Monday, March 12, 2007

Mourning Cap.


The Breaking of the Batman. The Death of Superman. The Unmasking of Spider-Man. Now, the Death of Captain America.

Being a comic geek, it’s events like these that define periods of time. You knew that Superman would come back, you figured Bats would, too. But first Peter Parker revealing that he is Spider-Man and now the assassination of Captain America, Steve Rogers, all in the last six months, has now sent me reeling. I don’t forsee Marvel Comics hiding Peter Parker again, and I hope that they don’t try to resurrect Cap.

Captain America died after surrendering to authorities at the conclusion of this past year’s “Civil War” event in which the American government mandated registration for masked heroes. With Cap taking a stand against the government, saying that superhero registration violated civil liberties, he was setting himself up as the goat. Unfortunately, after realizing that he was a symbol of a country he no longer understood and perhaps did not fit into, and after turning himself in, he was gunned down by a sniper’s bullets.

To be honest, I was really shocked last Wednesday when I heard the news after Marvel Comics released “Captain America” #25. I was saddened with the loss of one of the few characters remaining that truly symbolized hope and all that was good about the American nation. I’ll miss Cap, and hope that Marvel doesn’t fuck it up by resurrecting him in a year or five. If one of my favorite characters is to die like that, his death better mean something.

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