R.I.P. Captain America

[Hardrock69]

Comic book hero Captain America dies
Associated Press

NEW YORK - Captain America has undertaken his last mission - at least for now. The venerable superhero is killed in the issue of his namesake comic that hit stands Wednesday, the Daily News reported.

On the new edition's pages, a sniper shoots down the shield-wielding hero as he leaves a courthouse, according to the newspaper.

It ends a long run for the stars-and-stripes-wearing character, created in 1941 to incarnate patriotic feeling during World War II. Over the years, an estimated 210 million copies of "Captain America" comic books, published by New York-based Marvel Entertainment Inc., have been sold in a total of 75 countries.

But resurrections are not unknown in the world of comics, and Marvel Entertainment editor in chief Joe Quesada said a Captain America comeback wasn't impossible.

Still, the character's death came as a blow to co-creator Joe Simon.

"We really need him now," said Simon, 93, who worked with artist Jack Kirby to devise Captain America as a foe for Adolf Hitler.

According to the comic, the superhero was spawned when a scrawny arts student named Steve Rogers, ineligible for the army because of his poor health but eager to serve his country, agreed to a "Super Soldier Serum" injection. The substance made him a paragon of physical perfection, armed only with his shield, his strength, his smarts and a command of martial arts.

In the comic-book universe, death is not always final. But even if Captain America turns out to have met his end in print, he may not disappear entirely: Marvel has said it is developing a Captain America movie.

[VanHalener]

This sucks, and I'll bet Eddie Van Halen had something to do with it.

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[bueno bob]

A sniper?

How gay.

Should have had Doomsday kill him off - Doomsday's the go-to guy for killing off super heroes...

[VanHalener]

Who killed Superman? Doomsday?

[bueno bob]

Originally posted by vanhalener
Who killed Superman? Doomsday?

Yup. Of course it's DC universe vs. Marvel universe, but fuck it...what else are you gonna do, have The Punisher kill Captain America?

Make it a crossover, why the hell not!

[bueno bob]

On that note...

http://www.danscottart.com/images/Superman-Doomsday.jpg

[VanHalener]

I snatched that picture right up. Thanks!

[Vinnie Velvet]

Its just a way to rejuvenate the comics and the character -- very similar to what DC did with the ''death of Superman' issue.

I sure would welcome a new Capt. America movie though.

That cheap B-grade one in 1990 was BAD.

[Steve Savicki]

A C.A. movie to follow?

[FORD]

It would have been symbolically appropriate to kill off Captain America at any point after December 12, 2000.

[VanHalener]

Someone needs to ink Plissken into a new addition and send him to find the sniper and his cronies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRKgDU6pEgE

[Little Texan]

The sniper was probably an al Qaida operative!

[TVGUY]

I'm sure they'll bring him back somehow... Maybe he has a son that will take over.... Wasn't CA banging Wonderwoman?

[FORD]

I remember, when you were down
And you needed a helping hand
I came to feed you
But now that I need you
You wont give me a second glance
Now Im calling all citizens from all over the world
This is captain america calling
I bailed you out when you were down on your knees
So will you catch me now Im falling

Help me now Im calling you
Catch me now Im falling
Im in your hands, its up to you
Catch me now Im falling

I remember when you were down
You would always come running to me
I never denied you and I would guide you
Through all of your difficulties
Now Im calling all citizens from all over the world
This is captain america calling
I bailed you out when you were down on your knees
So will you catch me now Im falling

Help me now Im calling you
Catch me now Im falling
Im in your hands, its up to you
Catch me now Im falling

When you were broke you would come to me
And I would always pull you round
Now I call your office on the telephone
And your secretary tells me that shes sorry,
But, youve gone out of town.

