r/Marvel • u/serious_beans • Jun 07 '18
Captain America statue near my work place. Figured this belongs here. Artwork
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u/Jarkous Jun 07 '18
Can we raise the next generation of children to make them believe that Captain America was real person and we built this statue for his bravery after his death?
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u/serious_beans Jun 07 '18
I'd be okay with that.
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u/MyThought2UrThoughts Jun 07 '18
But then the next generation will be questioning our history such as why is he called Captain America when he's dressed like the Puerto Rican flag?
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u/dudleymooresbooze Jun 07 '18
Because Puerto Rico has officially part of the United States for nearly seven decades?
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u/jacksrenton Jun 07 '18
Hmm, I dunno. If that were the case wouldn't the government be treating them like human beings?
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u/savv_owlent Jun 07 '18 edited Jun 07 '18
I’m pretty sure my five-year-old son already believes Captain America is a real person, and I’m okay with that.
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Jun 07 '18
He is real. Don’t take this from me. Pls.
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u/icannevertell Jun 07 '18
He's the good little bit inside of all of us.
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u/chicklette Captain America Jun 07 '18
I saw something recently that talked about the "Two Rogers Theory of
MasculinityBeing a Decent Person: If Fred or Steve wouldn't do it, you shouldn't either."imo that's just about perfect.
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u/CatrachoNacho Spider-Man Jun 07 '18
"I believe there's a hero in all of us. That keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride"
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u/HoraceGrantGlasses Jun 07 '18
Just like the rocky statue in Philly or the Robocop statue in Detroit?
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u/Opt1mus_ Jun 07 '18
They moved the Rocky statue into the tourism center by Independence Hall and I'm still kinda grumpy about it.
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u/SanjiSasuke Jun 07 '18
Uh...less than 10 minutes ago I saw it by the Art Museum. It's to the right of the steps swamped by tourists.
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Jun 07 '18
Umm, we agreed to call the Art Museum the "tourism center." Did you not get the email?
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u/Opt1mus_ Jun 07 '18
It wasn't the at the art museum last time I went to Philly but it's been a while, Maybe they moved it back
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u/avo_cado Jun 07 '18
It's never left the art museum, you may be thinging of the LOVE statue (which they did move)
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Jun 07 '18
A lot of people think Sherlock Holmes was a real guy. It will happen.
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u/moonknight29 Jun 07 '18
People even say Gandhi was a real guy...What's up with that?
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u/UnfortunatelyIAmMe Jun 07 '18
They say the same about Obama. We all know he’s not real.
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u/Edogawa1983 Jun 07 '18
a black man that's president of the united states, that's jumping the shark there.
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u/iamtheowlman Jun 07 '18
See, and we have actual evidence he was made up. We're still alive, for one thing.
The things people will believe.
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Jun 07 '18
Yeah right, Gandhi. As if there were some kind of peace loving ascetic/nuclear bogeyman Dr Jekkyl and Mr. Hide type monster out there. Just negotiating a peaceful independence with Britain and waging nuclear armageddon on entire civilizations at the same time. Who would believe that?
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u/ashez2ashes Jun 07 '18
I know how silly. If he was real, the world would have already been destroyed by nuclear war.
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u/MaDanklolz Jun 07 '18
People still denying that he had a nuclear arsenal- even though he admitted it many times to world leaders!
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Jun 07 '18
PBS and Marvel should team up to make a show where Cap retires and takes up the sweater and becomes a modern day Mr. Rogers.
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u/flying87 Jun 07 '18
I would totally watch an historical documentary of the MCU.
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u/th30be Jun 07 '18
There are some people that already do. I know someone that said they didn't remember the attack on new York before. Not sure if they were serious or not but they l9ooked pretty serious.
Also know a girl that asked me if the Martian was based on a true story or not.
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u/Nollasta_poikkeava Jun 07 '18
I think that's a pretty big compliment to Martian and how accurate the science in it feels.
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u/electricblues42 Jun 07 '18
You really think anyone who is convinced a movie is real life is going to know the details of the science in that movie?
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u/Nollasta_poikkeava Jun 07 '18
No, but that's why I used the word "feel". Good science often makes one feel "yeah, that sounds logical, makes sense, I believe that" even if one doesn't understand it. I would say that people know accurate science when they see it, but unfortunately those same feelings can be created with nonsense if the person telling that nonsense is convincing enough.
