(Originaly posted April 26, 2007)
[For those of you non-comic types (or those of you who have been on mars the last 6 months, in a cave, under a rock, with your eyes shut and your fingers in your ears), this will come as a shock.]
Captain America, the name conjures up images of a simpler time. A time when our nation was united againts a common, tangable enemy. We knew we were on the side of right, and the Nazis, Communists, Imperial Japan, whomever we were at war with, was the embodyment of evil. Superman was the son of Krypton, Namor (or Aquaman, whomever you like better) the son of Atlantis, but Captain America was the son of America. Our only begoten offspring that stood for everything we strive to be. Generous, yet stallwart, caring, yet strong, able to over come any obstical in his way, without sacrificing his morals.
Yet as our nation changed, Captain America struggled to remain the same. He was literaly a relic from another time, a weapon that had out lived its usefulness. By the time the 70's and 80's rolled around, he had been "replaced" by much flashier heroes such as the X-Men, and Spiderman. Heroes who were looked upon as more "human" . Not because they physicaly were, but because they had problems, issues in their life.
By the time of the events of Civil War, the Cap had become a much darker, almost down trodden hero. No longer fully trusting the nation he served, or the people he worked for. Many would, and still do, argue about who was in the right. But for Cap, the choice was clear, continue following a system he no longer believed in, or take a stand for what he knew in his heart to be the just cause.
However, by the time the cataclysmic battle in New York was fought, every hero had become so polarized that they no longer rememberd why they were fighting in the first place, to protect us. In the end, the true heroes were the people of the city, who managed to restrain Captain America, and show him what the true cost of this war was. Once he took the time to glimps the ruins of the city that both sides had devistated, he did the right thing and surrenderd. In his own words "We were winning everything, except the argument." He surrenderd to police, not as Captain America, but as Steve Rogers.
On the way to his arraignment, Steve Rogers was gunned down in cold blood on the steps of the Federal Court House in New York. For over 60 years, more than any other hero, Captain America stood for the nation we all strive to be. Though it was said by Ben Parker, it was lived to its fullest I believe by Steve Rogers: "With great power, comes great responsability."
Captain America (1941-2007)
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