To all Marvel Comic Nerds

[Nekogami]

Captain America is now gun toting. I don't know how I feel about that. It's not so much that he has a gun or uses a gun, it's just that for his grand re-entry, I'd hope that he'd have something decidedly more badass than a nine millimeter.

I think I may be addicted to superpowers.


There should be a Captain Britain or the Great Britain... It think I'd be amused to have Captain American and the Great Britain in a room together.

[BrainWalker]

I'm pretty sure there actually is a "Captain Britian," although I'm not sure what his actual name is.

Also, didn't Cap get sniped in the brain or something? How do you recover from shit like that?

Also also, for on-topicness: Captain America doesn't throw his Mighty Shield? Everything I know is wrong.

[Nekogami]

Steve his side kick took up the mantle of CAPTAAAAAIIIIIN AMERICA!!!! And his first order of business: obtain firearm.

He still throws his shield but when he needs to make a point, his got at the steel on his hip or wherever he carries that thing.

Of course we all know this could be a sociopolitical cultural statement.


Excuse me as I research Captain Britain.

[KingOfDoma]

OK, OK, OK. Being one of the premiere Marvel nerds here, I have to straighten things out here and make sure all things are correct.

First off: Steve Rogers is dead, dead, dead. After losing his battle to get the Superhuman Registration Act thrown out, he was indicted on multiple charges, and was heading to court when he fell victim to a plot of the Red Skull. A sniper named Crossbones put a bullet in his shoulder, and while everyone was tending to him, Steve's girlfriend Sharon Carter, who had been brainwashed by a supervillain posing as her psychiatrist, shot him in the chest, conclusively killing him.

Second: That's Bucky with the gun. Cap's sidekick from the war, he was thought killed in an airplane explosion before Cap took his frozen nap. Unbeknownst to all, he was captured by the Soviets and trained to be a killing machine called the Winter Soldier. Once Cap discovered the Winter Soldier's identity, he worked hard to get him to remember who he once was. And now that Cap's gone, Bucky is taking up his former mentor's mantle. With a pistol. Hey, don't worry, he's just kneecapping people.

Third: Yes, there's a Captain Britain. His name's Brian Braddock, and he got his powers from an amulet given to him by Merlyn. He's got a bunch of Superman-standard powers (flight, superstrength), and is actually one of an INFINITE number of Captain Britains in the Captain Britain Corps, which has a Captain Britain in every world in the Multiverse. (I wonder if Marvel will ever let DC have one...?) A neat note: You know that hot Asian ninja Psylocke? That's his sister (she didn't use to be Asian, oddly enough). And one other neat note: In the Ultimate Universe (where everyone's newer, hotter, and has a streamlined backstory), there's also a Captain Italy, Captain France, Captain Spain, and a bunch of other EU superheroes that use the technology that made the original (yeah, in this one, his powers come from science) to defend Europe.

Finally: There is also a Captain Canuck, and a guy named Vindicator from Marvel who looks very similar. There's also a guy named Guardian who wears that suit now, but he's from frikkin' Alaska, so he doesn't count. :P

[Nekogami]

Thanks for the clarification, Charles!

So I must ask this? Is the gun just a style change? Bucky's special note to differentiate him from Captain America? Or perhaps can we see this as a symbol signifying that at the very least, in the comic book word, Captain America needs a little something extra to get the job done?

I think it's in interesting choice in this day in age. I somehow expected him to either come back the same or new and improved. Hit me with your thoughts.

[Justice Augustus]

As if Marvel didn't have enough national pride superheros they created a few more.

The U.S. Agent, a one-time Captain America idoliser, rival, and teammate.

Union Jack a passed on title between British secret agents (most of whom have no super powers).

Spitfire, a female British heroine.

Miss America, cause women don't get no military ranks!

The Patriot, another person who was once a Captain America.

Lionheart, the female version of Captain Britain (she once even used the name).

Captain UK seriously, there are other military ranks out there! Where are the Commandants, the Majors, and the Colonels?

Captain England who is from Yorkshire! AWESOME.

[KingOfDoma]

Actually, it's true to form for Bucky. As it's seen in some more retconny comics, he's always carried firearms, even as a teenage sidekick. I think it's a way of showing that yes, this is Cap, but this is also James Buchanan Barnes, and James Buchanan Barnes uses a gun. Simple as that.

[Idran1701]

Not just Bucky. I mean, come on, Cap was a soldier in WW2, of course he used to carry a gun in the field. He just also was so skilled with his shield that he hardly ever needed to use it. Bucky's just a guy, as far as I know he never went through the Super Soldier program, so his shield skills aren't as reliable as Rogers' were.

[FlamingDeth]

Of course they use other military ranks! You're foregetting about Colonel America, my personal favorite!

(even if he's still technically the same guy as Captain America)

[glu-glu]

In other gun totting marvel heroes news, Hulk (now red) also has a gun, a hulk sized gun. Why does he have a gun? BECAUSE THAT'S HOW MANLY HE IS!

Also: people does not die in the marvel universe, they just "go to Europe".

[BrainWalker]

Actually, the Hulk having a gun irritates me a lot more than Captain America having a gun. Giving The Hulk a gun would be like giving God a gun. What an incredibly uninspired way to kill someone when it is within your power to kill them with literally anything that happens to be lying around you. If you can pick up a truck, rip it and half and turn it into a pair of mittens, you don't need a fucking gun. If you can take out a helicopter with another fucking helicoptor, you don't need a damn gun.

[Capntastic]

BW is correct. The Hulk having a gun is just the dumbest idea ever. It'd be like giving Superman a gun.

[Idran1701]

It is dumb, yes. But Red Hulk isn't the Hulk; they're currently suggesting that that Red Hulk is Rick Jones, but it's not known for sure yet who it is. It's part of a big murder mystery where this new post-WWH Red Hulk shot and killed the Abomination in Russia with that Hulk Gun.

Basically it's Jeph Loeb doing yet another retread of Long Halloween.

[BrainWalker]

I have no idea what you just said, but it certainly sounds unnecessarily convoluted.

Hurrah for comics!

[Idran1701]

Short version:

Rick Jones: The reason the Hulk is the Hulk; he was the guy out on the gamma bomb testing range that Bruce Banner ran out to save, and has been friends with Banner ever since. They're suggesting he's somehow gained gamma powers too and is this new mysterious Red Hulk, but nothing's confirmed yet.

The Abomination: A former KGB agent and one of Hulk's rogues. After he found out he has the genetic factor that lets people get superpowers from accidents instead of dying (yes that's how it works in Marvel), he gave himself gamma powers. Stronger than a calm Hulk and he keeps his mind in his hulked-out form, but he doesn't gain strength and he was trapped in Hulk form for a while. Recently killed by Red Hulk using that anti-Hulk gun.

Jeph Loeb: The writer of Long Halloween, a Batman storyline from some years back, a murder mystery that involved bringing out as many characters that Loeb could fit into the plot, and some that he couldn't. A relatively well-regarded story, but he just can't seem to drop the idea of a murder mystery involving countless cameos in his later storylines.