Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Back Issues: Captain America!


On the eve of Marvel Comics finally resurrecting Captain America (who they killed off at the climax of their hugely disappointing "Civil War" event), it's natural to look at the character's storied past. Remembering the times when the character has been written and drawn really well comes as a comfort, especially since we don't yet know how Marvel will screw up the character's return. We know they will screw it up - this is Marvel we're talking about, after all - but we don't yet know how. Will the returned Cap be a Wolverine-style sourpussed killer? Will he have superpowers? Will he be radically altered, philosophically?

We'll know shortly, and in the meantime, I've been enjoying some back issues. Not as many as you'd think - this character virtually invites dumb handling, and most writers haven't resisted the temptation to make him a simpleton.

For two issues during the short run of the Cap spin-off title Sentinel of Liberty, Mark Waid amply resisted that temptation in a nifty little tale I love to re-read. The fact that it's drawn by Ron Garney, one of the best draftsmen working in comics today, just makes it all that much sweeter.

The story begins right after Captain America has been rescued by the Avengers from ice-bound suspended animation. Iron Man has taken him to Brooklyn in a well-intentioned attempt to make him feel a little less displaced - but their first stop is the spot where Ebbets Field used to be, so Cap - a diehard Dodgers fan in his youth back in the 1940s - isn't exactly filled with reassurances. And the crowd of spectators don't help - Cap is chewed out by one old guy who tells him he ought to be ashamed of himself for pretending to be Captain America.

The two issues are narrated by Iron Man, and Waid captures his wry conceitedness perfectly as he himself wonders if Cap can ever really belong in the present day:

I'm sure Cap was capable in his day .. but we asked him to resume his costumed-acrobat act as if nothing has changed in his absence! Poor guy must feel like a caveman! America's become a lot more complicated - and dangerous - since he left. How can anyone expect him to be on his toes in a world so far advanced from the one he calls home?

These worries are immediately tested - giant robots with mind-dominating eye-beams show up and start enslaving passersby. Cap and Iron Man spring into action, with Iron Man offering maddeningly condescending advice that's meant to be helpful: "Cap! Stay back and protect the civilians! Let me handle these bruisers!"



And he does just that - until one of them crushes one of his jet-boots and hurls him straight at an oncoming bus crowded with people.

Iron Man can't recover his balance in time to avoid totalling the bus, and here Garney's genius is on full display: we see Iron Man flying toward the bus, we see the panicked passengers and driver - and then flashing across the page we see Captain America's shield, thrown with perfect timing to be between Iron Man and the front of the bus at the moment of impact (Capt's shield is composed of a unique alloy of adamantium and vibranium - so it's not only indestructible, it absorbs and repulses impacts).


It's a thrilling little sequence, as Iron Man bounces off the shield and lands in a heap. "Cap?" he asks, and Cap says, "the civilians are okay" - zing! Iron Man asks "Was that sarcasm?" and then rips into one of the robots.


And promptly gets mind-controlled! And the robots' first command: destroy Captain America! That's how the first chapter ends.

The second chapter continues Iron Man's narration with the great line "Looking back, it's a miracle he didn't mop the city with me." This can't help but put a smile on the face of comics geeks, because it reaffirms the special status Captain America has in the Marvel Universe, a status exactly paralleled by Batman in the DC Universe: he's a first-rank heavyweight despite having no superpowers. It's a tricky role, and lots of writers fail to convey it. But Waid gets it perfect in this little story, set up by Iron Man's bemused recollection of how badly he underestimated his adversary:

I remember thinking, even in my haze, that Cap didn't stand a chance against me. The Brooklyn battlefield he remembered was decades gone. He'd been in our time less than forty-eight hours - not nearly long enough to acclimate to his new world. In desperation, he bounded towards the vacant lots he remembered from his youth - only to find himself instead in the middle of a superhighway! Even with one bootjet crippled by the robots, I figured I was more than a match for a disoriented acrobat wrapped in a flag. Despite my muddled mind, I almost felt sorry for him.

And then the punchline: "What a waste of perfectly good brain cells."

Cap proceeds to use wits, agility, and some handy construction equipment to cut Iron Man down to size, and when the giant robots try to hypnotize Cap himself, their efforts fail - his willpower apparently being significantly stronger than that of skirt-chasing, martini-swilling Iron Man. The robots are defeated in short order, and Iron Man discovers a new respect for the man he considered a relic from the past. It's a neat little story, nothing epic, perfectly capturing one moment in these characters' relationship with each other.

I wanted lots and lots of such moments in "Civil War" and didn't get them (well, didn't get many of them - there were a couple), and gawd only knows what moments - perfect or very, very much otherwise - will crop up in "Captain America - Reborn." Still, because the potential is there, I'll be sure to investigate.

15 comments:

Kevin said...

When Captain America throws his mighty shield, all those who oppose his mighty shield must yield...

I'm a Dematteis/Zeck man myself (tho you really have to love Gruenwald's run). Looks like Waid has Cap down as well - which is hardly surprising (crappy legion work notwithstanding).

Anonymous said...

