Film Review -- Captain America: The First Avenger / Joe Johnston, Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving

2011 felt like a pretty good year for movies made from comic books, particularly Marvel movies, which felt somewhat like letdowns after 2008's fun and high-flying action romp, Iron Man.  Don't get me wrong; The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2 were alright, and certainly made decent successors to the mantle set forth by Iron Man, but they simply didn't possess the effortless combination of action, story, and pure enjoyability that that initial effort had.  It eventually got me wondering if any director would be able to replicate the feeling Jon Favreau brought to film for Marvel.

Then, along came Captain America: The First Avenger, and my faith was restored.

Even without knowing this was leading to this year's forthcoming super-team film, The Avengers, I was stoked to see this film.  Captain America may not be one of my absolute favorite superheroes, but he's certainly one of the most iconic, and has potentially the most interesting origin story for a modern-day superhero.  When I got wind that they'd be going all the way back to his World War II roots and exploring his development in his "home" time period in the 1940s, I got really excited at the possibilities for characterization, plot, and continuity within the Marvel Cinematic Universe they were creating with this slew of films.

Comic book fans will no doubt be familiar with the plot of the film, which starts with Captain America's humble beginnings.  Steve Rogers is a skinny, medically frail young man with a laundry list of maladies and conditions that disqualifies him from enrollment in the Army to fight in World War II.  Despite this, he attempts multiple times to enlist, eventually catching the attention of a scientist on the verge of a medical breakthrough with a serum that could create the perfect soldier.  When he asks Rogers's reasons for enlisting, the young man replies simply, "I don't like bullies.  I don't care where they're from."

After the serum is administered, Rogers uses his newfound strength and fame to help out in the war effort any way he can, first as a civilian entertainer, then to rescue a group of captured comrades in Italy.  During this rescue, he comes face to face with Johann Schmidt, the Red Skull, who will be his arch-nemesis.  Rogers's efforts are met with enthusiasm, and he forms a team to take down the Red Skull and thwart his use of a mythical object called the tesseract to create weapons of untold power that would destroy the world.

I have to hand it to Joe Johnston: he has a flair for creating visually appealing epic scenarios and bringing a fun, vibrant nostalgia for Americana to the screen.  The experience he got in films like The Rocketeer, October Sky and Jumanji has been refined and applied to magnificent effect in this film that serves as a period piece as much as a comic book film.  He uses it to stage a World War II that is similar but noticeably different from the historical one, in that it's stylized to fit the lore of the Marvel Universe, and I feel he carries this convincingly and to the delight of audiences willing to suspend that smallish piece of disbelief.

The characters are well portrayed in this film.  Chris Evans is a spot-on Steve Rogers/Captain America, and really drives home the humanity and basic good that truly makes him a hero.  Hugo Weaving makes an eerily delightful Red Skull, whose ambitions for power and control account for his garish appearance and ultimate (?) demise.  Other noteworthy performances include Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter; Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Cap's eventual sidekick; Tommy Lee Jones as Col. Chester Phillips; Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark, father to the man who will eventually become Iron Man; Toby Jones as Dr. Arnim Zola; and Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine, the scientist who developed Captain America's Super Soldier Serum.

This film was one of the highlights of 2011 for me in the comics world.  It was fun, action-packed, and made me feel transported to its fictitious universe in a way that most of the other MCU films haven't done.  Captain America fans, comic book enthusiasts, and standard moviegoers alike should all enjoy this one, if not for the plot and characters, then the action and pacing.  Definitely a worthy addition to anyone's movie collection.  Highly recommended.

2011 In Review: Significant Comics Events

Anyone who keeps up with any kind of industry or hobby will undoubtedly notice the plethora of "Top (x) Lists of 2011" going around in their field, and it's no different in comics.  There are lists I've seen at Comicvine, Newsarama, and ComicBook.com, and there are sure to be plenty of others I missed.  And, being the original and non-conformist individual I am, I've decided to do one as well.

This list is less about what I've read in comics, since I'm not very good at getting and reading the new stuff as it's arriving in stores and on the shelves.  It's more about which events were significant enough to me throughout this year that they made it on my radar and either made me happy to be a comics geek, caused me to think about how comics were and would be affected, or made me reflect on comic books in general.

So, without further ado, here's my list:

10.  Captain America: The First Avenger--I had been waiting for this movie for a long time, and was filled with adoration for it by the time the credits finished. Not only did it make a good lead-in to next year's The Avengers film, but it brought a sense of fun back into the storytelling in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which I felt had been largely absent since we first saw it in Iron Man in 2008. We'll see if it can be replicated in The Avengers, but in the meantime this movie made for an entertaining story all on its own.

From left to right: Johnny Storm, Mary Jane Watson, Peter
Parker, Gwen Stacy, May Parker.  Peter's final thought to
May: 'It's all been worth it, because I was able to save you.'

