Marvel Comics Kills Off Captain America

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Captain America, a.k.a. Steve Rogers, was introduced in 1941, co-created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

Marvel Comics

Captain America, a.k.a. Steve Rogers, was introduced in 1941, co-created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

A red, white and blue superhero, born to fight the Nazis, has been rubbed out.

Marvel Comics has killed off Captain America.

In the latest issue of the long-running series, the character is shot by a sniper on the steps of the federal courthouse in New York City.

"On the last page of the issue he's on a gurney, looking out with lifeless eyes," said Ed Brubaker, who writes the series. "He's been killed."

The latest issue depicts the last day in Captain America's life.

Captain America was born at the dawn of World War II. Steve Rogers was an ordinary private in the U.S. Army who was given an experimental serum. It turned him into Captain America — the ultimate soldier.

The shield-bearing hero spent the war years fighting the Nazis. After the war, the series was discontinued.

Then Stan Lee came to the rescue. The former Marvel editor-in chief resurrected Captain America in the early 1960s because he loved the character.

"He represented everything that people in any side of the political spectrum find admirable," Lee said. "He was courageous he was honest, he was loyal, he tried to always do the right thing. He had no prejudice; he was like a perfect human being."

Cap was created by writer Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby. Simon said he was sitting shiva (a Jewish mourning ritual) in his New York studio.

"To me, Captain America was a spirit," Simon said. "This is a time when we need Captain America more than ever."

But Morning Edition commentator John Ridley says it's not that easy to kill an icon.

"I believe that he will be back, and as he rises I think we can all believe no matter where we are — from left to right or middle that America will continue to rise," Ridley said. "We have to believe that as a nation, that we will continue to go on and I think Captain America's legacy will be his rebirth."