CAPTAIN AMERICA #5

By Tony Whitt     October 15, 2002

With all the spear-rattling and cries for war going on in the US today, it's a refreshing change of pace to find an expression of patriotism that's not a cry for blood, or a means to win an election, or an attack on those who are somehow less patriotic. But then, Captain America has always been a symbol of our ideals, not our norms - he's the embodiment of what our country should be, not what it is.

That's especially apparent in this issue, which begins with Cap fighting off a group of terrorists who have tried to kill him during the Fourth of July celebrations along the Potomac, as he makes his way to catch a flight to Dresden. It appears the terrorists have access to some highly advanced SHIELD technology, technology which they most emphatically should not have. The answer to the puzzle lies in Dresden, a town that Steve Rogers witnessed being destroyed in much the same way that the Twin Towers were destroyed a year ago...and for seemingly similar reasons.

The most interesting part of this month's issue is not the explosive battle between Cap and the terrorists while fireworks explode in the background - in fact, it may be difficult for someone joining the story with this issue to realize exactly what's going on at first. No, the most interesting part is Steve Rogers' plane flight to Dresden and his discussion with a young German woman making her way home. If you didn't know comic book production schedules as
well as you do, you'd be forgiven for thinking this issue was written yesterday: the German girl's questions about America's seeming confusion about who it's fighting and what it now believes in are more pressing now than they must have been even when Neiber was writing this script. The fact that Cap himself specifically does not want to see World War III, on the grounds that each World War has taken more and more of its share of civilian casualties than soldiers, and his poignant comparison of the bombing of Dresden to the destruction of the World Trade Center, sound almost like criticisms of an administration that seems bent on leading us into the fire, an administration which has seemingly forgotten who will pay the actual price of such a war. This may be a quieter issue than most of this series, but it's no less important to the development of Captain America as a symbol of what we should be striving for.

It also further develops Steve Rogers as the sort of American we're all becoming: someone who still wants to believe in his country but whose faith is buffeted by the possible wrongs he sees it committing. His anger at Nick Fury upon discovering that the terrorists have access to the same technology that the so-called "good guys" have mirrors the anger that Americans must have felt when we discovered that our country had allegedly sold weapons to countries which are now using them against us. As such, Steve Rogers is a far more credible character than ever before.

John Cassaday's artwork continues to be a revelation of how moving comics can be when they're done right. Since this issue also serves as yet another remembrance of September 11, Cassaday takes great care to render the most iconic images of both that tragedy and the Dresden bombing in shocking detail. The action sequences this issue are as strong as usual, but they have nothing on Steve's flashback to WWII and his realization of what he and his fellow countrymen actually did in Dresden. A stronger marriage between script and artwork is hard to find - and a stronger expression of true patriotism (whatever that really is) even harder.

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at
feedback@cinescape.com.