Avengers Age Of Ultron: 10 Outrageous Comic Moments That Won't Be Used
10. Captain America Kills
When Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch first introduced the Ultimate Universes interpretation of The Avengers, dubbed the Ultimates, characters that readers had loved for decades Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, et al were given a harder edge and bigger egos. Still, even with this dramatic reimagining of Earths Mightiest Heroes, a line was seemingly crossed when Captain America killed the Colonel, a member of the villain supergroup, the Liberators, in an issue of Ultimates 2. Cap is arguably the mainstream Marvel Universes (Earth-616) most virtuous hero and even walked out on his teammates when they defied his wishes and killed the Kree Supreme Intelligence during the Operation: Galactic Storm arc in the early 1990s. He has been quoted many times telling his fellow heroes, Avengers dont kill. And its not just that Cap kills Colonel but how he does it. During their struggle, Cap uses the villains own laser blade against him by stabbing him right in the centre of his chest. He shows some remorse as S.H.I.E.L.D. carts the Colonels body away, but its still stunning to see the hero critically wound his opponent in such brutal fashion. Even with that caveat that the Ultimates are supposed to be "different," Caps characterisation in this moment feels so out of whack, its questionable if he should even be named "Captain America." When it comes to modern retellings of stories, creators should always have the freedom to take some liberties, but when a core characteristic is altered so harshly, it feels more like a misread rather than a new spin on things.
Mark is a professional writer living in Brooklyn and is the founder of the Chasing Amazing Blog, which documents his quest to collect every issue of Amazing Spider-Man, and the Superior Spider-Talk podcast. He also pens the "Gimmick or Good?" column at Comics Should Be Good blog.