9.  Ultimate Spider-Man's Death--I'd been waiting for a "Death of Spider-Man" storyline for some time, not because I want to see my favorite comic book character die, but because, at some point, it happens to everybody.  What makes this death noteworthy is that it's not an epic, cosmically charged saga in some grand arena.  Quite the opposite: it's a neighborhood brawl, one injured, determined kid defending his family, house, and turf against six super-powered would-be murderers who all have it in for him.  It makes his death all the more personal and all the more painful as a result.  He's eventually succeeded by Miles Morales, a half-latino, half-black character who I haven't yet been able to follow.  I should've figured they'd want to at least make it seem permanent with this character, which to me explains why they killed off the Ultimate Universe Peter Parker and not the "real," Earth-616 Spider-Man, who continues to fight crime in the pages of several publications.

8.  $2.1 Million Sale of Action Comics #1--Ah, to have that kind of money.  I don't know who bought it, or if it really is the copy from Nicholas Cage's collection, but I do know that the comic featuring the first appearance of Superman shattered the record for the amount paid for a comic book, set by Detective Comics #27 (Batman's first appearance) last year.  Those two heroes can never stop competing with each other, it seems...

"Come on, you bastards!  Let's dance!"

7.  Human Torch's Death, Replacement by Spider-Man--So, Marvel sullied this a few moths later by bringing Johnny Storm back to life for Fantastic Four #600, but at the time it was a big move, effectively leaving a large void in the roster of the legendary super-family team, the Fantastic Four.  Spider-Man was tapped to replace him, which he did for a while, bonding with Johnny's nephew Franklin and doing what he could to bring levity and an edge to the team.  Now things are more or less back to normal--as normal as they get in the Marvel Universe, anyway--but there's no denying the impact felt all around during this time.

6.  DC's Mega-Reboot--I've never been a huge DC Comics fan, but I do like the Batman titles and the occasional Superman story.  That said, when I heard about the impending reboot of the entire DC Universe and the re-launching of 52 of their titles at issue #1, I couldn't help but think that this was a horrible idea.  Knowing as you might how I feel about the use of the reset button on comics continuity (in short: if you do it, it better be damn good), I was pretty sure this would end disastrously for DC.  I haven't seen any of the new titles yet, but the initial reviews seem to be, for the most part, very positive.  Hopefully DC will pull this off, and I'll have a convenient jumping-in point for more aspects of their mythology.  At this point, only time will tell.

5.  Wizard Magazine Fades to Nothing--Wizard Magazine first started just a couple of years after I first started reading and collecting comics, so when it was announced that it would cease print publication this year and go digital as Wizard World Magazine, I was more than a little upset.  As for the existence of the digital magazine... it does exist, but it's not easy to find without a link.  In any case, it seems now it covers pop culture and film in addition to comics.  I might check them out occasionally for information gathering purposes, but I don't see them making my feed reader.  It's nothing like the Wizard Magazine I remember.

4.  Digital Comics Same-Day Delivery Becomes the Norm--I don't yet really read comics digitally--my main method is to check the collected paperbacks out from the library--but it's not hard to imagine the impact this will have on the industry.  Until recently, you basically had to wait a little longer for the digital version of a comic to come out than the print.  The argument was that if you could access the digital version at the same time as the print version, sales of the print comic would be hurt.  DC in particular seems to have decided to see if this is actually true, and it looks like others will be following suit as well.  Movie industry, you might consider taking a page from the comics in this arena...

3.  Batman: Arkham City--Oh. Wow.  What a game!  I'd actually just played its predecessor, Batman: Arkham Asylum, earlier this year, so by the time October came around, I was primed and eager to continue the saga told in these amazing games.  If you want a video gaming experience that will come as close as possible to letting you actually be Batman, then look no further.  Arkham City expands the playing area and continues much of the story began in Arkham Asylum, featuring plenty of action, fighting, puzzles to solve, and a healthy dose of villains from Batman's infamous rogues gallery.  Add to that a number of developments and Easter Eggs, including a plot twist that you would never expect to see coming, and you'll virtually be screaming for another sequel.

Mike Meyer, St. Louis resident.
Superman fan.  Robbery victim.

2.  Superman Fan Robbed--One of the more memorable events of 2011 was unfortunately one of the most appalling, in which Mike Meyer, a St. Louis resident who is a big fan of Superman, was robbed by a former co-worker of a significant bulk of his collection of Superman memorabilia. The robber, professional jerk Gerry Armbruster, quietly removed the items in question from Meyer's house while an accomplice distracted him by watching Superman films. It's a story that fills you with disgust at just how despicable some people can be. Of course, without events like this we wouldn't get reactions like the next one...

