GUEST: “Mythtickle” Cartoonist and Captain America Portrayer Justin Thompson

Backstage at a theater, Steve Rogers, now in a vibrant costume, grips a star-spangled shield, his face etched with uncertainty. “I don’t know if I can do this,” he mutters, his voice low.

Brandt’s assistant shrugs with easy confidence. “Nothing to it. You sell a few bonds. Bonds buy bullets. Bullets kill Nazis. Bing bang boom. You’re an American hero.”

Steve glances at the shield, his expression conflicted. “It’s just not how I pictured getting there.”

The assistant claps his shoulder. “The Senator has got a lot of pull up on the Hill. You play ball with us, you’ll be leading your own platoon in no time. Take the shield. Go.”

Steve tugs a mask with the letter “A” over his face, and steps out.

The curtains part, and the stage lights flare. Chorus girls in sparkling costumes launch into song, their voices ringing out. “♪Who’s strong and brave, here to save the American way?♪”

Steve steps onto the stage, his shield gleaming, and faces the crowd. He reads a script taped to the back of his shield. “Not all of us can storm a beach or drive a tank,” he says, his voice gaining strength. “But there’s still a way all of us can fight.”

The chorus girls sway, their song swelling. “♪Who vows to fight like a man, for what’s right, night and day?♪”

Steve holds up his shield, reading from a series of index cards taped to the back of the shield.  “Series E Defense Bonds. Each one you buy is a bullet in the barrel of your best guy’s gun.”

The girls’ voices soar, infectious and patriotic. “♪Who will campaign door-to-door for America? Carry the flag shore to shore for America? From Hoboken to Spokane, the star-spangled man with a plan♪”

A montage of Captain America begins. He’s holding up crying babies, shaking hands with Senator Brandt, and marching on a treadmill with Hollywood extras while filming a movie.