Captain America (Steven "Steve" Rogers) is a superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. He appears in the Ultimate Marvel line of books, and is an alternative version of Captain America. The character first appeared in The Ultimates #1 (March 2002), and was created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch (based upon the original version of the character by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby). Fictional character biography Steve Rogers grew up in Brooklyn during the Great Depression, a scrawny child protected from neighborhood bullies by his best friend, "Bucky" Barnes. Horrified by newsreel footage of the Nazis in Europe, Rogers was inspired to enlist in the Army around the time that the United States entered World War II. However, because of failing the physical test, he was rejected. Refusing to work in factories, he reattempted enlistment several times. His luck changed during another visit to a Recruitment Center when Military Sergeant Dugan recruited him for Project: Rebirth, after hearing Rogers' pleas. After voluntarily subjecting to surgery, steroid treatments, and other experimental treatments supervised by Doctor Erskine, Rogers became the first genetically-enhanced super-soldier. During the final treatment, he noticed a suspicious soldier focusing on him instead of standing guard. The shady man revealed himself as a Nazi spy sent to murder Rogers in the event that he survived the entire experiment. Rogers stopped him from destroying the experiment, but not before the spy murdered Doctor Erskine and other soldiers who attempted to stop him. Fully committing himself to the American war efforts, Rogers bid farewell to his sweetheart Gail Richards, becoming Captain America. For the next three years, he underwent numerous covert operations, often accompanied by Bucky, now a war photographer, and sometimes alongside James "Lucky Jim" Howlett. During one mission, Captain America was able to infiltrate Arnim Zola's facility and kill his first experimental monster, which Zola dubbed "Siegsoldat" ("Victory soldier"). The experiment's dead body then fell on Arnim Zola, seemingly killing him. During one of his few leaves he met up with Gail and they spent the night together, which resulted in her becoming pregnant. He would later come into battle with Herr Kleiser, who possessed a prototype atomic bomb, made with alien technology, and was meant to target the White House. Captain America managed to get to the bomb as it was launched. In a successful attempt to stop it in mid air, he fell