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Danny & Matt (Rios) Discuss Comics

THE FLING: Captain America Reborn

The Fling is where our writers (and maybe even special guests!) talk about the latest goings on in the world of comics, movies, and video games. It’s like an Internet firing squad, but with more fecal chucking.

Matt: Well, here we are, coming up to the finale of Captain America: Rebirth and ol’ Steve Rogers better hurry up and get all reborn and whatnot. If you haven’t been reading, it has been revealed that the gun Captain America was shot with was a MAGIC gun with a MAGIC bullet that has trapped him in a timeline he cannot escape or act in… except when he’s sending secret messages to his friends from the past… of course…

Danny: It’s not magic! It’s SCIENCE! THE SCIENCE OF DOOM IS MAGIC! RICHARDSSSSS!

Seriously, though, I’m kind of really digging this comic. Of course, we all knew Steve Rogers was coming back (I’ve been saying this since the day it happened). I think at this point resurrection is such a required trope (you can’t KILL a character when he’s got a movie to appear in!) that the fun of a resurrection story is not that it happens, but HOW it happens.

And how crazy is it that Marvel’s going with an story where Steve Rogers is reliving random moments in his life like Slaughterhouse 5? And where he flies off the comic page like it’s a Grant Morrison comic? Holy crap I love comics.

Matt: Uh oh… a Captain America comic by Grant Morrison? Is that the one where he’s re-imagined into a 3 foot tall Hispanic woman with a lisp, who jumps from universe to universe, searching for a magical talking rabbit of some kind? God, I hope not. Regardless, I too am glad for this comic. FINALLY, the REAL Cap’n America, Steve Rogers, is taking back his mantle and getting into the mainstream again (screw that “Bucky as Captain America” nonsense). And we get a little taste of his history as well, in case we all forgot (which I totally did).

Danny: The reenactment of the Kree-Skrull War was a nice treat–not that I loved that story arc, but I loved that issue where Ant-Man pulls a Ray Palmer and shrinks down to investigate the failing Vision “Fantastic Voyage” style. Beautiful Neal Adams art. Gush, gush, gush. In other words, I liked that bit because it reminded me of something that has nothing to do with Captain America or even the topic at hand.

The whole “Bucky as Captain America” affair held a lot of promise to me. I expected the badass Winter Soldier in Cap’s costume but it seems like any exploration of what it means for there to be a new Captain America seemed to get a bit lost in the whole “Where is the REAL Cap” subplot. Which I guess made it the main plot. It probably doesn’t help that it seemed like no one in the other Marvel books knew how to write Bucky Barnes.

I guess now they can explore what Bucky does now that the real guy’s back.

Matt: I really enjoy the whole point of this comic, which is bringing a favorite character back into readers’ lives. Because that’s really the point of the “death” of A-List characters: to give us a break from them, let the background characters come into their own, and give us a fresh starting point when they return. Sort of like a universe reboot… it just takes longer for some to come back (Barry Allen’s comeback only took 23 years!) Luckily, ol’ Steve Rogers made it back in a few, which is good for me; I always thought he had the worst, most pointless death I had ever seen. I mean, he pretty much fought all of WW2 by himself and he’s taken out by… a bullet? Sheesh. Well, good on you Marvel, for fixing such a silly mistake… one down, only 4,520,013,784 more to go!

Danny: I wouldn’t call killing Cap a mistake, though, because it’s clear they always meant to bring him back. Just like the Death of Superman. Superhero deaths like that allow the creators to explore what the absence of this character means by showing how his supporting cast and compatriots pick up the pieces. Same deal with Batman. Who gets to be the replacement? What do the villains do in his absence? How do we go about resurrecting him? When he comes back it’ll be a big deal because they’ll seem fresh and revitalized.

Hopefully, unlike Supes, Cap won’t come back with a mullet.

Matt: Sometimes I wonder if they really do plan on bringing a hero back. I always thought Marvel decided that Steve Rogers wasn’t contemporary enough and that Bucky could connect more with readers. And you’re right, Danny; Captain America CANNOT come back with a mullet. There’s only room for one superhero with that sorta hair style… and right now he’s busy taking pollution down to zero. Hey, Marvel used to do a Captain Planet comic back in the day… you think maybe they’ll get on a Captain Planet: Rebirth mini series that leads into a monthly title? Make him a bit grittier, kill Ma-Ti and replace him/her with a metal ring power. Oooh! And then maybe an Evil Gaia can release 5 evil rings, and it’ll be a Blackest Night tie-in!!!!

Danny: You seem to be forgetting Captain Pollution, who I believe was conjured by Captain Planet’s entire rogues gallery. I refuse to look any of that up. As an aside, our generation has pretty fond memories of Captain Planet (I don’t know anyone who CAN’T recite the theme song on command), so it’s surprising nobody’s tried to revive him as a property considering how many other kid’s shows have been given that treatment.

As for reviving Cap, I’m almost positive that Marvel can’t afford to keep the guy from the movies out of the comics. Imagine if there were no Iron Man comic out in the summer of ‘08, or if Iron Man were stuck in some convoluted storyline where Rick Jones was wearing the costume and Tony Stark was banished to another planet where he was fighting other Iron Men in some kind of Planet Hulk situation. To someone who just wanted to read an alcoholic billionaire firing repulsor rays, it’d be nigh unreadable. It might even be so to someone who understands what’s going on.

Then again, I’m a cynic about this sort of thing.

Matt: Well, whatever plans Marvel has for Captain Planet, they’ll have to wait until our favorite Captain gets back into the swing of things. I’m excited to see him back in a monthly title. The Marvel Universe seemed a little empty lately without him–so we salute you, Steve Rogers. Just hurry the hell up, huh?!

Danny: You may want to wait a few months before picking up the revitalized Captain America book, though. I’m pretty sure Cap’s gonna have to sort through all the mail that piled up, clean the rotten fruit in his fridge, and chase down and berate Falcon for not feeding his dog. The dog’s name is also Bucky.