I apologize for this in that I am coopting the story segment this week to share something I find incredibly important and needs to be said.

Are you Effing Kidding Me…

I haven’t read the comic, will not read this comic, am appalled that something like this has even been done.

Sorry, let me back up a little. So if you are into the comics scene and what not you may notice that Marvel is going out of their way to shake up their universe. Thor is a woman, Steve Rogers has given the Captain America mantel over to Falcon … the list goes on.

You can call this a shake up to reignite fans, resetting their virtual play grounds, what the hell ever. It all boils down to publicity stunts to boost sales. And then they come up with this. The premiere issue of Steve Rogers Captain America, ends with him proclaiming “Hail Hydra!” This stated as if he has been a double agent all along.

As rational human beings we know and understand that Captain America is nothing more than a character within fictional stories. Just as we know that Thor as a Norse God can be changed to say that it is something bestowed by a magical hammer and has nothing to do with the history of the mythology. And this is where the fuck up begins.

And this is something to note…

Steve Rogers has stood as Captain America since the ’40s. There have been points in his history where he has given up the mantle. He has even gone through a blood transfusion in one storyline where he had the super soldier serum removed from his system. But in none of these occasions has he even not followed the ideals of who and what Captain America has stood for. Not once has Steve Rogers been anything but what you expect of the name Captain America. And this, this is why this stunt is so wrong, on every level.

If you would be so kind, please take a few minutes and read this post. Jessica Plummer did a fantastic job of stating how wrong this bullshit is in a way I am at a loss of words to convey. On Steve Rogers #1, Antisemisim, and Publicity Stunts.

One of the most tragic things that bullshit like these kind of publicity stunts do, is trample on the messages and the mythology that was created in the history of these characters. We have already taken it as a given that the views and faith of the fans mean nothing to these people. They are willing to change anything they feel like in the vein of “What if” without a thought to anything, including the message and thoughts of those who came before them.

This isn’t a spirit of collaboration. It is a show of fuck you and what you believe. The sad thing is, we will hear cries of “butthurt” among so many others. And these will come from the same people who will cry about treating artists with respect blah blah blah… if you are unwilling to treat the artistic visions of others with respect by trampling on their works as you change them for your own agenda, anything else you say and do is simply lip service with nothing to back it up.

As a side note…

I had considered using the cover image for the comic in question as a visual here. But I am not going to give this any more play than I have to. And I also realize that giving it any extra thought is playing into the hands of their publicity stunt. But this is something I can’t sit by and just completely ignore. I refuse to give them that kind of power. We won’t sit idly by without a word to oppose this kind of disservice.