Volume 51: Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America

Capt America #25: Author: Ed Brubaker / Illustrator: Steven Epting
Fallen Son Miniseries: Author: Jeph Loeb (from a premise by J. Michael Straczynski) / Illustrators: Leinil Yu (#1) / Ed McGuinness (#2) / John Romita Jr. (#3) / David Finch (#4) / John Cassaday (#5)

"...[A]nd one day, it'll be different. The load won't feel as heavy. 'Course, then you'll hear a song or somebody will laugh or the wind will blow the wrong way...and the hole will tear wide open again."

A number of heroes died during the Civil War arc (Volume 50), and while every human life should be equal in value, it's a fact that those closest to us leave the biggest vacuum in the world, an absence that's immeasurable in size. For many of the superhero community the death of Captain America cuts deeper than any of the others because of how inspirational he was. He's the reason so many of those able to protect the innocent were moved to do so in the first place. Steve Rogers was a man, but his costumed self was an almighty symbol that had the power to speak in place of the person beneath it.

The stories of how the death affected those closest to Steve is structured like the Kübler-Ross model (aka The Five Stages of Grief, as observed by Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross), with each issue exploring one of the stages: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. The particular hero chosen to lead each issue isn't random, there's a method at play whereby the emotion will have a special resonance with that particular character.

Before we get to the Fallen Son issues, we're given the issue of Captain America in which the hero was killed (#25). It's a great issue, with the focus split between Steve's situation and the world around him, but favouring the latter, surprisingly.

Stage 1: Denial: Wolverine. No stranger to loss as one of the X-Men, Wolverine needs confirmation of the death before he can begin to heal. The sketchy lines and dark colours suit the tone.

Stage 2: Anger: the Avengers. The team who lost a friend and leader. While some grieve openly, some choose distraction. Choosing not to vent anger doesn't necessarily make it go away; it still affects but quietly, and can do even more damage in the long term.

Stage 3: Bargaining: Capt. America. It's named for Cap, for reasons that will be obvious upon reading, but it's mostly about Iron Man and one specific other. Without going into detail it was the best issue so far, by quite a margin. I loved how the chill of the rainy night adds to the cold reception.

Stage 4: Depression: Spider-Man. Another good issue. Peter carries the weight of the world on an ordinary day, but when his failures (real and imagined) gang up on him as one, past and present blur and the web-slinger aches like only he can.

Stage 5: Acceptance: Ironman. The acceptance doesn't mean an end to the grief, but allows reflection. The future is changed, but for the superhero community it must go on.

The book collects together Captain America #25; and Fallen Son #1-5 (i.e. Fallen Son: Wolverine; Fallen Son: Avengers; Fallen Son: Captain America; Fallen Son: Spider-Man; Fallen Son: Iron Man).

Verdict: