Marvel’s Traitor Turn
As longtime readers know, I am a big comic book fan. I’ve been one since I was a child Comic books gave me an escape when I needed
one, and it was something that I could always turn back to at any time. I didn’t know there was such a thing as a
regular subscription when I was that age, so I had to rely on the local
all-purpose store (Vality,
just in case you were wondering) to have the latest comics on their
shelves. I had to save up on my
allowance to get just one comic, so I had to make sure the comic I got was
something I really wanted to read over and over again.
This was a time when the President of the United States stepped down for
fear of being impeached. When trust in
government was almost non-existent. When
the Olympic Games were no longer safe.
When an outside organization from half-a-planet away named OPEC held our
economy hostage for their naked greed.
Of course, none of this stuff didn’t enter into my mind at the time. I was a kid, remember! All I knew was that my parents weren’t happy
about something, and some of it affected the things we used to enjoy. All I knew was that if I was bored, there was
my stack of comics on a shelf in a moldy and musty basement that hopefully didn’t
get wet when the dehumidifier overflowed and the shelf fell apart.
I had two great superheroes at the time: Superman and Spider-Man. Sometimes there was Batman, but I couldn’t
really get into that character. I’d
mostly read his stuff if there was a team-up issue or if it’s a “Justice League
of America” comic.
Because I loved reading comics, it got me to watching cartoons of the
comics. Between the Hanna-Barbera “Super-Friends” series
and the older Filmation “The
New Adventures of Superman” cartoons, I was happy. I’d even watch the Filmation “Spider-Man”
stuff. This was my “drug”; my “Prozac”
or “Ritalin”. Sit me down in front of
the TV with these on and I’d be lost in their world for the next hour or two.
As I got older, my appreciation of comics matured. They still were my escape, but now I was more
interested in the story than just the images.
And while my interests expanded from the mainstream DC to Marvel’s “X-Men”
and – for a brief time – “Avengers”, and even to the independent comics from
Valiant and Malibu and Dark Horse, I came to realize and accept that some
things would remain eternal.
Superman was always the symbol of hope.
Batman was always the dark force for justice. Spider-Man was always about
responsibility. And Captain America would
always stand as a symbol of freedom and patriotism.
Superman died and came back from the dead. He was pushed to the depths of despair, but he
still persevered and inspired others.
Batman had his spine snapped, confined to a wheelchair, his very sense
of self destroyed, his friends and family viciously attacked, his legacy
perverted by the young men that he thought would be his successors, and yet he
still managed to fight back from death itself and rebuild himself to ensure
that justice prevailed. Spider-Man made
foolish and reckless decisions that cost him the lives of those he loved and a
chance at a family, but he still eventually grasped the sense of responsibility
that went with the power and costume he so loved to use.
And Captain America? When Nixon
ordered Cap to do something that went against his beliefs, he abandoned being
Captain America and became “Nomad”. When
a committee tried to turn America’s super-soldier into their tool, he gave up
his shield and costume and became simply “The Captain”. When the federal government passed an all-encompassing
registration act that ordered all heroes to unmask and submit to the will of government,
Cap formed the resistance and started a Civil War that affected both heroes and
villains. Even when faced against a
power-mad Titan with the almighty power of God in his hand, Cap stood tall for
what he believed in and bravely faced his death.
And now we learned that this was all a lie.
In “Captain America: Steve Rogers” #1, the first issue published to help
celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the character’s never-ending
campaign for freedom and for America, we see a rejuvenated Steve Rogers resume
the mantle of Captain America. We see
him fight those that threaten freedom in America, and to lead the new heroes
that were inspired by his extended life-long crusade.
And then, in the very last pages, we see him betray everything that he
stood for with two words.
That’s right folks... Steve Rogers, Captain America, the man that fought
against evil and tyranny from all corners... the one that fought in World War
II and punched Adolf Hitler in the jaw and stood up against the President of
the United States and the United States Congress and S.H.I.E.L.D. and even
against Islamic terrorists and American militiamen... is
actually a member of Hydra, the very organization that he’s been fighting
since he first put on his colorful uniform 75 years ago!
Not only that, but we learned in this issue that he was “groomed” for
Hydra since he was a child in Brooklyn. That means that he’s been an agent of
Hydra all this time!
