The end of Marvel’s Civil War storyline we find ourselves coping with the demise of their most iconic charter Captain America. I see Marvel’s post Captain America era as a metaphor for the transition the country is going though. The topic is covered in many of their titles. One such title is the Young Avengers Presents, a six issue mini series of a gimmick created to bring in more teen readers. I was originally surprised at how well the regular issues are written and this six book installment is no exception.
The first installment “Patriot” Eli Bradley is having a crisis of faith. It is mostly talking heads (the writer did sneak in the obligatory two fight scenes) with Eli dealing with the contradiction of being a black man with the code name Patriot. A brief history lesson touches the trails of African Americans setting the stage for our young hero’s search for enlightenment. Eli crosses paths with former teen hero Bucky Barnes. After some teen angst with standard comic book conflict and subsequent resolution Eli catches up with Bucky at Captain America‘s old digs. The two talk about Eli’s conflicted feelings without coming to a real conclusion; which is fine.
The charters introspection is not meant to resolve their issues but is an invitation to the reader to explore their own thoughts. As we read the questions and responses it’s natural to interject our own opinions into the conversation. No definitive answers are reached leaving us to interpret just what dose patriotism mean in the post Captain America era.
I will miss Captain America. So far Marvel has been using his demise to good effect. I just can’t say how long this will last. Comic publishers, Marvel and DC especially, are not known for their restraint and the news of things to come has been very disturbing. I can only hope good sense will ultimately prevail.
Who’m I kidding, pistol packing Captain America is on his way and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. I’ll just enjoy the good storylines while they last.
-CJ
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