1. He Offers A Chance To Discuss Racial Politics In A Super Hero Movie
I know a lot of fans get caught up in the "race bending" issue behind a lot of movies. I try not to. Unless the racial/ethnic identity of the character is crucial to their personality I could give a rip in the wind about it. One of the reason's I'm okay with the Marvel Movieverse version of Nick Fury is that he's not former Sargent Fury of the U.S. Army who led the Howling Commandos in WWII. Marvel wisely recognized that such a rank and role would not have been given to an Afro-American back in the era where they were still called "negroes" with no hint of guilt or offense intended. In most cases (such as Kingpin in Daredevil) the race of the character doesn't make a lick of difference. What I'm far more interested in, is the presence of the Falcon offering a chance for Steve and Sam to discuss racial issues on-screen. As someone who grew up white in the 20's and 30's Steve has had a completely different American experience than someone who grew up black in the 80's and 90's. 2008 marked the coming of age for superhero movies and not just because of The Dark Knight. Iron Man gave us a character with understated father issues and a largely unacknowledged problem with alcohol problem. The Incredible Hulk had as its penultimate scene Ed Norton's Bruce Banner meditating while being on the verge of going green. Those are two of the most significant precursors of what was to come. The idea that comic book movies could hint at darker things beneath the surface without having to directly state them and were finally ready to outgrow the need for mindless unrestrained action for its own sake and throttle the urge for excess set the tone for things like Watchmen and Captain America which are essentially a political conspiracy thriller and a World War II action movie that also have super heroes in them. Seriously, think about this for a sec... imagine a version of either movie with no one wearing a flashy costume. Don't they still feel like normal movies in your head? Could you say the same thing ten years ago about X-Men or Spider-Man? Didn't think so. Now that Marvel has completed what they're calling "phase one" of their movie universe, it's time to move things up to yet another level of maturity. Having a serious conversation about the uglier side of history and the fact that racism isn't all in our past is an important part of that process. However, something that's even more important...
1b. For The Love Of All That Is Nerdly, Do Not Give Us A Soap Box Sermon On Race Relations!
There is a huge difference between talking about a political issue with someone and giving a political lecture to them. Sadly a lot of people don't know how to prevent themselves from starting with one and sliding into the other. A lot of movies suck at this too. It's important to make sure that Cap 2 isn't one of those movies. While it's definitely worthwhile to have Cap and Falc talk about race relations, if it arrives in the form of Sam Wilson giving a big rafter rattling speech about how badly the black man has been treated by the white man or Steve Rogers delivering a soliloquy on why white guilt is or isn't a bad thing someone will deserve a time out in the "pretentious bull crap" room. If (or more likely when) Marvel avoids the three pitfalls outlined above, Captain America: Winter Soldier is going to be an awesome movie. Until then though, there's a lot to be excited for. As Jesus Jones once said "Right Here, Right Now... there is no other place I'd rather be!" Waiting to see what Marvel does with these extraordinary opportunities is a great place to be. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is due in cinemas April 4th, 2012.