Going back to the early days of comics, heroes have been created to stand for something. Peace, justice and the American way has been a strong theme since this trend began and never seemed to falter.

As time as passed, the simple blind patriotism has faded and led to more complex characters that have evolved with the times. Today, on the anniversary of America’s independence, we take a look back at some heroes and even some villains who have proudly worn the red, white and blue.

While there are many we don’t have the chance to look at below such as the Flag, Liberty Bell, the Shield or even the Spirit of 76, we look at all those heroes and what they stood for, the men and women who helped give us the freedom to be able to live in a land where these characters actually exist.

By now, fans of Captain America have seen the official Super Bowl trailer of the upcoming comic-based flick and even caught a glimpse of the official movie poster, but one thing I’ve been curious about is how the movie would portray  the hero’s loyal side-kick, ‘Bucky.’ In a recent interview with director Joe Johnston over at the L.A. Times, it turns out that James “Bucky” Barnes, played by actor Sebastian Stan  (“Gossip Girl,” “Kings”), will have a decidedly darker personality than fans of the comic may be used to.

In the interview, Johnston comments on how Bucky’s personality will receive a Hollywood update:

“Sebastian brought something really interesting and slightly on the dark side and really compelling to watch — when he’s on camera, you’re fascinated by watching him. You know, he was originally up for the lead, for the Steve Rogers role, but he didn’t have quite the same earnest, I-want-to-fight-for-my-country aura that Chris has for this role. Sebastian has a little bit of the bad boy, he’s a little bit of the James Dean type and that goes somewhat counter to the general perception of Steve Rogers. He wasn’t quite right for Captain America,  but I think he’s perfect for Bucky because, really, he can have a little bit of that dark side.”

Certainly an interesting development and somewhat understandable as the boy-wonder-esque sidekick character is unlikely to be received so readily by an audience in 2011. And it certainly seems that the writing team on ‘Captain America,’ including Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely and Joss Whedon, didn’t merely go part-way when putting their own spin on the duo’s partnership. Instead, they practically reinvented it.

March 7th, 2007. A date that will live in comics infamy. The day that America lost its heart and soul. Captain America, after surrendering at the end of the superhero Civil War, walked up the steps of a New York Courthouse and was gunned down in a massive conspiracy orchestrated by his original nemesis, the Red Skull.

It made national mainstream news. The death of a comic book hero was covered by everyone from Yahoo’s front page to the Daily Show and from ABC News to CNN. For a moment in time, a nation mourned the death of a fictional character. Eventually, people got back to their everyday lives.

Many quickly forgot as they brushed off the death of a fictional character. Others took longer to recover because an ideal, the embodiment of their nation, a symbol they had looked up to for as long as they could remember, was gone. What might have made it easier for them was the cliche’ that characters don’t really stay dead in comics.

With a few exceptions (Most likely because the deaths have been so recent), this holds true. Two of the best examples of this are DC’s death of Superman and Marvel’s death of Jean Grey. The former made national news in the 1990’s and had everyone catching the collector’s bug and clamoring for the comic. Issues which priced at $1.25 were bought in by the caseload only to be resold for $50 to $100 an issue.

Warning! This post contains spoilers.

In an unprecedented event, many comic book retailers across the country received and released Captain America #600 today, two days before the regular release day. It was said that this issue will “change everything” and have a huge impact on the rest of the comic book world. Why? Because according to Marvel comics Editor in Chief Joe Quesada (who will also be doing a special variant cover for issue #1 of the comic), Steve Rogers (aka Captain America) is returning from the grave.

“We’ve been patiently planning for this moment for 21 years. Captain America will return next month in a five-comic book series, “Captain America Reborn.”

For those who aren’t aware, Steve Rogers was gunned down in a highly publicized March 2007 issue, which was quite a bold move at the time, killing off a main character and allegedly having him “stay dead”. From there, Cap’s former sidekick, Bucky Barnes, took the mantle of Captain America and continued fighting for justice.

Many fans are outraged, stating that this is another “Superman tease” and how nobody in the comic industry has the ability to keep a character dead. Is this true? Will this have the same outcome as another dead character over at DC? We’ll all find out soon. But until then, you can check out the spiffy Captain America Reborn trailer from the new Marvel minisite, and a larger Quesada cover variant, after the jump.

For last week’s Pull of the Week and more, click here and here!

Pull of the Week:

Captain America #50 – Marvel – $3.99
Score: 7.5

Talk about promotional timing. This month, Captain America gets it’s 50th issue. Next month, Marvel lets the series go back to its original numbering and gives Cap his 600th issue. So what does writer Ed Brubaker bring to the 50th issue of Marvel’s Sentinel of Liberty? A birthday issue. The pages open with a dramatic action sequence from Penciler Luke Ross with Bucky being chased down the street by three heavily armed high-tech equipped villains. Bucky talks about how this birthday for him is just any other as he is doing what he has seemingly done on every birthday he can remember… fight.

As Bucky continues his confrontation, he takes the reader back to his memories of various birthdays like the bar-room brawl he encountered at sixteen, fighting alongside the Invaders at eighteen and interrogating a Nazi with Steve Rogers, his idol and partner, on his twentieth birthday. He even fades back to a few brief memories as his time as the Winter Soldier where he didn’t even experience his birthdays anymore.

As Bucky remembers his past while dealing with his present danger, he must contend with something that will forever haunt him, something he cannot argue. Bucky knows he is not the real Captain America. No matter how much good he does for the world or how many people he helps to make up for his past, he will never be Steve Rogers.