Also in this issue: Captain America’s secret identity revealed to be Chris Matthews.

In issue number 602 of Captain America, a new story line has begun called “Two Americas.” In it the current Captain (there have been a few of them, apparently) is on the trail of a faux Captain America that is mentally deranged and getting chummy with some white supremacist, anti-government, survivalists types going by the name of “the Watchdogs.” While investigating this subversive group, Captain America and his partner The Falcon — a black super hero — have decided to try and infiltrate the secretive organization.

In preparation for the infiltration, Marvel Comics depicts the two super heroes out of costume and observing from a rooftop a street filled with what can only be described as a Tea Party protest. The scene shows crowds of people in city streets carrying signs that say, “stop the socialists,” “tea bag libs before they tea bag you,” and “no to new taxes.” Naturally, the people in these crowds are depicted as being filled with nothing but white folks…

The two then discuss their plan to infiltrate the subversive group that Marvel comics seems to be linking to the Tea Party movement. This discussion culminates in The Falcon wondering how a black man would do such a thing. “I don’t exactly see a black man from Harlem fitting in with a bunch of angry white folks,” he tells the incognito Captain America.

The Captain tells him, “no it’s perfect… this all fits right into my plan.” After this we find that the Captain’s plan is to send the black man into a redneck bar to pretend to be a black man working for the IRS and to get everyone all mad… because… well, you know that every white person is a racist that hates black civil servants, right?

I’m surprised the archvillian isn’t a female superhero from Alaska with glasses and “big breasts,” the way the right-wing rabble likes ’em. Something to shoot for in the next issue, I guess. If you’re surprised by any of this, you haven’t been paying attention: We’ve written sporadically about Marvel’s turn to the left for years now, most recently with Spider-Man’s Sullivan-esque worship of The One but more pertinently with Captain America’s assassination in 2007 — yes, really — after he became the leader of an anti-government civil libertarian movement. My, how Marvel’s take on protesting federal policy has shifted over three years. Exit question: Do any of you guys still read this crap, or have the politics chased you away?