Tom Brevoort pays tribute to the late Mark Gruenwald, who died 12 years ago today, by reprinting an old “Mark’s Remarks” column about what makes Captain America Captain America:
To me Captain America is the ultimate self-made hero. The Super-Soldier Serum didn’t make him what he is, the Super-Soldier Serum was just a tool he used to make himself all he could be. Even without it, I believe Steve Rogers could have made himself great- perhaps not in such an overtly physical way, but great nonetheless, the way a humanitarian or activist for human rights is great. Before he ever even heard of Project: Rebirth, Steve Rogers possessed the qualities and attitudes that he would later be in a position to publicly expouse once he had the physique that commanded attention. He was brave, had a great reverence for life, and a passion for freedom. I think freedom- free will- plays a bigger part in Captain America’s conception than any of the four aforementioned archetypal heroes. Steve Rogers chose to be Captain America, and worked hard at defining just what a Captain America was.
More at the link, and even more Mark’s Remarks columns can be found here.
August 12th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Mark Gruenwald was my hero. I loved his runs on Captain America, DP7, Quasar, and Squadron Supreme. He consistently wrote great stories that brought a humanity to the characters. Besides creating some of the more interesting characters of the Marvel Universe, I was amazed how Gruenwald would find lost and forgotten heroes and villains in other title, dust them off and “fix” them like discarded toys in a yard sale.
August 12th, 2008 at 9:39 am
I have always wanted someone to retell the origin of Captain America and reveal one crucial point:
The serum didn’t actually work. [This explains why there can never be another Cap and why all other variations on the formula act like steroids] It was a placebo effect. Steve Rogers WILLED himself into becoming physically stronger. The force of his will alone did it, the serum was just a trigger, a key that unlocked the door, freed his mind to actually do it.
August 12th, 2008 at 9:53 am
With all the popularity that Cap is enjoying right now, isn’t it high time we started getting some trades of Mark Gruenwald and (better yet) J.M. Dematteis/Mike Zeck Captain America stories?
Or at least advance the Essentials so they get to that point.
It’s the patriotic thing to do!
August 12th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Thanks for linking that. Mark Gruenwald was one of the greats and I miss reading new comics by him.
His Captain America run was probably the best run ever by anyone.CapWolf and all.
August 12th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
I wish the movie would include the Nomad storyline (pictured above). This forms a crucial part of Cap’s (and America’s?) narrative arc: confidently patriotic during WW2, disillusioned around Watergate and Vietnam, then slowly coming to grips with who he is. That’s one arc, although the story does go on (Cap is killed, the USA has all its recent problems) and posterity will have to decide which elements resonate with them, “archetypally” speaking.
August 12th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
After looking over some of Gruenwald’s other columns, it occurs to me that as editor, he was responsible for several of the worst decisions ever to be inflicted on the Avengers: the departure of Roger Stern (and arrival of Reed, Sue, and Gilgamesh); Teen Tony, Bug Jan, and the Crossing (which led to Heroes Reborn); and Wonder Man’s “Christmas Tree” costume. (The only incident I can think of that compares to these is Jim Shooter’s vetoing of David Michelinie’s original plans to explain Ms. Marvel’s pregnancy in Avengers 200.)
On the other hand, Squadron Supreme was good.