Saturday, July 4, 2009

Cap/Nixon

What better way to celebrate our nation's birth than with Captain America? And even better, how about the time Cap killed the U.S. President??

Let's set the Wayback Machine for 1974...

Is it me, or does the big guy look like Agnew?A battle on the White House lawn? What in the Sam Hill is going on here??

OK, not the flashiest dressersWell, that's a nice re-cap. Who's bringing us this hard-boiled political thriller?

Our creatorsAhhh, Sal Buscema...that's 70s Marvel, all right.

Who is (are?) the Secret Empire? They're an offshoot of Hydra, and they're attempting a naked coup to take over the good old U.S. of A. They run around in hoods with numbers on them (thus violating Snell's Rules For Villains #1--don't let your minions wear masks, because then it's way too easy for the good guys to pose as your minions).

Yeah, they run around with overly convoluted plots involving "atomic annihilators" and mutant-powered flying saucers (seriously!). And they have the worst battle cry ever:

Alliteration obviously wasn't the best way to goBut actually, they've come closer to achieving their goals than Hydra or AIM ever got. They've successfully framed Captain America for murder, and have S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers hunting him down; they've kidnapped most of the X-Men; they've successfully positioned villainous henchman Moonstone as America's new favorite and most trusted hero; they've planted atomic explosives in every major American city; and they've infiltrated the highest levels of the U.S. government.

Still, the big question is, who is the secretive Number One?? Steve Englehart has been dropping hints the past few issues:

Political commentary? In a comic book?The Committee To Regain America's Principles (CRAP) sure sounds an awful lot like Richard Nixon's Committee To Re-elect The President (CREEP), which was heavily involved in the Watergate scandal.

That was why he lost to KennedyHmmm...I've got to work on my villainous gestures...

Anyway, #1 lands his mutant-powered flying saucer on the White House lawn!!

Couldn't you have just saved some $ and pulled up in AMC pacers? You already have nukes, why do you need to impress with a saucer?
I'm restraining myself from the obligatory 'Number Two' jokeAnd then they use the "hero" Moonstone to make the case that they're unbeatable:

Seriously, America bought this pussy as a hero?And then the big threat:

Shouldn't you have waited until the explosives were actually planted to make the threat?Ah, but of course, Captain America isn't putting up with such nonsense:

Now we'll never know how he was going to finsih that sentence!!"The invisible government become visible?" (Well, technically, "visabaaaaaaaaaaaaaa") Hmmm...

But you just DID describe it!!Oh, and Cap kicks Moonstone's arse, too...

Thank you, SalJust in time for the villains to all turn on each other in a nationally televised confession-fest:

Oh, if only they could keep their mouths shut...
Higher ratings than the final episode of M*A*S*HWell, that's it, then...all's well that ends well, right?

Wow, that was easier than I thought it would be...
D'oh!!Uh-oh...Number One flees into the Oval Office, and...

Uhh...Secret Service, anyone? Marines??Yes!!

Well, duhWhaa????

Frost/Nixon, the action versionHuh??

This never happened on West Wing!!!!!!!!

Yes, ladies and gentleman, Steve Englehart just had Richard Nixon commit suicide right on the comics page.

Interestingly enough, since this issue was coverdated July 1974, it was probably on the newsstands in May, and probably actually scripted in March or April, if not earlier. Which means that almost 6 months before Nixon resigned, Englehart had him "resigning" much more permanently.

Yeah, it was "subtle" (snort), but this was pretty bold stuff for a Code approved book in 1974, when you still (theoretically) weren't supposed to show authority figures in a bad light, and suicide was frowned upon. And attacking a sitting president was pretty radical for conservative comic books companies of the day.

These events, of course, led to Steve Rogers giving up the Captain America identity and becoming--NOMAD!!

Broody, broody cap
Not until he gets a MySpace page...SPOILER ALERT: It didn't take.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I remember this story arc. It kicked ass! This was when I became a die hard fan of Cap, this one and when he fought the Serpent Societly with his hands bandaged up. Man!
WM

De said...

Man, Richard Nixon was in pretty good shape at the time. I doubt I could have booked it into the Oval Office from the lawn that quick.