CAPTAIN AMERICA: A 70-YEAR SALUTE
It was 70 years ago this month that Captain America, the greatest of all the patriotic-themed superheroes, first hit newsstands with a red, white and blue shield gripped in his gloved hand. He also gets his own feature film this summer, “Captain America: The First Avenger,” and to mark the moment we’ll be talking to writers, artists, actors, directors and musicians about the star-spangled icon’s legacy and future. Today: Mark Millar
Captain America (Marvel Comics)
It was a very different country when Captain America first brought his message of patriotism, adventure and courage to young readers. A skeptic might say the innately wholesome hero’s best days as beloved symbol were in the past — flags were far more fashionable than the Roosevelt era — but Scottish comics writer Mark Millar said he has a different view from the other side of the Atlantic.
“Actually America’s economic decline makes Captain America more attractive to people in a strange way,” said Millar, one of the top names writing for Marvel Comics and a creator who has watched his anti-heroes hit the Hollywood screen in the films “Wanted” and “Kick-Ass.”
Millar said the purity, legacy and hopefulness of the Captain America icongraphy take on strength when the readership is confronted by real-world anxieties or eroding national stature.
“Like Superman, he was created in a difficult time to give the country a little hope and the U.S.A. could use some good news right now with a nice, straightforward hero making everyone feel a little better,” Millar said. “James Bond performed the same function for post-imperial Britain after World War II. We’d lost our empire, but here was a hero who represented the best of being British and made us feel good about ourselves. As Brazil, Russia, India and China threaten the American empire in these difficult times, it’s nice to have a hero out there kicking ass and wearing a flag we all feel comfortable with.”
What do you think: Is Cap built for the 21st century?
– Geoff Boucher
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Our legion of super contributors is led by Hero Complex editor Gina McIntyre and 
Good ol Mark Millar. He manages to bash America even while supposedly "complimenting" it. Hey, Mark, you apparently have MAJOR problems with this country; why don't you stop TAKING OUR MONEY and go try writing some Scottish comics, you hypocrite.
"I serve only the Dream."
That was the one line Frank Miller had Captain America speak in a brief appearance during his second Daredevil run, with David Mazzuchelli drawing, but it epitomized the character better than anything else.
In good or bad times, so long as the American Dream has resonance, so too will Captain America.
Well said, Eric.
Captain America represents the American Dream, as well as the best things about who we are as a country: strong, proud, daring, avenging, trailblazing, faithful, and non-jaded. I don't know about Brazil, etc., "threatening" the American "empire" as Millar suggests (if they really have a problem, BRING IT. Only China would be a threat, and not for long.), but I do know that patriotism should be stronger than ever now that we must recover as a country and return to our robust roots. A hero like Captain America is like the local boy who goes out and wins the Super Bowl. The local folks have an ownership of him and claim it bigtime.
I think Captain America is built for the 21st Century because he represents everything good about America. There's a lot to be learned from Steve Rogers and his generation. They represented a disciplined age that didn't take no for an answer. Though rigid at times, there is a lot people can learn from the generation Cap embodies. He may be a man out of time when it comes to popular culture, but when it comes to values he is timeless. There's a reason Superman made him leader of the combined JLA/Avengers team.
I hope the movie does him justice.