Captain America's Grossest Use of His Super Soldier Serum Basically Makes Him a Vampire

Summary Sam Wilson gains super soldier abilities by drinking Captain America's blood in the "Heroes Reborn" storyline, much like how a vampire creates new vampires.

Despite the unhygienic method, Cap's plan works and Sam helps defeat the villains with his new powers.

The controversial storyline saw some characters canceled and relaunched, with mixed responses from fans.

Vampires are currently running amok in the Marvel Universe thanks to the Blood Hunt crossover event, but one use of his super soldier serum basically made Captain America a vampire before all of that. In the “Heroes Reborn” continuity established in the 1990s, Sam Wilson gains the same abilities as Steve Rogers thanks to sharing the latter’s super soldier serum. However, the way he gets them is rather gross.

Released in 1997, Captain America (1996) #5 sees Cap taking on Red Skull and Master Man as they establish a new branch of Neo-Nazis and attempt to blow up Los Angeles. In the previous issue, Sam Wilson attempts to help Cap foil the plot, only to end up grievously wounded in the process.

Out of options, Cap takes rather drastic actions to help his friend. He takes off his glove and slices open his palm to feed his own blood to Sam. His hope is that the super soldier serum coursing through his bloodstream will be enough to keep his comrade alive.

Captain America (1996) #5 comes from the creative team of Jeph Loeb, Rob Liefeld, Jon Sibal, Larry Stucker, Richard Starkings/Comicraft and Andy Troy.

Captain America Feeds Sam Wilson His Own Blood

Although extremely unhygienic, Cap’s ploy works: the serum is strong enough to heal Sam of his wounds. In a rather narratively convenient bit of deus ex machina, it’s also enough to make Sam a super soldier himself. He helps Cap defeat the Red Skull and Master Man, showing off his new super-strength with a double-punch shared with Captain America that wipes out Master Man. Sam would later don his own costume in future issues, becoming the Falcon and working alongside Cap just as he does in the 616 universe. Eventually, the Avengers and the Fantastic Four are transported to a pocket universe during the Onslaught event.

The “Heroes Reborn” initiative was one of the most controversial storylines of the '90s. Captain America, The Avengers, Iron Man and Fantastic Four were canceled and relauched with new #1 issues, handled by returning Marvel superstars Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld. The storyline saw the characters in all four books written out of the mainline Marvel continuity, with the new creative teams establishing a more modern approach to their powers and origins. While initially a sales success, the overall mixed response from fans led to all four books being relaunched again in 1998, with all the characters returning to the 616 universe.

Sam Wilson Gets Captain America’s Powers After Drinking His Blood

The controversial reputation of “Heroes Reborn” today means that Cap’s almost vampiric display of his super soldier serum has been lost to the ages. While Sam Wilson is currently operating as Captain America on the Avengers team, he doesn’t have any super soldier serum running through his veins. Given the rather gross way he got those powers in the “Heroes Reborn” continuity, it’s probably a good thing - otherwise, Captain America might be labeled a vampire.