When I saw that last Captain America: The First Avenger trailer, I got excited. I got chills. I couldn’t wait to see this flick. Normally, I reserve that kind of enthusiasm, almost expecting to be disappointed. The thing is, Captain America is a special kind of property.
It almost shouldn’t be made into a movie. It’s just too weird. Steve Rogers was dreamed up long ago, in a very different world. The idea of a red, while, blue superhero means something so different today, depending on who’s looking at it than it did in 1941 when Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created him. He’s idealistic in a way that our common ironic worldview should have a hard time accepting. In fact, a character made into a movie by a huge media conglomerate, who’s face is all over products, but who is also supposed to represent the best of us, just doesn’t seem to make much sense. But then, it kind of does.
I think I should just say that Captain America is my favorite superhero. In my incredibly jaded life, he’s one fictional element I just have to respect and like. I love that he shouldn’t work, but everyone who writes him seems to do so with a reverence, which keeps him pure, and for that reason, it’s very hard to find a bad portrayal of Captain America. No one ever took Cap to a dark place and turned him into a broken and grim character. He’s the best thing about Superman, but without having godlike powers at his disposal. Sure, he’s very skilled, but he’s just a man at the end of the day. Portrayed correctly, Steve Rogers is a hero because he’s Steve Rogers, and it has nothing to do with a super soldier serum.
The same can be said of Peter Parker, but I relate to Peter Parker much more than I look up to him. And yes, I can say that I look up to Captain America, even if he is a fictional figure. He’s representative of what we can be if we stick to our principles and be the person we know we should. You do that, and people will look up to you. They’ll follow you.
Who doesn’t want to be that?
I love the shield flinging and I love the mail costume in all the silly colors. I love that he exists both in the past and the present. There is something about the way World War II veterans looked at their role in that conflict that is so incredibly admirable, and a cartoon though he may be, Steve Rogers captures that and brings it to these stories today. That was was about doing the right thing, and doing your job and making sure your buddies got through it too. No one doubted it, and it may have been awful, but it had to be done. Someone had to lead you over that hill, and he was the best guy you could know. That guy was Steve Rogers.
I’m sure it’s not the same if you’re not American, but at the same time, there’s still something there. Being patriotic is not the same as jingoism. Being proud if who you are and where you’re from isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Aspiring to do and be better is something great, and if it takes a fictional character to do that, so be it.
It’s not as if I think Captain America is real, and if he was it would be a political mess, but because he’s not, he works as a great symbol. This is how I look at him. I know he’s used to sell comic books, and now donuts, and Chris Evans’ abs, but he is what you make of him, and to me, that is a totem of a good guy, and a better person, and if the Cap Mighty Mugg on my shelf puts me just a little closer to that, then I’ve come out ahead.
Even with all this said, I was surprised that when I saw (fake) footage of (fictional) Captain America fighting (simulated) Nazis, I got some chills, and I found myself feeling something real in the face of what is basically a commercial for a movie. But it was a real feeling, and I’ll take it, and for once, mercifully, put my sarcasm and ironic detachment on a shelf, and just root for the good guys, since, in this instance, I can clearly define who the hell the good guys are. That tiny catharsis keeps me going just a little better than I would have been without it.
And that’s why I love Captain America.
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Hear hear, Mr. Flanagan
Steve Rogers along with my father and grandfather has always been someone I looked up to.
Me too!
Well said, sir. He is mine as well.
Cap has always been my man. You summed up just about everything that makes him an amazing character.
Superman’s always been my number two reason for the same reasons if integrity and morality (i like the boyscouts) but whereas Supermans amazing because of the hope he inspires (everythings gonna be alright because Superman[god] is here to protect us), Cap inspires us to fix it ourselves. It’s that old american “lets get to work” mentality. This is a seemingly insurmountable task/problem that we have, but we’re not going to just sit back and see what happens. We’re gonna grab our pickaxes and start hacking away at this mountain. We’re gonna storm that beach no matter how many guns will be shooting at us. We’re gonna do whatever we can in order to protect our families and our home. that Whitman-esque sense of duty and responsibility and strength.
geez… gettin chills talkin about it. unfortunately its something that we’ve lost touch with over time
Yep.
He really shouldn’t work, and yet, he does more than work, he excels.
Great article Josh. It’s always awesome to hear someone put into words exactly why they love a character so much and why it resonates with them in particular. I don’t feel the same about Cap but I do like the character, mainly because of the amazing soldier and tactician he’s been shown to be over the past few years. Prior to The Ultimates, Civil War and Brubaker’s Cap series, I wrote off the character as a propaganda relic, another example of “Ra Ra” American patriotism we non-Americans often have to sit through in pop culture, but over the past decade I will give Marvel credit with growing the character beyond that and illustrating why us non-Americans should really care about him. He represents an ideal, not a country. It’s just a shame he’s wrapped in a flag because I know that, and his name, will be keeping some of my friends away from the box-office this weekend. Not me though, I’ll be first in line
God bless Captain America.
(And that’s from a non-Yank.)
iFanboy at its finest. You articulated my feelings on the subject wonderfully. Thank you Josh!
Thanks for writing this article, Josh.
To me, Captain America represents the country’s promise. Despite what some media outlets would like you to believe, Captain America is not an extremist icon. He never has been. He’s a symbol of the ideals of liberty and justice, for all.
Captain America has always been my favorite hero too.
So true! Beautiifully written!
agreed, Cap is the best.
It might not be the same for many non-Americans, but for me (born and raised in Italy, even though an American permanent resident now) Captain America, and everything he conveys, has great importance. My dad was a kid in Sicily when the allies took Sicily in 1943. He remembers with joy and gratefulness the kindness of U.S. soldiers distributing chocolate to kids after repelling fascists and german soldiers off the island. Europe will be always indebted to all the Americans that fought and sacrificed most if not everything during WWII.
think your upper arm begs to differ HEYo
Its just me that finds him dull isnt it?
yes.
what about hawkeye?
@kidCharlemagne…No sir, I’m with you. In fact, for saying as much over at aintitcoolnews I was called a sissy commie pinko, a liberal elitist a-hole and many many other things not fit for print. I think Cap was a really important invention of his time, but today, I find him a bit bland as a character. He always seems to know what to do at exactly the right time, which I, as a reader am not very into.
I respect Josh and his love for the character though, and this piece was well written. I love this site because it usually puts forth such a positive energy. It’s a nice vacation from all the negativity strewn across the internet. Thanks iFanboy!
Yep, Cap has always been my favorite Marvel superhero. I’ve subscribed to his book for years.
The reason I’m excited for the movie is the trailer does seem to focus on the fact that he is a hero with or without powers. Showing him jump on that grenade when everyone else scatters gave me chills.
Great piece sir!
I never liked Captain America as a kid. But as time went on I began to see him more as you do Josh. Great article.
What about Green Lantern- it’s your character in the ifanboy pict?
Amen to that brother! CAP RULES!
One of the greats. Bravo, sir. Well done.
Cap lives on.
Being patriotic is not the same as jingoism. Being proud if who you are and where you’re from isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Well said Josh.
Go Cap.