Here's a pretty interesting analysis of how Captain America has changed in light of recent events. I haven't read the comics in question, but some of the recent dialogue and plot-lines do sound pretty lame. What the heck is the circulation of Captain America these days anyway? Who still reads it (besides Michael Medved, for "research")?

In 2002, Marvel responded to the horrors of 9/11 with Captain America: The New Deal, a series featuring a terrorist named Al-Tariq who’s determined to punish the U.S. for its reckless misdeeds. After taking hostages in a small town with a defense plant, the militant addresses Captain America through loudspeakers, demanding: “Tell our children then, American — Who sowed death in their field — and left it for the innocent to harvest? Who took their hands, their feet?” A horrified hostage mother turns with fury on her own husband and shrills: “This is how you feed our baby? With bombs? You make bombs?”

No one in this comic (#3 of the series), neither Captain America nor any of the hostages, ever offers a word of rebuttal to the pro-terrorist tirade.

I don't like Medved, but I have to admit, a thoughtful, reflective Captain America, wracked with guilt and introspection over America's mixed history, sounds pretty damned boring.

I don't remember Captain America reflecting on whether or not Red Skull might have been legitimate in his desire to destroy America. Honestly, I just remember him kicking Red Skull's shriveled red Nazi ass.

And that is as it should be.