The ‘United States of Captain America’ is a new five issue mini series that dropped on 6/30 from writer Christopher Cantwell and Artist Dale Eaglesham over at Marvel comics. It has Steve Rogers telling us that the American Dream is a lie and that he is the symbol that has perpetuated this lie. This comic is an abomination to what Captain America originally stood for and, frankly, I don’t think the writer understands who Captain America is or why his history is so important or why he was created in the first place. This is par for the course over at Marvel who continue to use their main characters as a platform for a political ideology that is getting more tiresome by the second. From Ta Nehisi Coates(a man who devoutly believes in white supremacy)writing a Captain America story arc that has him traveling the United States encountering “Captain America’s” of every race, ethnicity, and gender background to She-Hulk looking like the Hulk in the upcoming ‘World War She-Hulk’, showing the fans that checking all the right boxes is more important than actual storytelling. DC is no better as it has amped up its political grandstanding with Static Shock #1 that retells Static Shock’s origin as one laced with police brutality and tragedy. It even has the character getting his powers during a police action at a BLM rally.
It Has become a Sin to be Proud to be an American
It has become a sin in this modern climate of cancel culture, diversity, inclusion, and equity of outcomes, to be proud to be an American. In “The United States of Captain America’ we have Steve Rogers opening on the very first page with saying that he no longer believes in the concept of the American Dream. As Steve Rogers takes a walk down memory lane, he recalls a conversation he had with a general in Daredevil Volume one issue 233 where he says to a general that “I’m loyal to nothing except the dream” as he holds the United States Flag proudly in his hand. In ‘The United States of Captain America’ Steve Rogers can’t believe he actually said that. He goes on to say that the American Dream is a white picket fence fallacy that if we are not careful can turn into a form of nationalism or jingoism comparing us, indirectly, to what happened in Nazi Germany. I mean, really? Nationalism or Jingoism isn’t necessarily a bad thing. They are both extreme forms of loyalty and patriotism for your country. The United States is purposely being divided by the mainstream media, Hollywood, and the left in our government and The United States could use a bit of unifying patriotism right now. He goes on to say that the American Dream isn’t real and never was.
“That dream isn’t real. It never was, Because that dream doesn’t get along nicely with reality. Other cultures. Immigrants. The poor. The suffering. People easily come to be seen as ‘different’ or ‘unamerican.’ The white picket fence becomes a gate to keep others out.”
Christopher Cantwell is the one being un-American and really doesn’t understand the basic founding of this country or why it’s important that we have and protect our borders. Christopher Cantwell lives in the greatest nation on this planet and fails to understand the very freedoms he is utilizing that allows him to take a revered, American, pop culture symbol, and use it as his own personal platform to denigrate this great country. You couldn’t do that in China, Chris.
Captain America goes on to say how he is a symbol of division and how the idea of him seems ridiculous as we see pictures of a white guy in a Captain America t shirt berating a young woman, riots in the street burning a Captain America in effigy, and a woman by herself surrounded by images and paraphernalia of Captain America.
The Timing of The United States of Captain America is Suspicious
This appropriation, by the left, of a popular American comic book character to propagandize their ideologies is not new but the timing,
of course, is suspicious and gratuitous. The Fourth of July is a couple of days away and for Marvel to come out with this garbage basically slapping The United States in the face, is nothing short of abysmal. Captain America was created in response to what was going on during WWII and was also a way for our soldiers to feel appreciated and escape from the awful conditions they found themselves in everyday. Captain America was a glaring statement of American pride that helped unite a generation that was the very example of American pride and strength. What has been done to Captain America in recent years(don’t forget he joined Antifa in issue 700 and became its leader) is shameful and Marvel should apologize to all of his fans for subjecting them to the storytelling malpractice that has diminished Captain America to a shadow of his former self.
Comic Books Should Equal Escapism
Christopher Cantwell should be ashamed of himself that he used such an iconic American character to use as his platform to bash the United States. But he won’t recognize what damage he is doing because he is selfish and doesn’t see what the long term affects this will have on our American culture. In addition, with praise from websites such as Comics Bookcase, Christopher Cantwell can only affirm his stance that America should be a progressively inclusive and diverse place to live in. When reading Comics Bookcase review of ‘The United States of Captain America’ by Zack Quaintance, I couldn’t help but wonder if Zack has ever actually read a comic book before. And I mean a real comic book that just told a story that was fun and sucked you in to a wonderful world of escapism. But I knew that was impossible when I read this from Comics Bookcase’s review:
“First and foremost, the concept in this book makes Captain America searingly relevant for our current moment, rife as that real world moment is with unprecedented grassroots activism, the rapid development of new technology platforms that (can at their best) empower, and an impossible to ignore set of ongoing failures by long-standing institutions charged with addressing the most pressing problems of the day.”
Word salad anybody? Oh, and it just got better when Zack Quaintance basically praised Christopher Cantwell for making Captain America Substantially more relatable.
“For many readers (myself included), the idea of people who have never gotten superpowers through an experimental serum and been subsequently draped in the flag to take up the Captain America mantle should be substantially more relatable, reflecting the state of the nation in a way this character has always been uniquely positioned to do. It’s all very clever and organic.”
What? I never read my comic books hoping that the writer makes the characters more relatable to me. I read them because I want to escape and maybe pretend to be like them. Keyword on pretend(And also, when I was a kid :)). Again, Zack…have you ever read a comic book? It’s fun and exciting and filled with worlds of pretend. Comic books should not be about a persons personal politics…I could care less. Just entertain me…that’s why I buy comics, to be entertained and not lectured to. Marvel is losing its way fast and by taking away the very identity that defined Captain America is just one more nail in the coffin of a comic book company that once called itself the house of ideas.
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