#SayNotoHydraCap

This may be slightly out of the ordinary from what I typically post. Yes, there are certainly more pressing political and social issues that could be discussed. Yes, this would technically fall under the category of "pop culture." Yes, writing a post about superheroes is going to seem childish and petty. Yet, despite my personal love for all things Marvel, I am beginning to see an underlying trend that is becoming more and more alarming.

Captain America was created in 1940, at the height of a conflict in Europe led by none other than Adolf Hitler. While most of the atrocities committed under his regime were hidden for roughly another five years, they certainly were not going completely unnoticed. A certain people group was being targeted in every nook and cranny of the European landscape. And those connected to this people group, while they may not have physically been in Europe, were as much aware of this oppression as if they were enduring it themselves.

World War II was not fought as a civil rights or human rights battle. It was fought for freedom - from oppression, from tyranny, from hateful ideology. The war was fought - and won - by people like Steve Rogers.

Steve Rogers, as most of you know, only wants to serve his country. But, he is too sickly. Even though he is rejected time and time again, this foolishly brave kid keeps trying. Finally, he meets a German doctor who wants to give him a chance. This doctor asks him what his reason is for these multiple attempts at joining the Army.

Steve Rogers then gives his iconic answer: "I don't like bullies. I don't much care where they come from."

This is the man that becomes Captain America. This is the man that, for decades now, boys and girls have looked up to. They have idolized him for his courage, for his morality, and for his heroism. And they certainly should. Captain America is the personification of everything that is good in America.

Yet, the current Marvel writers want to tear him down. They want to make him a secret Hydra agent. They want to make him a Nazi.

Why does this story arc upset me?

I have two main reasons. The first is by far the lesser of the two, but I'll share it with you just for the sake of argument.

Making Steve Rogers Hydra/Nazi completely destroys the homogeneity of his origin and subsequent storyline. If Steve Rogers was Hydra/Nazi, why would he go fight and destroy their organizations and regimes? At least to me, that seems a little counter-intuitive, even if he is trying to maintain his cover. I would think that complete destruction of the people that he works for would be a hair over the line.

While we are discussing the topic of Steve's storyline and character arc, we have to touch on the overwhelming presence of James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, Steve's childhood friend and personal hero. For the sake of argument, let's accept the fact that Steve has been Hydra/Nazi all along. That would mean that the torture and heinous use of his best friend - the person that he treasures above everyone else in the world - is absolutely, 100%, without-a-doubt, completely fine with Steve Rogers. In what world would anyone genuinely believe that? Steve would never belong to an organization that treated his friend like that, regardless of what else they did in the world.

Argument #1: Steve Rogers being Hydra/Nazi is unacceptable due to the origin and storyline of Steve Rogers/Captain America.

My second argument is by far the heavier and more important of the two. This is where the disturbing trend can be seen, not only in Marvel but in the world as a whole.

Let's remember for a second when Captain America was created. The height of European conflict in World War II. As I said, a certain people group was being targeted - a people group that felt the ripples long before the rest of the world did. This people group: the Jews.

The creators and original writers of Captain America were Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. These two men were Jews. They were aware of what was happening in Europe when almost no one else was. They were opposed to Hitler when even some AMERICANS were holding Nazi rallies in the cities and streets of the United States. On the cover of one of the very first issues of the comic, these two brave Jewish men decided to have the illustration of Captain America punching Hitler right in the face, knocking him clean off his feet. At a time when Nazi sympathy wasn't yet considered bad, they were persecuted, receiving hate mail and even very serious death threats. Yet, they stood firm in what they knew to be true. Hitler and the Nazis were bad, and they were going to stand up against bullies - no matter where they came from. With this in mind, think about how it looks for the current writers to make Captain America - a hero created by Jews specifically to combat Hitler and his anti-Semitism - a Nazi. It is a disgrace. A complete and utter lack of respect for Jack Kirby and Joe Simon not only as artists and writers but as Jews.

And this is part of a much larger trend in Marvel. Magneto has been villainized for attempting to kill Red Skull in the comics, although Magneto was a young Jewish boy during World War II and he watched Red Skull and the Hydra organization torture and experiment on Jews. Pietro and Wanda Maximoff have had their Jewish heritage scrubbed away. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they were volunteers. And these volunteers are being given Christian backgrounds (i.e., Wanda's cross on the wall of her room) because their Jewish heritage is "irrelevant to the storyline." However, they were never volunteers, not in the original comics. They were Jewish-Romani prisoners that were tortured and experimented on.

In fact, Marvel has been washing away any relation to a Jewish heritage even with their actors. They have completely ignored the fact that Natalie Portman, Paul Rudd, Kat Dennings, Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Bernthal, and others have a Jewish heritage. Maybe the characters these actors portray do not have a Jewish heritage and are not influenced at all by Judaism, but these men and women ought to stand up for themselves and their people. It should never be alright to dismiss anyone's religious or national background, regardless of what it is or where it comes from.

My outrage comes from the blatant dismissal of the Jews as a whole. "Hail Hydra" has been everywhere since Captain America: The Winter Soldier. But, given its deep connection to the Nazis, it's not cute, it's not funny, and it has worn out its welcome. My outrage with Marvel is that they don't seem to care about the Jews that have worked for them, creating a character that has profited the company billions of dollars. Marvel, and Stan Lee, don't seem to be bothered by the fact that Nazism, through Hydra, is being romanticized and that the Jews in their comic universe are being ignored or christianized.

Personally, as a Christian, I believe the promise that those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Israel will be cursed. They are God's Chosen People. Palestine was given to them by God, and they will ultimately inhabit not just a portion of but all of the Promised Land. I stand with Israel politically. I stand with Israel militarily. I stand with Israel pop culturally.

Argument #2: Steve Rogers being Hydra/Nazi is unacceptable because Marvel has systematically been undermining the importance of the Jewish heritage in many characters while simultaneously romanticizing both the Hydra and Nazi regimes.

No, Marvel, this is not okay. No, Disney, you need to be stopped.

I #SayNotoHydraCap because I #StandWithIsrael.