Nelson Gardner

As a child, Nelson Gardner was sickly and asthmatic, but years of training allowed him to get past his condition and eventually played football in college before joining the U.S. Marines. He later adopted the Captain Metropolis persona, and, using the skills he acquired in the military, attempted to eradicate organized crime in urban areas. In the fall of 1940, he founded a superhero team called the Minutemen which was composed of Silk Spectre, Hooded Justice, the Silhouette, Nite Owl, the Comedian, Mothman and Dollar Bill.

He had a relationship with fellow gay teammate Hooded Justice, but this information was unknown to the public. This revelation may explain his mysterious departure from the Marines. Judging by a letter written by Silk Spectre's agent, Larry Schexnayder, it appeared that Metropolis was the submissive partner in the relationship while Hooded Justice was the more dominant partner, with Metropolis often calling Larry and complaining about the arguments he was having with Hooded Justice.

In 1946, a newspaper expose revealed that Silhouette's female personal doctor was also, in fact, her lover. Fearing further scrutiny, Metropolis and Hooded Justice were goaded by Schexnayder into voting for her expulsion from the team.

Unhappy with the way the team was more concerned about social appearances than actual crime fighting, the Minutemen were eventually disbanded by Captain Metropolis himself in 1949. Sometime later, the team reunited when Metropolis, Nite Owl and Mothman teamed with a masked hero named Bluecoat and his teen sidekick to prevent Japanese terrorists from setting off an atomic bomb in New York. They saved the country and couldn't capitalize on the publicity because the government classified the incident. Bluecoat and his partner were both killed, and the remaining Minutemen disbanded once again.