Captain America #136, page 3

Cap has fallen into the world's deepest hole with love-struck mad scientist Dr. Gorbo, who has transformed himself into a giant ape to impress pretty SHIELD agent Julia. Stan Lee promises us "A saga of mind-staggering suspense!" But what becomes of... The Left Above?


1971 was a time of social change. Debate about our Viet Nam involvement and the meaning of patriotism in a new era occupied the Captain America letters pages, and Stan Lee began work on his three issue saga addressing drug abuse in the pages of Amazing Spider-man. It was in this hotbed of cultural upheaval that Stan found the courage to feature a story about Captain America falling into a hole.


Stan cribbed his story from the headlines of the day. In 1971, more and more Americans were falling into holes. Meaningful hole regulation was not yet established, and it took the plight of Baby Jessica sixteen years later to finally bring attention to the problem of unregulated holes in our society.


Gene Colan instinctively knew that the real dramatic tension of this story hinged on the emotional toll that falling into a hole can exact on friends and family. This is a chronicle of The Left Above. The previous issue found Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter (SHIELD Agent 13) at odds about the direction and future of their relationship. In a character arc reminiscent of the finest work of Shakespeare and Dostoevsky, Sharon Carter's inner journey of self awareness has now brought her to a place where she wishes that Cap didn't fall into a hole.


This kind of incisive characterization is the heart of good fiction. It is the story of our shared humanity.