The Death and Life of America

Captain America died last week, but not too many people noticed.

It made few headlines, people shed few tears, and he probably won’t even get a real funeral. Granted, he’s not a real person, but he was a true patriot—even if only in the comic book world. He battled the Nazi-regime of Adolf Hitler in 1941, was lauded by multiple U.S. presidents for his service to our country, and helped save the world countless times. Even for people like me, who haven’t read a comic book in 15 years, the name is iconic—a lasting symbol of devotion to one’s country.

And in the aftermath of his fictional death by a fictional sniper bullet in the most recent issue of the popular Marvel comic book bearing his name, his creators have taken the opportunity to make a worthy statement about a number of issues. And it didn’t matter if they were jingoists or turncoats, left-wing or right—the onus was on Captain America’s writers to take advantage of their ability to reach to a broad and responsive audience by saying something worthwhile in the issue. And they did.

Far too often, we pigeonhole comic and kid-oriented works into neat and tidy categories, forcing them to conform to the comic book’s stereotypical nerdy, science-fiction minded readership. But when the artists and authors step outside the kiddy confines of the genre, the results can be inspiring.

Last year, for example, we saw the release of “The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation,” a comic book take on the 9/11 Commission’s fact-driven report about that fateful day five and a half years ago. A worthwhile read for those who could manage to stay awake, the official 9/11 Commission Report was unattractive to the casual reader thanks to its length, density, and somewhat convoluted nature. The lack of readability, however, did not diminish its importance. For those recognizing the significance but unable to trudge through official report, the comic book version still uncompromisingly conveyed the weight of the original.

The ideological biases and partialities of Team America—the collective minds that write, edit and draw the Captain America comics—are apparent. It’s no coincidence that the source of the comic hero’s plight shares similarities with our government’s highly-polarizing Patriot Act, or that enemies of freedom (read: terrorists) were responsible for the assassination of this idealistic symbol of liberty.

But was Team America able to walk the ever-divisive line that separates moving discourse from a force-fed dose of radical partisan political beliefs? The answer is yes, and the proof is in the pudding.

Already, we’ve seen a number of issues tackled in Captain America comics: the debate over the squelching of civil liberties, the radical actions that result when such freedoms are unequivocally preserved, and, most importantly, the scope of the divided American society we live in today. But thankfully, what we didn’t see were any hard-fast prescriptions from the writers. Through their comic series, they have consciously opined in a grey area, one that presents thoughtful questions without the inundation of partisan answers.

Like the 9/11 comic book, Captain America’s story essentially presents us with a set of facts—a state of the union-esque report about the blurred nature of many of our country’s most controversial political fights today. The setting is fictional, yes, but the questions raised are not.

It should be the duty of those in the media, people with such unfettered access to the masses, to at least begin raising those questions. The intent to make a dollar is fine and dandy, but there should be another goal—to start a dialogue regarding serious issues.

I know that’s not what most people read these comic books for. Especially for the overwhelmingly young audience that comprises the bulk of the readership, it’s tough to be too serious. It’s too much to ask every author to approach their work in this way.

But every once in a while, the stories kids read should take on matters of greater significance. It has almost become a cliché among celebrities to craft works in this vein: Prominent stars from Bill Cosby to Jamie Lee Curtis have all published kids books with underlying messages of magnitude. Oftentimes, it seems that “weighty” titles are often the most long-lasting: it’s no coincidence that Jerry Spinelli’s Maniac Magee—a book that discusses some of the most important social and class prejudices facing our society today—is still far and away my all-time favorite book.

Besides, if we can figure out a way to couple a bit of social commentary with a common (if slightly waning) pastime for American kids, that’s all the better. It’s the same way we strive to create edutainment video games and emulate Blue’s Clues on TV. The difference is that Captain America is way cooler than talking religious vegetables or that weird Steve guy on Nickelodeon.

And it’s a good thing that Team America has taken advantage of that fact.


Malcom A. Glenn ’09 is a history concentrator in Leverett House. His column appears on alternate Tuesdays.