Marvel Heroes - Back from the Dead

I was reading a copy of Wizard magazine a few weeks ago, when I stumbled upon an interview with the writers and artists at Marvel who are working on Civil War. Actually, it was a peek into a planning session, with just enough details left out so that we could get a sense of their excitement and the drama the series would contain without getting any real spoilers.

One detail they did let slip, though, was that they would be bringing a hero back during Civil War. They referred to the massive success that the recent "Winter Soldier" arc on Captain America had. That's the arc in which they revealed that Cap's sidekick, Bucky, never really died, but has instead been kept alive by Russian scientists for over fifty years and forced to do assassinations for his new masters. The writers who were discussing this storyline seemed to be suggesting that its popularity was ample proof that the public was ready to see more longtime dead Marvel characters resurrected.

This made me wonder a few things. First off, was the "Winter Soldier" storyline really that popular? I haven't seen any numbers related to sales, but did that plotline really vault the perennially lukewarm Captain American book into the top ten? If so, why? The book was all over the place in terms of writing and art. The storyline had more dangling plotlines and deus ex machina instances than I've seen in any other book, recently. And the basic concept behind the story--that Bucky has been a cyborg killing machine since 1942 and is now starting to remember who he is--made no sense when you think about it. If he's really been active and successful for that long, why haven't SHIELD or Cap heard about him? And how did Cap actually meet his GHOST at least once in the past twenty years, if he was never really dead? I think the Grim Reaper even brought Bucky's corpse back as a zombie once. Again, this would be impossible if he was NEVER DEAD. I know continuity should never get in the way of a good story, but in this case, they threw everything out the window for the sake of the big shocker moment when the killer was revealed to be Bucky. I thought, the entire way through the story, that he would be revealed to be a creation of the Skull's new cosmic cube.

I wasn't a fan of the story. I'm not sure yet if I'm just that big of a fanboy, that I put "sacred cow" status on my favorite characters, or if I just think it was unnecessary and didn't bring much to the title. Either way, it's the least interesting thing about Captain America at the moment.

The other thing I wondered when I heard the Marvel writers talking big about resurrections is who they would bring back next. They said the character was someone who'd taken on "iconic" stature in the Marvel Universe. There are only a few dead people I would put in that category: Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacy, Bucky, Captain Marvel. Bringing back Uncle Ben and Gwen would really only effect Spider-Man, not the rest of the Marvel U. So I think we can assume that wouldn't fit a book like Civil War. Besides, they've already brought Gwen back, for all extents and purposes, in the form of her clone and her kids. And since they just brought Bucky back, you can cross him off the list. Captain Marvel makes the most sense. He's iconic, he's currently dead, and there've been several plot points in other books that could be seen as foreshadowing of his resurrection. In Thunderbolts, Marvel's genetic successor, Photon/Genis-Vell/Captain Marvel, finally and unceremonially kicked the can. This limits the number of current Captain Marvels a little, so to alleviate confusion if the original returns. Also, Hulkling in Young Avengers was just revealed to be Captain Marvel's son, which creates an instant family connection if he comes back. And, perhaps intentionally, the guy that gave Captain Marvel cancer is the same guy who started the Civil War events in motion (Nitro). A lot of coincidences if the dead Kree doesn't return, don't you think? *

So what do I think of them bringing Captain Marvel back to life? I think it's a bad idea, but probably not for the reasons you may think I'll state. You probably think I'm going to say he should stay dead because of his iconic nature, because it would invalidate his sacrifice, or because the character would soon become a parody of the greatness he once represented. All of that is true to an extent, but the real reason I don't think they should bring him back is that it won't mean anything to the people that matter. Yes, a handful of thirty- and forty-something fanboys, like me, will go nuts over it. And we'll fill the message boards with debates about whether he should have come back. But the kids and new readers won't give a damn. And isn't that the number one goal of the major publishers right now, to bring new readers and kids back to the fold? Isn't one of the industry's biggest problems the fact that their strongest demographic is rapidly aging, and not enough new readers are moving in to take their places?

I'm not trying to say that comics should always appeal to the lowest common denominator, or should be dumbed down for kids. I still think the publishers should find a balance between mature, intelligent stories, and comics and characters that are colorful, action-packed, and easy to get into. I think bringing back Captain Marvel could possibly fulfill the former, but will further distance them from the "easy to get into" category.

I guess only time will tell if Mar-vell will make his triumphant return. And I guess the sales figures will tell whether or not that return was really a good decision.

I'll just wait for the next big crossover, when they make the resurrection of (the X-Men's) Thunderbird into the big moment.

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* Of course, they could be talking about Thor, who's definitely iconic, and may or may not be considered "dead." But since there's already been a bunch of talk about him coming back to his own book, that doesn't seem like much of a secret, or what they're talking about in this interview.