Something popped up a few days ago that I never expected to see, and I had to go look it up before I would believe it.
Just in time for Memorial Day, Captain America, Steve Rogers, has been revealed to be an undercover Hydra Agent in the newest comics, and this is not just some rumor. The author of the comics even talked with TIME magazine about it.
The loved Captain America is being turned into the exact thing he has fought against since the beginning of the comics. A Nazi. Hydra originally worked with the Nazis, and now Captain America is working as one of their agents after his mother decided to work with the organization.
This is already a slap in the face to those of us that love watching Steve Rogers stand up for what the country should be. He's meant to be the most patriotic of us all with a love for freedom and a hatred for bullies. What does it mean for us when our favorite hero is being turned into the thing he hates?
Deciding to release this comic right around Memorial Day was a mistake because it looks like Marvel is deciding to ignore the fact that thousands of soldiers fought in World War II against Nazi's and Hitler, and then they take a shot at those soldiers by making the hero of the day work with the Nazis.
This already atrocious to those of us that love Hydra and to people that have ever been in war by aligning the man with the group that America stood against, but it gets a little bit deeper if you keep looking.
Captain America's original authors, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, were both Jewish and wanted to create a character that would stand up for their rights and fight Hitler in World War II.
By turning Captain America into a Hydra agent since the war, Marvel has not only stepped on but completely ground the original author's intents and beliefs into the ground. They ignored the fact that the authors found a hero for their people and beliefs and turned the Star Spangled Man into the exact opposite.
This isn't the first time Marvel has had a problem with erasing Jewish characters or writers as they try to move forward, though, and it's becoming a scary trend.
Erik Lehnsherr, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, is another one they've decided to dig into a hole. There's several X-Men with Jewish beliefs, but the only one we ever hear about in the movies is Magneto, who is also a major villain. He's also been paired with Apocalypse in the new movie who wants to wipe out anyone who isn't mutant, kind of like Hitler wanted to wipe out anyone that wasn't his idea of perfect. It's terrifying to watch Marvel turn Magneto into what killed his parents. And then, they had to keep the trend going in the family.
Two more would be his children, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, also known as Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. These two had their heritage, Jewish and Romani, thrown out rather quickly as well when they were shown as volunteers for Hydra of all people. The people that had persecuted their family was the ones they volunteered to work for in "Age of Ultron." This can be coupled with the fact that Marvel whitewashed both of these characters and didn't look for anyone with an even similar heritage to the characters.
Kitty Pryde would be another big Jewish character in the comics who has been completely ignored in the movies. She's Jewish, Mutant, and proud in the comics, but it never seems to come up in the movies. You would think if she's adamant about being obvious in the comics that it would come up in just one line in the movies.
This isn't Marvels first tangle with Antisemitism by turning Captain America into a Hydra agent, and its terrifying to watch America's hero be turned into the agency that he was created to destroy. Marvel's treatment of these characters has been swept under the rug for a while, but Marvel's erasure of Jewish characters and writers has gone too far.
And just in time for Memorial Day while we celebrate those troops that fought hard to protect the country.
