Initially when the buzz of the film was announced showcasing the most shamelessly blatant example of American Jingoism clumsily disguised as a Superhero ever, this revelation was met with snide sneers of dismissal by several people of my acquaintance. Now after a trailer was released, many of these people changed their tune when they saw a slight glimmer of the back-story of the character, from his origins as a scrawny and well meaning Steve Rogers to an In shape and sexually competent Captain America circa the build up to world war 2. It revealed to me that general public's dismissive attitude towards seemingly cheesy comic heroes dissipates once some of the origin story is shown .
I can say without hyperbole that Captain America is actually my favourite superhero ever. The truth of the matter is , in spite of the fact that I've read comics since I was a fetus (especially those of the superhero persuasion) Superheroes themselves are actually really stupid in my estimation. Sure there are a few characters exempt from this statement , say the beloved Batman for example, but the wide miasma of superheroes out there are perhaps the most retarded collection of intellectual property since the history of anything.
Its not the ridiculous costumes nor the contrived means of how they come to be superheroes initially, but the motivations behind why they all decide to become selfless do gooders that makes me want to vomit all over my cat. Whether your in the Marvel Universe with more interchangeable superheroes than there are pixels in a screenshot of Avatar, or the less varied but hugely dull world of DC comics, they all decide that the best use of their powers would be to serve and protect a race of ungrateful wastes of oxygen that is the human race. Sure some of them become the villains but that's usually a result of unrequited love or daddy issues that lead them to the dark side as opposed to a pure lust for power( presumably in an effort to make the villians somewhat tragic and hence make us give a shit about them) The notion that if 25 percent of the earth's population gained superpowers the majority of them would become little sparkling Johnny angels is laughable. In our reality anyone with a hint of power, be it financial or political , is usually something of a cunt bucket in manner, not the second incarnation of the Christ.
Look at the Pantheon of Greek Gods, now there are some super powered immortal bad asses that You can sink your nerd claws into. I take my hat off to whatever toga wearing beardo with sandals came up with these characters. Sure their relationships between them all is like something from the very worst episode of the Jeremy kyle show( IE all of them ) but compared to the high school melodrama that superhero characters endure when their not saving the world from Doctor Dooms Penis cancer ray-gun , their relationships by comparison seem way more believable.
I gather that showcasing superhero romances makes them more well rounded and believable characters but if that's the case, why show the dating and cuddling phases and not the sex phase ( possibly because the nature of superhero sex organs is not something any respectable writer worth his salt wants to touch with a 20 foot poll)
Part of the reason is that unlike ordinary simpletons getting magic powers by being bitten by radioactive lemmings, the Greek Gods are inherently powerful at birth and their attitude to the human race is less that of benevolent protectors but more that of cruel and heartless dictators treating the humans with the same sadistic glee of a kid with a magnifying glass has towards ants. Don't kid around, this is more more in line with what super powered beings would be in the real world. Don't agree me ? isn't that cute, you have an opinion! just a pity that its WRONG!!!
Anyway, the reason why Captain America is my favourite hero is because in spite of the fact he dresses like his stylist used to work at Fox news and his dorky helmet probably makes him want to kick his own ass every time he looks in the mirror, there's something actually truly noble about this character. I'm not talking about his fuck all these foreigners theme but his actions in the comics usually indicate someone very different to what his looks otherwise suggest. The red white and blue costume and even the name captain america are all inventions of the men responsible for his transformation .
Like in Watchmens Dr Manhattan, these are all decisions designed to invoke fear in Americas enemy's. You really get the impression that Steve is just going along with all these propaganda trappings because he's just eager to get out there and do some good, not just for america but for the whole world . In the comics there's been evidence that he cares for the well-being of extra terrestrials once earth was lost and he strikes me as a character who generally wants to help people and its not just in his job description because he looks the part.
His powers are more simple and in line to what a human could actually achieve , being superhuman strength and speed whereas most other characters have exhausted the list of what kind of super power you can have, unless they invent one who has the superpower of biscuits. Depending on how you look at him, Captain America is exactly what Hitler sought to create, a blonde haired blue eyed Super Man only in this story he's a puppet for the perhaps equally evil united states government as opposed to the Third Reich
Compared to Batman who is still the greatest superhero of all time( so long as Robin has been wiped out of existence by sending the T-1000 back in time to murder his parents ahead of time) Captain America himself didn't need a traumatic event to spark off his decision to become a superhero. Not to mention, if most people even phenomenally wealthy people had their parents murdered in front of them as a kid, its very unlikely they would grow up to dress up like a blind flying mammal and go around fighting equally flamboyant baddies.
In summation, I hope the Captain America film does well and isn't another shameless, post 911
"how cool are we" American wank fest . You know, something enjoyed only by the people who thought Japan deserved the recent earthquake (as Gods retribution for pearl harbour , lest we forget that America already got its petty revenge by dropping two atomic bombs killing 90,000–166,000 civilians in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki not to mention those who died later of radiation sickness -apologies for the history lesson) and those that thought GI Joe film should have been more patriotic. Patriotism? more like Hate-tritism ( thanks Chris Rock )
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