Captain America is Dead!

This morning began like any other. I fired up my Firefox Web browser and opened tabs for checking my email and news. Nothing out of the ordinary, until I hit the New York Times Website and saw the image on the left.

What a shocking and cool sight! A rapid fire of thoughts shot through my early-morning, groggy brain; Holy crap! They killed Cap. Holy moly! The death of a fictional character made the front page of the New York Times. This is soooo freakin' symbolic. This is sooooo fraggin' cool.

This was particularly timely as my brother, who has been a huge Captain America fan since he was 4, emailed me a CNN article about this last night. In an interesting twist, the CNN report had more depth and insight than the NYT's article. Certainly this moment is a sign of the times in more ways than one:

1) A cable news Web site had more insight and depth than the bastion of U.S. news media, the New York Times.

2) The CNN piece reports on how the recent Civil War storyline is "an allegory to current real-life issues like the Patriot Act, the War on Terror and the September 11 attacks." In the Marvel Civil War, the pro-registration faction won which in general says a lot about civil liberties in a time of war and specifically reflects on the current state of these real-life issues.

3) Captain America has been a symbol of "American strength and resolve in fighting the Axis powers, and later Communism." So what does his death say about America in her current "War on Terror?"

4) As a veteran of WWII frozen in time until his revival in Marvel Comics' golden age in the 1960's, Captain America's modern tale has been about a man out of time. In many ways, his world views are vestiges of America's last great war. He has not changed much with the times and is even more out of place today.

5) What does this say about the American media, when a fictitious patriotic character created during WWII is killed and then makes the front page of the New York Times today? You could write a term paper on this one.

On a personal note, Cap's death does strike a chord in me. As Marvel's oldest hero, he has been a permanent fixture in the modern mythology of the Marvel Universe where I spent my childhood. He represented to me the moral compass and positive spirit of the American ideal. I can't help but feel a little sad for the passing of the symbol for these ideals during a time in which I think America needs them more than ever. On the other hand, I feel more than a little sad that I'm still such a dorky, comic book fanboy.