Did we had this dicussion before? I have a vague idea that we had it or maybe it was someone else.
The Marvel universe is not a coherent universe as we know it so there's this phenomenon that happens in every character: after decades (literally) of impossible feats made by a "mere" human writters feels the need to make the character consistent with the background and retcon his/her skills.
Ed ( in the text you quoted) is explicitly saying he retconned Steve for the same reasons exposed before("He's always been a lot stronger and faster than the average well-trained athlete").
Let's see my arguments:
1.Both Wikipedia and the Marvel Wikia states that Captain America has "no superhuman powers".
2.The official Marvel power grid states a strenght rating of 3 "Peak human" (lift up to 800 lbs) and a speed of 2 "Normal". Both ratings are one point bwlow "superhuman" classification.
3. He is not considered superhuman because if you were to analyse his DNA, you would find nothing out of the ordinary; no mutant genome, nor any trace of extensive mutagenic effects similar to the Fantastic Four or the Hulk. The Super-Soldier Serum altered his body by bringing out the best human genome options possible (and the continued regeneration of the serum over time.)
4.He is considered NOT Superhuman because he does not have any significant abilities outside of the best a human(any particular well-trained, Olympic-level athlete).
5. Joe Simon has always stated he aimed at creating a SOLDIER not superman.
So let's put it this way: Steve is not (canonically) considered a superhuman in the Marvel Universe (E616) but would be considered one in ours.
What the fick does this mean? It means there's another "humans" that have done those impossible feats in the Marvel universe and therefore the limit of what one human can do varies from our universe and E616 ( one good example is Frank Castle: in so many times I can't count anumore of he got hurt way beyond what a human can survive and he , not just don't die but keep fighting)
But the main thing here is if we go to the very essence of the character you know that Steve is precisely the line that divides human from superhuman( he is often quoted as that) so if you are telling me that
some authors sometimes has choosen to cross the line I would say you are totally right but that's not the essence of the characters: a human figthing gods.
Let's look at the official handbook and the powers description ( that yeah,that's what I'm saying ...has been retconned):
This it how marvel works "His reaction times are ten times faster than a normal man's" and "possesd no superhuman powers"....in the same paragraph.Fuck me....wouldn't it be a superpower then? Lol
So I'm gonna ask you one question: those panels you linked...they got hold in your memory maybe because they shocked you that Steve was depicted as a superhuman?
For everything else good talk and sorry for the derail ( this is about Pattison and we are here talking about Cpt. America).