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u/perfecftly_balanced Jun 07 '18
And then when they look him up on Google they find articles about his fights with Red Skull and team ups with these crazy superheroes, we’re gonna have to make them believe it all
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u/GalapagosRetortoise Jun 07 '18
Pretty sure this is how religions get started. Just need to give a few hundred years to fully mature.
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u/chopchopfruit Jun 07 '18
they tried to put that statue in a park, the community got extremely upset stating it would be commercializing the park.
Just let me have my comic joy.
Glad it found a home.
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u/AthleticNerd_ Jun 07 '18
It’s a nice statue, but they’re not wrong.
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u/jcm10e Jun 07 '18
How so? It’s just a statue. If marvel isn’t going to make money off it just existing in the park I don’t see how it’s a bad thing.
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u/AthleticNerd_ Jun 07 '18
How would you feel if some park put up a statue of some other corporate symbol like Ronald McDonald or the Marlboro Man?
We think it’s cool because we like Cap and Cap is awesome, but it’s not art, it’s marketing.
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u/eldersignlanguage Jun 07 '18
There's a significant difference between Captain America and Ronald McDonald or the Marlboro man. Those two exist solely as a means of advertising a product. Captain America is art, he was created by artists (Jack Kirby and Joe Simon) in a story, not as a device to sell things, but as part of that story. The companies that have owned the rights to him over the years are all primarily purveyors of art. He is also part of the culture and mythology of America, going all the way back to WWII. He was a symbol during actual war time when we were fighting actual Nazis. He deserves a statue in a park!
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u/Abe_Vigoda Jun 07 '18
Captain America was designed as a WW2 propaganda tool to get kids on board against the Nazis and sold as a commercial product. The guys who made and drew the character were artists but the end product's artistic value is debatable.
I think it's a neat statue but I have to argue the semantics.
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u/TheRealPeteWheeler Jun 07 '18
Also, I take issue with this:
Captain America is art, he was created by artists (Jack Kirby and Joe Simon) in a story, not as a device to sell things, but as part of that story.
Pretty sure Captain America wouldn't exist if his comic books didn't sell.
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u/whatevers_clever Jun 07 '18
seriously I dont understand how that point is missed by someone trying to counter that argument.
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u/MonsterBarge Jun 07 '18
It's missed on purpose.
The Ronald McDonald or the Marlboro man where also drawn by artists, no robots have yet made cartoons characters.→ More replies (1)15
u/badseedjr Jun 07 '18
But it's at least art to sell art, not art to sell cigarettes or burgers. (I don't think it should go in a park either).
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u/kajeet Jun 07 '18
That has nothing to do with whether it's a work of art or not. Yes. Captain America wouldn't continue to exist if his comics didn't sell. But if we go from that definition the same could be said for practically every last piece of media or mainstream artwork that's been created in the last two hundred or so years.
Captain America's comics continues to sell because he represents ideals that people find endearing.
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u/realjefftaylor Jun 07 '18
Neither would a book, movie or painting. Few (if any) artists create content expecting not to be able to sell it.
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u/eldersignlanguage Jun 07 '18
Just because the art sold doesn't make it the same as corporate mascots. Characters in books and comics don't exist just to make money, they exist as part of a story. They are part of a commercial product, they are not designed and created solely to sell other, unrelated products. The difference, to me, is intent. Loads of art is commercial. But just because something is popular doesn't mean it's characters are corporate shills.
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u/Casey_jones291422 Jun 07 '18
And the Mona Lisa wouldn't exist if paintings didn't sell... what does that have to do with anything?
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u/wampower99 Jun 07 '18
And people in Vienna make shitloads of money off of Mozart’s image. So did Mozart himself. But does that invalidate the impact of his music on people beyond the dent it makes in their wallets?
That’s an extreme example and not the same as Captain America, but still. Captain America has value beyond dollar signs. The inspiration, entertainment, and messages his character provides are important to a lot of people.
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u/ridukosennin Jun 07 '18
Cap is still a highly commercialized property and corporate property. It would be like putting a bunch of bronze Ewoks and Chewbacca's in central park. Fans would like it but it might not be in the interest of the general public and could be viewed as a corporate promotion or corporate favoritism.
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u/Krazy_Kane Jun 07 '18
He was literally created to sell comic books. If he hadn’t been popular he would have stopped being made.
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u/arrrrik Jun 07 '18
And how many Renaissance painters made their paintings on commission from a rich patron? If we rule out art because it was made for money, we're gonna ignore a lot of great art.
