Nomad is the name of several fictional characters 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 Nomad name and costume were created by writer

Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early li ...

and artist

Sal Buscema Sal Buscema ( ; born Silvio Buscema, , on January 26, 1936) is an American comics artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he had a ten-year run as artist of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk'' and an eight-year run as art ...

as an alternate identity for the original Captain America, Steve Rogers, in ''

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 ...

'' #180 (December 1974). The identity was revived by writer

J. M. DeMatteis John Marc DeMatteis (; born December 15, 1953) is an American writer of comic books, television and novels. Biography Early career J. M. DeMatteis's earliest aspirations were to be a rock musician and comic book artist. He began playing in ban ...

for a minor character named Edward Ferbel in ''Captain America'' #261–263 (September–November 1981). The same writer later gave the title to its best known claimant

Jack Monroe Jack Monroe (born 17 March 1988) is a British food writer, journalist and activist known for campaigning on poverty issues, particularly hunger relief. She initially rose to prominence when a post on her blog ''A Girl Called Jack'' (now rena ...

in ''Captain America'' #282 (June 1983). Other claimants of the code name are

Rikki Barnes Rebecca "Rikki" Barnes is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''Heroes Reborn (1996 comic), Heroes Reborn'' #1/2 ( ...

and Steve Rogers's adopted son Ian Rogers.

Steve Rogers

The original Nomad is an alternate identity that Steve Rogers adopts after he abandons the Captain America costume and title. In ''Captain America'' #180 (December 1974) Rogers becomes disillusioned with the

United States government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

, when he discovers that a high ranking government official (heavily hinted to be the then

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

) is the leader of the terrorist organization known as the Secret Empire. Rogers decides to abandon his Captain America identity, feeling that he cannot continue to serve America after this latest discovery has shattered his faith in the nation's status. A confrontation with Hawkeye (disguised as the

Golden Archer G-Type G-Type is a fictional character from Marvel Comics. G-Type is one of the Shi'ar's Imperial Guard (Marvel Comics), Imperial Guard, and is also an Extraterrestrial life in popular culture, alien. He was engineered in the stellar nurseri ...

) forces Rogers to realize that he cannot abandon a life of heroism, and he subsequently takes on the name "Nomad" (as it means "man without a country") adopting a new dark blue and yellow uniform with no patriotic markings on it at all. This identity is short-lived, with Rogers maintaining it for a mere four issues of the comic to varying degrees of success; he even trips over his own cape at one point. At the conclusion of ''Captain America'' #184 (April 1975) Rogers returns to the role of Captain America when he realizes that he could champion America's ideals without blindly supporting its government.

Edward Ferbel

Introduced in ''Captain America'' #261 (September 1981), the second Nomad was Edward Ferbel, a short-lived character who is given the Nomad costume and equipment by the

Red Skull The Red Skull is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by France Herron, Jack Kirby, and Joe Simon, the character first appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 (March 1941), in ...

in an effort to discredit Captain America. He is killed by an agent of the Skull, the

Ameridroid This is a list of Captain America's enemies. A * Adolf Hitler: the leader of Nazi Germany "Mein Führer" Who wanted to rule the world and kill all Jews and other minorities during World War II. * Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.): A terrorist or ...

, in ''Captain America'' #263 (November 1981).

Jack Monroe

The third and best known Nomad is Jack Monroe, who was formerly known as the third Bucky. He was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Sal Buscema in ''

'' #153 (September 1972) to explain Bucky's appearances in the 1953-1955 ''Captain America'' run. During the "Captain America No More" story arc, when Rogers was forced to abandon his identity as Captain America by a US Government committee, Monroe offered to let Rogers become Nomad again, but Rogers declined and took a new identity, The Captain, for the interim.

Rikki Barnes

After the events of the ''

Onslaught Reborn Onslaught is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared as a cameo in ''X-Men: Prime'' #1 before making his first full appearance in ''X-Men'' vol. 2, #53, where he would eventually serve as the m ...

'' mini-series, a version of

, the female Bucky established in the '' Heroes Reborn'' ''Captain America'' series, now resides in the mainstream Marvel Universe, and has befriended the Young Avenger known as

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 ...

in the hopes of contacting the new Captain America (the original Bucky, now free of his Winter Soldier programming). In September 2009, Rikki Barnes took on the identity of Nomad in the mini-series, ''Nomad: Girl Without A World'', by

Sean McKeever Sean Kelley McKeever (born 1972) is an American comic book writer. Born in Appleton, Wisconsin he grew up in Eagle River. Career Since the end of his creator-owned teen drama series '' The Waiting Place'', which was published from 1997 to 200 ...

and David Baldeon.

Ian Rogers

While trapped in the mysterious Dimension Z, Captain America rescues Leopold, the infant son of

Arnim Zola Arnim Zola is a supervillain appearing in American comic books by Marvel Comics. He is a master of biochemistry and a recurring enemy of Captain America and the Avengers. The character first appeared in ''Captain America and the Falcon'' #208 (A ...

. Raising the child under the name "Ian", he manages to evade Zola's forces for eleven years, until Ian is accidentally shot and apparently killed by

Sharon Carter Sharon Carter (also known as Agent 13) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Dick Ayers, the character first appeared in '' Tales of Suspense'' #75 (March 1966). Sharon ...

. After Captain America escapes Dimension Z, Ian is revealed to have survived and taken up a costume and shield similar to that of his adoptive father. Now calling himself Nomad, Ian acts as the defender of Dimension Z. During the ''

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 ...

'' storyline, Nomad assists Steve Rogers and Spider-Man in rescuing

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

in Las Vegas.''Avengers & X-Men: AXIS'' #6

References

Sources

''International Catalogue of Super-Heroes'' page on Bucky

External links

Nomad (Jack Monroe)
at Marvel.com * {{Captain America characters Characters created by Fabian Nicieza Characters created by J. M. DeMatteis Characters created by Sal Buscema Characters created by Steve Englehart Comics characters introduced in 1974 Comics characters introduced in 1981 Comics characters introduced in 1983 Fictional characters from Connecticut Marvel Comics martial artists Fictional clubfighters Marvel Comics mutates Marvel Comics superheroes Marvel Comics supervillains Marvel Comics titles United States-themed superheroes Vigilante characters in comics