1.  Superman Fans Respond to Robbing With Generosity--This was far and away my favorite moment in comics this year, and made me proud of just how generous people can be. Fans from across the country and across the world sent Meyer replacement gifts for his stolen Superman collection, and did so in droves. And though the jerk who robbed him in the first place was soon caught, it was uplifting and reassuring in the meantime to see so many comics enthusiasts come to the aid of this one Superman fan who really needed it.

And there you have it.  I felt that 2011 was a good year for comics, and look to 2012 with a cautious hope that things will be even bigger and better.  As technology and economics influence our reading habits and the way comics are created, and the companies that make them respond, there's no doubt that many interesting changes are in store for the industry in the near future.  In the meantime, I'll continue reviewing, commenting, and musing on comics.

There will doubtless be much to talk about!

The Face of Heroism: Great Captain America Moments

With the unfortunate but not really surprising passing of Captain America co-creator Joe Simon at age 98, it has been an unusually somber last couple of weeks for lovers of the Silver Age of comic books. Jerry Robinson, creator of the Joker (among other characters), passed last week, and in memoriam of his contribution to comics, I listed off some of my favorite moments involving the Joker.

In the same vein, I would like to recap some of my personal favorite moments from the lore that has developed around Simon's most prominent co-creation, Captain America.

Captain America is one of the first comic book figures I remember hearing about as a little kid, long before I developed a serious interest in comic books. He was a banner of good, a helpful hero who always fought to the last for what was right, no matter the odds. As I got into comics and read some of his more significant storylines, he struck me as a man who embodies the concept of personal self-sacrifice, as well as service to an ideal and a country.

He was also a more complex character than that, though: he lost friends in World War II, emerged from a frozen block into a future he didn't know, and then lost more friends as the leader of the Avengers. He's had to make unpopular decisions in times of war, lose the faith of his teammates, and, in one case, die for his ideals. Like all good comic characters, his life has not been an easy one, but worthwhile. He's one of my favorite characters, and has a uniquely unassailable place in comics as a man of valor, integrity, and goodwill.

Again, off the top of my head, here are some of my favorite moments the Star-Spangled Avenger has had, from various comics and other media:

• Captain America: The First Avenger -- Oh, how I adore this movie. My favorite moment from it happens before he ever puts on the uniform or gets his first dose of the Super Soldier Serum that makes him so strong. Having unsuccessfully tried many times to enlist into the armed forces for the war, Steve Rogers is approached by Dr. Abraham Erskine, who asks him, "So, you want to kill Nazis, do you?" Rogers's reply is classic Captain America: "Not particularly. I just don't like bullies. No matter where they're from." In that moment you see the heart of this character, that he is, more than anything else, a good man who simply wants to do what he feels is right.

• Captain America Comics #1 -- Okay. I've never actually read this comic, but look at this cover! Wow, what an introduction! Months before Pearl Harbor ever happens, we see the Star-Spangled Avenger in what has become one of comics' most famous covers, punching out Adolf Hitler! I usually don't form opinions of heroes based on a cover, but I can only imagine how much of a hit this comic was when it originally made the newsstands! Very iconic imagery, and a promising start to the character's now sterling career.

• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance -- One of my favorite console games of all time (just ask any of my friends), this brilliant blend of action and roleplaying elements with Marvel superheroes in a titanic battle against Dr. Doom features a prominent role for Captain America, who is in a significant portion of the cinematic cut-scenes. He is also a great playable character, whose shield throw proves to be one of the most useful and popular skills in the game. In the opening scene, you also get to see him take down several armored robotic opponents with just his shield and a determination to win the fight, simultaneously saving Spider-Man from an attack as well. This was a good game for this character, and he figures prominently into it for anyone who wanted to put a good strike team together.

• The Ultimates -- This group of Avengers from Marvel's Ultimate universe was darker, more flawed, and less noble than their "regular" counterparts, but Captain America was essentially the same as he always was--which made the adjustment to the present for him all the more difficult. And he's still as bad-ass as ever: when he learns how abusive Hank Pym (aka Giant Man) is towards his wife Janet (aka the Wasp), he tracks Pym down in Chicago, goads him into growing to giant size, and proceeds to still kick the crap out of a several stories high Giant Man. If that's not bad-ass, I don't know what is.

• Civil War -- ... or rather, the aftermath. Not only does Tony Stark and his Pro-Registration side win the Civil War, but Cap, the leader of the Anti-Registration heroes, is gunned down on the way to his trial after he surrenders. I was livid for both of those reasons, but you couldn't deny the storytelling was amazing. Eventually, Steve Rogers would be brought back to life--comic book characters rarely stay dead--but this event capped the Civil War arc definitively and ensured that things would never quite be the same in the Marvel universe.

So, there you have it. My impressions of some of Cap's most significant moments. Many of them are very recent, and I'm sure there are others more expert on Cap than me, so feel free to share any of your thoughts on this matter. What do you think some of Captain America's most significant moments are?