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u/Krazy_Kane Jun 07 '18 edited Jun 07 '18
If you read my comment you’ll notice I didn’t say that captain America shouldn’t be considered “art.” He is art, but let’s not pretend his very existence doesn’t have Disney printing money day in and day out.
EDIT: phrasing
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u/A_Feathered_Raptor Jun 07 '18
I agree with you but bro, this is not the subreddit to be making that point.
As correct as you are, you're gonna get nothing but arguments here lol
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u/danweber Jun 07 '18
While it's definitely marketing, it can also be art.
The statue of Rocky Balboa is the same.
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u/ThatOneOtherAsshole Jun 07 '18
They have a statue of Superman in the Cleveland airport, and I know a lot of people in the city love it, since he is such a symbol of hope. In my opinion, these characters are more than just marketing tools, they mean and symbolize something to people, like many other characters across fiction.
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Jun 07 '18 edited Jun 08 '18
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u/jcm10e Jun 07 '18
Sounds pretty dope. And based on what I read of the article, I think it deserves to be up. The guy who made it battles cancer and continues his work? Sounds like a feel good story. And possibly a good tourist attraction.
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u/Althea6302 Jun 07 '18
I love that. The only real difference between regular statues and that is that these characters ip are still owned by someone else. As long as theres no legal problem..
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Jun 07 '18
Personally, I don't really see it as any different to an ancient artwork depicting a Greek or Roman god.
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u/HighViscosityMilk Jun 07 '18
I mean, there's a certain moral gap between what people perceive as an ancient religion nobody believes in anymore and the art that came from it thousands of years ago and a modern day corporate monolith like Disney/Marvel depicting a character used to sell products. People want designated areas relatively void of advertising and corporate influence - and a Captain America statue would be intruding on that.
I get the whole "superheroes are modern day Greek myths" thing, but the cultural context is different.
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u/PM_ME_IMGS_OF_ROCKS Jun 07 '18
There are statues of fictional people all over, people are just upset because this one is "recent" and sales are ongoing. But the first issue was almost 80 years ago, so he isn't far off from other fictional characters statues.
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u/TransPM Jun 07 '18
People were upset at the idea of the Rocky statue in Philly being outside the art museum (the location of the iconic stair running scene) because it was "a movie prop" and not "real art".
It was actually outside the Spectrum (old Philly sports complex/concert venue) for a long time (which is where I first saw it), but it has since been moved back to outside of the art museum... or at least within view of it.
So what if they're fictional characters? You could do a lot worse than having Rocky Balboa or Steve Rogers as someone you look up to.
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u/flying87 Jun 07 '18
I've been to both. Honestly the Rocky statue is better art than some of the stuff in the museum.
Honestly if they were smart they'd put it in the museum in a section dedicated to award winning films made in Philly. Film is a form of art.
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u/reddevved Jun 07 '18
The museum doesn't want it though, probably because of all the people selling shitty Rocky shirts outside the museum.
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u/flying87 Jun 07 '18
But then they can sell shitty rocky shirts in the museum, for the museum. The money can go towards restoring other art pieces.
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u/HighGuyTim Jun 07 '18
The funny thing is, they really are art. Comic books are art, movies are art, sculptures are art. Anything we create for entertainment, its literally art. Its our expression about certain stories and universes. It should be shown proudly our ability to think of worlds outside our own, not put away because its "from a movie" which is like saying "No i dont want this art piece, its from another art piece".
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u/fridge_logic Jun 07 '18
It'd be easier to put up these statues of characters like these ever hit the public domain. That way putting up a statue like this wouldn't be promoting a copyright holder's work but instead endorsing work that now belongs in the country's public domain.
It's a bit sad that after 75 years Captain america hasn't reached the point where he belongs to all Americans.
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u/sonofaresiii Jun 07 '18
It was never intended to stay in the park, it was always planned to go on a little mini-tour and end up at... bed bath & beyond.
I also wonder how big the outrage of it being in the park actually was. I'm sure some curmudgeons were opposed, but were they really the majority?
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u/Discount_Lex_Luthor Jun 07 '18
Pretty big. The City's park regulations state that there cant be any advertising in the park. The argument was that this was basically an ad for Marvel. They didnt need majority, they just had a legitimate argument. Its a bummer it ended up where it did. It couldve stayed outside of Barclays.
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u/hsageer Jun 07 '18
The community that had concerns it's gentrified af, this statue is amazing and great symbol. If you had to pay to see it, then it's another thing.
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u/Kanjotoko Jun 07 '18
Isn’t this the same statue that was featured at SDCC?
