A hero published by
Marvel Comics.
Nomad first appeared in
Captain America #180 in 1974.
In the mid-70's, Steve Rogers in his identity as Captain America fought the evil mechanations of a subversive group known as the Secret Empire. Rogers was able to defeat the group and followed its leader, a shadowy figure named Number One, in hopes of capturing him and bringing him to justice. The trail lead to the very seat of power within the United States, the White House. There Number One was revealed to be a "high placed government official" who rather than face the shame of his misdeeds, committed suicide in front of the bewildered and disillusioned Captain America.
This thinly-veiled commentary on the Watergate scandal and subsequent resignation by Richard Nixon caused Steve Rogers to question the ideals on which the United States was built and to stop adventuring as Captain America. For a number of issues, Rogers spent time in contemplation and though he did fight a number of thugs and the like, he did so without a costume (apart from a ski mask). However, a few issues later in Captain America #180, Rogers became Nomad and fought against the forces of evil. Nomad's costume did not reflect the patriotism of Rogers' other costume, but instead was blue and yellow and for a brief time even sported a cape. Eventually, Rogers returned to his former identity as Captain America when a man who had begun to adventure in that identity was killed by the Red Skull, and Rogers sought revenge.
Flash forward to the 1980's and the reintroduction of Nomad. This time the identity was taken up by Jack Monroe. Monroe and an unnamed man who was obsessed with Steve Rogers and Captain America, became Bucky and Captain America during the 1950's while Rogers was in suspended animation in an iceberg. The pair used a version of the Super-Soldier formula to gain the same advantages that Rogers had possessed, but their version was incomplete eventually leading them to become unhinged and paranoid. They began to see Communist plots where none existed and were placed in suspended animation until a cure could be found. Needless to say, they were thawed and used in a battle between two Captain Americas in one comic and then returned to suspended animation. Eventually, Monroe was cured and became for a time Steve Rogers' sidekick in the identity of Nomad.
Nomad and Captain America fought together for a number of years, until Monroe chose to split off and go solo, finding his methods and those of his mentor were not compatible. Nomad starred for a time in his own series, a comic that came out when dark and edgy were the order of the day. Traveling from place to place, Nomad sought justice for the under-dog.
Eventually, Nomad vanished from the pages of comics, though Monroe returned in the guise of Scourge in the Thunderbolts comics a few years back. Monroe was being used by a shadowy government agency to discredit and kill superhumans, but eventually he was freed.
The introduction of
Nomad into the
Marvel Universe was the first time that
Marvel made a direct social commentary with one of its characters. Though they shied away from a direct reference to the debacle of
Watergate and
Nixon, they did show that their Sentinal of Liberty was not one to condone such actions. He would later make additional commentary about the government policies by quiting his position again in the 1980's and becoming
The Captain and most recently with comments about the actions of the U.S. since the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001. It is interesting to note that all of Captain America's actions of protest have happened during conservative administrations.