1950s Captain America goodness

[Leocomix]

I always thought Marvel should redeem the 50s Cap. We may just be on the way with this sollicitation for December


CAPTAIN AMERICA: THEATER OF WAR: AMERICA FIRST!
Written by HOWARD CHAYKIN
Art & Cover by HOWARD CHAYKIN
In this second installment of a series exploring the storied history of America's greatest champion, Howard Chaykin pulls back the Iron Curtain on one of Captain America's wiliest nemeses -- Soviet Russia and her never-ending parade of spies, saboteurs, fifth columnists...so many we had to make this story double-sized! Before his role in “The Death of Captain America,” no one was more patriotic than the Cap of the Fifties, even if he does have Steve Rogers’ shoes to fill. Unfortunately, Nick Fury, a newly minted operative of the CIA, isn't about to let him off the hook that easily. But Cap and Fury better start working together, or they'll find themselves buried in Reds! PLUS: a bonus reprinting of a classic Cap tale from the fabulous fifties!
64 PGS./One-Shot/Rated A ...$4.99

[DeadXMan]

I always thought Marvel should redeem the 50s Cap. We may just be on the way with this sollicitation for December


CAPTAIN AMERICA: THEATER OF WAR: AMERICA FIRST!
Written by HOWARD CHAYKIN
Art & Cover by HOWARD CHAYKIN
In this second installment of a series exploring the storied history of America's greatest champion, Howard Chaykin pulls back the Iron Curtain on one of Captain America's wiliest nemeses -- Soviet Russia and her never-ending parade of spies, saboteurs, fifth columnists...so many we had to make this story double-sized! Before his role in “The Death of Captain America,” no one was more patriotic than the Cap of the Fifties, even if he does have Steve Rogers’ shoes to fill. Unfortunately, Nick Fury, a newly minted operative of the CIA, isn't about to let him off the hook that easily. But Cap and Fury better start working together, or they'll find themselves buried in Reds! PLUS: a bonus reprinting of a classic Cap tale from the fabulous fifties!
64 PGS./One-Shot/Rated A ...$4.99

makes my theory about commie smasher saving steve more plausable

[Capt USA]

Sounds like it's going to be good, but I'm afraid that since it's being written today that it's going to put todays perception about the time period in it's viewpoint and that is not what I want to see. I want to see heroic pro american Captain America beating the red devils in all it's propagandic glory.

[The Valeyard]

If this is the second installment, what was the first?


Looking forward to this.

[Jmacq1]

Sounds like it's going to be good, but I'm afraid that since it's being written today that it's going to put todays perception about the time period in it's viewpoint and that is not what I want to see. I want to see heroic pro american Captain America beating the red devils in all it's propagandic glory.

Well, you'll get that in the "reprint" tale, most likely.

Somehow though, I dunno that this is going to "redeem" 50's Cap so much as portray him as the deeply flawed but well-meaning character he was retconned into in the first place.

I mean, dude was crazy, but he really just wanted to be a hero, and felt that the country needed a Captain America.

[B. Kuwanger]

I think 50s Cap sucks, but I won't let it be said that I didn't try.


If this is the second installment, what was the first?


The first "Theater of War" is coming out in November, I believe.

[Leocomix]

He's a tragic character. He became his hero but then got crazy because of the serum and he found his hero was on the other side. Making him crazy was sort of a statement that America was crazy at the time (like killing the Rosenbergs or witch-hunting).

[B. Kuwanger]

He'd been crazy. I mean, the guy had surgery to look like Steve Rogers.

[Retrodork]

Exactly. And I said the same thing in another thread. 'Captain McCarthy' had some serious screws loose long before he ever got hold of that super soldier serum variant. If you've got such a fanatical devotion to Steve Rogers that you're going to get plastic surgery to BECOME him, then that's disturbing in the first place. Whoever this poor schmuck was before going under the knife, he had issues. Picking up the shield and putting on the colors only exacerbated them. And while I do find it fascinating that his character has been developed to mirror the paranoia and social upheavals of the early 1950's (McCarthy was out on his ass shortly after the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings. That was the high water mark of the rampantly paranoid red scare era by most estimations), I don't think that you can redeem the guy. Even if you purged the flaws from the super-soldier serum he took, you'd still have a man full of psychological problems and vastly disproportionate misconceptions. He's sad and worthy of sympathy, but he's no hero.

