If you aren't aware of the world that is Steve Rogers (AKA Captain America), you're probably unaware that he is one of the strongest, most successful superheroes created by Marvel. Created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, Captain America first appeared March 1941 in Captain America Comics.
Illustrated punching Hitler, Captain America made a political statement as soon as it hit shelves. Published during World War 2, many Americans felt Cap punching Hitler was wrong and politically incorrect. During this time, a lot of Americans still thought joining the other side would be beneficial. Despite many feeling that this was incorrect, Simon and Kirby created Captain America to fight fascism and stood by their creation faithfully.
An alter ego of tiny, frail Steve Rogers; Captain America was created to be the perfect super soldier to aid the fight in World War 2. Cap is depicted "wearing a costume that bears an American flag motif, and is armed with a nearly indestructible shield that he throws at foes." Although extremely popular, Captain America was cancelled in 1949, but would soon reappear in Young Men no. 24 in 1954.
Captain America has had an extremely successful comic career, up until 2007 as he faced his death in the Civil War epilogue. This monumental moment created an uproar and even made many news stations. For thousands of Americans, the death of Captain America was the death of their idol. Seemingly indestructible, the news of Cap being shot resonated through the hearts of comic book fans everywhere. (Okay, he was still alive, but Steve was a wrinkly old man with no superpowers. There was no way he would be capable of fighting.)
While many thought Steve Rogers was gone forever (Captain America's shield has been passed to Bucky Barnes and later Sam Wilson in 2014), news broke around January 2016 that Steve Rogers would be revived. When fans heard about this, they were ecstatic (myself included). Steve Rogers is one of the best characters ever created in the Marvel Universe, what could be better than the number one war hero being brought to life?
As months passed by, fans were anxious to see their favorite superhero reclaim his title. Imagine the shock of thousands when Steve Roger's was rebooted, BUT ALSO SEEN TO BE WORKING WITH HYDRA! You know, Hyrda, Cap's number one enemy? The same Hydra who captured Bucky Barnes?
This news is devastating for so many reasons, one of the main reasons being that Cap was created by Kirby and Simon, two Jewish men, to fight the evils of war. Kirby and Simon quite literally risked their lives creating Captain America. Both men received countless death threats and had to add security measures to their building as people began trying to harm them. These two men created Steve Rogers, Captain America, to fight the evil of bullies and the wrong in the world. As said by tumblr user captain-meatball-rogers, having Cap work with Hydra is essentially stripping away the most important part of Steve Rogers; the part that hates bullies because in being apart of Hydra, Steve is the bully.
It's extremely hard to watch my favorite comic book character suddenly become a supervillian.
The writer, Nick Spencer has said that “this is something that is gonna have a profound effect on the Marvel universe. I’ve seen a lot of people say things like, ‘Oh, it’ll be wrapped up in the arc,’ or ‘Give it six months.’ And I can tell you, that’s not the case. This has real lasting repercussions that are gonna be with us for a while.”
This news honestly disgusts me, to have Cap working with Hydra for 75 years creates so many questions. The most prominent being, was he a part of Bucky's brainwashing?
This new reboot almost seems to be a gimmick. Steve has been gone for nine years and is brought back dishonorably? A part of me is hurting because Steve Rogers does not deserve this. He has not spent the last seventy-five years fighting the evil of the world only to be the evil. I am very curious to see how this comic unfolds, because at the moment, I and a thousand other fans are upset and disgusted.
