![Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #[nn] cover](https://comicbooks-covers-449901518064-us-east-2.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/covers/isbndb/9780785149637.jpg)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #[nn]
The 2011 hardcover edition of Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty gathers the complete twelve-issue 1998–1999 series by Mark Waid and Ron Garney into a single volume, making their celebrated anthology-style run continuously accessible for the first time. That original series was conceived as a deliberate 'untold stories' showcase — jumping freely across Cap's timeline from WWII Invaders missions to then-near-future adventures — a structural experiment that widened how Marvel could tell Captain America stories without disrupting the main ongoing. Contained within the collection are Invaders tales featuring Cap alongside the original Human Torch (Jim Hammond) and Namor, the early-Avengers-era Iron Man meeting, and crucially, what was billed at publication as the 'official origin of Bucky' in the final issue, making this hardcover the only place that story was available in collected form for more than a decade. Issue #2 of the original series also established Chester Phillips's first name — 'Chester' — a continuity note that would reverberate into later Cap lore and eventually the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In "Sentinel of Liberty," a century after Steven Rogers defeated Sir William Taurey in a fateful duel, his descendant Steve Rogers draws inspiration from his ancestor’s legacy to craft the iconic Captain America costume. Written by Roger Stern and brought to life with dynamic art by Ron Frenz, this issue blends historical intrigue with the birth of a legend. The cover by Ron Garney and Klaus Janson captures the weight of that legacy in striking detail.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Mark Waid and Ron Garney launched the 1998 Sentinel of Liberty series as their acknowledged 'dream project' companion to their concurrent Captain America Vol. 3 ongoing, with the explicit mandate to tell previously untold stories at any point in Cap's history. Editor Matt Idelson oversaw the original run under Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras, and the series drew additional writing contributions from Brian K. Vaughan, Roger Stern, James Felder, and Polly Watson — with art from Doug Braithwaite, Ron Frenz, Cully Hammer, Walter McDaniel, and Anthony Williams alongside Garney. Marvel published the complete twelve-issue series plus the 'Rough Cut' first issue — which presented issue #1 in pencils-only form alongside Waid's third-draft plot script — as a hardcover collected edition in February 2011, giving the run its first and only comprehensive print collection.
Trivia · 8 facts
- The 2011 hardcover (ISBN 978-0785149637) collects Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty (1998) #1–12 and the Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty Rough Cut #1, comprising the complete original series.
- The series was co-created and launched by writer Mark Waid and artist Ron Garney as their self-described 'dream project,' structured as a time-jumping anthology of previously untold Cap stories.
- Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #2 (October 1998) established 'Chester' as General Phillips's first name for the first time in Marvel continuity — a detail later adopted by the broader Marvel universe and the MCU.
- Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #12 presented what was described at publication as the long-awaited official origin of Bucky Barnes, exploring Cap's wartime partner throughout WWII.
- Issues #2–4 feature the Invaders — Captain America, the original Human Torch (Jim Hammond), and Namor the Sub-Mariner — in a WWII storyline involving an Axis plot against American shipyards.
- Issue #5 features a crossover between Captain America and Iron Man (Tony Stark) set during Cap's early post-thaw Avengers days, depicting their relationship before it was deeply explored in later continuity.
- The Rough Cut companion issue, reprinted in the hardcover, presents issue #1's artwork in pencils-only form alongside Waid's third-draft plot script, offering a rare behind-the-scenes look at the series' production process.
- Contributing writers to the original run beyond Waid included Brian K. Vaughan, Roger Stern, James Felder, and Polly Watson, making it an early major Marvel credit for the then-emerging Vaughan.
Cast · 40 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Steven Rogers kills Sir William Taurey in a duel. Over a hundred years later, Steven's descendant Steve Rogers is inspired to design his first Captain America costume based on accounts of what his ancestor wore.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).