In December of 1940, America still hadn’t entered the war.
There were a lot of Americans – such as the 800,000 paying members of the America First Committee – who looked at fascists massacring their way through Europe and declared “that’s not our problem.”
Captain America was created by two poor Jewish Americans, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, with the specific intent of trying to convince Americans that entering the war was the right thing to do. It wasn’t easy – Kirby went far beyond what was expected of artists at the time, penciling the entire issue with a deadline that would have been difficult for a two-man crew to pull off.
Captain America punched Hitler right on the cover, at a time when a majority of Americans just didn’t feel like doing anything decisive against the Nazis.
Kirby and Simon faced considerable resistance for their creation, including steady hate mail and outright death threats.
Once, while Jack was in the Timely office, a call came from someone in the lobby. When Kirby answered, the caller threatened Jack with bodily harm if he showed his face. Kirby told the caller he would be right down, but by the time Jack reached street level, there was no one to be found.
Both creators enlisted after America entered the war. Kirby, as an artist, was called upon to do the extremely dangerous work of scouting ahead to draw maps. He also went on to co-create Black Panther in 1966.
They didn’t create Captain America to be an accurate depiction of America-As-It-Is. The character was meant to inspire and embolden, to show America-As-It-Should-Be.
The subject of where the Vibranium for the shield came from actually never came up for decades of comics, until it was finally addressed by Black Panther’s writer, Christopher Priest, in 2001. Priest never shied away from acknowledging America’s racism, but he also understood that Captain America represented an ideal, intended to inspire Americans to be better.
The story mixed together a “present day” discussion between Cap and T’Challa with flashbacks to when Cap met the Black Panther ruling Wakanda during World War II.
FLASHBACK:
PRESENT:
PRESENT -> FLASHBACK
PRESENT:
The Vibranium was given, freely, by one good man to another good man.
It is right to rage against the injustices done by our governments. We must call them out, and we must fight for what’s right.
But if you can’t even stand to see the symbols created to inspire people to be better, and rail against those,then you’re just confusing cynicism for realism.
This was a masterful callout that deserves a place in the callout hall of fame, which I just realized needs to exist. It strikes the perfect tone of, “I’m not criticizing where you’re at on this, I’m holding my hand out and inviting you to step up to the next level in your thinking about it.”
That’s the kind of callout that people can sometimes actually hear, not just for entertaining the bystanders. Truly, we need more of this.
So most of you know I’m in really deep right now since I lost my job and I now only have a part time job gettting 10-15 hours a week. This part time is not making a dent in the $1000+ negative hole my bills have put me in. As of this moment, I am exactly -$1,235.67 because of bills and overdraft fees. I haven’t really eaten in the last week, mostly little things my parents have bought so that I don’t die while trying to figure out how I’m going to get through this financial fuckhole I’m in.
Good news is that I just got off the phone setting up an interview for another part time job, so wish me luck on that front while I struggle to figure this whole thing out.
If anyone can donate to help with the -$1,235.67, my paypal is snarkwolf@yahoo.com. Please help if you can, because my roommate is getting very antsy about me not having any money and I’m actually hiding in my room to avoid having to deal with him.
UPDATE
My first check just came in, and it covered the negative balance of my bank account, but I still have two months of rent, two payments on both loans and my phone bill. Luckily my roommate was finally willing to just sit the fuck down and listen to his wife so my rent is lower until I get everything caught back up. With this in mind, the new amount I need now that my bank account has been brought back into the positive is only $900.
Only $900 can change rapidly, though, if a loan tries to take a payment and my account ends up negative again. PLease donate if possible, guys. My paypal is snarkwolf@yahoo.com and I am writing drabbles/making stuff for those who help me because it’s all I have to give back.
Another Munday Prompt
Remember to repost, not reblog!
Name: Kallin
Prefered pronouns: She/her
Selectivity: I like to believe I’m not picky, but I would like to have replies that are a minimum of three sentences, because I feel like I’m carrying a thread when I try to reply with a paragraph and get one line in return.
Favorite muse you’ve had so far ever: Peter Hale and Magnus Bane. ‘m not choosing between them xD
Muse you kinda wanna pick up: Rebekah Mikaelson, but my women don’t get enough love as is, and I’m paranoid I would screw Bekah up.
Most identifiable fictional character: Alec Lightwood
What color your aura is/think it is: I’ve been told it’s like a teal? But I don’t know.
Personality stuff you agree with (astrology, mbti, Hogwarts house, etc be as specific as you want!): I am iffy on astrology stuff cuz sometimes they are way off [like one time they said my sign was a sex addict but I don’t really like sex] according to Pottermore I’m a Gryfinndor/Thunderbird [basically same house but different schools]
Do you think you’re a good driver: Mostly.
Favorite minor discourse (pineapple on pizza, what color is the dress, etc): I can’t think of anything? I avoid most stuff like that. xD
Favorite vine and/or meme: I don’t know
Why did you choose this muse: I have a part of me that relates to all my canon muses in one way or another. My ocs? I like writing things different but I try to keep them as believable as possible as well.
Favorite rp memory: All the various ways the ships I’ve played have ended up coming together. xD
Favorite thing you’ve written, in rp or not: This is very difficult. I’ve been writing since I was a kid, roleplaying since 2004. Lol
A line/lyrics/quote/etc you like or that means a lot to you: “Sometimes goodbye is a second chance” | “Weep not for roads untravelled” | “Sooner or later, we all dance with the devil”
Give a shout-out to someone:@beautifulxdangerous thank you for loving me even when I’m a wreck and always writing with all my babies || @lostshieldandhammer thank you for sticking through all the ups and downs and blogs with me, and still choosing to write with my bunch of muses || @bowstrung You’re still one of my favorite Alecs and I will love all our threads until the end of time.
themusechronicles 