Spirit of '76
A wartime superhero who was the first man to replace Steve Rogers as Captain America.
Name:
Spirit of '76
Publisher:
Real name:
William Naslund
Aliases:
- William Naslund
- Captain America
- William Nasland
- The Spirit
Birth date:
None
Gender:
Male
Powers:
- Leadership
- Unarmed Combat
First issue:
Captain America Comics (1941) #49
Origin
Little is known about the Spirit of '76's early activities save that he was active against Nazi spies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during World War II.
Mayor Story Arcs
World War Two
In 1942, he traveled to Great Britain and was recruited for the Crusaders, a supposed British super-team that was in fact organized by a German agent called Alfie, who sought to discredit the superhuman Invaders. In the course of a German plot to assassinate King George VI, the Crusaders were manipulated into battling the Invaders, who exposed Alfie's plot and saved the king's life. Upon learning how they had been duped, the Crusaders apparently disbanded, but the Spirit of '76 remained active.
In April 1945, the Spirit of '76 joined Captain America and the Patriot in a Berlin mission to retrieve Nazi secrets; aided by the USSR's heroic Red Guardian, their mission ended with the Red Skull seemingly crushed beneath a fallen building.
Shortly afterward, Captain America and Bucky were lost in action; to conceal this fact, President Truman selected the Spirit of '76 to take the role of Captain America, with young Fred Davis as Bucky. In this capacity, the two served with the Invaders during the remainder of the war and continued their heroic roles afterward. Among the more colorful foes Nasland and Davis faced were the the psychic creation called Am, the mystically-powered Robe, and the entity known as the House of Hate; they also fought Isbisa and other threats as members of the All-Winners Squad.
Death
In the summer of 1946, the All-Winners Squad learned that the android called Adam II intended to assassinate a congressional candidate and replace him with an android double. The team split up to learn which candidate was targeted, and Nasland and Davis confronted Adam II and his robot minions preparing to replace candidate John F. Kennedy. Davis was knocked unconscious, and Nasland rushed to summon the other Winners, only to be captured by one of Adam II's minions' although mortally injured in the robot's grip, Nasland used a flare device to deactivate the robot and signal the other heroes before dying of his wounds.
His role as Captain America was taken on by Jeff Mace, formerly the Patriot.
Powers and Abilities
The Spirit of '76 was an exceptional athlete and hand-to-hand combatant. In his original identity, the Spirit of '76 wore a bulletproof and flame-resistant cape; as Captain America, he carried a steel shield.
