The Rayner-West Effect: Bucky Barnes as Captain America
The debate on the internet has begun. Fandom has taken sides and the battle lines have been drawn. New Cap versus Old Cap, Bucky versus Steve. Here are the facts on this debate:
Now the debate stems from the fact that many people think this is too soon. That the actual storyline has been done so well, they want Bucky to stay as Cap for a bit longer. Being truthful to themselves, they also admit that they knew that Steve would be back sooner or later. Many are mad at Marvel for making the return so soon after his death. 2 years to be exact. They claim it makes Captain America #25 and the aftermath pointless, and that Marvel is dropping the ball on this one. However, this is probably a smart move on Marvel's behalf. It all comes down to something I have scientifically called the "Rayner-West Effect". It pertains to legacy heroes and their effect on their fan bases. A little background might be necessary.
The Rayner-West Effect pertains to DC characters Kyle Rayner and Wally West. Kyle Rayner first appeared in Green Lantern #48 in 1994, where he replaced perennial Silver Age Green Lantern Hal Jordan. Though controversial til this day, he remained the main Green Lantern, carrying his own book for the better part of 10 years until Green Lantern: Rebirth in 2004 where Hal Jordan was brought back from his status as the Spectre to reclaim the Green Lantern mantle. For years before the great geek debate of Kyle versus Hal raged on. Many Hal fans felt he was treated badly in the events that lead to his death and his becoming the Spectre. Yet, a new generation of comic book fans had grown up reading books with Kyle being their Green Lantern so to speak so the events of Rebirth left a bad taste in their mouths. They felt Kyle was in some form blacklisted, put on the back burner in favor of a nostalgic fed creative drive throughout DC Comics to bring back many missing elements from the Silver Age. Part of the problem was, the length of time Kyle was Green Lantern. After 10 years, you're not expecting your favorite character to be put on the back burner in favor of the old school. In comics, dead is never dead. The same can be said for Wally West.
Wally West was Kid Flash for a better part of the Silver Age. Barry Allen was the Flash at the time. Until Crisis on Infinite Earths where Barry Allen sacrificed himself to save the Multiverse. Wally West took the mantle of the Flash almost immediately in 1986. Wally West was the Flash for a better part of 20 years. Until he was seemingly disappeared and the new Kid Flash Bart Allen took over for a short stint before being killed off as well. Wally then was reintroduced as the Flash for a brief period up until recently with Flash: Rebirth which brought back Barry Allen. Again, the same debate was waged, Wally versus Barry, which really is a debate of New School versus Old School.
The whole issue comes down to what the fan base knows. No statistics have been gathered, but from my estimation a vast part of the current comic book reading community seems to range from the early 20's to late 30's. So depending on when you started reading comics, you really do fall in either the Rayner-West fan base or Jordan-Allen one. The problem with comics is, that at some point whatever was old will be new again. This is why Marvel bringing back Steve so soon makes sense.
In a way, you eliminate the whole Old School-New School debate. BuckyCap is just starting to click with readers. If you start telling stories for 10-20 years like DC did with Kyle and Wally and you then all of a sudden want to bring back the old characters, you run the risk of pissing off a lot of fans. Granted, it has worked out for DC so far, moreso on Green Lantern but you still seemingly alienate part of your fan base. Steve Rogers is still very fresh in our minds, especially with the movie talk going on right now. It's the perfect time to bring Steve back. Bucky as Captain America has not found that solid fan base like the Kyle and Wally lovers. But Marvel has a grand opportunity to make Bucky Barnes their answer to Nightwing at DC. In the end, we'll all have to wait and see how this goes through and what this means for fans everywhere.
- Steve Rogers was killed (we believed) in Captain America #25.
- Bucky Barnes, formerly the Winter Soldier takes over as Captain America.
- Steve Rogers is coming back as Captain America 2 years after his death.
Now the debate stems from the fact that many people think this is too soon. That the actual storyline has been done so well, they want Bucky to stay as Cap for a bit longer. Being truthful to themselves, they also admit that they knew that Steve would be back sooner or later. Many are mad at Marvel for making the return so soon after his death. 2 years to be exact. They claim it makes Captain America #25 and the aftermath pointless, and that Marvel is dropping the ball on this one. However, this is probably a smart move on Marvel's behalf. It all comes down to something I have scientifically called the "Rayner-West Effect". It pertains to legacy heroes and their effect on their fan bases. A little background might be necessary.
The Rayner-West Effect pertains to DC characters Kyle Rayner and Wally West. Kyle Rayner first appeared in Green Lantern #48 in 1994, where he replaced perennial Silver Age Green Lantern Hal Jordan. Though controversial til this day, he remained the main Green Lantern, carrying his own book for the better part of 10 years until Green Lantern: Rebirth in 2004 where Hal Jordan was brought back from his status as the Spectre to reclaim the Green Lantern mantle. For years before the great geek debate of Kyle versus Hal raged on. Many Hal fans felt he was treated badly in the events that lead to his death and his becoming the Spectre. Yet, a new generation of comic book fans had grown up reading books with Kyle being their Green Lantern so to speak so the events of Rebirth left a bad taste in their mouths. They felt Kyle was in some form blacklisted, put on the back burner in favor of a nostalgic fed creative drive throughout DC Comics to bring back many missing elements from the Silver Age. Part of the problem was, the length of time Kyle was Green Lantern. After 10 years, you're not expecting your favorite character to be put on the back burner in favor of the old school. In comics, dead is never dead. The same can be said for Wally West.
Wally West was Kid Flash for a better part of the Silver Age. Barry Allen was the Flash at the time. Until Crisis on Infinite Earths where Barry Allen sacrificed himself to save the Multiverse. Wally West took the mantle of the Flash almost immediately in 1986. Wally West was the Flash for a better part of 20 years. Until he was seemingly disappeared and the new Kid Flash Bart Allen took over for a short stint before being killed off as well. Wally then was reintroduced as the Flash for a brief period up until recently with Flash: Rebirth which brought back Barry Allen. Again, the same debate was waged, Wally versus Barry, which really is a debate of New School versus Old School.
The whole issue comes down to what the fan base knows. No statistics have been gathered, but from my estimation a vast part of the current comic book reading community seems to range from the early 20's to late 30's. So depending on when you started reading comics, you really do fall in either the Rayner-West fan base or Jordan-Allen one. The problem with comics is, that at some point whatever was old will be new again. This is why Marvel bringing back Steve so soon makes sense.
In a way, you eliminate the whole Old School-New School debate. BuckyCap is just starting to click with readers. If you start telling stories for 10-20 years like DC did with Kyle and Wally and you then all of a sudden want to bring back the old characters, you run the risk of pissing off a lot of fans. Granted, it has worked out for DC so far, moreso on Green Lantern but you still seemingly alienate part of your fan base. Steve Rogers is still very fresh in our minds, especially with the movie talk going on right now. It's the perfect time to bring Steve back. Bucky as Captain America has not found that solid fan base like the Kyle and Wally lovers. But Marvel has a grand opportunity to make Bucky Barnes their answer to Nightwing at DC. In the end, we'll all have to wait and see how this goes through and what this means for fans everywhere.