Cap's Dead, So What Now?

By this point, you'd either have to be dead or living under a rock, in a cave, on the moon to not know that Captain America was recently killed. While the true ramifications have yet to be felt within the Marvel Universe, it's hard for some comic book fans to be swayed by this event, because frankly, we know how badly these types of events have been handled in the past. Just look at the death of Superman or the many resurrections of Jean Grey if you need an example.

It's too early to tell how Marvel will be dealing with the death of it's beloved character, but times seem to have changed since the 90s (the dark ages of comics) and real story-telling is actually important again. Therein lies the brilliance behind Cap's death, which served as a real treat to any reader who had been with the book since issue one. With the return and reinvigoration of certain characters like the Red Skull and Bucky, Brubaker was setting the story up for something big, although the reader's had little guess as to what it would be. And by the end of Civil War, there seemed to be little Marvel could do with Cap other than kill him, and that's exactly what they did.

Going back to Bucky, also known as the Winter Soldier, Brubaker has spent the last two and a half years turning him into a character people actually want to read about (too bad DC couldn't do the same with Jason Todd). With the knowledge that Brubaker has been laying the foundation for Cap's death since he began his run, Bucky would seem like the perfect choice to become the new Sentinel of Liberty. But I'm not sure I'd like to see this happen.



Let's be realistic here, this is Bucky we're talking about. This is a character that was officially dead since the mid-sixties. I would like to think that the higher-ups at Marvel have something bigger in store for him than simply becoming the next Captain America. Also, I think it would be a waste of great storytelling opportunities, as it would be interesting to further explore Bucky living in a world he doesn't understand, similar to what was done with Cap in Marvel's Ultimate line.

But Bucky apparently isn't the only option. As seen in pictures released by Marvel, it seems that the Punisher is also in the running.



While Punisher doesn't seem like the obvious choice, considering his objection with not killing super-villains clashes with the ideals of Captain America, War Journal writer Matt Fraction has made is clear in his series that Punisher has a great deal of respect for Cap. And as we all know, respect can go a long way. It may be difficult to see Frank as the new Captain America, but it isn't really difficult to see why he would do it. Sure, I think his costume design is ridiculous, but it would definitely make for an interesting story arc (although it doesn't seem like it as long-lasting appeal).

So Marvel essentially has two options: they somehow resurrect Steve Rogers (the original Captain America) in a way that won't cheapen his death (not bloody likely), or they take a more "DC" approach and have someone else pick up the mantle. Let's hope for the latter.