CAPTAIN AMERICA #25
review by
Mike Nappa
CAPTAIN AMERICA #25: The Death of Captain America
by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting
(Marvel)
Reader Appeal: Teens and Adults
Genre: Comic Books / Superhero
So Steve Rogers - aka Captain America - is dead. "Born" in 1940 (as the brainchild of comic book icons, Jack Kirby and Joe Simon); re-born in 1963 when the legendary Stan Lee wrote a resurrection story for Cap in Avengers #4, Captain America has survived everything from Nazi war criminals to cosmic cubes (that give the holder god-like power over reality itself) to presidential campaigns, to all kinds of assortments of menacing space aliens, to houses that actually ooze giant vats of bread dough (seriously!).
But in the end it was simply a sniper's bullet (and possibly his girlfriend's brainwashing) that felled the star-spangled avenger, and...Well, perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself.
For the uninitiated, the story of Captain America #25 is the dramatic climax to a long-running series called Civil War - a storyline that wove in and out of several Marvel Comics titles, including Captain America, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, and others. Previously in this story arc, the superheroes were split along political lines because of a new "Superhuman Registration Act" passed by congress. One group of heroes (such as Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic) vowed not only to comply with the new law, but to enforce it as well. Other heroes (led by Captain America) resisted the law as a violation of constitutional privacy. Before long there was a literal super-powered civil war in the streets of America, with Iron Man and his cohorts battling their former friends in Captain America's insurgency. At the end of this protracted war, Captain America finally defeated Iron Man and then, (just at that particular moment?) realized that his war was hurting America. Soooo, Cap removed his mask and surrendered to authorities on the spot, calling for an end to his insurgency.
Then comes Captain America #25, where Steve Rogers - still in his Captain America costume - has been handcuffed and is now being led up the steps of the courthouse where he will face charges of treason and such. Suddenly he notices a sniper on a nearby roof. But rather than use any of his legendary powers to escape (hey, since when would a pair of handcuffs really stop Cap?) and take out the sniper, rather than even warning the policemen around him of the sniper, he simply jumps in front of the bullet - one that appears would have actually missed him had he not jumped into it. Moments later someone close by (possibly his distraught, mind-controlled girlfriend Sharon Carter) pumps three more bullets into his chest at close range. And *Bang* the Marvel Universe mourns.
If we overlook the strained, and thinly veiled, political rhetoric of this whole Civil War series; if we overlook the financially opportunistic elimination of a near-timeless icon of American culture and judge this story on the merits of its plot alone, it seems to me that scribe, Ed Brubaker has delivered a clearly less-than-mediocre script - especially for an event of this caliber within the imaginary Marvel universe. Now, admittedly, Brubaker is an award-winning and bestselling comic book writer - but Captain America #25 is just silly.
First, we are expected to believe that this multi-generational American patriot would legitimately launch an all-out war on American soil, against Americans, making himself a traitor of the worst kind, racing into deadly combat against his best friends, and causing death and destruction to innocent civilians all along the way - all because of, um, heroes need a license to cause mayhem and madness? Then, just as Cap, who has given up everything he every valued (well, except his superhero license I guess) finally clinches his military victory, we are expected to believe that he would now abandon all those who joined him in treason, give up completely his moral grounds for waging war against America, and in the space of minutes, decide it was all a mistake after all? And finally, we are expected to believe that a man who could stand toe-to-toe with Iron Man and all his absurdly advanced weaponry - and WIN - could be taken out (Kennedy-style) by a single bullet from a sniper on a roof? Please. All those decades of people trying to kill him, and Cap never thought to line his suit with kevlar? All those times he was completely immobilized by some evil genius, and yet he never learned how to break away from a few guards and handcuffs? All those times he - literally - fought single-handedly against entire armies, dodging hundreds of bullets and death rays and whatever else enemies threw at him, and yet he can't avoid a sniper shot that he knows is coming?
With all due respect to Ed Brubaker and Marvel Comics, it's obvious that in this case, the hype - and the crass desire to stir a commercial buying frenzy for new Cap collectibles - are the real villains. Perhaps it was time to let this legend die, but the least he deserved was a fitting, breathtaking, story to lay him to rest. As it is, all we are left with is a second-rate comic the relies solely on shock value to sell.
The only redeeming element of Captain America #25 is in Steve Epting's stunning artwork. The panels within this book gleam like works of art, saving - just barely - an otherwise worthless piece of junk.
FAMILYFANS RATING: D+
AFTER THE STORY
If your family members are interested in this comic, then encourage discussion about it afterward. You can use these questions to get started:
• What was your initial reaction after you finished reading this story? Explain.
• In what ways is Captain America presented as an honorable, sacrificial Christ figure? Why do you suppose that Christ comparisons so often show up in comic books?
• If you could say anything to Ed Brubaker and the staff at Marvel Comics, what would you say? Why? (Note, for all the fan-boys out there, Ed Brubaker does interact with his readers through his MySpace page: www.MySpace.com/EdBrubaker)
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PS. For all you collectors out there, Marvel Comics is happy to take your money with five - count 'em five! - editions of this same story. The only difference here is in the cover art, so these extra issues only have real value to people who don't actually read comics but prefer to collect them instead. You've been warned!
P.S.S. According to Wikipedia.org, Captain America #25 is actually the 12th time that Steve Rogers has been allegedly "killed" over the years. Each time he was quickly resurrected with some kind of reality-changing, far-fetched twist. The difference this time appears to be that Marvel intends to keep Cap out of circulation for a while. But, never fear true believer, we all know that in the world of comics no one ever really dies permanently. Maybe that's what we love about them.
Note: All comics-related graphics in this column are standard publicity/promotional shots and are owned by their respective publisher.