Captain America, the son of Immigrants

By Victor Landa, NewsTaco

I have to disclose  an unapologetic bias. Captain America is my favorite super hero, he’s been my favorite since I was old enough to buy comic books. I think it was his shield that caught my attention, I wanted a shield like that. And now, all these years later, I have a new reason to put the Captain at the top of my super hero list.

I call your attention to a specific issue: Captain America, Vol 7, #14 – “Loose Nuke: Part 4.”

What’s important about this isn’t comic or nuke related, it’s about immigration.

The Captain battles a character named Frank Simpson, another Super Soldier, a hyped “patriot” with an American flag tattooed on his face. Simpson has gone past patriotism, to fanaticism. And in the midst of the battle the Captain reveals he is the son of immigrants.

Yeah, isn’t that what we all want?

The Marvel Comics writers, editors and illustrators couldn’t have better timing. All they did, really, was mirror one of the issues of the day. But they did it succinctly, in a universe that seems human after all.

I noticed the Captain doesn’t have his shield to protect him; just the truth. I admire truth like that.

{Images courtesy of Marvel Comics]