This is captain america calling
This is captain america calling

Help me now Im calling you
Catch me now Im falling
Im in your hands, its up to you
Catch me now Im falling

Catch me now Im falling
Catch me now Im falling
Catch me now Im falling
Catch me now Im falling

I stood by you through all of your depressions
And I lifted you when you were down
Now its your chance to do the same for me
I call your office and your secretary tells me
That youve gone out of town

This is captain america calling
This is captain america calling

Catch me now Im falling
Catch me now Im falling

I was the one who always bailed you out
Of your depressions and your difficulties
I never thought that you would let me down
But the next time youre in trouble
Better not come running to me

Now Im calling all citizens from all over the world
This is captain america calling
I bailed you out when you were down on your knees
So will you catch me now Im falling
Catch me now Im falling

Catch me now Im falling
Catch me now Im falling
Catch me now Im falling
Catch me now Im falling

[ULTRAMAN VH]

Let me guess, Captain Mexico is taking over.

[diamondD]

He's just been outsourced to a company in India. :mad:

[bueno bob]

lmao...no shit...

Nah, they'll bring him back, or at least replace him with a newer model. Basically that's the reason Superman was killed off in '93 - comic book sales were slow, but a whole new audience was getting hip to the idea of snatching up comic books and using them for resale years down the road. Playing off of this idea, DC decided to rub out two of their biggest players - Superman (who was killed by a new villain, the aforementioned Doomsday, as it didn't seem appropriate for Lex Luthor, Brainiac or somebody else already established to walk away with the honor). Batman also was taken out as well (although he wasn't killed - his back was broken by another new villain, Bane).

In the case of Superman, four other Supermen showed up claiming to be him - one was Cyborg, who ended up being a major villain; the other was a Superman clone who ended up being the new Superboy; the third was Steel, who was basically a guy with a powered up battle suit carrying on in his name, and the fourth ended up being the Eradicator, who, following his original programming to preserve the Kryptonian heritage, brought the REAL Superman back to life using the Fortress of Solitude's technology. In the case of Batman, Bruce Wayne was replaced temporarily by Nightwing, and then Azrael, until the original got back in shape.

Now, the funny thing about all this was that the "New Batman" issue and the "Death of Superman" issue were really hyped, so a LOT of people rushed out on the day of release to pick up these "collector's issues". Since the issues were so prominent, DC ended up having a field day in sales, but people were REALLY pissed when they found out five years down the road that their super special collectors editions weren't worth much more than $10, and then only if they were in the collectors edition packaging and unopened. Market saturation made DC a bunch in sales, but as far as collectability, well, there was none.

This will probably be the same for Marvel and Captain America. Either they'll replace Captain America with a new super soldier wearing the uniform or a clone of the original will step up to the plate. Marvel loves clones, so I'd expect that before anything else.

The downside to new villains who kill off the major players is that, after they do their damage, there's really nowhere else for them to go and promising villains end up becoming de-powered. In the case of Doomsday, his premise is wickedly good...his genetic code is so advanced, if even a molecular scrap of his body remains after he gets killed by anything, he just regenerates and whatever it was that killed him he becomes completely immune to. On top of that, he continually evolves into a more effective killing machine, developing new abilities and new defenses every time he comes back.

Well, the last thing actually capable of killing Doomsday was an entity called Imperiex, who was himself capable of destroying the entire universe with a wave of his hand (basically, Imperiex had possession of the "Big Bang" as his own superpower). Doomsday, of course, came back and ended up getting into it with Superman one more time. In a rather ridiculous turn of events, Doomsday developed intelligence - but instead of making him completely unstoppable by any means whatsoever (which, technically, it should have), it actually decreased his effectiveness and allowed Superman to "play on his fears" in order to physically beat him.

Not possible? Of course it's not. No way in HELL could Superman even remotely stand his ground against something like Doomsday - nobody in the DC universe could, even if they were all teamed up against him. But, the only other alternative is to have Doomsday go on a rampage, kill EVERYBODY, and end all of the comics permanently, so...what do you do? You derail the storyline, power down the enemy and leave readers going "Fuck, this is gay." By the same standards, the last time I saw Bane in a Batman comic, he was basically as effective as any normal villain would be. Nothing special.

Marvel's advantage here, when you look at it from DC's point, is that, by using an average sniper, an average human being, they don't really have to worry about the long term consequences, so...in this case, I think that perhaps Marvel's taking Captain America out of the game in such an anti-climatic fashion might actually be to their benefit in the long run.

