Captain America: Reborn

[Perpetual Man]

Just two short years ago the comics world (and some beyond that) was stunned when MARVEL killed off one of it's mainstay characters, Steve Rogers, Captain America gunned down.

Not only did it make News in America it managed to do the near impossible and make news in the UK too!

The story was well told, well executed (no pun intended) and was backed up by some rather solid backing from the MARVEL hierachy confirming that Steve was indeed dead, and that unlike other superhero deaths in the past he was going to stay dead. Captain America was going to live on...

And he did in the new and exciting form of former sidekick Bucky/The Winter Soldier, complete with an updated costume designed by Alex Ross.

Like many others I was sorry to see Steve go, but thought Cap was suddenly fresh again, modern and relevant, and although I had a suspicion that he was not as dead as they proclaimed I had the feel that he was going to be gone for a nice long time...

Roll on two short years later. MARVEL comics announce that as of issue 601 the Captain America title will be on hold for 6 months, allowing for a very special 6 issue limited series: CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN

Marvel Presents Captain America Reborn!

It would seem that despite their earlier hype MARVEL could not keep their hands of the resurrection key for any more than 24 months and Steve Rogers will be returning to the realm of the living. Despite the fact that everyone involved seems to be insisting this was always the plan and that Steve may well be alive, but that does not mean he will be Captain America, it still seems a bit of a cheat - every beat of the story since then has seemed to indicate the hero was the real deal and he was dead, but now...

This seems to be the way of things in comics I know, but I feel MARVEL could have held on a little while longer.

Unless of course this REBORN is all misdirection in itself and there is no return on the cards...

[chopper]

in my experience all comics hit reboot every five years or so, otherwise the continuity would be completely mind-boggling to anybody looking in from outside.
i just don't pay any attention any more.

[Arthur_Connelly]

Nothing Marvel does surprises me anymore. I had finally given them another chance after Heroes Reborn drove me away. Then they unmasked Spidey. And when I finally got used to it. One More Day erased it from existence because the writers, like the fans, realized how bad an idea it was. Though I will give them credit for letting Jean Grey stay dead for so long.

[Lucien21]

I read the first issue and thought...Meh!!!

The rebith of the Flash or Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern was way better.

[TheLastBard]

I'm VERY annoyed they brought Cap back... Bucky has been extremely popular as Cap, so why bother? I mean eventually, sure, but this is as bad as knocking off Jean Grey and bringing her back a year later... come on! Reborn has been a decent read so far, don't get me wrong, but I just worry for the top two when they feel obligated to continuously bring the same characters back from the dead. Let time pass!

The Hal Jordan reboot made a lot more sense and took longer... they let him stay dead for a bit and it was a fight to bring him back rather than, one day you're gone and the next day you're back. Even Hawkeye's return was done well.

[Perpetual Man]

I agree completely with this, there was a time when a ressurrection of a popular character was a comic event, yet now it barely makes a year before a character is returned, Cap being a good case in point.

On the other hand, we have the recent return as Barry Allen as the Flash over at DC and this is just as bad. Barry has been dead since 1985, and the the decision to bring him back is just wrong. The feeling that he is the one tru Flash that everyone relates to is just strange. This may well be to the forty something writer and editors at DC, but there are 25 years worth of comic readers out ther to whom the only Flash is Wally West...

Of course all the other rebirths in the DC universe at the moment are quite acceptable (Blackest Night would not be half as much fun otherwise!)

[TheLastBard]

Originally Posted by Perpetual Man

I agree completely with this, there was a time when a ressurrection of a popular character was a comic event, yet now it barely makes a year before a character is returned, Cap being a good case in point.

On the other hand, we have the recent return as Barry Allen as the Flash over at DC and this is just as bad. Barry has been dead since 1985, and the the decision to bring him back is just wrong. The feeling that he is the one tru Flash that everyone relates to is just strange. This may well be to the forty something writer and editors at DC, but there are 25 years worth of comic readers out ther to whom the only Flash is Wally West...

Of course all the other rebirths in the DC universe at the moment are quite acceptable (Blackest Night would not be half as much fun otherwise!)

I knew they would bring Barry Allen back at some point, I've been reading comics long enough and despite the skeleton in Crisis, his death was ambiguous enough that it cried return at some point... Impulse/Kid Flash/Whatever (Bart) coming back within months of dying didn't make much sense, however.

Personally, I haven't read the Blackest Night stuff... any good?

[Perpetual Man]

Originally Posted by TheLastBard

Personally, I haven't read the Blackest Night stuff... any good?

Much to my surprise, yes. Like all the major crossovers there are far too many 'extra' books involved, but this is a story that has been nicely building for over a year now and it looks like it could be a lot of fun

[TheLastBard]

I'll have to see about getting some of them.... I noticed a TON of crossovers, which I didn't want to bother with.