Captain America returns!

Marvel Comics

And this is his secret identity. You should see his superhero costume.

Featured Topic | Posted 42 weeks 1 day ago

Captain America died last year -- shot down, in his fantasy world, while resisting the government's demands that he comply with a superhero registry. It was part of a Marvel Comics storyline examining civil liberties in the post-9/11 world.

Now the character is revived. Will Captain America take on America's politics again? Whose side will he take? And does it matter?

Ben likes: Captain America changed along with the country

Jonathan V. Last/Wall Street Journal

There is an old joke about death in the comic-book world: No one stays dead except Bucky, Jason Todd and Uncle Ben. Over the years Superman, Phoenix,
Green Arrow and a legion of other heroes have perished, only to be resurrected by their publishers in reasonably short order. Even this Bucky Clause of hero death has begun unraveling as both Bucky and Jason Todd (who replaced Dick Grayson as Robin) were recently brought back to life. This was, in fact, the second time Captain America journeyed to the undiscovered country.

Ultimately, it is wonder that we need most from comic books. The wonder that a man can fly or that a skinny American kid with a stout heart can pick up a shield and deck the Führer. With his death, Captain America gave us that sense of wonder once more.

Joel likes: Star-spangled schlemiel

Austin Grossman/New York Times

The Captain was a propaganda stunt from the get-go: a former art student, Steve Rogers, finds himself pumped up with a super-soldier formula, dressed up in stars and stripes, and sent out to the front lines of World War II to boost morale. The 1941 cover of “Captain America Comics No. 1” shows him, with that big letter “A” on his forehead, punching out Hitler. It’s hard to escape the feeling that someone was trying too hard.

During the Watergate scandal he had a crisis of conscience and changed his name to the Nomad. He formed a partnership with the Falcon, the first African-American superhero. In his final adventure, he rebelled against a Superhuman Registration Act to license heroes in a kind of super-D.M.V. The man struggled, visibly and with great effort, to do what he saw as the decent thing.