A thought from another thread:
Comics, in one way or another, have always reflecting the zeitgeist of the era. And this is especially pronounced when it comes to Captain America/Steve Rogers as an icon.
To illustrate, I refer to Cap in the 70s where anti-authoritarianism was a thing, and he fought crime first as 'The Captain' and later as 'Nomad'. Well, when the Summer of Love became the Autumn of Disillusionment, and then the Winter of Selling-Out Big Time, Steve was right back to Captain America again.
The next change I've noted was Bucky (i.e. the Winter Soldier) as Captain America. He was probably the best of the successors, the same way Dick Grayson is naturally the best successor to Batman (Though Batman of the Future and the demon-possessed Damien Wayne by Grant Morrison are also pretty good.)
The thing about Bucky as Captain America - and the Dark Reign that followed - was that it really reflected a lot of our post 9/11 paranoia: A grim, murky world where anything could be justified under the broad cloak of anti-terrorism. Anyway, fast forward about ten years, and the most recent event goes something like this:
Captain America had the super-soldier serum drained from him by the Iron Nail, and ended up an old man. After Secret Wars and an encounter with the Cosmic Cube, he's a young man again. Currently, Sam Wilson - The Falcon - has inexplicably been chosen as Captain America despite being very poorly qualified for the role.
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And, as you'd expect, Sam's recent stories have been about fighting evil right-wingers - usually in the form of serpent-themed supervillains. We've seen the 'Sons of the Serpent', who want to keep out illegal immigrants; then we've also seen a rather ham-handed reference to Black Lives Matter, with Sam battling the 'Americops', a private army of law enforcers created by a powerful Republican businessman.
There's also a movement, in-universe, to get Sam to give back the shield to Steve Rogers. (#givebacktheshield, because OF COURSE.)
Now, here's the thing: Steve is evil, now. The Cosmic Cube is fucking with his backstory, so he's always been a Hydra sleeper agent. He's also deliberately working to undermine the Avengers and everyone involved, though his master plan is ultimately to kill the Red Skull so maybe it's for a worthy cause after all. The next big event is Captain America: Hydra War, where he ends up inciting a Civil War within Hydra.
I don't think the writers at Marvel understand quite how damaging this is, though. Captain America is, in a very real way - At least in-universe - an icon. He's a bastion of incorruptibility. He's more memorable than the President, who comes and goes but Steve is a constant.
By retroactively making him a Hydra agent, that casts everything he's ever done into question. Now, it's not clear if his backstory is being actively rewritten, or just his memories...But it's the equivalent of seeing Barack Obama (for example) go down on one knee, and pledge his alliance to the leader of ISIS and the Caliphate to come. You just can't shake off a stain like that! It'd be impossible to trust Steve, ever again - It's like if Superman was revealed to be an actual child-molester.
But I've been wondering - Now that Trump is president, is everything going to change?
Hydra Captain America proves that Steve's staunch defense of 1940s values with a bit of modern liberalism is a lie. Like, every word from his mouth is now spoken in mockery, in a Nazi's sneer.
At the same time, liberal values are going out of style. America proved that when Trump was made President, and gloriously so. Diversity is nonsense, social justice is twaddle, and America must protect it's own interests first instead of spreading the failed cult of neo-liberalism which crumbled when Europe couldn't deal with the refugee crisis.
With Trump's victory, the Overton window is being pushed in one direction:
Hard right.
So Sam is finished as Captain America. He's over, done with, if he isn't shuffled off with gay Alan Scott (remember that) and black Power Girl as vaguely embarrassing products of a dead era. Kamala Khan might end up deported or in a camp, so Ms. Marvel is done, too. (Since Carol's basically a neo-fascist in Civil War II, the Captain Marvel name is hardly covering itself with glory.) Jane Foster as Thor is going to be done soon, too, since Thor has already discovered another hammer.
So my question is - What will the new Captain America be like?
What will the Captain America of Trump's era be? Well, unless comics plan to flagellate themselves for the next four to eight years, they're going to have to adjust to the reality of the world we live in.
Personally, I think he's going to be Chris Kyle with superpowers. White, of course, probably an Afghanistan veteran (Ooooh, topical!) who's cut his teeth battling terrorists. More authoritarian, certainly, and hopefully a discreet user of firearms.
It's not like there isn't precedent: The following is Corporal James Newman from the Captain America: The Chosen miniseries, who inherits the mantle (Sort of. It's complicated) by the end of six issues. I have to say, I'm liking him a lot more than Sam already.
I bet he's going to spend most of his time battling suspicious foreigners, recidivists and Islamic fundamentalists. Perhaps he'll literally fight to Make America Great Again, in contrast to the liberal cesspool the Red Skull has openly mocked on multiple occasions.
What do you guys think? What does a hero for the modern day look like, assuming he isn't wearing a rainbow flag and safety pins? Will tears be shed at the triggering presence of another cis white male protagonist?
