Make Mine Marvel!

<Spoilers Galore> Back when Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 debuted, I was one of the people complaining about the big surprise.  Not because I thought the story was a disservice to the characters’ Jewish creators (Jack and Joe were from a generation to which that would have never occurred), nor was it because I thought that Marvel had allowed Nick Spencer to do lasting damage to the character (although the list of deaths Cap is directly and indirectly responsible for has been growing with each issue).  I was against it because it was simply not the Captain America story I wanted to read.  

Just as I don’t see every movie or read every book, I cannot buy every comic on the offhand that they might be good.  I like Captain America.  I want to read Captain America stories by and large but I don’t read them simply because they exist.  I have to have the expectation that they will be good.  Usually, the creative team is what cinches the deal.  Nick Spencer and Jesus Saiz were not known quantities to broker that transaction so the storyline had to be the thing.  When I learned by the end of that first issue that the plot would concern Cap acting as an agent of Hydra, I decided to bow out.  Not because it doesn’t have potential for an exciting story, generally I love Hydra stories but after his long absence as an old timer bereft of his Super Soldier Serum, I was ready for Steve Rogers to get back to the core of who he is and what he does.  This didn’t seem like quite the thing.  

So I didn’t buy it.  When I heard a year later that the story would be culminating in this spring’s event, Secret Empire, my curiosity got the better of me and I binge read all 16 issues of Captain America: Steve Rogers.  There is a good story here... buried, poking out here and there over 16 issues.  What is all too prevalent in this protracted story is endless bloviating, cliched dialogue, and some not professional grade artwork.  I’m not going to screen grab the truly objectionable panels but, with multiple artists needed to get this book out for some reason, there are some not ready for prime time players involved.  Marvel should frankly be embarrassed to have published some of the artwork that has appeared in this book.  Not How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way.  

This is not a problem that today’s Secret Empire #0 has, however.  Daniel Acuna is a favorite and his work didn’t disappoint.  Several click bait comics/media articles are claiming that the opening scenes in the book indicate that Cap has not only always been an agent of Hydra but that the Nazis actually won WWII in the Marvel Universe, that their world was made to think the opposite because the Allies ‘developed’ a Cosmic Cube as a last chance, Hail Mary save.  What these sites are failing to realize is that all this information is coming from Steve’s memories, which we already know have been tainted by Skull.  If the past were truly changed and as different has Steve remembers, then we would have seen ripples of change in the Marvel present.  None have been shown to exist, however.  Baron Zemo has no idea why Steve thinks they are best friends since childhood but he’s going along with it.  Bucky wouldn’t have his metal arm or be Winter Soldier if he hadn’t been on that rocket when it blew.  All of this is in Steve’s mind.  In the Marvel present, he’s committing horrible acts of murder, betrayal, and treason because who he is, who he believes himself to be has been altered.   At the time of the first issue’s publication, editor Tom Brevoort claimed that Steve wasn’t brainwashed but that’s exactly what it is, albeit in an unconventional manner.  

At some point, the changes to Steve will be undone and we will inevitably go through months of his guilt over what he did while not in his right state of mind. It’s tedious to even imagine.  When Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 was released, the call from some quarters was to read the story before passing judgment.  17.5 issues later and the story is just now presumably entering its final act.  There is no reason this story had to be so long.  If the writer had been willing to cut down even a little on the endless monologuing throughout nearly every issue, this could have been a much tidier six issue arc.  It was exhausting to read.  I haven’t even mentioned yet that the story splintered into Thunderbolts and U.S.Avengers, which left you missing seemingly key plot developments if you chose to not spend even more money.

Update:  <SPOILERS>  Civil War II #8 ends the story.  The bulk of the issue consists of two friends yelling for other to stop as they try to murder each other.  They almost kill Captain America at the same time.  Finally, Carol causes Tony’s ‘death’ via excessive force and Ulysses becomes a cosmic deity.  He gives the heroes a glimpse of their futures before heading out, including the upcoming Marvel monster event, what looked to be a reference to AvX, something to do with Killraven, and more.  The alternate futures were fun and David Marquez kept up his high level of excellence.  Still, there were serious problems.  The vague non-explanation as to Tony’s fate was annoying and having to wait for another issue to find out Carol’s reward for killing a friend was also irritating.  Ultimately, this whole series never worked due to my previous listed complaints about mischaracterization and weakness of one side of the philosophical argument, which continued into this installment.

2016 Update: I stopped posting but stopping reading has been harder to do. I tried Black Panther and Black Widow. I read Vision through to the end. I picked up Avengers #1 and #1.1. I read The Unworthy Thor #1 and will pick up the next issue. But the main thing that piqued my curiosity was Civil War II. I’ve read up to the current issue and I’m going to finish the series but I have similar complaints about this series as I have with Marvel in general these days. The story feels driven by an editorial marketing mandate, especially given how Marvel and Bendis have failed to create two compelling arguments for the heroes to fight over. All problems with the first series aside, at least Tony had a legitimate and defensible point. Carol does not. Especially given her past as a member of the U.S. armed forces sworn to protect the Constitution, her stance on going full Minority Report on people is wildly out of character. It’s ironic that Tony is her opponent since this is the evolution of his registration goals in that series.  

Without getting too far into spoilers, there is just no way that I can reconcile Clint’s actions in this series with the Hawkeye I’ve read even recently, let alone for the past decades. Or Banner, for that matter. The scene in question is painfully forced and non-sensical. It’s these kind of out of character moments that really drag these stories down in my estimation. If you can’t connect with the character, why are you reading? Carol is not a villain. Her motivations deserve to have valid reasoning behind them but we’ve slipped far beyond a place where her actions can be rationalized. There is a hint given that she is suffering some form of PTSD from a tragic encounter early in the series but the book doesn’t commit to it.  At least, not yet.  

Which isn’t to say it’s all bad. David Marquez’s art is beautiful and worth waiting for. And Bendis always has his moments that are either hilarious and/or touching. His writing for Miles, especially in #6 and #7, is heartbreaking and real. His fear is palpable and so is his courage. I wish there were more moments like those and less material for click bait on the internet.

In the end, the story did nothing to allay my fears that Marvel is editorially far too focused on sensationalism than character. A quiet moment with a frightened young hero might not trend on twitter the same as yet another known character dying in an event but those moments where we connect with the characters is why we are reading. Sifting through the noise to find the heart is getting harder and harder.

It’s over.  Not a bad storyline and I liked the ending enough.  I’ve been reading Marvel comics since 1975 and this feels like a good time to stop.  It’s funny.  DC and Marvel both upended their continuities and rebooted.  Marvel seems to have made all the right decisions and DC all the wrong ones.  Regardless, I won’t be reading any books from either universes.  Never say never but there aren’t any books catching my attention and quite a few definitively outside of my interest.  I’m ending this tumbler, too.  I have another comics tumblr that’s not Marvel focused.  Check it out.