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ON CAPTAIN AMERICA . . . AND THE TRIUMPH OF THE SPIRIT
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KINGDOM COME. "HyperTime." The revitalized FLASH comic (and the creation of its successful spin-off title, IMPULSE). JLA: YEAR ONE. Both CAPTAIN AMERICA and CAPTAIN AMERICA: SENTINEL OF LIBERTY.

Just watching Mark Waid at work is enough to leave me dizzy and exhausted, sometimes.

One of the busiest men in comics today (I hear that he and Chuck Dixon have a steel cage "death match" scheduled for sometime in the not-too-distant future to settle the matter, once and for all), Mark Waid has made himself -- via equal parts raw, blinding talent and a dynamo-

like indefatigability -- one of the few true movers and shakers in an industry which has sorely needed a clear-eyed handful of these in recent years. Along with such like-minded cronies as Grant Morrison (JLA; INVISIBLES); Tom Peyer (HOURMAN; LEGION OF SUPER- HEROES); Mark Millar (SUPERMAN ADVENTURES; JLA: PARADISE LOST) and Devin Grayson (TITANS; CATWOMAN), he has been one of the chiefest architects in the much-welcome present day movement away from the "grim'n'gritty" era of comics, and towards a more dynamic, "Silver Age"-ish storytelling ethos.

The talented Mr. Waid is by no means reticent in sharing his opinions on things comics-related. A recent interview granted to the estimable online journal FANZING -- in which he unloaded on the whiny, petulant, continuity-lawyering hordes which have rendered so many of the comics message boards all but unreadable, in recent years -- elicited mass ululations of pinheaded protestation, from precisely those offenders most needing such a combination wake-up call and hinder-kicking.

It was -- believe you me -- bloody wonderful.

Every industry needs a Mark Waid within its ranks, really. He is (and I offer this after no little amount of consideration; and intended as the very highest of praise) our very own Michael Moore.

CHEEKS: I'm curious as to how you settled upon Sharon Carter as an ongoing partner/sidekick/dramatic foil for Captain America, rather than -- say -- a Sam Wilson [the Falcon]; Clint Barton [Hawkeye]; some S.H.I.E.L.D. alumnus other than Sharon [Jimmy Woo; Jasper Sitwell; Gabe Jones; etc.]; or simply electing to have Cap work as a "solo" act.

Mind, now: I happen to like the resourceful Ms. Carter -- a lot. I don't want you should lose her, by any means. (Heck... I'm all for adding long-lost sister Peggy Carter to the mix... )

The question, really, is more along the lines of:

A.) Is there something essential in the conceptualization of the "Captain America" character which you feel more-or-less mandates a "partner" of some stripe, for best storytelling result...?

MARK WAID: Simply explained, it puts someone in the story who can yell, "ARE YOU CRAZY?" every time Cap leaps off a cliff without a chute. I find that invaluable.

CHEEKS: ... and: B.) What characteristic(s) do you find in Ms. Carter which render her particularly suited for what you see as a cohort and confidante for Captain America?

MARK WAID: As we reimagined and reinvented her, she's the perfect foil for Cap-- a cynic who can nonetheless sometimes still be reached by his idealism (though she'd never admit it).

CHEEKS: While on the matter of "partners': does Captain America regret ever having taken on the young Bucky Barnes as his first of these...?

Mind, now: I've no doubt whatsoever that he mourns (daily) Bucky's having perished, while in action...

... but: if he had it to do all over again -- via time-travel, or what-have-you -- would the good Captain have taken the young man under his red-white-and-blue wing in the first place...?

MARK WAID: Yeah. SENTINEL OF LIBERTY #12 is my Bucky Story, and I had to ask myself the same questions. What I hope to show in that story is that Cap learned as much from Bucky as Bucky did from Cap. Steve Rogers was totally guileless. Totally. Which, when it came to inventing clever ways to trick your opponents, was a real handicap. Fortunately, Bucky was a real operator, and he taught Steve quite a bit about thinking craftily.

CHEEKS: One of the more interesting aspects of the Captain America character (to my mind, at any rate) is the close alliance -- both professional and personal -- he formed, virtually instantaneously, with the covert espionage organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. (in general); and with said organization's commander, Nick Fury (in particular).

This has always struck me as somewhat odd, given that the (apparent) mandate for S.H.I.E.L.D. has included -- at various points along the way -- spying on U.S. citizens, even by means of telepathy (the S.H.I.E.L.D. "Esper Division"); infiltrating and/or attempting to secure control over privately-owned companies (Stark International; etc.); and similarly not-quite-cricket means of achieving their various "ends."

How was Captain America -- a classic FDR-style "New Deal" liberal (or so it's always seemed to me, at any rate) -- able to reconcile such actions with his own personal ethos and world view; even to the extent of joining S.H.I.E.L.D., at one point?

MARK WAID: Excellent question. I've always assumed that he always knew Nick Fury would never let SHIELD get away with anything perverse and sinister on his watch and that Cap's ties to SHIELD waxed and waned depending on Nick's involvement. This is, of course, a hopelessly naive assumption on my part. Food for thought, Cheeks...

CHEEKS: Touching upon one of the Captain's many nemeses for a moment, here: is the Red Skull mad?

This is different (I think) from the question of whether or not the Skull is an immoral monster (for he is, quite clearly, that).

What I'm asking, instead, is: is the nameless former hotel bellhop who later became "The Red Skull" capable of distinguishing the "right" or "wrong" of his own actions? Could he be certified as compos mentis, if ever brought to trial before (say) a session of the World Court? Is he at all conscious of the difference between that which is "moral," and that which is (assuredly) not...

... or: would he be escorted to a nice, comfy cell over at Arkham Asylum, should the Batman ever get his gloved hands on the little wretch?

MARK WAID: Is he conscious of his own immorality? Nope. Not even remotely, and under that narrow definition, he may well be "mad." I prefer to think of him as focused and with an agenda. My original, non-bowdlerized script to CAP #14 addressed that in great detail; he just thinks he's better than everyone, that's all. If that makes him mad, so be it.

CHEEKS: A two-part question; and one which has been asked before, of one (or more) of your fellow scribes.

a.) What is the one thing that anyone writing CAPTAIN AMERICA has to KNOW about the character, in your opinion, in order for the character to ring "true"...?

MARK WAID: That he's always three steps ahead of the other characters and at least two steps ahead of the writer.

CHEEKS: ... and: b.) What (again; in your opinion) is the one thing Captain America would never, ever do... under ANY circumstances?

MARK WAID: He'd never deliberately undermine the American Dream.

CHEEKS: Final query:

Steel cage match: Captain America versus...

... Sugar and Spike.

Who wins...?

MARK WAID: Bernie the Brain.

"PANNING FOR SILVER: Captain America"(MARK EVANIER) (Page 2)

"PANNING FOR SILVER: Captain America" (STEVE ENGLEHART) (Page 3)

"PANNING FOR SILVER: Captain America" (TONY ISABELLA) (Page 4)

"PANNING FOR SILVER: Captain America" (KURT BUSIEK) (Page 5)

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