Captain America #327
Recap
The flag-flying Super Patriot returns! Can even Captain America stop the Super Patriot's maniacal manipulation of the American Dream at a benefit rock concert?
Review
Captain America 327 written by the late, great Mark Gruenwald, on the second year of his legendary Captain America run, with art by Paul Neary.
Cap tries to help the local police, but it’s clear he’s not as welcome in America’s heartland as he is in NYC. Deciding to join Bern and her housemates at a concert dedicated to helping suffering farmers, and factory workers. He gets into a fight with Super Patriot, which leads to a stalemate between the two polar opposite patriotic characters. Unfortunately this stalemate, as well as his treatment from arriving in the town leaves Cap down in the dumps.
Gru really had his pulse on the heartbeat of the internal struggles Americans dealt with, and continue to deal with to this day. Whether it be racism, homophobia, sexism, etc. the Super Patriot and the BUC’s presents a negative light on extremists championing conservative groups back then as well as currently. Gru didn’t give Cap any explicit political ideologies, and had him very much a centrist, and considering this was at the end of the troublesome Reagan era that’s saying something.
Final Thoughts
Mark Gruenwald and Paul Neary journey to America’s heartland on the trail of some political extremists literally blazing a trail on college campuses, intimidating foreign students, while trying to paint Cap as the inspiration for the extremists. A story full of pathos that resonates as much today as it did then.
SUNDAY CLASSICS: Captain America #327: Who Still Believes in the Red, White, and Blue?
- Writing - 9.5/109.5/10
- Storyline - 9.5/109.5/10
- Art - 8/108/10
- Color - 8.5/108.5/10
- Cover Art - 8/108/10