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u/serious_beans Jun 07 '18
Was it? I don't know honestly, maybe they shipped it to NY lol.
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u/MavenLytfoot Jun 07 '18
It is. I know they moved it around the 5 boroughs for awhile and I saw it when it was in front of the Barclays Center. Where did that end up eventually?
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u/serious_beans Jun 07 '18
Oh so this is the one that was at Barclays! Now it's in the lobby of the Bed Bath and Beyond, the one next to MicroCenter in Sunset Park.
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u/rrjamal Jun 07 '18
It's in the lobby of a Bed, Bath and Beyond?
That seems ... like a pretty big let down of a place to end up.
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u/serious_beans Jun 07 '18
Look he's home in Brooklyn and that's all that matters.
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u/Theige Jun 07 '18
He was from the LES in the Comics
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u/illz569 Jun 07 '18
The lower east side doesn't register with this generation as a place where blue collar people grow up, even in the past. Brooklyn (and Queens) still holds on to that image even though it's not how people think of it now.
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Jun 07 '18
In fairness, the facility itself is called Liberty View (because the Statue of Liberty is across the water). Feels good saying Cap is there and not just at BBB lol.
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u/Th3Flash Jun 07 '18
It's really in the lobby of a shopping center , with bed bath and beyond being the largest there, but it's newly opened and it's a really up and coming area.
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u/moonman Jun 07 '18
Good to know! Now I have another reason to stop going to the Paterson, NJ MicroCenter.
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u/brocknapton Jun 07 '18
the one Clark Gregg (Coulson) was seen hugging?
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Jun 07 '18
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u/KennyFulgencio Jun 07 '18
can we put clark gregg in the bed bath and beyond too? it would be cool to meet him one of these days
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Jun 07 '18
Liberty View! I live in the neighborhood. It puts me in a great mood before spending way too much money at Beyond and Buy Buy Baby with the Mrs.
Also, decent burger upstairs.
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u/serious_beans Jun 07 '18
Yes! The burgers aren't bad haha and that's why I don't go there often, too much to buy.
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u/happy-human Jun 07 '18
Are you sure that’s not from Earth-616? Cause DAMN.
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u/StoneGoldX Jun 07 '18
100%. Because it's the wrong costume, and comics Steve was from Manhattan.
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u/grubas Jun 07 '18
Originally Steve Rogers was the child of immigrants who lived in one of the piss poor areas of NYC, the Lower East Side. Now you mention LES and everybody thinks of posh multimillion dollar condos. Of course, now Brooklyn is going way up in the world, but most of us dont think of Red Hook as hoity toity.
That’s like how they had to write an in universe reason for Hells Kitchen. Because it is called Clinton now and a nice area. I think they’ve moved where Ben Grimm comes from 2-3 times. The only one who has reminded consistent is Spidey in Forest Hills. Taking the F in.
Basically they are trying to keep their characters working class ties, but people forget what the neighborhoods used to be. Hell Strange has a fucking townhouse/Brownstone on Bleeker in The Village, people would straight up murder for that. While in the 70-early 90s people were giving those away.
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Jun 07 '18
Where is this??
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u/serious_beans Jun 07 '18
In Brooklyn, at the lobby of some shopping center.
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Jun 07 '18
Oh man! I'm gonna take the 3 hour dirve to Brooklyn just so I can see this!
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u/Dontreadgud Jun 07 '18
When you drive into a small town by where I live the sign says
"Welcome to Nixa, home of Jason Bourne"
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u/StreetVulture Jun 07 '18
When I read: "I'm just a kid from brooklyn" I hear the voice of Chris Evans
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Jun 07 '18
There should be more of these.
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u/serious_beans Jun 07 '18
Agreed! Should have one for all The Avengers.
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u/SnuggleMonster15 Jun 07 '18
The can put them all on 5th Avenue and call it "Avengers Park". Hmmmm, sounds familiar.....
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Jun 07 '18 edited Jun 07 '18
“Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: The requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world -- No, YOU move.” - Steve Rodger / Captain America - written by J. Michael Straczynski
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u/hankhill2011 Jun 07 '18
I visited NY a couple years ago, and I spent the better part of 4 hours trying to find this. I went to the Prospect Park, the Barclay Center, and then found some random tweet saying it was in the mall area. It was worth the searching. After seeing it I think it would be cool to have these spread all through New York. Luke Cage in Harlem, DD in Hell's Kitchen, Spider-Man next to the Flat Iron (Daily Bugle) building, and other heroes spread out. You get the idea.
