The Four Color Media Monitor

Marvel makes more oh-so big announcements that Captain America is going to return in 2008, with what sounds like a new protagonist under the cowl. But first:

NEW YORK — You can't keep a good American down.

Marvel Entertainment announced Thursday that its slain hero Captain America will rise again with a new outfit and a new secret identity, after the character was killed off in March by a sniper's bullet in a storyline on the War on Terror.

Say again? It was more like an attack on the war on terror, and it certainly stemmed from a crummy storyline written very much like that. With the current people in charge at Marvel, there is no chance that Captain America, no matter who wears the costume, will ever fight modern-day terrorism.

The company unveiled the patriotic superhero's new look Thursday with artwork by Alex Ross and Steve Epting for the new issue, No. 34, to hit comic book shops in January 2008.

Captain America will return with his trademark shield, but he also will have some new firepower. The artists are bringing the hero back with a gun.

A gun?!? Do I detect that Frank Castle, the Punisher, is going to be the man behind the mask here?

"I always try and look back in the character's history to something that maybe was a forgotten costume element from a bygone age, maybe one of the earlier costume elements, to see if you could bring that part back," Ross told Marvel.com. "Well, funny enough, there's this awful movie serial made in the '40s with Cap where he had no shield, no wings on his mask, no white sleeves, little tiny gloves, and he carried a gun."

No kidding. So now they're drawing their ideas from crummy movies, is that it? Sorry, no sale. Plus, I seem to remember once finding some signs that Ross has some anti-war sidings, so I think that's one more reason why I'm not very impressed by this news.

While the famed hero is returning to fight the good fight, Marvel made clear that the original character, Steve Rogers, remains dead. A yet-to-be-revealed character will don this new Captain America suit.

In March, Dan Buckley, the president and publisher of Marvel Entertainment's publishing group, told FOXNews.com that Captain America's return was a possibility.

"Everything is possible in the world of make-believe."

Yes, but it all depends on who's in charge. At the same time, not everything's possible, and not everything's acceptable either, and if Steve Rogers is going to be tossed out so cavalierly as he was, without even doing anything heroic, then I'm sorry to say, but, I cannot and will not accept if there's a replacement, and certainly not the Punisher, if he's going to be the one taking up the role. I wouldn't be surprised if it's not him, but let me assure that, even if it's a character whom I do like, I would rather see him in the role he was created for, and not in Steve's role. For example: Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, is a great character, but he should remain as Hawkeye, and not take up the role of Capt. America even if he can handle it well. The same goes for the Punisher.

Here's the picture of the "new" Captain America:
Wielding a pistol and a sword?!? I am so NOT liking this. Does he use deadly force as well? I'm not sticking around to see. And neither should you.

Update: on one site I looked at for more about this, one person said that Bucky Barnes, now returned from the dead and called Winter Soldier, is probably going to be taking up the role. But did he use a gun when he first appeared during the Golden Age? Far as I know, he didn't. One thing I certainly think is garunteed is that it's unlikely that even Bucky will battle modern-day terrorism, so I don't see what the whole point of this is either.

Labels: Captain America, marvel comics