The Guardians of the Galaxy’s very own version of Captain America made a name for himself while doing his best to follow in the legendary footsteps of Steve Rogers, but his road to heroism was paved with nothing but tragedy. While tragic origins stories are a dime a dozen for Marvel Comics heroes, this future version of Captain America easily has the worst one out there because he doesn’t have just one, but two equally traumatic beginnings.
Vance Astro, aka Major Victory, was an American astronaut who signed up for a daring mission across the cosmos. Astro was chosen to travel, alone, to a nearby star system. In order to make the journey successfully, the scientists behind the mission replaced his blood and coated his organs in preserving fluid, then placed him in a space suit which locked him in suspended animation. The journey to the planet Centauri-IV was scheduled to take a thousand years, meaning Vance Astro wouldn’t arrive until the year 3006. Tragically, when he got there, the planet was already inhabited by humans, as technology had advanced so much while he was in stasis that his whole mission proved pointless.
After realizing he'd sacrificed his body and all his relationships on a pointless mission, Astro joined the original Guardians of the Galaxy and took on the name Major Victory. During one of their missions, Major Victory saw the chance to go back in time and stop his younger self from experiencing the tragedy that became of his stolen life. Astro succeeds, and the new version of himself never became an astronaut, manifesting the mutant power of telekinesis far earlier in life. While Astro saves himself pointlessly laying in stasis for a thousand years, he doesn't save himself a tragic origin. When Astro’s father finds out that his son is a mutant, he becomes abusive towards him, both physically and emotionally. While trying to defend himself, Astro accidentally uses his telekinetic powers and kills his father, resulting in his arrest and time in prison.
The reason Astro is considered Guardians of the Galaxy’s Captain America is because of the influence Captain America had on his original life. Steve Rogers is the reason Vance Astro became an astronaut, and upon joining the Guardians of the Galaxy, he named his starship the ‘Captain America.’ In Guardians of the Galaxy #6 by Jim Valentino, Major Victory even begins wielding Captain America’s original shield after the team recovers the relic.
Vance found purpose and does good in the world as both Major Victory and (after serving time for the death of his father), the Avenger and New Warrior Justice. But while he may turn his poor fortune into something worthwhile, Vance still has one of the most heart-rending origins in comics, taking Spider-Man's guilt over failing to save his Uncle Ben and turning it up to eleven with a series of events that turn his life into a process of self-perpetuating loss.
His passion for doing the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do, mixed with his passion for carrying on the symbol Steve Rogers once stood for, makes Vance Astro worthy of carrying Captain America’s shield in the distant future. While he more than earned his stripes throughout his career as a hero, in both timelines, Astro had a rough time getting to that point. Guardians of the Galaxy’s Captain America has Marvel Comics’ most tragic origin story because even after losing everything, he still had so much further to fall.