from afp/raw story: Captain America, the comic book superhero with a penchant for figure-hugging body suits in red, white and blue, has died at the age of 89, shot dead in New York... felled by a sniper's bullet on the steps of a Manhattan court house.
"Breaking news: Few details are clear at this time, but the scene outside the Federal Courthouse in Manhattan is a portrait of chaos and confusion as a former superhero has been shot," Marvel comics said on its website...
Draped in the American flag, a giant "A" on his mask and a shield that handily doubled as a discus, Captain America was part of the US war effort, created just months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Co-creator Joe Simon, himself a little older than Captain America at 93, told the New York Daily News he was saddened by his character's demise. "It's a hell of a time for him to go. We really need him now," he said.
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