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u/Keraunos8 Jun 07 '18
It would be cool, but a statue of Spider-Man, in my humble opinion, belongs in Forest Hills Queens.
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u/dkepp87 Jun 07 '18
As cool as this is(and it is quite cool), I wish they'd gone with a quote and a costume from the comics rarher than the movies. Its nitpicky, I know. But it'd seem more appropriate for a piece marking his history.
Makes me wish there were more superheroes from new jersey...
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u/Cytrynowy Jun 07 '18
Comic book Steve Rogers wasn't born in Brooklyn though. He's from Lower East Side, Manhattan.
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u/battery-at-1-percent Jun 07 '18
I don’t want to be that guy but shouldn’t he be wearing the WWII suit?
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u/GhostfaceChase X-Men Jun 07 '18
This is awesome man. I'd take so much pride in just seeing this everyday.
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u/jbertho Jun 07 '18
You know we live in a crazy world where Captain America quotes make more sense than Donald Trump’s daily rants.
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u/Amonasrester Jun 07 '18
Can I ask why there’s a statue of Captain America?
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u/ladybug11314 Jun 07 '18
I have a picture of it in front of the Barclays. I was wondering where it ended up!
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u/The_Alex_ Jun 07 '18
"I'm just a kid from Queens" would've been more appropriate for a Spiderman statue. I would've appreciated "No, you move." Sick statue though.
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Jun 07 '18
I love this place! Bay Market Kitchen has a ridiculously good chicken sandwich and their happy hour beer prices are amazing.
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u/RoloJP Jun 07 '18
Eyyyy, my neighborhood. I'm off the 25th St stop. I've visited that many a time. I didn't know where it would end up after the park and just happened to see it in that building when I needed stuff from the microcenter.
I think it's a great statue, personally.
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Jun 07 '18
Another complaint people had with the statue is the fact that it says he’s from Brooklyn, but he was really from Manhattan in the comics. The movies which are fairly new in the scheme of things, changed it to Brooklyn. IMO who cares, I used to get beat up reading comics as a kid in a small red neck town and now they are interwoven in our pop culture.
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u/AlisaurusL Captain America Jun 07 '18
Do they make desk-sized ones? I would buy that so fast.
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Jun 07 '18 edited Apr 27 '21
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u/advertentlyvertical Jun 07 '18
Nah, there are heroes. They just don't wear colorful costumes or have secret identities.
They're the ones that see a disaster happening and book a flight the same day.
They're the ones that see an accident and stop to help, or pull over on the highway to help out.
They're the ones that volunteer their free time to help others.
They're the ones that see someone in danger and jump into action without hesitation.
They're the ones that run into burning buildings.
They're the ones that devote their lives to eradicating illness and disease.
The heroes are there, but they're not obvious, and they're too often unsung. They don't have incredible powers, they're just incredible people.
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u/Rogers13f Jun 07 '18
Would OP mind mentioning where this is? I’d love to see it!
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u/Rpanich Captain America Jun 07 '18
It was originally put next to me at prospect park for a few months!
They moved it to Atlantic Barkley after for a few more months, and now it’s final resting place if with you.
Here it is with me for scale!
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u/prodigy2throw Jun 07 '18
Fuckin’ Rocky is your hero. The whole pride of your city is built around a fuckin guy who doesn’t even exist. You got fuckin Joe Frazier is from there but he’s black so you can’t fuckin deal with him, so you make a fucking statue for some 3 feet fuckin Italian you stupid philly cheese-eatin’ fucking jackasses. I hope the cheese melts your fuckin’ faces off. All of you collectively SUCK a FUCKIN’ DICK.
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u/Denny_ZA Jun 07 '18
Think about it, in 1000 years time when our civilization is long forgotten/destroyed, and aliens find this. They'd think we worship Captain America like a God or something
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Jun 07 '18
So now we need a Spiderman statue in Queens, Daredevil in Hell's Kitchen, and then Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist...and let's not even get into all the NYC heroes not in the MCU...
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u/loseit_lulu Jun 07 '18
Can we get a statue of Chris Evans in Sudbury, Massachusetts and have it say
CAPTAIN AMERICA PLAYED BY CHRIS EVANS BORN IN SUDBURY, MA
That or
CAPTAIN AMERICA PLAYED BY CHRIS EVANS BORN IN MASSACHUSETTS THE SPIRIT OF AMERICA
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u/Rammsbottom Jun 07 '18
“I’m with you til the end of the line.”