LAST WEDNESDAY MORNING, while most people kibitzed about Scooter Libby over their morning coffee, Captain America was murdered on the steps of the federal courthouse in New York. Captain America (real-life identity: Steve Rogers) is survived by his crime-fighting partner, Bucky, and his girlfriend, Sharon Carter, who may have fired the fatal shots while under the control of the evil Dr. Faustus. Such are the perils of romance.

The death of Captain America became, quite improbably, a minor cultural event. According to Joe Quesada, the editor in chief of Marvel Comics, Marvel made the decision to kill Cap 18 months ago, while it was plotting the direction of its seven-issue limited series Civil War, which details the rift between heroes following a law that required superheroes to register with the government.

Marvel kept the decision to kill Cap secret. The final issue of Civil War was released in February, and last week issue #25 of Captain America arrived on the doorsteps of the nation's 2,000 comic-book shops.

Owners unpacking the boxes of new inventory were shocked to find Cap lying dead in a hospital on the final page. There was a flurry of chatter on the Internet. Within hours, the wire services picked up the story, and people crowded into neighborhood comic-book shops. By noon, the issue was sold out and fetching hefty sums on eBay.

There is an old joke about death in the comic-book world: No one stays dead except Bucky, Jason Todd and Uncle Ben. Over the years Superman, Phoenix, Green Arrow and a legion of other heroes have perished, only to be resurrected by their publishers in reasonably short order. Even this Bucky Clause of hero death has begun unraveling as both Bucky and Jason Todd (who replaced Dick Grayson as Robin) were recently brought back to life. This was, in fact, the second time Captain America journeyed to the undiscovered country.

Cap was born in March 1941, when a scrawny Steve Rogers tried to enlist in the Army. Rejected because of his feeble physique, Rogers volunteered for a secret government program attempting to create a super soldier through genetic enhancement. Alas, just as all robots eventually rebel and kill their masters, all government attempts at genetic manipulation are doomed to go awry.

The scientist heading the super-soldier program ended up dead, but Steve Rogers became a specimen of physical perfection, with heightened reflexes and enhanced strength. The Army sent him into battle with a red, white and blue shield and the moniker Captain America.

The cover of the first issue of Captain America showed Cap socking Hitler with a right cross nearly a year before America declared war on Germany. A champion of American freedom, Cap's popularity soared during World War II as he battled Nazis and the Japanese with Bucky at his side.

After the war, sales of Captain America dwindled; the title was canceled in 1950. As Bradford Wright details in Comic Book Nation, Marvel brought Cap back several years later as a Cold Warrior: "Captain America . . . Commie Smasher." This time, he and Bucky fought communist agents "who hid behind the privileges of a free society in order to subvert American institutions." The series sold poorly and was dropped after a few issues.