Captain America Statue

Since the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in September 2001, patriotism in the United States has been on an upswing. There is one man who's been patriotic all his life, and he is wrapped in the very flag of the nation he protects. That man is the sentinel of liberty known as Captain America, and he's the latest subject of a statue from Diamond Select Toys.

Steve Rogers was a patriotic but skinny kid who wanted more than anything to help America. He was classified as 4F and wasn't allowed to join the military, but his dedication was noted and he was chosen for a special experiment. The experiment was to help enhance a soldier's physical body, to create a super-soldier. The Super-soldier serum he took transformed his body from a skeletal Steve Rogers into a muscled wonder. The serum acted to develop his body to the maximum human potential (without going over) and the experiment was a success.

The idea behind creating super soldiers is one that has striking relevance today. Genetic engineering may promise a better man in the future, and this and the super soldier serum ironically sound very similar to designs of the Nazis, whose propaganda praised themselves as the master race. A new mini-series from Marvel Comics is re-visiting the genesis of Captain America with the premise that any experimental formula would be tested on black soldiers, similar to the way the US government used black men as test subjects in research on syphilis. The mini-series The Truth is still in progress and the first issue may be read online at Marvel.com, though it is just an introduction to some of the characters.

After his augmentation, Steve Rogers donned a uniform made to honor the American Flag, and was given the title Captain America. He was also given a weapon, a shield, to aid him in his mission. The use of the shield as a weapon is important because it isn't an offensive weapon, but one of defense. The original shield wasn't round, but the Captain quickly traded it for a circular shield that he still uses today. The shield is made from an alloy of adamantium and vibranium, both fictitious metals that exist in the Marvel Universe as the strongest material and one that absorbs vibrational energy respectively.

Captain America was joined by a partner, Bucky Barnes, and joined some of the other super heroes of the time in the group called the Invaders. His compatriots were the Human Torch (the original android version), the Torch's sidekick Toro, The Sub-Mariner, and Bucky. They underwent missions to fight the Axis throughout the world to help with the war effort. Later in the war Bucky is killed and Cap is thrown into icy water. The super-soldier serum keeps him alive as he is frozen and lies in ice for decades until he is discovered by the Avengers and thawed out. From there he becomes a member of the Avengers and even leads the group at times.

Steve Rogers has been Captain America for most of the character's life, though there was a period when someone else took on that role. The US government tried to exert control over Captain America in ways that Steve felt were unreasonable and didn't meet the ideals of himself and America. He resigned and eventually became the Captain while another man (John Walker, who would later become USAgent) wore the costume. Eventually Steve was reinstated and continues to this day as the living embodiment of America.

See the Big Picture

Captain America is one of the oldest characters in comics, and he was created in the 1940's by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. The character enjoyed popularity during WW II when he was published by Timely Comics, but went out of fashion during the fifties. When Stan Lee was creating (along with many, many talented artists like Jack Kirby, Don Heck and Steve Ditko) the Marvel Universe he had the idea to bring back Cap. In Avengers # 4 they did just that, and he was reborn (into the then 1960's) to fight again. Since then he has been a popular fixture of Marvel, even enduring a poorly made movie.

Diamond Select Toys started their series of Avengers and Adversaries statues with the Red Skull, and what better companion to that than the Skull's archenemy Captain America. The series of statues is designed as pairs using the same sculptor and designed to be displayed together. Each statue can be displayed independently, but can make bigger displays with their opposites. This statue is scaled identically to the Red Skull statue, so they are about the same height (with the base, around nine inches) and it fits in perfectly opposite its opposite. Other statues in the Avengers and Adversaries line are Thor and Loki, Iron Man and the Mandarin, and the Vision and Ultron.

Now, let's talk about the brick. Yes, there is a brick attached to Cap's left thigh, and regulars of the Toy Buzz forum have taken to the moniker 'Bricky' for this masonry. The brick is on his leg to show Cap breaking though a brick wall (the broken wall is behind him) and rushing to fight the Red Skull (who has a similar broken wall and a not similar Cosmic Cube). Some people do not like the brick there, and some are okay with it. It's a matter of personal taste, and if you hate the brick you can always turn the statue to face the other way and treat poor Bricky like the 'bad' side of the Christmas Tree that gets no ornaments.

There has been a change on the statue from some of the prototypes shown, and that is a flatter color. Some images show the statue with a very glossy look (the image on the package is this way) but the production piece is much better looking with a flatter wash and highlights. This allows the scaling on the costume to show up better, and gives the piece a better look. The sculpting is top-notch like Greenwell's other work, and the boots even have muddy spots on them.

Since the Skull was sculpted by Sam Greenwell it would only be natural to have him create the Captain America to go with it. Greenwell has sculpted other works for Diamond Select including the Ultimate Spider-Man bust and he will be working on the Marvel Select line of figures. The statue has a run of 7500 (which coincidentally matches the Skull's) and comes with a full-color certificate of authenticity so you'll know it isn't a bootleg. The certificate is signed by the sculptor (well, a signature of his was reproduced on it) and you can find in encased in Styrofoam in a full-color box.

More Pictures of Captain America

Where to buy the Captain America Statue: This statue is a limited edition of 7,500 and retails in the $75 USD price range. It is available at your local comic book store, as well as various online toy and collectible retailers.