Everybody loves superheros, am I right?
We love seeing the rise of an ordinary person called upon to do extraordinary things in order to save the Earth from yet another certain apocalypse.
We enjoy watching them beat the villain (sometimes at great personal cost) because we want to be reassured that good will win in the end.
Yet what are we to do when, all of a sudden, a beloved superhero is taken and twisted to become the villain?
This was the reality I had to confront last week as I browsed the internet, horrified by the fact that this is exactly what had happened to my beloved hero, Captain America.
Just to clarify (because this is a fictional world, anything is possible, after all), the writers who have chosen to do this horrible thing have stated that Captain America's seemingly sudden turnaround was not the result of brainwashing or even of someone being disguised as him, but rather that Captain Steve Rogers (a.k.a. Captain America) has been on the side of evil (Hydra) all along.
As I read different articles about the change and why it was made, I felt myself getting angrier and angrier.
Most people fell into two groups: those who said, "It's not a big deal, let's ride it out and see where it goes," and those who said, "Yes, it is. Fiction reflects reality and we don't like the reality that the fiction is reflecting here."
To summarize why this is important for those who may not be comic book lovers, let me explain:
First of all, Captain America from the very beginning of its pre-World War II release was intended to be a political comic. The creators, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, both American-Jews, made it known that they were repulsed by Germany and had a feeling that war was brewing. This lead them to having Captain America actually punching Hitler square in the jaw on the cover of the very first issue.
Secondly, the main bad-guy group in Captain America's world, Hydra, is basically a place-holder for the Nazis and pretty much stands for exactly the same things (i.e. world domination, the norm in superhero world).
Thirdly, as anyone who has seen the last two Marvel Captain America movies knows, the Captain's best friend (as well as sidekick in the original run), Bucky, was brainwashed/tortured by Hydra, which begs the question of how anyone could let that happen to their best friend.
But most importantly, to change Captain America so drastically that he could turn his back on everything he has stood for, that he could actually have been a secret Hydra agent for 75 years is not only disrespectful, it's impossible even in an impossible world!
Worse still, the new writer is saying that this is now "canon" and thus has been true throughout the whole story of Captain America. (Sure just go ahead and twist the words and illustrations done by those gone before.)
And while this publicity stunt may get people talking about your comics, who wants to be remembered as the person who destroyed a good man?
Besides that, the fact that this was a character created intentionally by two Jewish Americans during WWII to be against Nazism but is now being turned into the equivalent of a Nazi agent should have some bearing on the discussion and not be pushed aside.
Because now it moves beyond a publicity stunt to the realm of the surreal.
In effect, what this new author is doing is looking at years of character development, saying "Eh, I can do better," throwing it all away and—instead of actually doing better—making a mockery of the original intent of the creators and of all those who followed them.
Captain America may not be a perfect guy in either the comics or the movies. But he's a guy who's always trying to make sure he does the right thing for the people around him.
He's for the underdogs, the ones pushed down and bullied.
He's a man who keeps fighting when he should really stay down.
So why would you want to change a man like that?
Short answer: You shouldn't.
