In a world whose reality relies on the minds and hands of a
select group of people, breaking continuity shouldn't surprise anyone. There
are a few constants in the comic book world. Bruce Wanyne's parents gets shot
and he becomes the Dark Knight. Uncle Ben dies but not before talking to Peter
about responsibility which he keeps in mind as he becomes your friendly
neighborhood Spiderman. Kal-El is a Kyrptonian alien raised in Smallville as
Clark Kent and eventually becomes the Man of Steel. Steve Rogers lives for the
American Ideals and becomes Captain America to fight HYDRA forev---wait,,
WHAT?
HOLY DOCTOR STRANGEFATE!
 |
| Thank you Amalgam universe! |
Unless you've been living under a rock (or somewhere without
WIFI, or if you simply did not LOOK AT THE PICTURE ABOVE), then I bet you've already heard about Marvel Comic's latest twist - Captain America was a HYDRA agent all along. Cue dramatic music. *dun-dun-duun-duuun*
Now before moving forward, fair warning, I am NOT a comic book
expert. Those guys are on a totally different level. I think, however, that I
am more knowledgeable than the regular fan. So with that out of the way, here
is a simple fan's reaction to this whole 'Captain-America-is-HYDRA' fiasco.
It is an asspull.
There is no other way to put it, at least as of this moment,
this latest development is nothing short of an asspull. What is an asspull?
Asspull is the trope that refers to events that happen in a storyline that
comes out of nowhere with little to no foreshadowing at all. In short, it was
pulled out of the you-know-what. Prominent examples can be seen through various fictional universes, such as Yugi of Yu-Gi-Oh! drawing and using a card for the first time at just the right exact time, or a random technique or character out of nowhere appearing to solve a plot - hence it being referred to as plot-no-jutsu by the series' fans.
Captain America as a HYDRA agent was never foreshadowed in all
of the years and decades that he existed. No single line or panel to allure to
this, no mysterious scene or open-ended-scenario that suggest this. Nothing.
Now the writers of the current Captain America storyline has
gone into record saying that the next few volumes would show the signs and
proof that show that Cap' was a HYDRA agent all along. But let's be honest
here, this wasn't part of who Cap' was when he was created. Even the writers
said that the idea began in 2014. So if any, they had two years more or less to
lay the grounds for this reveal. Everything else that happened before that?
They just have to retroactively redefine it to fit this revelation.
That being said, it being an asspull is not the be-all and
end-all when it comes to the quality of the story. We'd get back to this in a
while, but for now, let's just say that...
Marvel's got some serious balls.
The comic book universe, be it DC or Marvel or Japanese manga,
is not new to world-shattering events. There are comic book events that are so
significant that they are talked about even in the real world. Superman dies in
his battle against Doomsday, Batman is killed by Darkseid, Joker killing the
second Robin - Jason Todd thanks to fan votes, Cap dies during the end of the
first Civil War storyline. To go through with such significant plots - which
needless to say could easily backfire on the publishing company - requires
serious guts. But let's break it down, shall we?
(1) Comic Book Deaths nearly mean nothing.
Almost all significant comic book character that died came back alive. Superman
dead at the hands of Doomsday? Nope. Batman killed by Darkseid? He was actually
sent back in time. Jason Todd killed by the Joker? He comes back to the
Bat-family as the Red Hood. And obviously, Steve Rogers didn't stay dead. It
seems like Gwen Stacy is the only significant character that stayed dead
*sobs*. Captain being part of HYDRA is not a death story though.
(2) Most of these events only affect the story moving forward.
Those "deaths" mostly only affect the future of the comic book
universe. We ask questions like "What will the world be without
Superman?", "Without Batman, who shall look over Gotham
City?".
But these latest twist to Captain America's history not just
affects his future, but also goes to question EVERYTHING
that he has done in the past. Doesn't
this essentially mean that everything he stood for was nothing but a lie? This
is like saying Bruce Wayne arranged for his parents to get shot so that he
could get all the Wayne fortune for himself or that Tony Stark wasn't a genius
at all and is just stealing all his tech from A.I.M.
So yeah, Marvel's got some guts, but the question is...
How far will they take this Captain America-HYDRA storyline?
Let's be real here. Cap' won't stay as a villain. After a few
months or a year or two, he'd return as the hero who once punched Adolf Hitler
square in the face. That is for sure. These characters are staples of comic
book lore. Besides, very few comic book characters are synonymous to their
alter egos. Superman will always be Clark Kent/Kal-El. Batman will always be
Bruce Wayne, Spiderman is always going to be Peter Parker, and recently largely
thanks to the movies, Iron Man is always going to be Tony Stark. If the world's
most famous sidekick, Dick Grayson-Robin, couldn't take over the mantle of his
mentor full time (publication-wise), then I bet no one could take over the
mantle of the other equally-significant superheroes. This is just to shake things up. It makes for good business you know?
But knowing that he is never going to stay at the dark side
doesn't mean we can't enjoy it can we? Now it is now a question of just how far
will they take this storyline to? With Civil War II coming out soon, will this
revelation factor into his actions in that story? Was he the primary reason why
HYDRA just can't seem to die? Will Captain eventually kill people, or even
superheroes, as part of HYDRA?
They can still pull off a good story with this. Cap' wasn't the
first hero-turned-villain that eventually became good again. Hal Jordan, the
greatest Green Lantern of all time, once became Paralax, one of the biggest
villain during that time. It made for compelling stories, then eventually he
returned to becoming a Lantern. It
could be done. It has been done. The question now is how will Marvel pull this
off? Will
they go with the double-agent twist were he is part of HYDRA just to destroy it
within (the most obvious story choice at the moment) or will they go with
something deeper?
I for one am intrigued with this story that Marvel is about to
tell. I know that a lot are up in arms and feeling slighted by this twist,
feeling that the current authors are being disrespectful to the history of
Captain America. While there may be a chance of this story doing irreparable
damage to Cap's character, I won't be too quick to judge. I'd wait for this
story to unfold first, as Marvel has a chance to tell a story that could become
a classic that would be talked upon for years to come. A story so good that
telling people about is something that, as Cap put it,
Is Steve Rogers-Captain America being a HYDRA agent all along
the real life?
Or is this just fantasy?
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