Isaiah Bradley

Isaiah Bradley was a volunteer soldier in WWII who was dosed with an experimental version of the Super-Soldier Serum following the experimentation done on Steve Rogers. The troops were largely drawn from predominantly African-American companies, such as the famed Tuskeegee Airmen. 300 men were selected for the trials and forced to undergo experimental genetic therapy without their informed consent. Bradley and five others survived, with magnificently heightened human abilities (albeit to a lesser extant than Rogers had exhibited). They were created as a crack Commando unit operating in the Pacific theater.

Unfortunately the experimental serum had some negative side effects. Psychosis and violent aggressive tendencies manifested. One man in the unit went on a berserk killing spree and had to be killed by Bradley before civilians died. Another brutally assaulted several of his teammates in a confrontation over a local woman. Bradley's unit was dissolved days before they were slated to take over a major ground mission and destroy the last aircraft bases on Guadalcanal. They fought their way to freedom and plotted how to continue their mission.

Using falsified papers and radio communiques, Bradley assumed the role of Captain America and used the officer's brevet rank of field colonel to order the strike after all. He led the charge himself wearing Cap's costume and a copy of the shield. This assault broke the Japanese occupation of Guadalcanal as he captured their last pilots and airfield.

Bradley was arrested, promptly stripped of rank and dishonorably discharged for impersonating an officer and disobeying orders. Bradley was sentenced to internment in Ft. Leavenworth and was used as a human test subject for 15 years. The NAACP and other civil rights groups discovered how he was being treated and lobbied for his release. In 1961 he was pardoned by Ike Eisenhower.

The side effects of the modified serum began to affect Bradley's brain before he was in his mid 30s. He spent much of his later years living at home, working as a community volunteer. He and his wife adopted several neighborhood children and became steady foster parents, with Isaiah proving to be a doting and devoted father who could change a car tire with his bare hands, in a pinch.

In 1972, Bradley was introduced to his near-adult genetic son, Josiah Bradley. A product of Project: Black Womb, Josiah was grown in a test tube after dozens of failed experiments. The family reconnected and Josiah helped care for his father and adopted siblings. In time, Josiah married and had children of his own. His son Eli Bradley was born in 2003.

Eli was in a car accident in 2014 that required a massive blood transfusion. His grandfather was the only person available with compatible blood due to Eli's rare genetic disorder, and volunteered to keep Eli alive. The doctors, unaware of the Serum in Isaiah's blood, performed the transfer.

Isaiah Bradley died in his sleep in 2017, after meeting his longtime hero Steve Rogers, freshly returned from the ice.