Captain America is often considered an inspiration to other heroes, but his example drives his daughter to become something unthinkable.
The legacy of Captain America casts a long shadow over all the heroes of the Marvel Universe, but that is doubly true for his offspring. Ellie Rogers is the daughter of Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter and because of her father’s inspiration she was pushed to great lengths to be the kind of hero who could make him proud.
Ellie was born on an alternate Earth from that of Marvel’s Earth-616, in a place where HYDRA didn’t just take over the United States, but founded it. Created during the Secret Wars crossover event, the United Confederacy of HYDRA is ruled by Arnim Zola and is part of the HYDRA Empire. It is a repressive fascist regime that literally breaks down and dissolves any citizen who is deemed as unproductive so that they can be used as spare parts to create an army of mutates. In this world, Steve Rogers leads a resistance movement but in a surprise raid both he and Sharon are killed along with the majority of the resistance. The only ones to survive are Ellie and Nomad aka Ian Rogers — who traveled to that world from the main Marvel universe.
Cap’s Daughter Overcomes A Symbiote To Honor His Legacy
During the Hail HYDRA story by Rick Remender and Roland Boschi, Ellie is also wounded in the attack on her father’s resistance movement, but she is infected by Venom. In this world Eddie Brock is a loyal HYDRA soldier with the power to infect victims and turn them into his mindless henchmen, called Vipers. However, instead of turning into a Viper Ellie uses the symbiote to become something different. Ellie’s mental fortitude stops her from being taken over, and she fashions her own Captain America costume out of its raw materials, using its webs and reflexes to become the hero that her father always was.
It is often hard to live up to expectations and the legacy of our parents. Nomad understands that better than most, as his biological father is Arnim Zola and his surrogate father is Steve Rogers. Often some people’s most important traits are shaped by the imitation or rejection of their parents. For Ian, his embracement of Captain America’s legacy is a rejection of his true father’s villainous one, but for Ellie her mental fortitude is a byproduct of a desire to be the daughter worthy of the name Rogers, and she succeeds.
She proves to have inherited one of Captain America’s greatest powers, his will to overcome the impossible for the betterment of others. Ellie suppresses her symbiote’s control and then uses its power to save Nomad, her brother. She does it out of love and caring, which is the thing her father would be most proud about. In the end, Ellie dies to save Ian, but upholds her father’s legacy in the best way possible. She proves that even in a world ruled by HYDRA, Captain America is still a beacon of hope and freedom.