Turns out the lackluster ending to Marvel's Civil War was hiding one last surprise, as this morning's New York Daily News reveals the "death" of Captain America, gunned down on the steps of a courthouse following his surrender to federal authorities. "He is struck by a sniper's bullet in the shoulder and then hit again in the stomach," staff reporter Ethan Sacks writes breathlessly, "blood seeping out of his star-spangled costume."

I'm putting "death" in quotes here because, as Sacks acknowledges in the article, "comic book deaths... are rarely final," and Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada is already on record as stating "he wouldn't rule out the shield-throwing champion's eventual return," which probably means the storyline is already in the works—after all, they aren't cancelling the Captain America comic book. Besides, they're only taking Steve Rogers, the man who wears the costume, off the playing board, the super serum that gives him his powers will probably keep him alive, and it won't even be the first time somebody's replaced him as Cap in the character's 66-year history. Early commentators at fan site Newsarama also point out that this isn't even Civil War's first fake death of a superhero in police custody, and the final scenes of the miniseries already gave broad hints about what'll happen next, as the Punisher, of all people, salvages Cap's abandoned mask...