If you want to see a large group of fans up in arms over an editorial decision in a comic book look no further than the recent controversy over the return of Steve Rogers as Captain America in Marvel’s Captain America: Steve Rogers #1. There are going to be spoilers ahead, so if you were waiting to sit down and read Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 you might want to avert your eyes. The rage can wash over you at a later time.
The controversy was turning Captain America into an evil Hydra agent. That would be a bombshell no matter what, but directly following the release of Captain America: Civil War where he’s still the ultimate good guy? Bold.
Who better to ask about this new twist than Stan Lee, Marvel’s longtime figurehead and creator of many of their most famous characters? While Captain America wasn’t a Stan Lee creation, his first work was indeed on Captain America comics. Even though Stan Lee doesn’t really hold much of a position of power when it comes to editorial decisions in specific comic books anymore, he still has that same, emotional attachment that many fans have, if not more.
As for his thoughts on the revelation? EntertainmentWeekly has the scoop on his panel from a recent MegaCon where during a Q&A session he was asked about the controversial change.
“It’s a hell of a clever idea,” he said. “I don’t know that I would ever have thought of it for him to be a double agent, but it’s going to make you curious, it’s going to make you want to read the books, they’ll probably do a movie based on it.”
So no, Stan Lee doesn’t seem really outraged by it. He actually seems intrigued by the whole idea. Lee thinks that it’s marketable and gets people talking about Captain America comics again (it did). The reality here is that comics always have different offshoots, reboots and some comics take interesting twists and turns along the way without it really impacting the core character in any way. Could it appear in a film like Lee is saying? Maybe, but this Captain America still has a lot left in him.
(Via EntertainmentWeekly)