Enter--The Captain!

Count me among those who weren't really on board with Steve Rogers as "the Captain," the identity he adopted when a Presidential commission forced him out of his role as Captain America. The Captain was with us for about 1½ years in the Captain America book, leading up to the title's 350th issue--but during this time, the Captain also turned up in other titles where Captain America would have made an appearance.

Such "guest" appearances always came across as a little awkward, like a square peg being inserted into a round hole--readers were never quite sure what direction they were being nudged in regarding his status. Were we to believe that Steve Rogers was now permanently in action as the Captain? Or was this a situation he was trying to work out while he dropped in to lend a hand in other crises? Steve himself was no help to us in deciding one way or the other, for reasons which we'll learn of shortly. But in the final story of the arc, perhaps the Captain takes the pulse of his own readership and sums it up best, as he's making a daring rescue on a crowded street: "This has been my uniform for several months now, yet I still strike confusion into the hearts of my public everywhere I go." You said a mouthful, Cap--er, Captain.

The Captain's obvious need for a press agent notwithstanding, the story set in motion by writer Mark Gruenwald is actually a fairly compelling one. With Steve stepping out of the role, several other stories come into play as a result--enough, fortunately, to fill the next eighteen issues. For example, what will Steve do with his life? Will he again need to be coaxed into adopting a new heroic identity? Will the Commission set the wheels in motion to select a new Captain America--and who will be the final candidate? Exactly why is the Commission doing this? How will Steve segue from an identity as the symbol of the nation and the embodiment of its ideals, to one where he operates only on his principles and must depend on his actions alone to inspire others? Steve is well aware that "Captain America" is far more than a costume and a shield to those he interacts with--now he must learn to be a hero in a much different way.

Most interesting of all is the fact that this story of Steve giving up his identity as Cap will be, in contrast to others, one where Steve doesn't want to relinquish that identity but finds that he must; otherwise, he will have to fall in line with the Commission's directives and become the kind of Captain America that he knows he has grown beyond. Either way, the cover of the issue that announces the beginning of this story will be right on the mark:

Continued »»»