[DLRdelight!]

Originally posted by bueno bob
lmao...no shit...

Nah, they'll bring him back, or at least replace him with a newer model. Basically that's the reason Superman was killed off in '93 - comic book sales were slow, but a whole new audience was getting hip to the idea of snatching up comic books and using them for resale years down the road. Playing off of this idea, DC decided to rub out two of their biggest players - Superman (who was killed by a new villain, the aforementioned Doomsday, as it didn't seem appropriate for Lex Luthor, Brainiac or somebody else already established to walk away with the honor). Batman also was taken out as well (although he wasn't killed - his back was broken by another new villain, Bane).

In the case of Superman, four other Supermen showed up claiming to be him - one was Cyborg, who ended up being a major villain; the other was a Superman clone who ended up being the new Superboy; the third was Steel, who was basically a guy with a powered up battle suit carrying on in his name, and the fourth ended up being the Eradicator, who, following his original programming to preserve the Kryptonian heritage, brought the REAL Superman back to life using the Fortress of Solitude's technology. In the case of Batman, Bruce Wayne was replaced temporarily by Nightwing, and then Azrael, until the original got back in shape.

Now, the funny thing about all this was that the "New Batman" issue and the "Death of Superman" issue were really hyped, so a LOT of people rushed out on the day of release to pick up these "collector's issues". Since the issues were so prominent, DC ended up having a field day in sales, but people were REALLY pissed when they found out five years down the road that their super special collectors editions weren't worth much more than $10, and then only if they were in the collectors edition packaging and unopened. Market saturation made DC a bunch in sales, but as far as collectability, well, there was none.

This will probably be the same for Marvel and Captain America. Either they'll replace Captain America with a new super soldier wearing the uniform or a clone of the original will step up to the plate. Marvel loves clones, so I'd expect that before anything else.

The downside to new villains who kill off the major players is that, after they do their damage, there's really nowhere else for them to go and promising villains end up becoming de-powered. In the case of Doomsday, his premise is wickedly good...his genetic code is so advanced, if even a molecular scrap of his body remains after he gets killed by anything, he just regenerates and whatever it was that killed him he becomes completely immune to. On top of that, he continually evolves into a more effective killing machine, developing new abilities and new defenses every time he comes back.

Well, the last thing actually capable of killing Doomsday was an entity called Imperiex, who was himself capable of destroying the entire universe with a wave of his hand (basically, Imperiex had possession of the "Big Bang" as his own superpower). Doomsday, of course, came back and ended up getting into it with Superman one more time. In a rather ridiculous turn of events, Doomsday developed intelligence - but instead of making him completely unstoppable by any means whatsoever (which, technically, it should have), it actually decreased his effectiveness and allowed Superman to "play on his fears" in order to physically beat him.

Not possible? Of course it's not. No way in HELL could Superman even remotely stand his ground against something like Doomsday - nobody in the DC universe could, even if they were all teamed up against him. But, the only other alternative is to have Doomsday go on a rampage, kill EVERYBODY, and end all of the comics permanently, so...what do you do? You derail the storyline, power down the enemy and leave readers going "Fuck, this is gay." By the same standards, the last time I saw Bane in a Batman comic, he was basically as effective as any normal villain would be. Nothing special.

Marvel's advantage here, when you look at it from DC's point, is that, by using an average sniper, an average human being, they don't really have to worry about the long term consequences, so...in this case, I think that perhaps Marvel's taking Captain America out of the game in such an anti-climatic fashion might actually be to their benefit in the long run.


very informative. i wish i would have gotten into comics more

[Bill Lumbergh]

Originally posted by Vinnie Velvet
Its just a way to rejuvenate the comics and the character -- very similar to what DC did with the ''death of Superman' issue.

I sure would welcome a new Capt. America movie though.

That cheap B-grade one in 1990 was BAD.

No fucking shit, huh?! That was BAD.....almost as bad as the Punisher with Dolph Lundgren sitting naked in the fucking sewer....