That means that everything that he’s said and done since he was a child
that we were supposed to take pride in has been a lie!
Every time he stood up to a bully and encouraged others to take a stand
against bullies has been a lie! Every
time he told us to stand up for what we believe in, even if means being hurt,
even if it means being fired, even if it means you have to give up what you
love doing, even if it means going to prison for it, even if it means dying for
it... all of that... has been a lie!
And I know what some of you are thinking... you’re thinking this is an
alternate universe Cap, or some evil clone of Steve Rogers, or an imposter, or
a Life Model Decoy of Cap, or maybe it’s one of their infamous “What If”
stories. No, it’s not any of those
things according to writer Nick Spencer or Executive Editor Tom Brevoort. According to them, Steve Rogers has always
been a sleeper agent for Hydra since before he became Captain America.
Now I want you to consider the significance of this shocking revelation. The character of Captain America was created
by two Jewish boys in America at a time when the overriding sentiment in the
United States was to do nothing against the global three-pronged threat of Nazi
Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan.
(Or four if you count the communistic Soviet Union.) Hydra itself is supposed to be some
super-fascist organization that transcended Nazi Germany on a level that even
Hitler’s ideals couldn’t match up to.
So to have it come out that Steven Rogers, the weak and sickly young man
that epitomized the helplessness of Americans transformed into a living icon of
American ideals, was actually a part of that great evil is not just a slap in
the face of 75 years of history and the countless readers of Marvel
publications. Let’s get brutally honest
here... it’s a brutal stab in the back of those two young Jewish boys in New
York who came up with the character.
Would you be the one to tell Joe Simon and Jack Kirby that their most
iconic hero would become a hypocritical traitor? I guess it’s a good thing they’re already
dead, because I think this would have killed them.
Even worse is that this is coming out at the start of Memorial Day
weekend. It’s a time when we remember
those that sacrificed their lives in the service of America. It’s also the beginning of the
season of faux patriotism, when politicians, Fox News media personalities,
and talk radio listeners all wear the American flag on their sleeves. Stores have been putting up
red-white-and-blue decorations and American flags. The TV is loaded with memories of wars past
and present. The movie theaters still
are running “Captain America: Civil War”, the fifth movie in the Marvel
Cinematic Universe franchise featuring the super-soldier.
All of that is now stained. “Hail
Hydra!”
It probably should be noted that this came at a time when some people
were asking for Cap to have a “Brokeback
Mountain” relationship with his longtime friend Bucky, but I suspect this
was just a red herring for the real shocker. And I have to seriously question the idea of
making two same-sex friends “Brokeback friends” that otherwise wouldn’t
be. Cap has Sharon Carter. Bucky has Black Widow. Let it be.
If you want an LGBT hero, then make one.
Stop trying to take them from already-established characters. Enough of that crap!
Of course, as a comic
book creator myself, I know there are a few ways out of this whole Hydra
mess. Cap’s youth and strength was
returned because of a reality-changing plot device called a cosmic cube. They could just as easily say this was part
of that great cosmic meddling. Mephisto,
Marvel’s devil, could easily say this was one of his jobs. After all, he got Spider-Man to give up his
marriage to Mary Jane. The Infinity
Stones, another plot device in the Marvel Universe, could also change things in
the wrong hands. Or they could just as
easily say that Cap’s childhood flashbacks were just programmed by S.H.I.E.L.D.
as part of some deep cover and that he was never really a double-agent. Oh, and
Jack Flag’s death at Cap’s hands? That
could be staged. We never really did see
him die.
Much like what the legendary comic creator Stan
Lee said this past weekend, I agree that it’s a hell of an idea. And at any other time, it would probably be
an interesting twist to get and retain readers.
But not now. Not on Memorial Day
weekend, not during the period of faux patriotism, not during the 75th
Anniversary of the character, and not during the time when that character is
riding high in both TV and the theaters.
Being a symbol to move and inspire the masses is a form of power, and, as
young Peter Parker was told from his late uncle, with great power comes great
responsibility. It’s sad to see that the
folks at Marvel have betrayed that saying and their fans with this turn of
events. Indeed, they appear to be
adhering to the saying exhibited by large publications of late: with great publicity
comes great profit.
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