Livin’ on the edge, fighting crime spinning webs
Swingin’ from the highest ledge – he can leap above our heads…
Ahhhh-aaahhh-aaah…ahhhh-aaahhh-aaahaaa-haah
Villans on the rise and the city’s victimized
Looking up with no surprise arriving in the speed of time
Ahhhh-aaahhh-aaah…ahhhh-aaahhh-aaahaaa-haah
Spec-tacular Spec-tacular Spider-Man!
Spec-tacular Spec-tacular Spider-Man!
WHOOO! TELL me you saw it on Saturday! The theme song’s been in my head all week – Puffy AmiYumi’s Teen Titans GO! just might have some competition for catchiest superhero theme song of the 21st Century…
Hello and good day to you all. Greg Manuel here – I just finished watching an episode of Law & Order (this new season’s been INCREDIBLE, y’all!), I’m feeling a little bit of alright and today’s entry on my George Carlin Desk Calendar reads, “Suicide is an interesting topic, because it’s an inherently interesting decision: to decide voluntarily not to exist anymore. It’s profound. You know what it is? It’s the ultimate makeover.”
Carlin is a god to me. You should know that. Just sayin’.
Anyhoo, I was looking to keep myself up to speed on news in the comic book world…and wouldja look at this:
I don’t wanna nitpick, but…no black people? Bryan, Bryan Bryan…tsk.
Ah, I’m kiddin’ folks…I’m more fussy over the arbitrary change in costumes. Don’t worry – Al Sharpton’s Racial Rangers won’t be getting a call about this one. Even though I did happen to join last year. What can I say – I wanted the flare gun.
So it seems Alyssa Moy and her new husband Slartiblartifast are looking to save humanity from an “Environmental Collapse” that will make the Earth uninhabitable in ten years. Believe me, I wanted to hate this, just from the fact that it’s Mark Millar, but this could be pretty interesting. I got my eye on you, Marky-Mark…don’t get too funky with this bunch or we will bring the wrath.
But that’s not what I wanted to discuss this time around. I picked up CAPTAIN AMERICA #35 recently, and I’ll tell you…every issue is a perfect example of a solid, well-told storyline. Whether you know where it’s all going to end or not, the ride is every bit as fun as the destination. And we all know the destination – Steve Rogers will return. Brubaker’s telling us as much, even if he doesn’t come right out and say it.
Take for example, the aforementioned latest issue. Check out Bucky Barnes, f.k.a. The Winter Soldier, a.k.a. the New Captain America in action. And when you look at these pages, ask yourself: you’re seeing the colors, you’re even seeing him throw that mighty shield…
…but is that Captain America? Is it, really?
Nah. Not really – that could be why the suit was changed so drastically, but then again, Tim Drake’s changed the Robin outfit twice and that didn’t seem to affect him. Maybe it’s just something else…something more intangible – you’re seeing the suit in action, here. Something about it just doesn’t work. You’re not truly looking at Captain America.
And on top of that, Bucky even tells you as much…he’s not comfortable wearing the suit, but he’s going to try. It’s an aknowledgement that there can’t really be anybody else that can wear that mask and call himself Captain America except Steve Rogers. But it wasn’t the first hint.
The first real hints came in two places…first, there was CAPTAIN AMERICA #2. The Red Skull has been shot dead. Let me stop there a moment. The Red Skull has been shot dead…if this is happening in the very first story, you know that there’s more coming, just by nature of the fact that the Red Skull is Cap’s exact opposite. The minute the Red Skull is eliminated for good, the story is for all intents and purposes, over. Sure, there’ll be other threats for Captain America to face, but he wouldn’t have a proper arch-nemesis anymore. And since Captain America as a character pre-dates the Silver Age storytelling model, he can only have one true arch-nemesis. Spider-Man survived twenty years without Norman Osborn, because as the flagship of a universe that operated in a radically different fashion for its time, it was okay. Captain America comes from the Batman and Superman era…and you can’t have Batman or Superman if the Joker or Lex Luthor were truly ever killed off. Their story would have to end. Sure in your head, you can rationalize that the characters themselves keep on going with their mission, but that special tension isn’t there anymore. But I do go on…
So anyway…the Red Skull has been shot dead, and his body is in SHIELD custody. Nick Fury needs Cap’s help in identifying the body…
Wait…what did Sharon just say?
The next page, they get a look at the Skull’s corpse…giant, gaping hole and all:
This is a very important page…because what we saw in CAPTAIN AMERICA #26 is probably the key to what we can expect from Act 3 of this story. Captain America has been shot to death just the previous issue…we all thought the big shocker, the brilliant twist was that Sharon Carter was the person who shot Steve. Not so…
…this is.
Do you see what Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting did here? Do you, really? The Red Skull was using a body cloned from Steve Rogers. A 100% copy. Complete with Super Soldier Serum.
So…how can the copy hold up better than the original in death?
I love how he slipped that right by us…and on top of that, he’s been saying in interviews that this part of his story arc is what he equates to The Empire Strikes Back. Well…we all know what came next, don’t we?
Just sayin’, is all…