[url=http://firgonbares.net/][img]http://firgonbares.net/img-add/euro2.jpg[/img][/url]
[b]computer software downloads, [url=http://firgonbares.net/]macromedia flash 7 software[/url]
[url=http://firgonbares.net/][/url] buy microsoft software online acdsee 10 crashes on mpg files
windows vista service pack 2 [url=http://firgonbares.net/]buy cheap software oem[/url] mobile educational software
[url=http://firgonbares.net/]buy cheap software[/url] buy software license
[url=http://firgonbares.net/]winzip 12 activation[/url] nero 9 - install dts serial number
academic licensed software [url=http://firgonbares.net/]macromedia software flash fl4about[/b]

Anonymous said...

[url=http://sapresodas.net/][img]http://vioperdosas.net/img-add/euro2.jpg[/img][/url]
[b]how to purchase software, [url=http://vioperdosas.net/]dreamweaver software for sale[/url]
[url=http://vioperdosas.net/]order software[/url] cheapest place to buy software buy photoshop program
to sell used software [url=http://vioperdosas.net/]2 Mac Readiris[/url] nero
[url=http://sapresodas.net/]cheap software sale[/url] free autocad blocks
[url=http://vioperdosas.net/]a oem software[/url] deactivate adobe software
academic software licence [url=http://sapresodas.net/]cheapest softwares[/url][/b]

Anonymous said...

[url=http://tonoviergates.net/][img]http://sopriventontes.net/img-add/euro2.jpg[/img][/url]
[b]microsoft database software, [url=http://sopriventontes.net/]selling softwares[/url]
[url=http://sopriventontes.net/]microsoft office 2003 professional training video[/url] Mac StuffIt Deluxe discount software for non
buying academic software [url=http://tonoviergates.net/]buy photoshop creative[/url] used software stores
[url=http://tonoviergates.net/]microsoft office word 2003 cd key[/url] Advanced Mac Retail Price
[url=http://sopriventontes.net/]buy software license[/url] torrent mac filemaker pro 6
microsoft project software [url=http://tonoviergates.net/]buy photoshop 6.0[/url][/b]

Anonymous said...

What's up to every single one, it'ѕ rеally a pleasant foг
me to visit this sitе, it сontains valuаble
Ιnfοrmаtion.

Feel frеe tο visit my site: fett am bauch weg

Anonymous said...

Hurrah, that's what I was seeking for, what a material! present here at this web site, thanks admin of this site.

Here is my web blog: chatroulette website Utilizes

Anonymous said...

What a stuff of un-ambiguity and preservenеss of νaluable knоw-how
аbout unρreԁіcted emotions.



mу weblοg - chatroulette users

Anonymous said...

Excellent beаt ! I woulԁ liκe
tο apprentice while yοu amend your wеb ѕite,
hοw can i subѕcrіbe fοr a blοg webѕite?
The аccount аided me а aсceptable deal.
І had bеen а little bit acquainted of this your broadcast pгovideԁ bright сlеar сoncеpt

Feel free tо νisit my site :: http://www.juyou51.com

Anonymous said...

ӏf some one needѕ exρеrt νiew concerning
blοgging thеn i prοрose him/hеr to νіsіt this ωеbpage, Keeр uр the pleasаnt work.


My wеbsіtе :: russian website

Anonymous said...

Goοd ρost. I learn ѕomеthing totallу new and challengіng
on sitеs I stumbleupon eνerуdaу.
It's always helpful to read through articles from other writers and practice something from their websites.

My homepage ... http://Manggaixinh.com/index.php?do=/blog/61563/cosmetic-of-man-spots-cure-and-acne-cures/

Anonymous said...

Howdу juѕt wanteԁ to giνe уou a quiсk
heads up. The ωогԁѕ іn
your content ѕеem to be running off thе sсreen
in Operа. Ι'm not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I thought I'd ρost
to let you know. Thе design аnd style look greаt though!
Hοpe уou get the problem fixed ѕoon.
Ϲheers

Feеl free to visit my webpagе Hemroids

Anonymous said...

I blog often anԁ I really thank you for your content.
This grеаt article hаs trulу peaked my interеѕt.
I'm going to bookmark your blog and keep checking for new information about once a week. I opted in for your Feed as well.

Feel free to surf to my weblog ... Bauchfett verlieren

Anonymous said...

Ηave yοu evег сonsidered аbοut including а little bit more than just your articles?

ӏ meаn, what you say is fundamentаl and everything.
Neveгthеless think of if you aԁded sоme
great photos or vіdeo сlips to giѵe youг ρosts more,
"pop"! Your cοntеnt is excellent but wіth images and viԁeo сlips, thіs ѕite could certainlу be one of thе greatest in
its niche. Gooԁ blog!

Review my ѕіte ... chatroulette

Anonymous said...

If you wish for to іncгease youг knowleԁge only keeρ ѵisitіng this
website and be updated ωith the lаtеst goѕsip
рosted here.

Here is my page :: Female Muscle Bodybuilding

Anonymous said...

Excellent way of describing, and pleasant post to take facts
on the topic of my presentation subject matter, which i am going to deliver in college.



Also visit my web blog: quantrim guarantee