The year was 1985, the place New York City. Still in the grips of a cold war, recession, and a Regan presidency, our nation needed a boost. A symbol to lead us out of dark times. So who do we turn to? The Sentinel of Liberty, Captain America.
But the form in which our hero came in was... well not standard fare to say the least. Yes, good Ol' Cap was to star in his own Broadway show.The gist of the play was Steve Rodgers going through a mid-life crisis. An ad ran in Marvel looking for a girl age 10-14 who could "sing, dance and act up a storm" to costar as the Star-Spangled Avenger's "special friend" in a Broadway musical spectacular.
Here's what the New York Times had to say about the production.
'Captain America' boasts a hero-sized $4 million budget. IT'S going to be a big one, if everything works out as befits a musical named ''Captain America.'' Big, in this case, means a budget of $4 million - a lot of money, even for a superhero fighting for the American dream, the flag and the woman he loves. The superhero will not, in fact, be particularly super when the curtain goes up. The book by Mel Mandel and Norman Sachs (who are also responsible for music and lyrics) has Captain A. going through a mid-life crisis. Fortunately, the action speeds up - his girlfriend, a candidate for President, is captured by terrorists and held hostage at the Lincoln Memorial. That's enough of the plot - when you invest millions, as are Shari Upbin, James Galton and Marvel Comics and some as yet untapped sources, you're entitled to a few secrets.
I cannot begin to imagine what an epic fail that would have been if it had gone into production. Even worst, imagine if it had been a hit. What would the impact on the comic world been? Would we have CBMs out in the numbers we have now? Would comics and their readers be given a better nickname then fanboy? I don't know. All I know is that my 3 year old self would have been super stoked to see a super hero in any form.
well...maybe not.