Jeffrey Solomon Mace, also known as the

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

and

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

, is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. The character was created during the 1940s, a period fans and historians call the

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and ma ...

. As the Patriot, he

first appeared In comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Reader interest in fir ...

in ''

Human Torch Comics The Human Torch, also known as Jim Hammond, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer and artist Carl Burgos, he first appearance, first appeared in ''Marvel Mystery Comics, Marvel Comics'' #1 ...

'' #4 (March 1941; mis-numbered #3 on cover), published by Marvel's 1940s precursor,

Timely Comics Timely Comics was the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely P ...

. In 1976, Marvel revealed via

retroactive continuity Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...

that Mace had become the third Captain America some time after his World War II era adventures. He is also the uncle-by-marriage of

Thunderbolt Ross General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics featuring the Hulk. Ross is a United States Armed Forces, United States military Officer (armed forces)#United States, officer, ...

. The character was adapted into the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

TV series ''

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen for ABC based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, ...

'', portrayed by

Jason O'Mara Jason O'Mara (born 6 August 1972) is an Irish-American actor. He has starred in American television series '' Terra Nova'' (2011), '' Vegas'' (2012–13), '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (2016–17) and '' The Man in the High Castle'' (2018–19). Fo ...

Publication history

The superhero the Patriot debuted in ''

The Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and arti ...

'' #4 (March 1941; mis-numbered #3 on cover), with both a two-page text story by writer

Ray Gill Ray Gill (8 December 1924 – 17 September 2001) was an English footballer. He holds the Football League appearance record for Chester. The full-back played in 406 league games for Chester from 1951 to 1962, putting him seven ahead of Ron Hug ...

, with a spot illustration by artist

Bill Everett William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie (comics), Zombie and Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), Daredevil ...

, and a 10-page comics story by writer Gill and artist

George Mandel George Mandel (11 February 1920 – 13 February 2021) was an American author and artist. His first novel is considered to be an early work of the east coast Beat Generation. His novels, interviews, novellas, cartoons and short stories have been c ...

. The character went on to appear in the first of two ''Human Torch'' issues both inadvertently numbered #5, and known to collectors as #5 /nowiki> (Summer 1941), in a story by Gill and artist

Sid Greene Sidney Greene (June 18, 1906 – October 1972)Sidney Greene
at the Marvel Mystery Comics ''Marvel Mystery Comics'' (first issue titled simply ''Marvel Comics'') is an American comic book series published during the 1930s–1940s period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. It was the first publication of Mar ...

'', appearing in issues #21–44 (July 1941 – June 1943) and #49 -74 (Nov. 1943 – July 1946), making him one of Timely's most popular characters in the second tier beneath stars

, the Human Torch, and the Sub-Mariner. The Patriot story "Death Stalks the Shipyard", from ''Marvel Mystery Comics'' #29, was reprinted during the

Silver Age of Comic Books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books, the Silver A ...

in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #16 (Sept. 1968). In ''The Avengers'' #97 (March 1972), Rick Jones summons Jeffrey Mace, among other Golden Age heroes, to assist the

Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

during the Kree-Skrull War. The Patriot appeared in a four-part flashback story running through ''

The Invaders ''The Invaders'' is an American science fiction television series created by Larry Cohen that aired on ABC for two seasons, from 1967 to 1968. Roy Thinnes stars as David Vincent, who after stumbling across evidence of an in-progress invasi ...

'' #5–6 (March & May 1976) and ''

Marvel Premiere ''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own ser ...

'' #29–30 (April & June 1976), set during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

which

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...

ned him as a member of a newly created superhero team, the

Liberty Legion The Liberty Legion is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team was first created in 1976 and set during World War II. Composed of existing heroes from Marvel's 1940s Golden Age of Comic Bo ...

. That team later appeared alongside

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

member the

Thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...

in a two-part

time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

story, set during World War II, in ''

Marvel Two-in-One ''Marvel Two-in-One'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring Fantastic Four member the Thing in a different team-up each issue. Publication history Original series The concept of teaming the Thing with a differen ...

'' #20 (Oct. 1976) and ''Marvel Two-in-One Annual'' (1976). When Marvel Comics had revived the character Captain America in 1964, the story explained that he had been

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty (person), casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoner of war, prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been ...

and in

suspended animation Suspended animation is the slowing or stopping of biological function so that physiological capabilities are preserved. States of suspended animation are common in micro-organisms and some plant tissue, such as seeds. Many animals, including l ...

since 1945. This discrepancy with his postwar comic-book appearances was later explained as the result of replacement heroes taking on the mantle. As the third Captain America, Jeffrey Mace would have been behind the mask in ''Captain America Comics'' #59–75 (Nov. 1946 – Feb. 1950) and other comics during that period. Mace succeeded the second Captain America, William Naslund (formerly the Spirit of '76), who was shown in ''

What If What If may refer to: Film * ''What If'', a 2006 TV film starring Niall Buggy * What If... (2010 film), ''What If...'' (2010 film), an American film * What If... (2012 film), ''What If...'' (2012 film), a Greek film * What If (2013 film), ''What ...

