Don't Ask, Don't Tell

I mentioned that Captain America was now carrying a gun to Erich*, the copy editor at work, and showed him this picture. His reaction?


“Could he be any gayer? That’s a little Tom of Finland, don’t you think?”

I did what you would do in that situation: burst out laughing. Regaining my composure, I said the justification for the new costume was that it was a new Cap, since the first one had died.

“How did he die? Did his heart break after 9/11?”

No, I explained. His girlfriend shot him.

Now it was Erich’s turn to crack up. “You’re kidding me, right? ...You’re serious?”

I assured him I was. His girlfriend, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon Carter, had shot him at point-blank range. She’d been hypnotized when she did it, but she was the one who pulled the trigger.

“I think superheroes ought to use a little more discretion in their personal lives," he said.

Can’t argue with that.

Rob

*He says this is his first appearance in a blog. (He's wrong.) Collect 'em all!

(Edited to add a link.)