Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Captain America: RIP


The Daily News reports that Captain America has been killed by a sniper:

Captain America is dead. The Marvel Entertainment superhero, created in 1941 as a patriotic adversary for the Nazis, is killed off in Captain America #25, which hits the stands today.

As Captain America emerges from a courthouse building, he is struck by a sniper's bullet in the shoulder and then hit again in the stomach, blood seeping out of his star-spangled costume...

Simon and artist Jack Kirby came up with the character in 1941 as an adversary for Adolf Hitler, who was more evil than any villain the pair could dream up. Since then, the patriotic hero has appeared in an estimated 210 million copies sold in 75 countries.

Not bad for an imaginary sickly kid from the lower East Side named Steve Rogers, who volunteered to be injected with Super Soldier serum during World War II.

Part of Captain America's allure was that he had no true superpowers; the serum made him an example of a human being at his utmost potential.

He could bench-press 1,100 pounds, run a mile in about a minute and outsmart any spy.

Series writer Ed Brubaker - who grew up reading Captain America comics while his father, a naval intelligence officer, was stationed on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - said it wasn't easy to kill off the character. The 40-year-old, however, wanted to explore what the hero meant to the country in these polarized times.

"What I found is that all the really hard-core left-wing fans want Cap to be standing out on and giving speeches on the streetcorner against the Bush administration, and all the really right-wing [fans] all want him to be over in the streets of Baghdad, punching out Saddam," Brubaker said.

This is not something to which I pay close attention, so comments are welcome. Marvel's 'Daily Bugle' reports that Captain America was leaving the courthouse in Manhattan after being arraigned for crimes related to his conduct during the Civil War.

(Summarizing Wikipedia's account) - in a storyline that built on previous stories in the Marvel universe, but perhaps also intended to comment on the Patriot Act and other real-life events, Marvel's US government recently adopted a 'Superhuman Registration Act, which required superheroes to register with the government and reveal their secret identities. Captain America led a group of superheroes that opposed the act. He eventually gave himself up, and was at the courthouse being arraigned for the crime.

Don't worry; I doubt his death is permanent.

It sounds as if Captain America spent his last few years taking a stand against George Bush's unwarranted surveillance of freedom-loving Americans. No doubt his killer will turn out to be some right wing lunatic - maybe even Dick Cheney himself.

I'm just upset because I can't find any video of the Kinks 'Catch Me Now,' which is one of the great conservative rock songs.

Read also Ace, Riehl, and Allah.

Update: Philo has the comment of the day:

One thing of which you can be sure:

The limp-wrists at Marvel certainly won't make the assassin a Muslim terrorist

5 comments:

Philo-Junius said...

One thing of which you can be sure:

The limp-wrists at Marvel certainly won't make the assassin a Muslim terrorist.

Talk about neurotic transference.

Anonymous said...

His Death is being faked-just like the temp Cap from the 80's-John Walker.

Anonymous said...

Screw you Marvel- we needed a hero in these times. Someone to believe in again. you took him away.

R.I.P cap

Anonymous said...

Philo-Junius,

Muslim terrorists aren't exactly known for using sniper rifles. Maybe if he was killed by a suicide bomber you might have a point.

Anonymous said...

No, it's quite possibly a real death, and tf anything, he was not just someone for you to 'believe' in. he was himself above all: Steve Rogers.

And he wouldn't have approved of your racist anti-Muslim bullshit, either.If you have a problem with them, go and see a shrink, quick!