Captain America Killed When US Needs Him

Taken from The Telegraph, UK, 10/03/2007
By Tom Leonard in New York

The death of a comic book superhero created during the Second World War has prompted an intense debate in the US over the decline in traditional American values.

Marvel Comics' decision to have a New York sniper polish off ultra-patriotic Captain America in the latest issue of his comic has not only horrified his fans but provoked questions about the continued relevance of his commitment to "truth, justice and the American way".

At a time of growing scepticism among Americans about the morality of their country's foreign policy, the decision to kill off the nation's comic book embodiment has been widely interpreted as being heavily laden with political symbolism.

"It's a hell of a time for him to go. We really need him now," said Joe Simon, 93, the writer who came up with the hooded, masked and shield-carrying character as a way of bolstering American patriotism during the Second World War.

He appeared on the cover of the first edition punching Adolf Hitler and, notwithstanding a period when the character was dropped, he has been dispatching America's enemies, including the Japanese, Communists and criminals, ever since.

His appeal was partly based on the fact that he had no real superpowers. His alter ego, Steve Rogers, was a scrawny student who volunteered to be injected with "Super Soldier" serum, making him the embodiment of a human being at his utmost potential.

An estimated 210 million Captain America comics have been sold in 75 countries, but sales have been slipping due to the popularity of more modern superheroes such as Spiderman.

Its writers also admitted that the character probably suffered because there was no longer the same consensus about what an all-American hero should stand for.

Ed Brubaker, the series writer, admitted it was not easy to kill off the character but said that he wanted to explore in future issues what the hero meant to the country in more polarised times.

"What I found is that all the really hard-core Left-wing fans want Cap to be giving speeches on the street corner against the Bush administration, and all the really Right-wing fans all want him to be over in the streets of Baghdad, punching out Saddam," he said.

Stan Lee, the comic writer, said he resurrected Captain America in the 1960s "because he represented everything that people found admirable - he was courageous, honest, loyal, he tried always to do the right thing... he was like a perfect human being".

Another "perfect" hero, Superman, was killed off in 1993 by DC Comics, only to be brought back a few months later and Marvel refused to rule out the possibility that Captain America might also return.

As news shows debated yesterday what his demise said about American values, comic store owners said that many fans behaved as if they were in mourning.