THURSDAY

05 07
20
07

www.rage.com.my

COVER
STORY

THURSDAY
5 July 2007

Oh Captain, my Captain
July 5 marks the departure of a great American hero, Captain America
arguable. After all, writer Jeph Loeb
has said: He wears the flag and he
is assassinated its impossible not
to have it at least be a metaphor
for the complications of present
day.
Loeb, however, claims that
inspiration came from the death
of his own 17-year-old son from
cancer.
The kind of impact Captain
Americas death has on the

STORIES BY NIKI CHEONG

TODAY, one of the worlds most
famous superheroes Captain
America is laid to rest.
Yes, folks, after decades of saving
the world and fighting against
villains like Hitler, Red Skull and most
recently, the Iron Man, Captain America will finally be buried. Friends like
The Thing, Black Panther, Ms Marvel
as well as Iron Man, served as pallbearers at the funeral held at Arlington National Cemetery (pic right).
Captain Americas death comes soon
after the end of Marvel Comics
exciting Civil War series that saw the
hero going up against the US
Government, and fellow superheroes
Iron Man, She-Hulk and Fantastic Fours
Mr Fantastic.
Civil War saw two teams of superheroes
most of whom are friends taking on each
other after a public call for superheroes to be
held responsible for their actions. Iron Man is
supporting the US Governments new
Superhuman Registration Act, which will
require any person in the United States with
superhuman abilities to register with the
government.
Captain America, concerned with an
individuals right to privacy (the Act would
require superheroes to reveal their true
identity), decided to go underground and
fight the bill. On his side are heroes like
Spider-Man, Daredevil and Fantastic Fours
Human Torch and Invisible Woman.
At the end of the seven-issue series,
Captain America, realising that the war was
going nowhere and jeopardising thousands
of innocent lives, stops the fighting, removes
his mask and surrenders.
Were not fighting the people anymore,
Falcon, the Captain said. Look at us. Were
just fighting.
We were beating them, man. We were
winning back there, Spider-Man countered.
Everything except the argument, Captain
continued, with tears running down his face.
As he removed his mask, he said, And
theyre not arresting Captain America ...
theyre arresting Steve Rogers.
Steve Rogers was born on July 4, 1917. He
failed to get into the army because he was
too scrawny, but his chance to serve his
nation came when a US Army officer
approached him to be a test subject for a
top-secret project.
The project Operation: Rebirth sought
to create physically superior soldiers, making
him a nearly perfect human being. Rogers is
soon given a uniform modelled after Old

Glory, the US flag, a bullet-proof shield and

the codename Captain America.
Thus, a hero was born.
Captain America has since become one of
the most recognisable faces in superhero history, so the media hype surrounding his
death is inevitable.
Not since the death of Superman back in
1993 has a superhero been given such a big
send off. The story of Captain Americas
death is somewhat of a mystery, though. A
sniper takes a shot at the Captain while he is
being led to a courthouse after his surrender.
However, the bullet missed the Captain, but
he is still shot ... by someone in close
proximity.
The Captains death is timely, considering
the state of the world today. Captain
America was created during the early days of
World War II, and has always been the comic
worlds example of political-currency, a trait
much attributed to Marvel Comics.
Captain America was the American hero,
much more so than other heroes, including
Superman. He was the epitome of a loyal
citizen, and the term patriot has definitely
been used more than once to describe this
man. Many believe that the reason why
Americans loved Captain America was
because he was just like them human.
In fact, the only reason why Steve Rogers
as Captain America (there have been others)
has survived all these years (he would have
turned 90 yesterday) was because he was
hurled into the freezing waters in the North
Atlantic at 1945, keeping him in a state of
suspended animation. He is discovered in
the 1960s by The Avengers, a group of superheroes he would come to lead later.
Whether or not the Captains recent death
(there have been purported deaths before
which remain unexplained) has anything to
do with the current political climate is

Marvel universe, or even the real world,

remains to be seen. Heck, many are even
questioning if the death is permanent,
since many heroes have been resurrected
before.
Marvel Comics isnt saying anything, and
neither is Loeb. For now, one day after
Captain Americas 90th birthday and a day
after the US Independence Day, a hero will
be laid to rest and the whole world will
mourn.
Rest in peace, Caps.

COVER
STORY

3
THURSDAY
5 July 2007

Death that rocked the world

CAPTAIN Americas death didnt
cause the sort of furor that Man of
Steels death had 14 years ago.
I was a teenager then, and an avid
comic collector, so news of
Supermans death was such a big
deal that even the teachers in my
school were talking about it. If
Captain America was the American
hero, then Superman was the master
of the universe (sorry, He-Man).
Perhaps, there was a justifiable
reason for such a reaction. With
Captain America, at the end of the
day, the man was human. Although
he was a martial arts expert, had an
indestructible shield and was
immune to most diseases, Captain
America was not invincible.
Superman, on the other hand, was.
For one, despite the fact that he is
Earths adopted son, he is an alien.
Hes faster than a speeding bullet,
but that didnt matter really, because
a bullet could never penetrate his
flesh. So, imagine the uproar when
someone as indestructible as
Superman suddenly dies.
The person who caused all the
ruckus was another alien called
Doomsday.

Supermans path to death was

narrated through a special sevenissue series and continued through
all four then-existing Superman
series and one issue of Justice League
of America. It culminates in
Superman #75, which was released
in a black sealed-wrapper with a
bleeding S symbol the mark of
Superman.
What made the last issue heartbreaking was the fact that Clark
Kents wife, Lois Lane, and friend,
photographer Jimmy Olsen, had to
watch him fight for his last breath.
In the last pages, Superman
thought to himself: Exhausted ...
but I have to keep fighting ... until I
drop or he does, before raising his
arms for a final blow. As he
unleashed a booming smack on
Doomsday, the latter does the same
and they both knocked each other
off their feet at the same time.
Doomsday is unconscious, and all
Superman could say, as Lois held
him crying, was, Doomsday ... is he
... is he... before the took his final
breath.
Until a few issues later, of course.
The effect of his death would spread

across the DC Comics universe.

Heroes everywhere attended his
funeral an a new story arc Funeral
for a Friend crossed over into different titles, all paying tribute to one
man.
Barely a few months later, however, word of Supermans impending
return spread.
The issue, #500 from The
Adventures of Superman title, was
released in an almost-identical packaging as Superman #75, except that
this time, the wrapper was white,
and the S was no longer bleeding.
Superman returned to Earth, and
has remained alive since.
Comic fans rejoiced (some did cry
foul, though) but it didnt matter
because the greatest hero on Earth is
once again alive.
Somehow, though, this writer
doesnt think that resurrecting a
human-being Captain America
would have the same reaction. Its a
sad occasion, yes, but if at all the
Marvel Comics were using the patriotic Captain as a political statement,
then he must remain dead or his
assassination will be a farce, and definitely, in vain.