Today is Independence Day. It is a day we take time to celebrate our country and our freedom. In honor of that, I wanted to take a minute today and talk about my favorite Captain America moment in the comics. This is the moment that my brain comes back to whenever I’m thinking about why Captain America is a great character. It gives a quick but in-depth picture of exactly who Steve Rogers is as a character and what he believes in. This moment, as great as it is, doesn’t even happen in a Captain America comic. It actually takes place in Amazing Spider-man 537 during a tie-in to the Civil War storyline.
Let’s set the stage with a little background information. Context is always important and I want it to be clear where Spider-man and Captain America are coming from when we get to my favorite moment. In the preceding issues of Civil War and Amazing Spider-man, Some young heroes known as the New Warriors fought a group of supervillains in an attempt to get better ratings for their reality show. The battle resulted in an explosion near a school and hundreds of people died. As a response, the government has signed the Superhuman Registration Act. This new law requires everyone with superhuman abilities to register them with the government and receive training as a member of the military or a police officer would. Tony Stark, or Iron Man, believes this is a necessary change and leads the charge for registration. Captain America see the potential damage that could be done to those who have kept their identities a secret and starts a resistance movement. The Marvel Universe is divided.
Peter Parker, Spider-man, has been being mentored by Tony and decides to show his support the registration act by publicly unmasking and revealing his identity to the world, but shortly after he makes this decision. He starts to see that both villains and that the heroes in the resistance are being mistreated and denied their rights. He realizes that he went all in on the wrong side, and goes on television again to admit his mistake and reveal what he has seen.
Peter is now a fugitive and with the exceptions of Mary Jane and Aunt May, he is on his own. Captain America decides to send Peter a message and asks to meet up with him, despite warnings from the other heroes that this change of heart could all be a trap. That leads to the following exchange.
– Amazing Spider-man #537
Steve then answers by saying that the first time he truly understood what it meant to be an American was when he was young and reading Mark Twain. He quotes what seems to be a slightly shortened version of “Glances at History” which, from what I can find online, is an excerpt from a speech given by Mark Twain.
“In a republic, who is the country? Is it the government which is for the moment in the saddle? Why, the government is merely a temporary servant: it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn’t. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them. Who, then is the country? Is it the newspaper? Is it the pulpit? Why, these are mere parts of the country, not the whole of it, they have not command, they have only their little share in the command. In a monarchy, the king and his family are the country: In a republic it is the common voice of the people each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own responsibility, must speak. It is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government, or the empty catchphrases of politicians. Each must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, and which course is patriotic and which isn’t. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide it against your convictions is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may. If you alone of all the nation shall decide one way, and that way be the right way according to your convictions of the right, you have your duty by yourself and by your country. Hold up your head. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Captain America then continues on in the panel below.
One of the best things about reading superhero stories is seeing the motivations and beliefs that drive these larger than life characters to do what they do. These stories often examine what it means to be a hero, and this one panel very clearly lets us know what being a hero and being a patriot means to Captain America. For me, this short exchange tells you everything you need to know about Captain America.
This is a core aspect of his character that is on display in both the comics and the movies. In the MCU we can see this when Captain America disobeys orders and first heads into battle so save Bucky and the other captured soldiers. We see it again when he fights against SHIELD in The Winter Soldier, and against Iron-man in Civil War. They even use this speech in Captain America Civil War, but instead of Cap giving it, he hears it as a quote from Peggy Carter at her funeral. It is what finalizes his decision not to sign the Sokovia Accords and to try to help Bucky. When I was watching Endgame, and Captain America was onscreen alone staring down Thanos’ entire armada, I couldn’t help but think that if we could hear Steve’s thoughts as he tightened his broken shield we would hear something “No, You Move.”
As a Christian, I think the reason this moment is so powerful is that Captain America’s call to action reminds me of how I’m called to do what is right and stand firm in my faith. This comic book of all things echoes a really powerful truth. When reading this comic I can’t help but think of the three following passages in Scripture.
Psalm 1:1-6. 1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Ephesians 6:10-20 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14
13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.
In these three passages, we see that God calls us to plant ourselves firmly in the truth, His law, and that when we do, he provides us the strength and all the tools we need to do so. He calls us to go out and boldly declare the truth of the gospel as ambassadors for Him. Why do we do this? Not out of hatred, or because we think we are superior, but as 1 Cor. 16:14 say, we do it out of love. If we truly believe the gospel, then we can’t compromise it. In the same passages that God promises that he will nurture us, he reminds us that the wicked will perish. We can’t say we love people and then not tell them the truth, because if they don’t know the truth then they are lost in their sins and will have to pay the price for that. How can you love someone, see that they are dying, and not try to show them the way to salvation? You can’t.
To summarize let’s look back at what Captain America says here. When it comes to the truth, It “doesn’t matter what the press says, Doesn’t matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn’t matter if the whole world decides that something wrong is something right.” While Cap talks about the nation, It is even more important that as followers of Christ we stand up for what we believe, “No matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move. Your job is to plant yourself like a tree by the river of Truth and tell the whole world, ‘No, You move.'”