?'' vol. 1, #4 (Aug. 1977) as having been killed in 1946. Mace appeared briefly in a flashback in ''

'' #215 (Nov. 1977), then as a guest-star in ''Captain America Annual'' #6 (1982) with his death depicted in #285 (Sept. 1983). In a flashback, the Patriot co-starred in a World War II adventure with Captain America in ''Captain America Annual'' #13 (1994) and in a post-war adventure with the All Winners Squad in ''All Winners Squad 70th Anniversary Special'' (2009). A retelling of Jeffrey Mace's origin and time as Captain America is told in the 2010 mini-series ''Captain America: Patriot''. This was collected with the ''All Winners Squad 70th Anniversary Special'' and ''What If?'' #4 in 2011. ''What If?'' #4 was also collected that same year in a ''Captain America Legacy'' volume collecting the debuts of the Captain America replacements.

Fictional character biography

Jeffrey Mace was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. He was a reporter at the ''

Daily Bugle The ''Daily Bugle'' (at one time ''The DB!'') is a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper appearing as a plot element in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The ''Daily Bugle'' is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most ...

'', who was inspired to become a superhero after seeing

in action. As the Patriot, Mace becomes one of several superheroes who fight

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

saboteurs and supervillains during

, sometimes alongside his sidekick Mary Morgan, a.k.a. Miss Patriot. He helps found the superhero team known as the

, billed as "America's home front heroes" who fight saboteurs,

fifth column A fifth column is a group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. The activities of a fifth column can be overt or clandestine. Forces gathered in secret can mobilize ...

ists and other wartime threats within the United States. After the war, the Patriot continues to fight crime on a regular basis, eventually helping the

All-Winners Squad The All-Winners Squad is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The company's first such team, it first appeared in ''All Winners Comics'' #19 (fall 1946), published by Marvel predecessor Timely Co ...

prevent the assassination of a young

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

in 1946. The skirmish costs the life of the second Captain America, William Naslund (formerly the Spirit of '76). Mace is recruited to be the third Captain America, retiring in 1949. He marries Betsy Ross who, as the superhero Golden Girl, had briefly been the post-war sidekick of his Captain America, and eventually succumbs to cancer at an old age.

Powers and abilities

Jeffrey Mace had no superpowers but he was an exceptional athlete, a superb hand-to-hand combatant and a licensed pilot. As Captain America, he carried a shield, similar to that used by his predecessors, that was made of enhanced titanium.

Reception

In ''American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944'', Kurt Mitchell and

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

call the Patriot "a bargain-basement

with an uncanny knack for stumbling into

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

conspiracies. Though Arthur "Art" Gates and Sidney "Sid" Greene did their best to replicate

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

's frenetic fight scenes, the feature had none of the charisma of its inspiration."

In other media

* Jeffrey Mace appears in the fourth season of ''

'', portrayed by

. This version is an ex-journalist who survived

Helmut Zemo Helmut Zemo is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas, Tony Isabella and Sal Buscema, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''Captain America (comic book), Captain America'' #16 ...

's attack on the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

during the events of the film '' Captain America: Civil War''. Debuting in the episode " Meet the New Boss", he is introduced as the new director of

S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism government agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this agency first appeared in ''Strange Tal ...

Although initially believed to be an

Inhuman Inhuman may refer to: Comics *Inhumans, a fictional race in Marvel Comics ** ''Inhuman'' (comics), a comic book series focusing on Inhumans ** ''Inhumans'' (TV series), a television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Music *InHuman ...

with superhuman strength and durability, Mace is actually empowered by a serum derived from Calvin Zabo's formula as part of "Project Patriot". While most of the negative side effects were removed, the Project Patriot formula still puts significant strain on Mace's body. While living in a virtual reality called the "Framework", Mace's personal history is rewritten to "correct" his most potent regret, resulting in him becoming an actual Inhuman who joined, then later took command of, remnant S.H.I.E.L.D. forces and successfully led them against HYDRA. In the episode "No Regrets", Mace sacrifices himself to save

Phil Coulson Agent Phillip J. "Phil" Coulson ( ) is a fictional character portrayed and voiced by Clark Gregg in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise. Coulson is depicted as a high-ranking member of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and longt ...

's team and Inhumans from a HYDRA attack causing his real life body to die in the process. * Jeffrey Mace appears in the prequel digital series '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot'', with Jason O'Mara reprising the role.

References

External links

Jeffrey Mace
at Marvel Wiki

The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mace, Jeffrey Captain America characters Characters created by Bill Everett Comics characters introduced in 1941 Fictional American Jews Fictional aviators Fictional characters from New York City Fictional shield fighters Fictional World War II veterans Golden Age superheroes Incarnations of Captain America Marvel Comics male superheroes Marvel Comics superheroes Marvel Comics television characters Timely Comics characters United States-themed superheroes