Last week, an editorial in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel criticized the debut of Bucky Barnes as the new, gun-wielding Captain America, stating that “superheroes are the best of the best. They aren’t supposed to be stooping to the same level as your average street corner gang-banger.”
Today the comic nerds strike back with a pair of letters taking the newspaper to task. Reader Jeffrey Budzynski calls the editorial “absurd” and “idiotic,” while Mark Hoffman challenges the romanticized image of the Sentinel of liberty: “The original Captain America, Steve Rogers, acquired ’super powers’ by taking Super Soldier Serum. Basically, Cap was the very first steroids user.”
You would think that the South Florida Sun-Sentinel would focus on some more important issues. It shames me to be from South Florida sometimes, I apologize on their behalf.
Comment by Darthphere — February 13, 2008 @ 9:24 am
ridiculous! he’s a SOLDIER. soldier’s use guns! no one calls Jack Bauer or John Rambo “gangbangers” when they use guns to fight injustice (and how outdated is that term, anyway?). Considering Cap, especially Bucky-Cap, has been written as the ultimate cross between Bauer and Rambo for going on three years, it made perfect sense for his character to use a gun, and it was far from gratuitous.
Comment by apk — February 13, 2008 @ 9:46 am
A) I don’t think anyone who’s actually read Brubaker’s run on Cap would have actual cause to complain. The guy is an amazing writer and has made the death of Cap and Bucky’s replacement of him work in the best way. Seems like your typical instance of a reporter trying to churn out an article based on a single image without reading/doing research.
B) Cap’s always contested ground since he wears the flag and all that and the best writers on the series have always played with that notion: What is America? And what SHOULD it be?
Comment by craig — February 13, 2008 @ 10:30 am
The sentinel is barely a newspaper. Most days, the front page doesn’t even have news on it. I’m not kidding.
Comment by Rockin' Rich — February 13, 2008 @ 10:40 am
Some of the vitriol here is amusing. If the editorial said something nice, we’d be seeing glowing words about how great it was that they covered it. We’re saying that the newspaper person’s opinion is embarrassing, but the defense of the issue is that the original Captain America was essentially a steroid user? Oy!
Comment by Kevin Huxford — February 13, 2008 @ 12:26 pm
That’s pretty funny coming from you actually.
Comment by Darthphere — February 13, 2008 @ 2:59 pm
Hey, I never said my vitriol couldn’t be amusing, too.
Comment by Kevin Huxford — February 13, 2008 @ 5:07 pm