10 Iconic Captain America Nicknames You Need to Know About

Captain America is one of the most popular superheroes ever created. He is also a member of the Avengers and is very often considered their leader. Through the years, Captain America has been called many names, and in this article, you can find the most iconic Captain America nicknames.

1. The First Avenger

This nickname makes sense for some, and for some, not so much. If we ask ourselves why Steve Rodgers is called the first Avenger, the logical answer is because he is the oldest, and his origins date since WW2. However, if you look into the Avengers team, it is clear that Steve is not actually the oldest, as Thor, the Asgardian God of Thunder, is far older. Thor is over 1400 years old, so how come he is not called the first Avenger but Steve?

The answer is simple when Nick Fury started the whole Avengers initiative, his goal was to assemble a team of Earth’s mightiest heroes that would protect the world against the perils of the Universe. So Steve is actually the oldest and the first superhero that Earth ever had. Hence the nickname, The First Avenger.

2. Capsicle

This nickname for Steve Rodgers came from none other than Tony Stark. Tony came up with this nickname when he first met Steve on a flight escorting Loki to headquarters. This nickname is most likely a portmanteau of the word Captain = cap and icicle. Tony uses this reference because Captain America spent 70 years cryogenically frozen as an icicle or a popsicle.

Tony came up with this nickname in the first The Avengers movie, and I think that that nickname was never used later on. It was still funny, nevertheless.

3. Cap

The nickname Cap is regularly used for Captain America by many, and most often by other Avengers. Cap is an abbreviation of the word ‘captain.’ Steve Rodgers got his nickname Captain America during WW II and his endeavors to defeat the Red Skull. After that, the name stuck, and so did the nickname Cap.

4. The Man Out of Time

The Man Out of Time is often used when describing Captain America. As Steve Rodgers spent decades frozen in ice after he decided to crash the plane into the water as the only way to prevent the catastrophe. When he was found years later, and after he woke up, the world changed. Technology advanced, society was different, and the people’s behavior seemed strange to him.

In the eyes of modern society, Steve was also considered a man out of time because he came from a different era and had missed out on decades of society’s development and struggles as well.

5. America’s New Hope

Steve Rodgers was referred to as America’s New Hope by Peggy Carter. When Steve was administered a super soldier serum, he was eager to get on the battlefield as soon as possible. However, the US Army had other plans for him, and they used him as a showman who is to motivate soldiers and lead US citizens to donate money that could be used to finance the army.

Even though Steve did not enjoy doing that, he agreed to it as it gave him the chance to serve his country in a way. People started to see him as America’s new hope, but Peggy was determined that he was destined for more and that his place was to fight the battles others couldn’t.

6. Star Spangled Man with a Plan

Star Spangled Man was the song invented for Captain America’s show that had the goal of encouraging US citizens and soldiers. It basically tells the story of Captain America as the greatest soldier who will defeat the Nazis and Adolf Hitler.

Some of the verses go as follows: ”Who’ll hang a noose on the goose-stepping goons from Berlin? Who will indeed lead the call for America? Who’ll rise or fall, give his all for America? Who’s here to prove that we can? The Star Spangled Man with a Plan!”

7. Capwolf 

In Captain America Vol 1 #405, Steve is turned into a werewolf. In this issue, some of the townspeople were turned into wolves by Dredmund, and their mission was to chase and find Capwolf. Capwolf does not want to fight the wolves because he knows that they are people under the influence of Dredmund. In this issue, Steve Rodgers, a.k.a. Capwolf, also fights Wolverine and blinds him in order to save himself.

8. Nomad

In Captain America#180, called The Coming of the Nomad, Steve Rodgers decides to continue with his career of fighting crime, but not as Captain America because he is disappointed by the government. He informs Sharon Carter about his plans, creates a new costume for himself, and calls himself Nomad. His nickname means “man without a country.”

However, Steve decided not long after that he should once against presume the role of Captain America, but this time, not follow every government’s order blindly.

9. Winghead

Captain America got the nickname Winghead because his original helmet served as a mask. The mask was separate from the rest of his costume, which was not very efficient because his identity could easily be revealed if someone were to punch him hard in the head. The mask was once nearly knocked from his face by the hard-wing emblems, which almost led to revealing his identity to a newspaper reporter with a camera. Hence, Winghead.

10. Shield-Slinger

Captain America is probably the most famous shield-slinger of all superheroes. After Steve became Captain America, he was presented with a triangular shield made of steel. Over the years, he wore and wielded various shields, but the round shield made of vibranium is the most significant one. The story goes that Captain America encountered T’Chaka, the King of Wakanda, in 1941.

T’Chaka gave the sample of vibranium to Steve, and the metal was used to make Captain America’s circular shield. In the movies, this was somewhat different, as the vibranium shield was made and given to Steve by Howard Stark.