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Comic-book veteran Captain America fights his last good fight

VITO PILIECI, CanWest News Service
Published: Thursday, March 08, 2007

After 66 years of protecting the American way of life, Captain America has met his end.

The Sentinel of Liberty is assassinated by a sniper in the latest edition of his monthly Captain America comic. The comic hit store shelves yesterday.

In a posting on Marvel Comics' website, which is made to look like the comic-book newspaper the Daily Bugle, the company states, "We can now confirm that the victim has been identified as Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America. Rogers was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital."

According to the comic book, he did not have his signature star-studded shield with him when he was assassinated.

The stories of Rogers and his transformation into Captain America were key to keeping up the spirits of U.S. soldiers during the Second World War.

Rogers started his comic-book adventures as a scrawny weakling who was repeatedly passed over by the military.

He signed up for Operation: Rebirth, a dangerous experimental strengthening procedure that ended up turning most test subjects into raving madmen. Rogers was the heroic exception.

Along with his sidekick, Bucky, Captain America - who draped himself in the Stars and Stripes - fought against Hitler and the communist threat.

His character spawned a TV show in the late '70s and numerous movies. Life will go on in a Captain America movie slated to hit theatres in 2009.

In the current comic-book story, before he was assassinated, he was to stand trial after protesting the U.S. government requirement that all superheroes register their names, powers and all personal details in exchange for a steady paycheque, benefits and a pension.
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2007