On Wednesday May 25, 2016, patriotic comic lovers the world over discovered that  their beloved American hero and patron saint, Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, is a secret member of Hydra, the nefarious group who played a major role in WWII Axis forces.  According to Marvel “Hydra is a world-wide subversive organization dedicated to global domination. At its height, Hydra was the most extensive, powerful, and dangerous such organization in history”, basically, the bad guys.

“What”?

Many are highly offended, others heart broken.   It’s probably the same as telling a kid there is no Santa Clause for the first time; it probably hurts “Right There” provoking the “Say it ain’t so” cry.   Some prefer ignorance to enlightenment, living a “What I don’t know won’t hurt me” mentality.  People need their fairy tales, “please, don’t challenge the story.., even if it’s all a lie”.  This news must sting like a slap to the face; for some.

Nevertheless, the world changes as time moves along; evolving alongside humanity, whether we like it or not.  I’m sure people who are 70 look at the world today and say, “That’s not how you wear a baseball cap! What is this?  This place sucks”.   It’s the natural passage of time that makes you feel your age; witnessing things changing at an uncomfortable rate.  The next generation will swear this is how it’s always been, slow conditioning to accept a new standard of what can be called the “new norm”.  Is change a bad thing?  Not all, but there will always be a transitional period where things are a bit uncomfortable; it’s to be expected.

I remember during my time at Marvel Comics back in 1991, things were so much more different than the Marvel everyone knows now.   Nick Fury was Caucasian, now, the majority of people will only know him as a black guy.  That bothered me for a while until I realized that comics are a business. They don’t want it be a niche hobby like the 80’s. They want the comics industry to be big screen, commercialized, and mainstream. That’s where the money is; getting a larger audience.  How do they do that? Simple, it’s what always made comics a bit edgy.  Comics have always been a great platform to mirror and parody real life. There was a gay hero when that became a hot societal topic, Black Panther when society was going through that phase, etc., etc. etc.

Many of us have grown up, we’re smart enough to use the internet to learn the truth about America’s dirty dealings, and it was only natural that comics follow suit to reflect this new age of information. I think this shocking revelation bothers people because, we just don’t want to believe that anything “America” is a lie, or at the very least a boat load of half-truths. America has haystacks full of ugly secrets; all you have to do is start researching.   Just do research on The Bush Family Nazi connection, to begin with.   America has been in bed with the enemy, or secretly was the enemy, on many occasions in our country’s history.  But, is anyone up in arms that this is a reflection of America’s true shadowy history?  Nope.   As long as we don’t challenge the comics.  People like to read for entertainment, but not to expand their mind.

Then, there is also the claim that these turn of events, are an insult to its Jewish creators even though most uniformed people are unaware that Prescott Bush (George W. Bushes Grandfather), a representative of the American government, helped finance Hitler’s campaign with the help of Jewish Bankers (Warburg).  This is history. And we’re angry about a comic?

In the end, it is evident that a spoiled and privileged country and its people simply don’t like truth and this is as real as it gets. It’s easier to fool someone then it is to convince them that they’ve been fooled.  The revelation hurts so much more when you discover it’s not just in a comic book; it’s a hint at truth unspoken.

Overall, I personally, applaud Marvel for understanding that the public is a lot smarter then yesterday and much more informed. Thank you for creating a story that reflects REAL LIFE.

~Jack~

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Author: Montemoiño Jack