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what rank is the captain?

Started by bearded, January 10, 2009, 10:29:53 AM

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bearded

steve rogers went thru boot camp, right?

zuludelta

There's three ways I see his rank working out:

- Steve Rogers isn't really a ranked captain, and the "Captain" in "Captain America" is just part of his code name. That would probably make him an enlisted man or at best, a warrant officer in terms of his paygrade.

- Alternatively, his acceptance into and eventual graduation from the Super-Soldier program conferred onto him a battlefield commission, turning him from enlisted man into a commissioned officer.

- A third explanation is that he isn't really considered an active member of the US Armed Forces at all, and is simply a civilian/retired military man using the "Captain America" moniker as a superhero code-name.

Personally, I think the third explanation best fits. I mean, if he were an active-duty enlisted man (or even a battlefield commissioned officer), I don't think he could get away with not saluting his superiors (Nick Fury, for one) and referring to them by their first names. 
Art is the expression of truth without violence.

bearded

maybe he is considered special forces.  i know personally that seals enlist from all different ranks, officer and enlisted.  he would most likely be army, right?  so, maybe marvel army has a unique special forces in addition to green beret.
and fury is a colonel, in the army?  who else has rank in marvel?  does doom have a doctorate?
hmm...saluting has special rules.  you do not salute uncovered, i.e. without a hat on.  does his mask count as a cover?  and first names...maybe under a relaxed command, or if their special force uniqueness.
and just to bring batman into it, isn't batman a warrented peace officer?

zuludelta

Quote from: bearded on January 10, 2009, 11:53:28 AM
maybe he is considered special forces.  i know personally that seals enlist from all different ranks, officer and enlisted.  he would most likely be army, right?  so, maybe marvel army has a unique special forces in addition to green beret.

Ah, so what you're really asking is if he's a member of some elite special operations unit. IIRC, the US Army didn't have any formal Spec-Ops units back in World War II (sure, there was the Army Roger's Rangers and the Navy's combat demolition teams and a number of other units, but they weren't formally recognized as special operations units the way we think about spec-ops units these days)

Quote from: bearded on January 10, 2009, 11:53:28 AMand fury is a colonel, in the army?

It's kind of fuzzy... he was a sergeant in the army back in WWII, worked for the OSS/CIA post-World War II and was a full Colonel by the 1960s when he was recruited by SHIELD, which at least back then was a fictional United Nations Organization (although I don't think the writers explicitly stated that it was a UN-affiliate in the beginning). His "Colonel" rank is his Army rank, I believe, since his official SHIELD rank is "Executive Director"

Quote from: bearded on January 10, 2009, 11:53:28 AMwho else has rank in marvel?  does doom have a doctorate?

I don't think he ever graduated from Empire State University, so he doesn't even have a bachelor's degree, much less a doctorate. Wasn't he expelled after the accident that scarred him? Of course, I don't think he really cares at this point. He probably just awarded himself a a Ph.D. in Awesomeness from the University of Latveria  :lol:

Quote from: bearded on January 10, 2009, 11:53:28 AMyou do not salute uncovered, i.e. without a hat on.

Isn't that just a Navy/Marines rule, though? The only rule I know that absolutely forbids a salute from being rendered across all the Armed Forces is the one that prohibits saluting on the battlefield (to prevent enemy observers from pinpoint the officers in a unit).

I know the saluting rules are relaxed when both the officer and the subordinate are out of uniform in a casual environment, but I have no idea if Cap's and Fury's spandex get-ups count as "official" federal uniforms. And if Cap's costume counts as an "official" federal uniform, does that mean Ms. Marvel's form-fitting one-piece swimsuit counts as one as well, seeing as how Carol Danvers is an Air Force major?
Art is the expression of truth without violence.

thalaw2

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zuludelta

Quote from: thalaw2 on January 11, 2009, 01:07:25 AM
How about Captain Caveman?

The way he talks and tries to eat obviously inedible non-food items all the time, I'm guessing he's "Special" Forces. Maybe even "Very Special" Forces  :lol:
Art is the expression of truth without violence.

Avalon

Technically, Steve Rogers only had the rank of PFC (private first class). "Captain America" is a code name for his costumed identity. I would think he would be more of an OSS officer as they would have him stop sabotage and spies.
I think the rank of "Captain" was so that lower ranks would follow him into battle. Captain was the usual rank of a combat leader in WWII.

GhostMachine

Doctor Doom isn't a doctor; he never finished college and gave himself the title.

And I believe Avalon has it right regarding Captain America's military ranking. He's more or less a one-man Special Forces unit but has been shown several times giving orders to troops.


herodad1

what about batman?no bat in him.fruit bat maybe. :lol:

Spring Heeled Jack

I was always under the impression that FDR granted Steve Rogers a special field commission (presumably following some sort of intensive Super Soldier boot camp).

That, and it's comics and they didn't think it through. :D

Gremlin

[threadjack]
Quote from: GhostMachine on January 11, 2009, 11:41:18 PM
Doctor Doom isn't a doctor; he never finished college and gave himself the title.
Didn't he have Latveria University or some such award him an honorary doctorate?

[/threadjack]

daglob

Quote from: Avalon on January 11, 2009, 05:14:59 AM
Technically, Steve Rogers only had the rank of PFC (private first class). "Captain America" is a code name for his costumed identity. I would think he would be more of an OSS officer as they would have him stop sabotage and spies.
I think the rank of "Captain" was so that lower ranks would follow him into battle. Captain was the usual rank of a combat leader in WWII.


This is probably right. Captain America, besides being a code name, probably was inended as a denoting of rank, so that most soldiers would follow his orders, and, at the same time, it is a high enough rank that Majors, Colonels, and Generals would take anything he said seriously. Besides, Corporal America just doens't have that ring to it...

detourne_me

I know everyones hating on Loeb right now,  but in Captain America: White they promote him from PFC to Captain while aboard a helicopter, after Steve agrees to the super soldier program.   It's cool,  they have it set up that Captain Rogers as kind of a pencil pusher, while at night he leads raids with the special forces as Cap.
One night Bucky walks into the tent while Steve's changing,  and after being sworn to secrecy he becomes his sidekick.

BWPS

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Alaric

Quote from: detourne_me on January 12, 2009, 01:45:46 PM
One night Bucky walks into the tent while Steve's changing,  and after being sworn to secrecy he becomes his sidekick.

That was, in fact, Bucky's actual Golden Age origin, I believe.
Fear the "A"!!!

MJB

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