Wait, Did Marvel Just Admit Captain America Is Going to Hell? Pretty Much
Warning! Spoilers for The Incredible Hulk #21!There are few heroes who have done as much good in the Marvel universe as Captain America. The man has saved the world over and over again as part of the Avengers and is all around one of the nicest guys that anyone could ever meet. That's why it's so surprising that Marvel has seemingly confirmed that upon his death, Captain America's soul is going to hell.
The Hulk has gone up against some pretty powerful and dangerous foes over the decades, but in The Incredible Hulk #21 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Danny Earls, he's up against a monster he's rarely faced before: Varcolac, a Wolf Lord and the creator of werewolves.
This Wolf Lord has spent millennia trapped beneath the Earth, and now that he's free it seems that he desires nothing more than a taste of the Hulk's gamma-irradiated blood. While the two battle, Varcolac makes a pretty interesting claim, one that seems to directly damn the soul of Steve Rogers: all werewolves essentially belong in hell, and fans can't forget that Cap has spent time as a werewolf, as strange as it might seem.
Varcolac Has Control Over All Werewolf Souls - Including Captain America's
The Incredible Hulk #21 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Danny Earls, Matthew Wilson, and Cory Petit
There are many werewolves in the Marvel universe, and it seems that Varcolac has dominion over all of their souls. Varcolac announces in this issue that all werewolves belong to him, and he damns their souls to an eternal personal hell once he claims them. Characters like Werewolf By Night, no matter how heroic, are completely within the grasp of Varcolac and will likely never make it into heaven. It truly shows how becoming a werewolf, no matter how powerful it makes someone, is a dreadful curse.
While Steve Rogers is often shown as the face of America and the beloved leader of the Avengers, he's had a few darker stories over the years.
Varcolac makes it very clear that all werewolves are under his dominion. Once someone is infected, their soul belongs to him. This fate isn't exactly good news for any of the werewolf characters in the Marvel universe. While it might seem at first glance that Varcolac's claim wouldn't affect someone like Captain America, more experienced readers of Marvel Comics know better. While Steve Rogers is often shown as the face of America and the beloved leader of the Avengers, he's had a few darker stories over the years - such as the time Captain America was transformed into a werewolf, which may have damned his soul forever.
Cap-Wolf Might Just Keep Captain America Out of "Heaven"
One Dog That Won't Go to Heaven...
Captain America was first transformed into a werewolf in 1992's story Man and Wolfby Mark Gruenwald and Rik Levins. In this story, Captain America tries to investigate the disappearance of the superhero Man-Wolf, which leads to Captain America being captured and transformed into a werewolf by the super-villain Nightshade. While Captain America was eventually cured of his lycanthropy, it's unclear if that cure actually saved his soul. That he was transformed at all could be all it takes to lock Cap's soul out of heaven.
Varcolac was pretty clear in his statements. He said that anyone who becomes a werewolf has their very soul marked by him. Just because someone was cured of being a werewolf doesn't necessarily cure their soul. It's very possible that Captain America's soul was marked due to that one-time infection, and now when he dies, he'll be returning to Varcolac's realm instead of going to heaven. It's a pretty dark fate for one of the greatest Avengers to ever live, but in a universe as mystical as Marvel's, it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
Captain America May Have Lost His Soul Decades Ago
"Capwolf" Has Some Major Consequences for Steve Rogers
Even if Captain America's soulhas been cured, that still leaves characters like Man-Wolf or Werewolf by Night doomed to an eternal personal hell. That's not exactly a great fate for a group of heroes. Varcolac is a Wolf Lord, a literal god among werewolves. He's their creator. It's very unlikely that someone that powerful would lose control over someone's soul simply because they were able to use science to create a cure. Becoming a werewolf just once should be more than enough to permanently mark someone's soul for the Wolf Lord. He practically says that he never lets them go.
No matter how heroic someone is, things don't always turn out the best for them. That's pretty much the motto of Peter Parker's entire life, after all. Likewise, Captain America has done just about everything a hero could do. He has fought criminals, Nazis, aliens, demons, and everything in between. He has saved the world more times than anyone can count and has saved thousands of innocent lives. But despite all of those good deeds, it seems the plan of one villain, over twenty years ago, has doomed Captain America's soul to an eternal hell.
The Incredible Hulk #21 is available now from Marvel Comics!
- Created By
- Joe Simon, Jack Kirby
- First Appearance
- Captain America Comics
- Alias
- Steve Rogers, John Walker, Sam Wilson
- Alliance
- Avengers, Invaders, S.H.I.E.L.D., U.S. Army
- Race
- Human
- Franchise
- Marvel
Initially debuting in 1940, Captain America is the patriotically themed superhero who has shared the title with only a few individuals. Beginning with Steve Rogers, Captain America's birth resulted from a frail man taking part in an experimental U.S. Army super-soldier trial, which imbued him with super-human abilities. The character is often depicted wielding a nigh unbreakable and aerodynamic shield made of vibranium that they use to defend and attack their foes.
