To draw an end to the
Marvel Civil War plot line,
Captain America has been killed. This has just happened, so it is very early to see what will happen. I have not read Captain America lately or the Civil War plot line. I have not read Captain America for more than 10 years now. I cannot say if they are doing a good thing or not. I am not sure if this is a cheap plot or not.
Joe Simon, one the the creators of Captain America, is upset about his death. Captain America was created in March of 1941. This was well before 9 months before America got into World War II. On Nightline Simon said that March of 1941 was more like right now that people want to remember. Lots of people did not want to get into the war. Everyday Simon had protesters or hate mail at the way the comic depicted Hitler. He said, "
We really need him now."
I agree that we need Captain America right now, but the question is how to we use him. I think that since Captain America is so iconic, he is whatever people want him to be. People on both the right and the left can both see him as an icon.
Meanwhile, at the time Captain America died in the comic, nobody was any longer quite sure what he was supposed to stand for. "All the really hard-core Left-wing fans want Cap to be giving speeches on the street corner against the Bush administration, and all the really Right-wing fans want him to be over in the streets of Baghdad, punching out Saddam," said its writer Ed Brubaker.
Growing up, Captain America was my favorite character. He seemed to be more complex than Spider-man, more interesting than Iron Man, and more human than Wolverine. Even at a young age there seemed to be something there that was interesting to me. I found out that Captain America is a very hard character to write correctly. It is easy to make him jingoistic. It is easy for him to be an out of touch crew cut.
Captain America is a character that has to have an absolute moral compass. He has to stand for not want America is but what it should be. He has to be what we want to be even if we call short. The Best Captain America stories are when he struggles with those things. To write good stories for him you need to give him moral conflict. You need him to question the actions of his government. You need him Steve Rogers to bring Humanity to the character of Captain America.
I am not too upset that Marvel Comics is killing Captain America. I have to give them point for Captain America being assassinated. That is how icons die in America. I like that the Red Skull was behind it. I hope that there are conspiracy theories and people who keep on saying he is still alive.
If I was cynical, I would say that Marvel Comics has killed Captain America just to get press. They have got more press then the new Spiderman movie. It is possible that they only let this to get press and money. It would not be the first time this has happened.
I also know that death means nothing in comics. The only character to stay dead is Uncle Ben. Another character can dress up in Captain America's uniform. They can always bring Steve Rogers back to life if they have to. I hope that the death of Captain America leads to a really good story line. I hope that Captain America's death is good for his canon.
I will admit that this might get me to read Captain America again. I guess that would make me a mark for this whole event.Labels: Captain America, comic, comic book, Steve Rogers
