Another idea I came up with, not sure I ever submitted this one.
Captain America 1492
The story is set in 1460, as a young sailor named Steven Rogers, with his first mate Bucky Barnes, sail to a far and distant land in search of adventure. Their journey takes them to a new world, a land known as America, where Captain Rogers and his men celebrate their discovery. Unfortunately they were not prepared for the ancient Aztecs of the land and they are quickly captured and taken to the sacrificial alter of their god, represented by (you guessed it) a Red Skull. Rogers, Bucky, and a few other men are able to escape into the temple, where Rogers discovers a very old, very powerful shield. With it, he fends off the horde of Aztecs and makes his escape, although many of his men are lost in the battle. Bucky and Steve slip unto a small canoe and make their way to their ship. The High Priest of the evil cult calls down the power of his god and is granted the powers of the gods, becoming a real skull headed Red Skull. Using his dark magic, he strikes down the ship Bucky and Steve are on, just as they board it, blowing it to smithereens. Bucky is killed and Steve Rogers is sucked down into the waves, out to see and down into a deep chasm where he is frozen in time.
Years pass, it is the year 1491. A young sailor named Columbus travels across the sea, looking for India but becoming lost. An underground earthquake releases Steve Rogers where he is pulled aboard the Pinta. He cannot remember much, a red skull, Bucky, etc. He does remember discovering a new world, which the sailors name America. Since no one knows this strange sailor pulled from the sea, they call him Captain America.
What happens next is daring high seas adventure, discovery, and an all out old fashioned slugfest between the sentinel of liberty and the evil cult leader named the Red Skull.