[bueno bob]

Originally posted by Bill Lumbergh
No fucking shit, huh?! That was BAD.....almost as bad as the Punisher with Dolph Lundgren sitting naked in the fucking sewer....

Don't remind me of that Punisher movie. The only thing good about that movie was the body count.

I'm not surprised to find out that the first thing YOU'D remember about it was a naked Dolph Lundgren in the sewer. Pretty much right up your alley.

:mad:

[Anonymous]

Hey, don't badmouth The Punisher with Dolph! That movie is a cfuckin' CLASSIC! It's one of my all-time favorite movies - hell, if I want to watch a movie from the 80's where one man can kill an entire organization armed with only a knife and an uzi, I watch The Punisher. It has ALL the elements that made the 80's so grate - the storyline, special effects, stunts, body count, whatever...

Although, I really don't remember him sitting naked in the sewer... when was that? I DO remember him fighting the Japanese chick that was damn hot and so nasty she could make you cum just by smiling at you - in a nasty way, of course.

Oh yeah, and Superman is now gay, Batman ain't much better and any superhero that dies and comes back is goinfg down the same alley. Seriously, it just kills the buzz. 'Course, Spider-man didn't even have to die to kill the buzz fer me... he just had to have a movie...

Cheers1 :bottle:

[bueno bob]

Dolph naked in the sewer was the intro to the flick, and the end of it if I remember correctly...kind of it's post script, I guess.

The worst thing about it was that it carried the "Punisher" tag to it - in reality, it had nothing to do with the Punisher, other than naming him Frank Castle and having a back story about how his wife and brats got blown up in a car bomb that was meant for him. Even that wasn't entirely accurate, because I believe, comics-wise, that his wife and kids got caught in the middle of a gang war...could be wrong on that, I don't know...

I think we're in agreement, though - the body count was the best part of the movie...

Honestly? The Tom Jane/John Travolta "Punisher" movie was about 1000 times better, I think - that was a surprisingly entertaining movie. Just heard about the sequel, and the Punisher's up in New York this time, so it's closer to home, rather than the Florida setting the last movie had.

Wonder if we'll see Jigsaw now...?

[Anonymous]

1000 times better? With John Travolta, even? Lay off the tea, Bob... you're getting delusional. On second though, gimme the recipe.

You may be right about the gang war... but I'm pretty convinced it was a car bomb that was supposed to kill to him... but it's all a blur. I know I had an issue that made a reference to the death of his wife and kids, but I'm not gonna search through my entire library just to find that... maybe someone knows? Or a web search? Dunno.

Still, Dolph Lundgren kicks arse, and The punisher really is one of my all time favorite movies. No frills, no gayness, just to the point - kill 'em all! Quite entertaining...

Cheers! :bottle:

[bueno bob]

Did you see the Tom Jane movie?

If not, you really should give it a try...very well done...

[VanHalener]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWX-oRw_KYQ

[Bill Lumbergh]

Originally posted by bueno bob
Don't remind me of that Punisher movie. The only thing good about that movie was the body count.

I'm not surprised to find out that the first thing YOU'D remember about it was a naked Dolph Lundgren in the sewer. Pretty much right up your alley.

:mad:

:D

[Bill Lumbergh]

Originally posted by bueno bob
Did you see the Tom Jane movie?

If not, you really should give it a try...very well done...though the one with Dolph REALLY gets the juices flowing....I didnt want to bring this up again, but like Bill, I feel the "Dolph sitting naked in the sewer" was a watershed moment in cinematic history.....just thinking about the sweat and filth, the rats.....did they climb "in" and give ol' Dolph a thrill he hadnt experienced since Rocky put him "down"??!!?? Dont we all wanna know....

WTF????!!!!!

[bueno bob]

Jesus Christ, that's pretty fucked up.

Hats off to Lumbergh...gah....

:)

[Bill Lumbergh]

Originally posted by bueno bob
Jesus Christ, that's pretty fucked up.

Hats off to Lumbergh...gah....

:)

You sick fuck :D