CAPTAIN AMERICA #294: Bernie Rosenthal on superhero romance

[starwolf_oakley]

J.M. DeMatteis wrote "The Death of the Red Skull" saga that went to CAPTAIN AMERICA #300. CAPTAIN AMERICA #294 covers a small but important part, where Steve Rogers wants to talk to Bernie Rosenthal about their relationship.

The art is by Paul Neary, who gives everything a very strong Steve Ditko vibe.



First, Steve Rogers and Jack Monroe, aka Nomad, discuss a battle with a hypnotized friend of Steve's, Dave Cox. (Dave was hypnotized by Baron Zemo and Mother Night.) Jack and Steve even discuss "I remember when pacifists were considered cowards."



DeMatteis has said he wanted #300 to deal with Cap deciding violence didn't work and starting a peace movement before getting assassinated. The idea was nixed by Jim Shooter and DeMatteis used the idea in "The Life and Times of Savior 28," a miniseries for IDW.



Hairless Harry?



On one hand, Bernie is right: life is a risk whether you are a crime-fighter or not. On the other hand, this story has Bernie and a bunch of Steve's friends (Falcon, Nomad, Arnie Roth) getting kidnapped by the Red Skull to hurt Captain America.



A Red Skull mask in the mail puts Steve's concerns in perspective.

Comments

[his_spiffynesss]

Looks like Bernie might be the kind of super hero's grilfriend who'd feed a bad guy's had down the garbage disposer

[q99]

Yea, I got a somewhat less violent shade of that too :)

[filthysize]

Constantine's Kit comes to mind.

[drtechnobabel]

I admit, when I first saw that last panel, I immediately assumed that someone had chopped off Red Skull's head and sent it to Steve for some reason. You know, like Se7en, only hilarious instead of gut-wrenching.

[donnblake]

I may have been watching too much Hannibal recently, because when I read "For some reason," my immediate thought was, "They want to be his friend!"

[espanolbot]

The idea of a murderous lunatic trying to be friends with a superhero by mailing them bits of their rogues gallery does sound like an interesting set-up for a story...

[md84]

Well Green Arrow (pre New 52) had a stalker named Cupid who wooed Ollie by murdering members of his Rogues' Gallery. For example, she smashed Brick to bits with a wrecking ball and nearly killed Merlyn by slitting his throat.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

Third scan, panel 1: She looks like Peg Bundy to me there.

[wizardru]

Bernie is completely right, here.

Being a hero's girlfriend DOES make her more central to villain plots, it's true. But it also makes her SAFER than the general populace. How many people died during the Skrull Invasion? The attack of the Worthy? Thanos' Invasion? The Builders? The Map Makers? The Evolutionary War? Inferno? House of M? Age of Apocalypse/Ultron? World War Hulk? Goblin Nation? Spider Island? Shadowland? The Chaos War? ...and so on.

The simple fact is that the Marvel Universe is FANTASTICALLY UNSAFE PLACE TO LIVE, despite the almost miraculously low death tolls. Bernie is at risk by being Cap's girlfriend...but she's at risk from super powered death without him, too...and her survival rate turns into a random act of fate. Her point is that they're happy...they might as well enjoy it.

[janegray]

Whatever happened to Bernie anyway? Is she still alive?

[starwolf_oakley]

Bernie went to law school. She was last seen defending Bucky Barnes from his many, MANY crimes as the Winter Solider during the Brubaker run. I don't think she has shown up since.

[janegray]

Thanks :)

[yaseen101]

Cap's so awesome his girlfriends don't die. They just leave him. :(

Or in Sharon Carter's case, even if they die, they come back to life anyway.

Helpful link:

http://i60.tinypic.com/200ci6g.jpg

[janegray]

Thanks :)

[halloweenjack]

Paul Neary as an inker has done some incredible work with Alan Davis and Bryan Hitch. Paul Neary as a penciler is like someone doing a Ditko imitation without realizing what made Ditko Ditko.