Comics, in one way or another, have always reflecting the zeitgeist of the era. And this is especially pronounced when it comes to Captain America/Steve Rogers as an icon.
To illustrate, I refer to Cap in the 70s where anti-authoritarianism was a thing, and he fought crime first as 'The Captain' and later as 'Nomad'. Well, when the Summer of Love became the Autumn of Disillusionment, and then the Winter of Selling-Out Big Time, Steve was right back to Captain America again.
The next change I've noted was Bucky (i.e. the Winter Soldier) as Captain America. He was probably the best of the successors, the same way Dick Grayson is naturally the best successor to Batman (Though Batman of the Future and the demon-possessed Damien Wayne by Grant Morrison are also pretty good.)
The thing about Bucky as Captain America - and the Dark Reign that followed - was that it really reflected a lot of our post 9/11 paranoia: A grim, murky world where anything could be justified under the broad cloak of anti-terrorism. Anyway, fast forward about ten years, and the most recent event goes something like this:
Captain America had the super-soldier serum drained from him by the Iron Nail, and ended up an old man. After Secret Wars and an encounter with the Cosmic Cube, he's a young man again. Currently, Sam Wilson - The Falcon - has inexplicably been chosen as Captain America despite being very poorly qualified for the role.
And, as you'd expect, Sam's recent stories have been about fighting evil right-wingers - usually in the form of serpent-themed supervillains. We've seen the 'Sons of the Serpent', who want to keep out illegal immigrants; then we've also seen a rather ham-handed reference to Black Lives Matter, with Sam battling the 'Americops', a private army of law enforcers created by a powerful Republican businessman.
There's also a movement, in-universe, to get Sam to give back the shield to Steve Rogers. (#givebacktheshield, because OF COURSE.)
Now, here's the thing: Steve is evil, now. The Cosmic Cube is fucking with his backstory, so he's always been a Hydra sleeper agent. He's also deliberately working to undermine the Avengers and everyone involved, though his master plan is ultimately to kill the Red Skull so maybe it's for a worthy cause after all. The next big event is Captain America: Hydra War, where he ends up inciting a Civil War within Hydra.
I don't think the writers at Marvel understand quite how damaging this is, though. Captain America is, in a very real way - At least in-universe - an icon. He's a bastion of incorruptibility. He's more memorable than the President, who comes and goes but Steve is a constant.
By retroactively making him a Hydra agent, that casts everything he's ever done into question. Now, it's not clear if his backstory is being actively rewritten, or just his memories...But it's the equivalent of seeing Barack Obama (for example) go down on one knee, and pledge his alliance to the leader of ISIS and the Caliphate to come. You just can't shake off a stain like that! It'd be impossible to trust Steve, ever again - It's like if Superman was revealed to be an actual child-molester.
But I've been wondering - Now that Trump is president, is everything going to change?
Hydra Captain America proves that Steve's staunch defense of 1940s values with a bit of modern liberalism is a lie. Like, every word from his mouth is now spoken in mockery, in a Nazi's sneer.
At the same time, liberal values are going out of style. America proved that when Trump was made President, and gloriously so. Diversity is nonsense, social justice is twaddle, and America must protect it's own interests first instead of spreading the failed cult of neo-liberalism which crumbled when Europe couldn't deal with the refugee crisis.
With Trump's victory, the Overton window is being pushed in one direction:
Hard right.
So Sam is finished as Captain America. He's over, done with, if he isn't shuffled off with gay Alan Scott (remember that) and black Power Girl as vaguely embarrassing products of a dead era. Kamala Khan might end up deported or in a camp, so Ms. Marvel is done, too. (Since Carol's basically a neo-fascist in Civil War II, the Captain Marvel name is hardly covering itself with glory.) Jane Foster as Thor is going to be done soon, too, since Thor has already discovered another hammer.
So my question is - What will the new Captain America be like?
What will the Captain America of Trump's era be? Well, unless comics plan to flagellate themselves for the next four to eight years, they're going to have to adjust to the reality of the world we live in.
Personally, I think he's going to be Chris Kyle with superpowers. White, of course, probably an Afghanistan veteran (Ooooh, topical!) who's cut his teeth battling terrorists. More authoritarian, certainly, and hopefully a discreet user of firearms.
It's not like there isn't precedent: The following is Corporal James Newman from the Captain America: The Chosen miniseries, who inherits the mantle (Sort of. It's complicated) by the end of six issues. I have to say, I'm liking him a lot more than Sam already.
I bet he's going to spend most of his time battling suspicious foreigners, recidivists and Islamic fundamentalists. Perhaps he'll literally fight to Make America Great Again, in contrast to the liberal cesspool the Red Skull has openly mocked on multiple occasions.
What do you guys think? What does a hero for the modern day look like, assuming he isn't wearing a rainbow flag and safety pins? Will tears be shed at the triggering presence of another cis white male protagonist?
