In a much simpler time Captain America was the hero that the United States needed. He was created in a laboratory to fight villains who were also made evil thru science. As a narrative for propaganda this was the perfect storm.
The vile German political military industrial complex was threatening our way of life (as we were told) and Captain America was just the man to put everything and everyone back in their place. I feel like the movie was made with the sensibilities of America in the 1940s using modern day CGI tech.
I knew Captain America kicked Nazi ass but I came to know the character as the dude who hung out with the Falcon. When John Byrne did a guest stint on the pencils I got to see the serious side of Captain America.
Cap was hardbody and he was not above killing someone to prove his point. This Baron Blood/Union Jack storyline culminates with Cap beheading Baron Blood and then watching the O.G. Union Jack die of old age. Pretty grim stuff for 10yr olds, but thankfully my old Queens neighborhood was a dumping ground for dead bodies so I wasn’t fazed.
I love the idea that Captain America’s creation was engineered by Tony Stark’s father using weaponized medicine. The same shit that was prA’li used on those poor dudes in Tuskeegee. It’s crazy to imagine how closely the comic book world resembles our own reality. Weapons manufacturers sell their shit to the highest bidder and then send in their secret agents to confiscate the arms after the checks have been cleared.
All I can say is that the Avengers movie is going to blow the hinges off the fanboy domepiece. Is a comic book revival not too far off in the making? I hope not.
