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Captain America - Steve Rogers - Dead at 89

In a sad turn of events, Marvel Comics has decided that it was time to get rid of Captain America.

Captain America surrendered after failing to register as a super-powered individual following the events of the recent Civil War crossover. Pitted against his former best friend, Iron Man, Cap was fighting for what he believed America wanted. When he was attacked by ordinary citizens in the streets of New York, he realized how wrong he was and surrendered to police custody. Only a week later (real time), he's been shot and killed by a sniper on the way to court.

I can somewhat understand what they're attempting to do here. Old America is dead. The things that we used to hold true to our heart (Mom, Baseball and Apple Pie) have been replaced by iPods, H2 Hummers and Youtube. More than any other hero (except maybe Superman) Cap stood as a beacon of hope and a physical embodiment of America.

Current Captain America series writer Ed Brubaker had this to say about Captain America's current relevance to today's society:

"What I found is that all the really hard-core left-wing fans want Cap to be standing out on and giving speeches on the streetcorner against the Bush administration, and all the really right-wing [fans] all want him to be over in the streets of Baghdad, punching out Saddam."

To that I have to say, so what. Does that mean he has to stand for one of those two viewpoints? Could he not have had his own? Couldn't you use Cap to motivate people to speak their mind, no matter their opinion?

In the end, it doesn't matter. Marvel has made their decision and will live with it until it benefits them to bring him back. With Cap's friend Nick Fury in hiding for the past few years, it will be no surprise to me when he reveals that the "Cap" that was shot and kill was a SHIELD Life Model Decoy and that the real Cap, Steve Rogers, has been working underground with him.

We know that he won't stay dead. I would guess that in less than 6 months, another hero will appear in the familiar red, white, and blue costume. The "impostor" will parade around as Cap for a while until the real one reappears. With copyright laws such as they are, Marvel cannot go without publishing a Captain America series for too long a period or the rights would revert back to creator Joe Simon.

"It's a hell of a time for him to go. We really need him now," said co-creator Joe Simon, 93, after being informed of his brainchild's death.

The sad part about that quote (as a friend mentioned to me), is that at 93, Simon may not be around to see his creation, his legacy, return.

Added Captain America to the Who's OHotMU page today.

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Justice League of America - Complete Cover shows all previous teams

It's a common occurrence in comics, rebooting or restructuring a team. Members die, leave, marry off, or etc. to be replaced by news members. It helps to bring in new readers and add new dynamics to books that may be getting a little stale.

Having said that, I really like the line-up of the newest incarnation of the Justice League of America. A few years ago, DC Comics realized that for the JLA to work, it needed the "big guns" of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. There were several failed or lackluster attempts to have a league without those characters and it just felt like another team book and not the JLA.

Now for a little commentary on the characters selected (working clockwise, from the right):

Minus the big three, the rest of the line-up is nice. I like the addition of Red Arrow (formerly Arsenal or Speedy). One of the original League's members was Green Arrow and having his side-kick take his role in this new versions plays upon DC's history and shows that time does pass–to an extent–in the DCU.

The new Hawkgirl (Kendra Suanders) is also a welcome addition. The Hawkman solo title switched to Hawkgirl and has been horrible for about a year now, so it's good to see the character being written well in a good book.

Red Tornado and Black Lightning are two off-and-on League members that deserver a good shot at the big leagues. I'm interested to see how they resolve the current storyline with the Red Tornado becoming human. Maybe Black Lightning will get a new name to go with his new status quo.

Vixen is another great choice. She was given the spotlight on a few episodes of the JLU animated series last year and with an increased role in the League and a re-definition of her powers, she could be the character with the most to gain.

Hal Jordan, the Silver-Age Green Lantern, hasn't been a part of the League since the 90's when he was in the Justice League Europe title. The character has been through many changes in the past decade (from villain/mass murderer to dead, spirit, avenging ghost). A 2005-2006 revamp and return has brought the character hack to his roots as a fearless Air Force test pilot, but left him at odds with Batman on a few occasions.

Skip over the big three and end with Black Canary. It's the only character that I'm a little disappointed to see. Not because I don't like her, but I really like where they left the character at the end of her 100-issue arc in the Birds of Prey series, and I just don't see that lining up in the JLA. I've heard rumors of where she may go in the future, so we'll see how it all plays out.

Overall, I'm really liking the new incarnation of the Justice League. It moves a little slow compared to my other favorite title, Justice Society of America, but it's grand scale super-heroics done correctly. I could also do without the Ed Benes art. I'd like someone more "comic-book" style or classic style. It's not stopping me from enjoying the book. Having said that, the art at the top would be a great poster. Nice way of showing all the previous versions of the League, while spot-lighting the new version.

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Heimdall - Asgardian Gate Keeper

While DC seemed to focus on the Greek gods in Wonder Woman, Marvel decided to create a series of stories based upon the Norse gods. Thor and his fellow Norse gods debuted in August of 1962 and although they're not currently in a series, they are slated to return in the Summer of 2007.

Heimdall is the sentry that guards the Rainbow Bridge that provides access to the Asgard, the home of the Norse gods. However, Heimdall's main claim to fame is being the only Norse God to sport the Abraham Lincoln – Chin Curtain beard.

Biographical Data

Real name: Heimdall
Other current aliases: None
Former aliases: None
Dual identity: None; the general populace of Earth is unaware of Heimdall's existence, except as a mythological character
Current occupation at time: Sentry of Asgard
Former occupation: Unrevealed
Citizenship: Realm of Asgard
Legal status: No criminal record
Place of birth: Unrevealed
Marital status: Single
Known relatives: Sif (sister)
Known confidants: Sif, Balder, Kamorr
Known allies: Odin, Thor, the Warriors Three
Major enemies: Loki, Surtur, Mangog
Usual base of operations: Asgard
Former bases of operations: None
Current group membership: The royal court of Asgard
Former group membership: None
Extent of education: Unrevealed

Physical Description

Height: 7' 2"
Weight: 575 lbs.
Eyes: Gray
Hair: Brown
Other distinguishing features: Heimdall wears a full beard but no mustache.

Read all about Heimdall…

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Crossovers in comics books are cool. I remember reading Secret Wars from Marvel as a kid and thinking it was the coolest thing ever. I mean, here in one book were all of my favorite heroes (Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Fantastic Four) and their villains (Dr. Doom, Kang, Lizard, etc.). At the time, I didn't know that it was the first major crossover series ever (preceded only by the 3-issue Contest of Champions series). Somehow, I missed out on Crisis on Infinite Earths from DC, but I did pick up the revamped Superman that resulted from that series.

Anyway, for all the Comic Book Crossover information you can stand, I would recommend the The Unofficial Comics Crossover Index. It's filled with most of the major, cross-title events from the 1980's onward and only lacks the major events from the past few years. Best of all, each crossover is reviewed and lists all the related issues. While, much of the info may be on Wikipedia, it's nice to have all of it in one place and in one format.