GUEST: Artist, Cartoonist, and Screenwriter Judd Winick

In the shattered church, Johann Schmidt raises his pistol and shoots the Church Keeper, who collapses lifelessly.

The scene shifts to an Army enlistment center in New York City, 1942. Steve Rogers, small and frail, sits among a crowd of military applicants, clutching a newspaper. He scans an article, his brow furrowing. “Boy, a lot of guys getting killed over there,” he mutters to himself.

An examiner’s voice cuts through the room. “O’Connell, Michael.”

“Kaminsky, Henry,” the examiner continues.

A recruit nearby leans toward Steve. “It kind of makes you think twice about enlisting, huh?”

Steve stands, heading toward the examiner, his voice firm. “Nope.”

The examiner flips through Steve’s file, thick with medical conditions. “Rogers…” he says, eyeing the pages. “What did your father die of?”

“Mustard gas,” Steve answers. “He was in the 107th Infantry. I was hoping I could be assigned…”

“Your mother?” the examiner presses.

“She was a nurse in a TB ward,” Steve says. “Got hit. Couldn’t shake it.”

The examiner shakes his head. “Sorry, son.”

“Look, just give me a chance,” Steve pleads.

“You’d be ineligible on your asthma alone,” the examiner says.