Death of a Comics Hero: Captain America Killed by Sniper in Today's Issue of "Captain America"

I'm going to take a little bit of time with this one.

Marvel Comics killed off one of their longest lasting icons in the final core issue of their controversial "Civil War" series.

Captain America bought the farm, felled by an assassin's bullets.

In 2006, the Civil War storyline opened in the Marvel Universe and took in many of the superheros, including Captain America, Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk, the Punisher, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and dozens of others.

In the first issue, a team of superheroes battles a group of villains and things go very badly. One of the villains blows apart and six hundred innocent lives--including many children--are lost in the explosion. The public demands the U.S. government take action.

In response, the government requires all superhumans to unmask and register with the government. The superheros break into two camps: one that supports the Superhuman Registration Act lead by Iron Man, and those who support civil liberties--lead by Captain America. All who refuse to unmask and register are declared fugitives by the U.S. government.

Many superhumans--some of them bad guys-- join Iron Man's side with promises of government pardons for their prior actions.

Spider-Man unmasks at a press conference to show his support for the Act; the shockwaves from that were/are still reverberating in the Marvel Universe. He eventually changed sides and was declared a renegade.

Several major battles between Iron Man's government faction and Captain America's Secret Avengers took place; casualties were taken by both sides. In the final issue, a hunted Captain America surrendered to Iron Man, throwing his mask to the ground--which the Punisher picked up. He ordered his troops to surrender, and is assassinated as he is brought in handcuffs to the courthouse.

The allegories to our post-9/11 world are unmistakable. The loss of civil liberties in exchange for security, an unpopular war--fought on our own soil in Marvel's case--in progress that kills as many civilians as it does combatants, the Patriot Act superseding (and duplicating) laws already on the books, secret trials, attacks on superhumans by ordinary citizens which mirror the unfortunate revenge attacks carried out on Muslims in the days following 9/11, superhumans being locked away without cause or trial, and many other reflections--of us.

Fortunately, many comic book heroes have this knack for surviving--even as they appear to die. The Death of Superman by DC Comics in 1993 was a classic example. It's unlikely that Marvel would kill off one of their most beloved comic characters for long--especially since he's still making money for them.

This has been one of Marvel's more fascinating storylines in recent memory.