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In Memoriam: Captain America 
March 9, 2007
"Here lies Captain America, defender of Democracy," wrote Scott Thien for the Indianapolis Star. "Dead -- at least for now." If we just ruined the story for you, we apologize. And then we'd have to ask if you'd been under a rock or off-planet for the last few days. Since Wednesday of this week, there's been little else in the mainstream media except the death of Captain America. "What does this mean? Can the pulverizing patriot really be dead, shot down on the courthouse steps after 66 years of battling villains from Adolf Hitler to the Red Skull? Will the killer or killers be captured? The only way to find out, says Dan Buckley, president and publisher of Marvel Entertainment, is to 'read the book' as the story line unfolds," said the Denver Post Wire Services. USA Today, Fox News, and numerous other outlets covered the events of Captain America #25, which was released on Wednesday and disappeared from stands just about as quickly. It's already commanding a premium price on eBay. And it's not just Cap's fellow Americans who have taken notice. "His first cover saw him punching Adolf Hitler in the face and he entered his golden age after the United States joined World War II. But he soon faded in popularity after the war and was retired in 1950 before returning in the 1960s," Agence France-Presse's website, AFP.com, reported. "Captain America's life comes to an end in the last episode of Civil War, a seven-issue mini-series that has affected nearly the entire line of Marvel's titles. In Civil War, the government began requiring superheroes to register their services, Communist China's state news agency's website Xinhuanet said. "Then it outlawed vigilantism after supervillains and superheroes fought during a reality show, accidentally killing hundreds of civilians. The public likened the heroes to weapons of mass destruction that must be controlled." Back home the news spelled out the events of Captain America #25 and the decades leading up to it. Many of them confused the story continuity of Cap being thrown into suspended animation by the blast that ostensibly killed his sidekick, Bucky, with actual publishing history wherein he faded in popularity in the 1950s like most superheroes. Other writers, like the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mike Sangiacomo knew there stuff and didn't fall into such pitfalls. "Captain America led an underground superhero resistance opposing the government's superhero registration act that labeled them living weapons of mass destruction. All were ordered to become part of the military establishment or face prison," he wrote. "The issue hit stands on Wednesday and shows the iconic hero gunned down on the steps of a federal courthouse; he was arriving there as a fugitive, a resistance leader to a federal Superhero Registration Act that has been a key Marvel story line for the last year," the Los Angeles Times reported. "The role of homeland rebel is a far cry from the hero's early days. He first appeared in March 1941 and became the most popular of the purely patriotic comic characters drawn up for wartime duty and by far the most enduring of them." Many of the articles focused on a single question: How dead is he? "Is this the end of Captain America? Don't bet on it. In comics, dead heroes either return to life or someone else gets their power and costume," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's ajc.com pointed out. "But resurrections are not unknown in the world of comics, and Marvel Entertainment Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada said a Captain America comeback wasn't impossible," said the Associated Press. "While Marvel insists that the death is not a stunt -- the next issue features the autopsy of Captain America -- it would not be unheard of for a superhero to be reborn in new tights. Marvel is known to be working on a movie featuring the character," opined the Mail & Guardian online. "Who he will be by then, and who we will be, is an open question. We change in these little ways, in our myths and fables, and bit by bit we wake up to see a different nation, and different heroes, looking back out of the mirror," wrote Neely Tucker of the Washington Post. "Regardless of whether he comes back to life in print, Captain America fans will get another chance to see their hero in action in a big-screen adaptation scheduled for release in 2009," said Canada's National Post. So, now the real question: What do you think? Let us know! And in case you're interested in some extra Captain America history, consider that the current Marvel Comics series Captain America is the eighth on-going title to feature the Star Spangled Avenger. While the some of them have been short-lived, others have spanned many years. Here's how the chronology runs: Captain America Comics (1941-1950, 1954) Captain America (1968-1996) Captain America (1996-1997) - "Heroes Reborn" Captain America (1998-2002) - "Heroes Return" Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty (1998-1999) Captain America (2002-2004) - "Marvel Knights" Captain America and The Falcon (2004-2005) Captain America (2005 - present) Over the years the character has been featured prominently in Tales of Suspense, The Avengers, The New Avengers, The Invaders, and throughout the Marvel universe. In addition to numerous mini-series, one-shots and guest appearances, Captain America is also featured in Marvel's "Ultimate" universe in The Ultimates. 
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