The Sentinel Of Liberty.
The Star Spangled Avenger.
Captain America.
How can you not love Captain America? I've been a Cap fan for almost as long as I've been reading comics. One of the very first comics I bought was a somewhat silly little single story issue of Captain America, in which he ends up in Antarctica battling a giant ice worm. Man, I love that comic. Anyway, my appreciation for the character would slowly grow as I continued to read Marvel comics. He would guest star in other titles I was reading from time to time (Darkhawk, baby!) and every other hero always had such respect and admiration for the man, that it couldn't help rubbing off onto the reader. I mean, Captain America is basically just a normal human being with "peak strength, speed, and agility". Not bad, but he's not bulletproof, he can't fly, or lift a car over his head. Yet, this super-powerless hero was leading the Avengers. The most powerful collection of heroes on Earth (at least Marvel U.'s Earth). He's bossing Thor around! Captain America tells a living Norse god to jump, the god says "How high?". That is bonafide badass, my friend.
I'm not sure when I concluded that Cap was my favorite super-hero, but it was most likely after reading Infinity Gauntlet #4. Not only is this my favorite single comic book issue of all time (no, really), but it has, to me, the defining Captain America moment. Let me briefly set the stage:
The mad titan THANOS has collected the Infinity Gems, which have made him pretty much omnipotent. He has complete control over the universe. He's, for all intents and purposes, God. So, a largely unknown hero called Adam Warlock, a long time adversary of Thanos', has gathered a collection of Earth's greatest heroes to battle the maniac. The battle itself is largely a distraction, as the heroes of Earth have little chance of winning. This battalion of superheroes features a number of heavy hitters, like Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Wolverine, Spider-Man, even Quasar (whose job description reads: Protector of the Universe) and many more. But who leads this fighting force? Captain America, of course! And the good guys fall like so many dominoes, one by one. Iron Man's head is ripped clean off. Thor is turned to glass and shattered. Quasar is evaporated. Finally, it's just Cap and Thanos.
Keep in mind, Thanos is now All-Powerful. Cap is basically a really athletic dude. Here's how it goes down, right after the second to last hero falls:
Cap: "It's not over till the fat lady sings."
Thanos: "Surely you jest."
Cap: "Never been any good at stand-up routines."
Thanos: "Or at organizing a cosmic assault, I see."
Cap: "We tried."
Then Cap strolls over and gets right in Thanos' ugly, purple mug.
Cap: "As long as one man stands against you Thanos, you'll never be able to claim victory."
Thanos: "Noble sentiments from one who is about to die."
Cap: "I've lived by those sentiments. They're well worth dying for."
Thanos: "THEN DIE YOU SHALL!"
How 'bout the stones on this man! I won't ruin how things turn out, in case somebody hasn't read it yet, and would like to, but just think about how much backbone it would take to stand up to the most powerful being in existence, when you are just a man. It made quite an impact on me, obviously.
Now I could go on forever about what makes Cap great, but I won't. I'll just leave you with this quote, which Cap made in a recent issue of Amazing Spider-Man (written by J. Michael Straczynski) during the Civil War event. To me, it elevate the character even higher.
"Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: The requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world, 'No, you move.'"
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
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