Captain America’s Creator Son Denounces Capitol Mob’s Use of Superhero Images | Books



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The son of Captain America co-creator Jack Kirby strongly condemned the insurgents who stormed the Capitol last week wearing or waving symbols of the Marvel superhero, saying his father was “absolutely disgusted. By this view.

In a statement addressed to CNN reporter Jake TapperNeal Kirby, 72, said he was “dismayed and mortified” to see Trump supporters dressed in Captain America costumes or sporting his iconic Star Shield on January 6. His father Jack, along with Joe Simon, created Captain America in 1941, with the first issue of the comic showing the superhero punching Adolf Hitler in the face.

“Captain America has become a symbol and protector of our democracy and the rule of law over the past 79 years,” Kirby wrote. “It was created by two New York Jews who hated the Nazis and hated bullies. Captain America stood up for the underdog, and as history was written, even before he gained his strength and process from Army scientists, he always stood up for what was right and didn’t never backed down.

Looking at footage of the Capitol shooting on Jan. 6, he wrote: “Thought I noticed someone wearing a Trump / Captain America t-shirt! I was appalled and mortified. I believe I even caught a quick glance at someone with a Captain America shield. A quick Google search revealed that Trump was Captain America on T-shirts, posters and even a flag!

“These images are disgusting and shameful. Captain America is the absolute antithesis of Donald Trump. Where Captain America is selfless, Trump is selfish. Where Captain America fights for our country and democracy, Trump fights for personal power and autocracy. Where Captain America is alongside the common man, Trump is alongside the powerful and the privileged. Where Captain America is brave, Trump is a coward. Captain America and Trump couldn’t be more different.

Kirby said his father, who died in 1994, and Simon, who died in 2011, would have been “absolutely sickened by these images”.

“These images are both an insult to their memories. If Trump had the qualities and character of Captain America, the White House would be a shining symbol of truth and integrity, not a festering cesspool of lies and hypocrisy. he added. “Several of our presidents had the same values ​​as Captain America. Trump is not one of them. “

A Trump supporter in a Captain America costume at the Women for America First rally in Washington on December 12, 2020.
A Trump supporter in a Captain America costume at the Women for America First rally in Washington on December 12, 2020. Photograph: John Lamparski / SOPA Images / REX / Shutterstock

In Kirby: King of Comics, biographer Mark Evanier described an incident in which Kirby received a call at the offices of Timely Comics, which would become Marvel: “A voice on the other end said, ‘There are three of us. in the hall. We want to see the guy who makes this disgusting comic and show him what the real Nazis would do to Captain America. To the horror of the others in the office, Kirby rolled up his sleeves and walked downstairs. However, the appellants were gone by the time he arrived.

Marvel has yet to comment on the insurgents’ use of Captain America iconography, or the use of the skull logo made famous by the Punisher, another Marvel character. The skull has been worn by American police officers on their uniforms for years and has come to signify white supremacy and vigilantism in their ranks. In 2020, character creator Gerry Conway started a Black Lives Matter fundraiser in an effort to recapture the far right symbol.

In an interview with Syfy, Punisher writer Garth Ennis called those who stormed the Capitol “idiots”.

“People who wear the logo in this context laugh at themselves, as do the police who wore it during the summer,” he said. “What they actually want is to wear a seemingly scary symbol on a T-shirt, throw their weight all over the place, then go home to their wives and children and resume their daily lives. They didn’t think harder on the Punisher symbol than the idiots I’ve seen [on Wednesday], those who wave the stars and stripes by invading the Capitol building.



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