Ocsar Wilde championed the notion that life imitates art. He believed the old saying “results not merely from life’s imitative instinct, but from the fact that the self-conscious aim of Life is to find expression, and that Art offers it certain beautiful forms through which it may realize that energy.” Wilde was a miraculous writer and thinker. But sometimes the classic Aristotelian worldview he opined against proves just as accurate. Sometimes art imitates life. To my disgust, such is the case with Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier film and the history of the United States. Kind of.

[*Spoilers for Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Ed Brubaker's Captain America run to follow.]

If you’re reading this, you’ve likely seen it. Cap 2 made over 700 million dollars worldwide. It was a success commercially (still only fifth highest grossing of 2014), but more than that it was respected by critics for its political-thriller/espionage flare that set it squarely in our post-Patriot Act, drones at the ready,...