Before he became Captain America, Steve Rogers was an art student who attempted to join the U.S. Army during World War II but was rejected because of poor health. Because of his burning desire to defend his country, however, Rogers was chosen as the subject of a secret military experiment. He was administered a Super Solder Serum and bombarded with "vita-rays" that transformed him into a super-powered Nazi-fighting machine. Originally, the government planned to create a whole army of super soldiers, but a Nazi spy thwarted that efford by murdering the scientist who had created the Super Soldier Serum, leaving Steve Rogers as the only successful product of the Super Soldier program. Determined not only to protect his country, but to become an enduring symbol of freedom, Rogers took the name "Captain America."