When his friend disappeared, he took up the mantle to inspire everyone. Introduced in Human Torch #4 (1941) by Ray Gill and Sid Greene, Jeffrey Mace was a reporter for the Daily Bugle who was inspired by Captain America and joined the fight against the Nazi’s as the Patriot. When the Invader’s Cap, Human Torch and Submariner were kidnapped by the Red Skull, he joined Bucky team of Liberty Legion to rescue the heroes. He would later join the All-Winner Squad when William Nasland took over the mantle of Cap when Steve Roger disappeared. A battle with Adam-II saw Nasland sacrificing his life. Inspired by his friend’s sacrifice, Mace took on the mantle of Captain America, making him the only Cap to not be given the mantle by the previous hero or by the government.

As Cap, he took Nasland’s partner’s Fred Davis as his own sideick and would lead the All-Winner’s Squad but Davis would retire after being wounded by a gun shot. Golden Girl would then become Mace’s partner before the two retired and were married. Decades later, after Rogers was found alive and joined the Avengers, Mace discovered he had cancer. The Elder of the Universe, the Comtemplar, granted Mace his dying wish of one last adventure as Cap by sending him to an Alternate universe where he would battle Adam-II once more. After returning to his own universe, Mace would succumb to his cancer, dying with Rogers by his bedside.

Given that it wasn’t revealed that Mace was once Cap until much later after Rogers was found alive by the Avengers, people would be forgiven for thinking that Mace was the same person as Rogers in his classic costume. Thus, any Classic Cap can be used as Mace as well.