Unca Cheeks the Toy Wonder's Silver Age Comics Web Site!
ON
CAPTAIN
AMERICA
. . . AND THE TRIUMPH OF THE SPIRIT
[4]
I like waking up every morning with Tony Isabella.
Okay; I probably ought to explain
that
Tony Isabella -- the creator of BLACK LIGHTNING for DC Comics, and a man whose devotion to the eternal storytelling verities is rivaled only (perhaps) by his commitments to grassroots political awareness and the principles of an informed electorate -- writes the monstrously popular TONY'S ONLINE TIPS; a daily online journal focusing on events within and concerning the comics medium...
... except, of course,
for when it doesn't.
Y'see: Tony frequently veers off into subjects such as (say) the recent Presidential impeachment; censorship shenanigans at the local library; the proper gender (if any) of various SAILOR MOON cartoon characters; the appalling lack of simple, everyday etiquette in online discourse; and whether or not anyone within his loyal and devoted readership has ever entertained... errrrrr... ummmmm... "impure thoughts" about him.
(... dear God... how
did he know...?)
I imagine Tony regularly receives a fair handful of spluttering, outraged e-mail responses to some (or all) of these, demanding that he "stick to comic books, dammit!"
Myself : I hope
he never changes.
Along
with the invaluable Robert Ingersoll (whose THE LAW IS AN ASS column
in the pages of THE COMIC BUYER'S GUIDE is always Damned Fine Reading),
he recently co-authored the paperback CAPTAIN AMERICA: LIBERTY'S
TORCH (check out the snazzy Jim Steranko cover!). Concerning
an attempted take-over of the United States by an extreme right-wing
political faction -- including a fabulous trial of a captive Captain
America, on charges of "treason" (!) -- it's $6.50 well
spent, for 272 pages of top-flight adventure and pointed
political commentary. ISBN # 0-425-16619-8. Unca Cheeks Says: check it out. NOW.
Let's see what the good Mr. Isabella has to say, regarding things red, white and blue-ish...
CHEEKS: When Captain America was first frozen into suspended
animation, decades ago, he left behind an America of common cause and
community ("Loose Lips Sink Ships!"); a country where (paradoxically) women and minorities were still regarded (in practice, if not actual law) as "second-class citizens"; and one where the U.S. Commander-In-Chief was so august and revered an individual, he kept his own polio-induced lameness a secret from the public-at-large, rather than (supposedly) "diminishing" his stature and authority in their eyes.
When the good Captain was revived once more: it was just in time to witness the first stirrings of the nascent Women's Liberation movement; strident battles over school integration and lunch counter access; and (soon) a shifting away from the notion of an "imperial presidency," in the midst of a "Cold War" culture.
Question: what was the single greatest, most jarring socio- political
shock with which Captain America had to wrestle-- either intellectually
or emotionally-- upon awakening from his decades-long slumber?
TONY ISABELLA: Marvel time being somewhat fluid, Captain America may have--in current continuity--missed much of the turmoil you mention in this question. Even so, I think the biggest shock was more personal than socio-political, namely, how does a man fifty years out of his time fit into today's world and make the kinds of contributions he is driven by sense of duty and morality to make?
In a moral sense, the Steve Rogers of the 1940s was decades ahead of the America of his time. He fought alongside brave men and women from all walks of life. Two of his closest allies were an android and a mutant. I think his essential sense of fairness allowed him to take women's lib and
integration in stride.
However, like the rest of us, he had some growing up to do in the area of politics. We aren't electing perfect men and women to office. We never did. They are human beings; they can champion wrong causes, they can make mistakes, they can use their offices for personal gain.
Captain America overcomes this by placing his strongest faith, not in
elected officials, but in the basic courage and decency and goodness of his fellow Americans.
CHEEKS: One of the more interesting aspects of the Captain America
character (to my mind, at any rate) is the close alliance --both
professional and personal--he formed, virtually instantaneously, with the covert espionage organization known as SHIELD (in general); and with said organization's commander, Nick Fury (in particular).
This has always struck me as somewhat odd, given that the (apparent)
mandate for SHIELD has included-- at various points along the way --spying on U.S. citizens, even by means of telepathy (the SHIELD "Esper Division"); infiltrating and/or attempting to secure control over privately-owned companies (Stark International; etc.); and similarly not-quite-cricket means of achieving their various "ends."
How was Captain America--a classic FDR-style "New Deal" liberal (or so
it's always seemed to me, at any rate)--able to reconcile such actions
with his own personal ethos and world view; even to the extent of joining SHIELD, at one point?
TONY ISABELLA: While Captain America has respect for the individual members of SHIELD, he couldn't approve of all the organization's methods. He respects their authority, but not to the point where he would embrace their frequent violations of individual rights.
As for his wanting to join SHIELD, that came shortly after he returned to the world. He was looking to belong to something and government service--on the face of it--probably looked like a good and familiar place to be. I don't think he would be interested in joining SHIELD today.
CHEEKS: There is an ancient (and infamous) "theoretical question" in science fiction fandom: 'If you could go back in time and strangle the infant Hitler in his crib... would you?"
Let's apply the question to Captain America: a man who experienced countless horrors in the midst of defending his country, during World War II; a man who lost his first partner (and surrogate "son") as a direct result of said war; and a man who knows that No Hitler equals (in all probability) No Red Skull; no robotic "Sleepers"; and no youthful fascistic "skinhead" movement or Nazis marching through Skokie today.
Therefore: 'If Captain America could go back in time and strangle the infant Hitler in his crib... would he?
[NOTE: for the purposes of this particular theoretical: no. He can not take said infant back into the present day with him. Reed Richards
said so.]
TONY ISABELLA: No, he wouldn't. It would be murder.
I once wrote, "expediency is not heroism," and that applies to this situation. Cap would never take the easy way out, especially if that easy way out involved committing a heinous crime. Hitler the baby was not a criminal or a murderer. No matter what he would become, he was an innocent at that point in time.
CHEEKS: If given a direct order by his Commander-In-Chief to do something which he found personally repugnant (but NON-lethal)-- say, commit an act of perjury in a criminal case; or "borrow" some top-secret technological advance from a private company for the U.S. government, for espionage use...would Cap do it?
TONY ISABELLA: No. Since Cap is no longer a member of our country's armed forces, he can and would refuse such an order. Even if he were a member of the armed forces, he would likely refuse such an order and accept whatever consequences came of it.
CHEEKS: Captain America has five minutes alone with Bill Clinton; and another five minutes alone with Ken Starr.
What
does he say to them?
TONY ISABELLA: In my world...he tells the President how disappointed he is in him and tells him he's got a lot to make up for in his remaining two years in office and then for the rest of his life. He doesn't condone Clinton's private shortcomings, but he does stand by the man as long as the man makes an honest effort to serve the American people to the best of his considerable abilities. The needs of the nation must come first.
In my world...he tells Starr that the Independent Counsel's abuse of his office and of the rights of his victims is a bigger danger to the country
that anything he was investigating. He tells Starr that Starr should be
ashamed of himself.
CHEEKS: Captain America: boxers; briefs; or a leopard-skin thong?
TONY ISABELLA: Briefs. Boxers would bunch up under the costume and you don't want to do what happens when you jump around while wearing a thong. You also don't want to know how I know that.
"PANNING FOR SILVER: Captain America" (Page 1)
"PANNING FOR SILVER: Captain America"(MARK EVANIER) (Page 2)
"PANNING FOR SILVER: Captain America" (STEVE ENGLEHART) (Page 3)
"PANNING FOR SILVER: Captain America" (KURT BUSIEK) (Page 5)
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