apparent that the "50s Cap" run never happened, as Steve was frozen in ice by the end of the war- Stan Lee had effectively written out his own stories to tell a better one.
-Then, decades later, we got the TRUE story from Steve Englehart: those issues WERE canon, but it wasn't Steve Rogers & Bucky Barnes- just a new "Replacement Cap" who was crazy into Rogers and decided to look and act just like him (even getting surgery for that purpose). The government wanted to revive old heroes to fight the "Red Menace", and he & his partner (Jack "Nomad" Monroe") went crazy thanks to some screwed-up versions of the Super-Soldier Serum given to them- they become jingoistic racists who beat anyone simply for having different opinions than themselves (the comparison to the political situation at the time should be obvious). Their bosses put them in suspended animation for years- they are thawed out by an unnamed agent who has them fight Captain America & the Falcon, but they lose and are returned to their suspended state. Follow-up retcons explained away the two "1945-49" Caps as well.
Racist, Crazy Cap:
-Later, writers Roger McKenzie & Jim Shooter revive the character, putting him under the psychiatric care of the evil Dr. Faustus, who brainwashes him into becoming the white-clad "Grand Director", leading of The National Force, a Neo-Nazi group. When the real Captain America faces him, he undergoes a mental breakdown, realizing the perversion of the identity of the man he respected so much- he curls into a fetal position and sets himself ablaze. And thus, this Cap is done away with, never having gotten a real name.
-And then, with the real Steve Rogers dead in Ed Brubaker's run, the character RETURNS. Now called William Burnside, he's been revived by Faustus & the Red Skull, healed of his wounds, and send him against Bucky-Cap. He instead escapes and goes off on his own, but grows disgusted with the current culture of the United States- becoming further twisted, he joins the racist Watchdogs, and captures Bucky-Cap, forcing him to act as his Bucky, complete with the old costume. He looks identical to Steve Rogers, but he's super-strong and extremely aggressive, and usually more than poor Barnes can handle. He was believed dead after Bucky shot him, but turned up as a crazed vigilante before Captain America himself arranged for a faked-death and some mental help. Ultimately, the character was absolved of some blame, and taken away for his own good. To probably be revived as a madman by some OTHER writer.
-In short, the character's entire purpose is kind of to be a symbol of "Wow, the U.S. was messed up in the '50s, huh?", as Anti-Communist fervor led to McCarthyism and other cases of hysterical overreactions. This Cap is seen as a brutal politically-biased aggressor who committed various horrible acts, then turned crazy to justify any kind of a story- twice now, he's been shown to represent 1950s-style racism exaggerated into full-bore Nazi proportions, wearing a white costume evoking the KKK.
The Super-Strong, Mega-Evil Cap:
-William Burnside is a monster- he's less well-trained than Steve Rogers, but as Bucky-Cap himself notes: "He's stronger than Steve. And FASTER." This boosted speed allows '50s Cap WAY more accuracy than he'd normally get (this is kind of weird for me, because I associate "Fighting" stats with "Fighting Skill", but really, being able to hit someone before they can hit you is the DEFINITION of a good fighter- in real life, speed and power are just as important as technique, if not moreso), and he can bull-rush fighters on Bucky & The Black Widow's level with ease, and does WAY more damage when he hits. He tends to go All-Out with crushing punishment, and the PL 11 Bucky-Cap has his work cut out for him against this PL 12 monster. I would imagine even actual Cap would have a hell of a challenge against this guy. His only flaw is that he's "only" PL 10.5 to Parry, and PL 11 to Defense- he's a fast fighter, but tends to walk into punches more than somebody his speed normally would. Similarly, he needs the Shield to hit all his caps.