Captain America Returns…. Almost

This comic, created for the U.S. military, features the late Captain America. However, they found a way to use the character without actually bringing him back from the dead.

Of course, fans still assume that his death, like Superman’s, will be a temporary matter.

7 replies on “Captain America Returns…. Almost”

  1. Of course it’s temporary…
    This isn’t the first comic book character to be killed off and brought back as a stunt to sell books. This isn’t even the first time they’ve killed Captain America, for crying out loud.

    As long as the storyline bringing him back is well written and/or has a good artist on it – true comic aficionados will buy it.

    The only thing I hate is the way the comic book publishers today seem to be in bed with television and other media. I don’t begrudge them for wanting to make money, but I’m not sure their marketing department isn’t coming up with the story arcs now.

    I remember the Death of Superman BS about 14 years back. Local news talked about the book, talked about how much a Detective Comics #27 had sold for, then showed all these non-collector idiots lined up at the stores: People who thought that they are going to be able to sell the book later and put their kids through college. These people obviously never heard of WW2 or paper shortages or the fact that what makes things ultra-valuable is their *rarity*.

    Anyway, to summarize that tirade: He’ll *eventually* be back, probably about the time Marvel decides they need a cash injection to acquire some new animation studio.

    • Re: Of course it’s temporary…

      He’ll *eventually* be back, probably about the time Marvel decides they need a cash injection to acquire some new animation studio.

      Uh… they announced a while back that an existing character would become the new Captain America in issue#34 (January 2008)

      Oh, and BTW: he’s going be using guns again.

      • Re: Of course it’s temporary…

        Uh… they announced a while back that an existing character would become the new Captain America in issue#34 (January 2008)

        When I say he’ll be back, I refer to the original. I think this new Cap will last about as long as the Azrael Batman or the Ben Riley Spider-man.

        I could be wrong, but really, Marvel and DC can’t even keep people like Bucky and Jason Todd dead.

        Heck, Marvel’s killed Aunt May at least twice and brought her back. They killed the original Human Torch, replaced with with the F.F. version, claimed he had become the Vision…. And then still brought him back. The list goes on.

        I find it hard to believe we won’t be seeing Steve Rogers once readers lose interest in the replacement Cap. If The Avengers movie actually gets made, the return of Steve Rogers will be a given.

        • Re: Of course it’s temporary…

          Uh… they announced a while back that an existing character would become the new Captain America in issue#34 (January 2008)

          When I say he’ll be back, I refer to the original. I think this new Cap will last about as long as the Azrael Batman or the Ben Riley Spider-man.

          Having read the Ben Reilly Amazing Spider-Man and all of Brubaker’s Cap comics to date, I think it’s safe to say this will last longer. Brubaker’s doing great work, and has publically stated that his current plans for the title are mapped out enough years into the future to outlast Reilly already. Given that Brubaker’s Cap is, in my opinion, the best comic Marvel is publishing right now (and I’m reading over 40 of them), I’d say it’s got a real shot at sticking for a while.

          I’m not saying I don’t expect Steve Rogers to return, I just expect this to be on something of a "Hal Jordan" timeframe. The movies in development might have some impact, but they’re finding that those who start reading due to movies are reading trade paperbacks rather than monthly issues, so they can just load the shelves with archive material while keeping the current title in Brubaker’s extremely capable hands.

          • Re: Of course it’s temporary…
            It’s interesting to me that "aficionados" like yourself are so complacent about the thought they can bring back the original whenever they want. I hate back doors and retcons to explain away the most ludicrous plot twists. It’s also much more prevalent in the american comic industry compared to the Japanese manga scene. Why is that? Does anyone know? It’s made Marvel and DC titles akin to Soap Operas. It took me 15 years and a lot of money to finally realize that I really really really hate it. Ben Reily was the last straw. Though I went back to Marvel for Ultimate Spiderman for about 80 issues that too ended up falling into the same trap.

            I strictly read mangas these days and have gotten a much more fulfilling entertainment experience for the value. They seem to actually care about telling a story with a start, middle, and end than anything the American Comic industry has done.

            /end rant :P

            • Re: Of course it’s temporary…

              Ben Reily was the last straw. Though I went back to Marvel for Ultimate Spiderman for about 80 issues that too ended up falling into the same trap.

              I strictly read mangas these days and have gotten a much more fulfilling entertainment experience for the value. They seem to actually care about telling a story with a start, middle, and end than anything the American Comic industry has done.

              North American comics have written stories of this sort, but they’re generally not found among the mainstream heroes. I think several factors are at work. Long-term publication means that various artists and writers make changes in order to do keep the story alive, but these are then rewritten by later writers and artists. Also, the fact that the companies market the characters to the mainstream mean that there’s real pressure to maintain or revert to the recognizable status quo. In addition, we now have the phenomenon of fanboy artists/writers who want their heroes to resemble the versions they first enjoyed.

              Creators of manga also want to sell product, but there seems to be a greater sense of telling a story and then moving on to another project, rather than keeping the same characters around for decades.

            • Re: Of course it’s temporary…

              It’s interesting to me that "aficionados" like yourself are so complacent about the thought they can bring back the original whenever they want.

              I like a good story. If the story describing a character’s return isn’t any good, I won’t like the particular return, but I may enjoy the stories that follow it. Look at Thanos’ return for "Infinity Gauntlet." It was a two page resurrection that happened because Death just bloody well felt like it. That’s a pretty cruddy story, in and of itself, but the actual "Infinity Gauntlet" is enjoyable in a "summer popcorn flick" kind of way. The return of Hal Jordan, on the other hand, was just a really good story.

              Timeshredder has already outlined most of the reasons this happens. The writers of comics play in a world where they can literally bend any physical law they want when creating a character’s superpower. That same flexibility happens throughout the world. As long as things are handled consistently, and the stories are entertaining, I’ll keep reading.

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