Warning: Contains spoilers for Captain America #3!!
Captain America is often defined by his bravery and willingness to stand up for what is right, no matter the cost – and while Marvel’s recent storyline focusing on “Change Agents” seeks to highlight his potential to change the world, the lore instead creates a problematic retelling of real history, erasing the bravery and fortitude shown by those who championed change.
Marvel’s recent Captain America series – written by J. Michael Straczynski, with art by Jesús Saíz and Lan Medina, color by Matt Hollingsworth, and lettering by Joe Caramagna – introduces the concept of “Change Agents,” incarnations of a cosmic force for progress that appear during moments of massive unrest or upheaval, seemingly imbued with a kind of everlasting “energy” that allows them to inspire others and shift world history in a new direction.
Unfortunately, using mystical motivational energy to explain the deeds of actual activists and martyrs downplays the very real bravery and commitment required to move the world – or even a piece of it.
Captain America’s Most Important Mentor Was a Shocking Real-Life Figure
Captain America is known for embodying the ideals of what the United States is supposed to stand for, but his first mentor wasn’t so noble.
Marvel’s “Change Agents” Concept Downplays Real-Life Heroism
In Captain America #3, Cap’s newest enemy, the Emissary, explains that the energy behind Change Agents moves from one to another and “whatever spirit is inside them” goes on to find a new host and create another Agent. When Travis Lane previously laid out how Change Agents work in Captain America #2, he mentioned several real-life civil rights leaders and activists, naming Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., Oskar Schindler specifically as incarnations of this cosmic force for change. All of these individuals showed incredible levels of bravery and fortitude in their quests to save others and attempt to make some kind of difference in a broken world.
Several of the people mentioned paid for their activism with their lives. By labeling real-life heroes as Agents of Change, Marvel puts them in a magical, otherworldly context, rendering the changes they fought and sacrificed for as markers of a pre-ordained progress, rather than instances of real people putting themselves on the line to inspire others and do what’s right. Even more fraught is Travis Lane’s assessment in Captain America #2 that many of the figures were assassinated “almost always too late” and that “they’ve already done what they came here to do.” In attempting to tie Marvel’s cosmic forces into real-world history, Captain America unfortunately diminishes the agency exhibited by these legendary individuals.
Captain America Inspires Others Without Mysticism
History offers a long lists of activists and heroes who died young, some of whom are mentioned among Marvel’s list of Change Agents. To lump them into a mystical category not only lessens their contributions, but the language sounds as if they had no more to offer beyond what they did, and their deeds were already done. In reality, people like Martin Luther King Jr. or Abraham Lincoln could have offered so much more to the world. This story makes it seem as if their spirits were merely used up, and the world was ready for the next important figure.
While the Agents of Change idea is problematic because of the shadow it casts on history and the people who created it, it also takes away from Steve Rogers’ symbolism. Captain America is successful because of his ability to inspire others – it’s what makes Steve who he is and what makes him worthy of becoming Captain America. To say he possesses those qualities simply because he was chosen by an unknown, magical energy, or spirit, lessens the impact and importance of what he stands for. Captain America remains one of Marvel’s boldest heroes, but the real world is filled with champions whose astounding bravery should not be ignored.
Captain America #3 is available now from Marvel Comics.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #3 (2023) | |
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