[Jmacq1]

I don't think this story is going to redeem him in the least, though. It may portray him in a somewhat sympathetic light, but I doubt they're going to fundamentally change things about the character to make him "more heroic." Nick Fury will probably end up the "real" hero of the story.

[The Valeyard]

I think 50s Cap sucks, but I won't let it be said that I didn't try.


The first "Theater of War" is coming out in November, I believe.

Thank you.

[WorstThingUS]

I always thought Marvel should redeem the 50s Cap. We may just be on the way with this sollicitation for December



He's a tragic character. He became his hero but then got crazy because of the serum and he found his hero was on the other side. Making him crazy was sort of a statement that America was crazy at the time (like killing the Rosenbergs or witch-hunting).


He'd been crazy. I mean, the guy had surgery to look like Steve Rogers.


Exactly. And I said the same thing in another thread. 'Captain McCarthy' had some serious screws loose long before he ever got hold of that super soldier serum variant. If you've got such a fanatical devotion to Steve Rogers that you're going to get plastic surgery to BECOME him, then that's disturbing in the first place. Whoever this poor schmuck was before going under the knife, he had issues. Picking up the shield and putting on the colors only exacerbated them. And while I do find it fascinating that his character has been developed to mirror the paranoia and social upheavals of the early 1950's (McCarthy was out on his ass shortly after the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings. That was the high water mark of the rampantly paranoid red scare era by most estimations), I don't think that you can redeem the guy. Even if you purged the flaws from the super-soldier serum he took, you'd still have a man full of psychological problems and vastly disproportionate misconceptions. He's sad and worthy of sympathy, but he's no hero.

Exactly. He can't be redeemed, but I'm excited to read this story because I've always wondered what Fury thought of Cap's replacements, especially this one. And given he was working for the government at the time as well.... And Chaykin is the perfect writer for this, given his previous work on post-war America and his general darker attitude. He'll shine with a screwed up Cap in the Cold War 50's.

[rick]

Sounds like it's going to be good, but I'm afraid that since it's being written today that it's going to put todays perception about the time period in it's viewpoint and that is not what I want to see. I want to see heroic pro american Captain America beating the red devils in all it's propagandic glory.


I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Even though it is true that he sees things though a modern bit of cynicism, Chaykin has always excelled at capturing the "feel" of the early and mid 20th century. And his art is just perfect for the era.

[Kid Monster]

"1950s Cap" is one of the weirdest dusty corners of the Marvel Universe. I remember reading about "Captain America 2" in the back of the first Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe as a kid and going "WTF???".

I hope the Agents of Atlas have at least a cameo in it.

Oh, screw it. ... just do a full mini-series about the MU in the 50s, full of psychotronic weirdness and gonzo Kirby monsters, with the Agents of Atlas, Captain America 2, a washed-up Sun Girl (in a new Bettie Page-ish costume) ...and throw in the characters from that John Byrne series that tried to ret-con in all the heroes between the Golden Age and FF#1 just for good measure.

[Blackhawkk]

"1950s Cap" is one of the weirdest dusty corners of the Marvel Universe. I remember reading about "Captain America 2" in the back of the first Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe as a kid and going "WTF???".

I hope the Agents of Atlas have at least a cameo in it.

Oh, screw it. ... just do a full mini-series about the MU in the 50s, full of psychotronic weirdness and gonzo Kirby monsters, with the Agents of Atlas, Captain America 2, a washed-up Sun Girl (in a new Bettie Page-ish costume) ...and throw in the characters from that John Byrne series that tried to ret-con in all the heroes between the Golden Age and FF#1 just for good measure.

I like this idea. Don't forget about the Torch & Toro, Sub-Mariner & Namora. Though along with Cap they all disappeared by 1954 (though I can't see why Toro couldn't have continued on solo). Along with Agents Of Axis, the 3D-Man, Kirby monsters (Fin Fang Foom!) and some other obscure Atlas characters (Simon Garth Zombie?) and of course NIck Fury, this could be the greatest, weirdest series of all. Psychotronic indeed!

[Retrodork]

With Chaykin at the helm, if nothing else it'll be an interesting read. And it will provide a 'through a glass darkly' kind of funhouse mirror view of otherwise familiar characters. He'll capture 50's Cap's jingoistic nonsense pretty well, I'm sure. And he'll probably be able to explain things like Toro not continuing on after the Torch disappears. Given the tenor of the times, I could see Toro opting to quit just out of recognizing the prejudices of the decade. Its not hard to translate red-baiting into condemnation of anything different (ie. mutants/superhumans).