Word from several sources indicates that John Krasinski, best known as Jim Halpert on The Office, is close to landing the role of Captain America in the upcoming film. If this is true can we expect Cap to encase Iron Man’s armor in jello or prank phone call Wolverine? On a related note, MTV reports that comedian Dane Cook also auditioned for the role. Seriously, Dane Cook? Whose idea was that? Doesn’t anyone remember Jim Carey in Batman and Robin?
The internet has been a buzz recently with reports concerning Captain America #602. In the issue Captain America and Falcon attempt to infiltrate a group of anti-tax protesters and ultimately take down a military group known as the Watchers. In the comic book, one of the protesters is shown holding a sign that reads, “Tea Bag the Libs Before They Tea Bag You” that linked the fictional protesters to the conservative Tea Party movement. A conservative columnist took offense at the notion that Captain American would fight against Tea Party protesters and claimed that the comic book character’s actions went against the superhero’s historical roots. A Yahoo! News report quoted Tea Party Nation founder, Judson Phillips as stating, ”When I was a child in the ’60s Captain America was my favorite superhero. It’s really sad to see what has traditionally been a pro-America figure being used to advance a political agenda.” Tea Party officials and other conservatives also expressed offense that the Tea Party movement was portrayed as only including white members. Within a few hours Captain America writer Ed Brubaker and Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada both apologized for the sign linking the fictitious protestors to the Tea Party, claimed that this was not the original intent, and promised to remove the sign in future printings.
I most definitely do have opinions about the politics involved in this story but I want to keep this a politically neutral zone (at least on my part. Feel free to comment about anything that you want.) I would like to make two points about the controversy. First, can anyone really ever deny the power of popular culture and comic books? Captain America has become an American symbol so powerful that supporters of every side of an issue wish to claim him. Conservatives, liberals, and every political viewpoint in between believe they have the right to use the nation’s symbols and mythologies. Although Lincoln served as a Republican he had now became a nationalistic symbol who can be employed by any American in order to prove an argument. The Revolutionary War may have originally been a struggle against a supposed tyrannical king but now it is a Rorschach test for political, social, and cultural ideology. Captain America also has moved into this realm of symbolic importance. Although he began as “only” a comic book character he now is a national symbol and an important part of our national identity and mythology. He’s so important that when a national movement believed that he was rallying against them they protested and called foul. Imagine that, a fictitious character upsetting and influencing a real life organization. We sometimes forget the power of ideas, words, symbols, and myths.
Secondly, because Captain America has become a part of American symbolism and mythology he suffers the fate as other converted American symbols, his actual past no longer matters, just the cultural perception of who he is. Abraham Lincoln was a complex person with a multitude of virtues and flaws. He left a lifetime of letters, speeches, and other writings. Most Americans now remember him as Honest Abe who freed the slaves. It doesn’t matter to most people what else he was or how complex he life really was, most people want Lincoln to fit their image of the world. Although Captain America is a fictional character, he suffers some of the same problems. Several of the Tea Party organizers stated that Captain America used to stand for “true American” values like theirs. Do they know that Cap fought for liberal causes in the 1960s? Became so disenfranchised with the U.S. federal government in the 1970s that he gave up his superhero identity for awhile and walked the U.S. as a costumed crime fighter named Nomad? That Captain America fought Ronald Reagan when the President was transformed into a giant lizard? All of these stories would surely offend today’s Tea Party protesters but they are a documents part of Captain America’s past. (Most of these documents are sealed in plastic bags with acid-free boards and in very good condition.) Each side ignores the stories they don’t want to think about and instead concentrates on what they want Captain America to be. The symbol is far more powerful than the reality. Even when the reality is a comic book character in a red, white, and blue costume.
Here are the links to several articles about Captain America #602.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100211/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1129
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/09/tea-party-reference-captain-america-removed/
