Why Killing Captain America Was Just Plain Wrong!
There are some superheroes that you just don’t kill. While killing off and replacing Green Lantern or the Flash might be an acceptable way to breathe new life into the characters, there are certain superheroes like Superman and Captain America that should be forever off-limits. Two years ago, Marvel put a bullet in Captain America.
Sure, DC Comics once killed off Superman, but there was never any real doubt that the Man of Steel would return. It’s been two years, and Captain America is still dead. Ok, so Steve Rogers’ old sidekick Bucky Barnes is prancing around in the Captain America costume, so one could argue that Captain America lives on. However, Steve Rogers, the one true Captain America, is still dead.
Saying that someone besides Steve Rogers could ever really be Captain America is like saying someone besides Clark Kent could be Superman, someone besides Bruce Wayne could be Batman, or someone besides Peter Parker could be Spider-Man. Granted that DC Comics is publishing a storyline where Bruce Wayne is being replaced as Batman, but it isn’t the same thing. DC Comics hasn’t made any secret of the fact that Bruce Wayne will eventually be back. Everyone knows it won’t be permanent.
However, with Captain America, it’s really starting to look like Marvel Comics really did kill off Steve Rogers forever. Killing Captain America is like ripping up the Constitution, is like burning the flag, and is like knocking down the Statue of Liberty. Captain America is an icon to America, who has risen above the status of just being a comic book superhero.
We are at a time of great change in America. Unemployment is higher than it’s been in decades, the economy is in the biggest shambles since the great depression, and the threat of terrorism keeps rearing its ugly head. Despite all these problems, there is also a sense of great hope in America. There is the hope of a new President, a sense of Patriotism, and a belief that whatever the challenges might be, America will always overcome.
On this Memorial Day, when America honors the men and women, who have given their lives to preserve freedom, I can’t help but think about how the real Captain America is still dead. The Sentinel of Liberty just can’t be gone. With the fiftieth issue of Captain America hitting comic book stores recently, and Bucky Barnes still slinging the shield, Steve Rogers return seems more and more unlikely.
However, next month will bring the milestone 600th issue of Captain America. (Marvel is renumbering the series to take into account the original series is the reason for the jump, but don’t ask me to do the math to explain it.) A teaser for Captain America #600 promises the most wicked plot twist since issue #25, which of course was the issue where Steve Rogers died. Could Marvel finally be planning to bring Rogers back? Please, let it be so. Killing Captain America was just plain wrong. It’s time to bring him back. America needs the real Captain America back.
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Haven’t you heard of a little thing that Marvel has planned for July. It’s called Reborn and coupled with the title in Previews was Capt. America’s shield. I may be going out on a limb here but I have a feeling that this will be the vehicle that Marvel is going to use to bring back Steve.
Spoken like someone who hasn’t really been reading the comic.
I was also devastated when it turned out that Cap was getting killed off. Cap was always my favorite hero ever since childhood (I proudly have the shield tatooed on my back and my Grandfather was a decorated WWII vet) and the thought of killing off Cap was a notion almost too crazy to swallow.
But after reading Brubaker’s work and seeing Bucky wearing the mantle, I too am seeing what the author has been trying to convey, Captain America is more than just one man. It’s an ideal. It’s something we all have inside of us. Captain America is the American dream. Even though we may think of ourselves as weak, we all have the potential to stand up against great odds for the good of the world.
Bucky has been the Captain America of today’s world. He’s flawed. He’s got a past that haunts him. But above all else, he’s slinging the shield so that the very notion of Captain America will live on. Despite everyone claiming he’s not the real Cap, he’s pulling himself up by his bootstraps, and doing what’s best for his country. America is trying to do the same thing now. Without getting into too much politcs, we’re coming out of 8 years of a less-than-successful presidency. We’re all trying to keep our head above water financially. The world is ready to take us seriously again. We don’t need one idealized man to look up to as Captain America. We all need to be Captain America.
Of course, Steve Rogers will be coming back and, eventually, the narrative status quo will be restored, but I think Brubaker is doing an AWESOME job of giving us a Cap that is a reflection of ourselves. Flawed, haunted, but wanting to make things right again.
Read the book. A man was killed…but Captain America lives on.
“Read the book. A man was killed…but Captain America lives on.”
Nope. As Capt. Bucky said, the most important part of Cap wasn’t the costume. It was Steve. I don’t need a flawed Cap, I can turn on the news for that. Why even bother wearing the costume, if not to carry on Steve’s legacy? No matter how long Bucky slings the shield, he will always be BuckyCap; there’s no getting arounfd that. Are there still interesting stories to tell with him? Sure, but he’s not and never will be Cap.
And it’s THAT kind of continuity obsessed fanboyish thinking that will forever stunt the evolution of the character. That’s why no one stays dead in comics and that’s why we see the same stories over and over again.
Well put, SweetMonkeyCreek. Long time Cap fan here as well. Ultimately, it is a comic book and good stories need to be told. Brubaker is telling some interesting stories with Bucky. Bucky is flawed just as America is flawed but we try to step up and be better and do the right thing. Brubaker and Marvel Comics are also exploring what it is like without Steve Rogers/Captain America there to hold the Marvel Universe together.
And since this is the world of comics, no one stays dead. Steve Rogers spent 20 years floating around in the ocean in a block of ice. You think they can’t revive him from this? Besides, you ARE getting Steve Rogers Captain America books every month since issue #25, just not in the regular book. Essentials. Masterworks. Theater of War. The Chosen. Avengers/Invaders. I think they’ve made a very conscious decision to keep putting Rogers Cap stuff out there. Partly for the Rogers fans. Partly to protect their company holding.
Rogers will be back. So why not enjoy the ride with with Bucky as Cap in some interesting stories like we did years ago with Nomad, the Captain, or John Walker? If you need a symbol, that symbol still exists. You can’t kill an idea.
[...] Comics industry is built. Archie getting married would be like killing off Bruce Wayne as Batman or Steve Rogers as Captain America. Something just too stupid for any comic book publishers in their right minds to actually do. [...]