Villains lie in wait all about us. They brood and plot and stalk their nemeses constantly looking for that opening in which to strike. They never make themselves known until the time is ripe.
Captain America’s “Dead.” Long Live, Captain America
Marvel decided to kill off Captain America last week and the mainstream news was all abuzz. Actions like this are old hat to those people who have been entrenched in comics for the long haul.
People like me.
I’ve noted the fall and rise and fall again of Jean Grey. Sure, she takes her name after the phoenix but it’s beginning to feel like they’re not quite sure what to do with her.
DC killed off Superman in the early 90s. That was well and good, I guess. He had the mandatory fight the good fight death. Not surprisingly, he returned not more than 2 years later.
Cap’s a flagship character. He won’t stay dead long. Hell, if I’m reading this right, and if the information is even half right, he was already on his second life. When a creator kills a character off the reason is often sound. When a corporation does the same, it’s usually for notice and a slight bump in sales. Such is the way of a business. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Making statements through literature, even a comic book, is the prerogative of whoever’s running that show. Stan Lee and jack Kirby did it with creating mutants and all the social animosity that’s followed them for decades. Marvel did it with the Mutant Registration Act during the 1980s and again with this Civil War spectacle(of which I’m behind on reading). But if Captain America stays dead for more than 3 years, I’ll eat my hat raw and with salt. The salt adds the danger. Hypertension, you know.
» List of Dead Comic Book Characters
