![]() ![]() Spencer departed Cincinnati altogether and tried his luck at the funny books. That first act in Spencer’s career didn’t pan out - he lost in both his electoral runs and, by the end of 2007, he was no longer working with Alchemize. He founded an organization called Cincinnati Tomorrow, aimed at fighting local brain drain he and a handful of partners opened up a live-event venue called Alchemize and he worked extensively in local politics, even making city council bids in 20 on a pro-business, anti-crime platform. He was a relative latecomer to comics as a career, having spent much of his 20s involved in the civic life of his native Cincinnati. Prior to l’affaire HydraCap, Spencer was regarded as one of the industry’s rising stars. Within a few months, it would become hard to remember a time when people weren’t angry at Nick Spencer. Within a week or so, tempers cooled a bit - but although the death threats subsided, the discourse was only beginning. Culture writer Devin Faraci, witnessing all this, wrote a much-discussed essay, inspired by the affair and endorsed by Spencer, entitled “ Fandom Is Broken.” If it wasn’t actually broken, it was certainly shaken. Most of the criticism was civil, if heated, but a frightening handful of people went so far as to send death threats to Spencer and those who defended his story decision. There were variants on that critique, such as the accusation that turning a character created by Jews (Joe Simon and Jack Kirby) into a member of a fascist group was tantamount to anti-Semitism, or that Marvel was moving away from what some fans perceive as the character’s queer subtext. The basic critique was that Spencer and Marvel had perverted a beloved character for (in critics’ eyes) the shallow purpose of drumming up shock. ![]() That was the stance taken by legions of Marvelheads in the immediate aftermath of the comic’s release, and the first few weeks of the so-called #HydraCap fight were truly bonkers. Or you could think it was downright offensive. You could be forgiven for thinking this cliffhanger was a little boilerplate. It was a surprise, though not exactly an original one. Any serious Marvel fan knew what he meant, even if they couldn’t believe he was saying it: Cap was working with the sinister fascist network known as Hydra, and was uttering their Nazi-esque salute. 1 - with art from Jesus Saiz and Joe Caramagna - the titular Sentinel of Liberty pushed a superhero out of an airborne vehicle, frowned, and uttered those three syllables as thunderclouds loomed behind him. Two words began the whole melee: “Hail Hydra.” At the end of last year’s Captain America: Steve Rogers No. No matter what side you take, the debate over this villainous turn has been fascinating to watch - and it has raised serious questions about how brands and creators can healthily interact with the fandoms that fund them. Hardly a week goes by without some kind of fight between Spencer and his critics, usually in the highly flammable environment of Twitter. Indeed, the still-ongoing story line in which Cap turns into a baddie has become the single most radioactive topic for the comic-book commentariat. That said, they couldn’t have anticipated the degree to which that story would tear apart the discourse about American superhero comics for more than a year. Surely, writer Nick Spencer and his bosses at Marvel Comics anticipated some degree of that kind of dissatisfaction last spring when they went to the good-gone-bad well and made Captain America a supervillain. However, that moral restoration isn’t always instantaneous, and during the period when the Manichean balance is off-kilter, comics readers have a tendency to get testy about their favorite characters being tinkered with. These are valuable pieces of intellectual property, after all, and you can’t sell tickets to a franchise about, like, Iron Man killing innocents in cold blood. Of course, sooner or later, the virtuous status quo is restored. Watch as Batman threatens to kill Robin and Superboy! Tremble as Green Lantern transforms into a mass-murdering jerk! Duck and cover, everybody - Spider-Man’s trying to take over the world! Over and over again, we’ve seen our spandex-clad saviors become menaces to society due to mind control, body swapping, alternate realities, or what have you. 2 came out, some reader had already started wondering, Yeah, but what if that good guy turned into a bad guy? That narrative question has fueled a dizzying array of stories since Supes kicked off the era of the superhero eight decades ago. 1 in 1938, and I’m willing to bet that before No. ![]() This week, Vulture examines villainous entertainment in all its forms. In an age of superhero movies and TV anti-heroes, fictional villains are more complex than ever before. This article originally ran in June 2017. ![]()
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