Captain America #600 (spoilers)

[Doc Beechler (mod-MD)]

I don't want to trivialize real events, but it seems right that this comic should hit the stands as so many in Iran fight for their vote to be heard and respected...

Anyway, while Steve doesn't make his big return in this issue (we gotta wait two weeks for that), Brubaker, in his story about the world one year after the loss of Cap, starts to reveal clues as to how it may happen. James, Sharon, Natasha, Clint, Luke, and Sam are all front and center...the real Avengers hiding and waiting for Osborn and his crew to slip up. This is the group that HAMMER is gonna have to watch out for...with Steve back to lead them, it's over for the government sanctioned Avengers.

Then, another pleasant surprise...Roger Stern catches us up with Bernie Rosenthal (!) and the old gang from the Brooklyn Heights days. This 80s-era fanboy was very happy to see this!

Mark Waid reveals how much he loves Cap and hates bad comic book companies in his story. It has echoes back to WW II (that vet looks familiar), Steve's NYPD days (I immediately thought of the Commander), and the sometimes rough 60s and 70s America. Tony Stark's continued respect for Steve is in evidence...and in a kinda weird implant...Cap's original Avengers card was signed by William J. Clinton? Oh, that old ten year rule...of, course, if you don't look at the card too closely it works out better for the other parts of the story. And shame on Marvel Comics in the Marvel U...dropping the Captain America license when he was branded a "traitor".

Then we get a nice essay by Joe Simon and a Stan Lee/Al Avison reprint.

It's a nice value for the money...

[Rich Lane]

Mark S. Ogilvie said:

It was an interesting read. A few things I'm puzzled about, didn't the 1950's Cap die of cancer? I have no idea who Rikki Barnes is. Also about the auction, how could Tony be bidding like this when at the same time Norman is in charge and actively pursuing him?
The press still looks to be against Cap, I guess Sally Floyd was not atypical. Tony buying the Avengers ID struck me as both sentimental on his part and hypocritical since he did more to destroy Steve than anyone else save the Red Skull.
The background essay on the first few days of Cap was really interesting.

Mark

You're thinking of the Jeff Mace, the hero formerly known as "The Patriot" who was a member of the Liberty Legion. He took over for the man who initially took over for Steve Rogers. He retired as Cap early on and was replaced by this guy. This guy was driven insane by the unstable super soldier serum he took, and was put into suspended animation by the government until he was thawed out by a disgruntled government worker. He went on a rampage until he was stopped by the real Cap and Falcon. He was then used by Doctor Faustus to become the "Grand Director" of a fascist group called "The National Front," I believe.

Mace died of cancer.

As for Tony, I guess the auction story is set back before Norman came to power, that's all.

[Doc Beechler (mod-MD)]

Rikki Barnes is from the "Heroes Reborn" universe.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

I made it to the comic shop yesterday, and I have to admit, I was a little sad to leave this one on the shelf. Who knows when that Mark Waid story'll get collected? The trials of tradewaiting...

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

That sucks -- I think it's been that way in new york for a while.

Mark S. Ogilvie said:

Trade waiting might not be too much of an option for me anymore. I talked to the lcs guy and we realized that under the mass state tax hike comic books won't be taxed any extra, but tpb will.

Mark

Rob Staeger said:

I made it to the comic shop yesterday, and I have to admit, I was a little sad to leave this one on the shelf. Who knows when that Mark Waid story'll get collected? The trials of tradewaiting...

[Cavaliere (moderator emeritus)]

Rob Staeger said:

That sucks -- I think it's been that way in new york for a while.

Mark S. Ogilvie said:

Trade waiting might not be too much of an option for me anymore. I talked to the lcs guy and we realized that under the mass state tax hike comic books won't be taxed any extra, but tpb will.

Mark

Rob Staeger said:

I made it to the comic shop yesterday, and I have to admit, I was a little sad to leave this one on the shelf. Who knows when that Mark Waid story'll get collected? The trials of tradewaiting...

Does that include mail order? I'm in a state that doesn't have sales tax* so I don't know how that would work.

*We pay in other ways, though. Oh, do we pay.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

I think out-of-state internet orders generally don't have state sales tax applied, right? I'm just assuming Mark wants to support the local guy.

[Cavaliere (moderator emeritus)]

I can understand that. But if it is a choice between being able to afford to buy it mail-order or not buy it at all...well, I'm glad that I don't need to make that decision.

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

We have a 9.75% sales tax on everything in Memphis.

[Alan M.]

You think 6.25% sales tax is bad? Come to Chicago — home of the 10.25% sales tax — some day... (I actually live in the next county over and REVEL in the 6.5% sales tax hereabouts.)

[Cavaliere (moderator emeritus)]

The Cap on the Heroes Reborn Earth was our Cap, sent there with the other heroes by Franklin Richards at the defeat of Onslaught. I wasn't aware until this issue that Rikki was on our Earth. I thought she was still on the other Earth (which, last I knew, was orbiting Sol 180 degrees opposite Earth).

[Doc Beechler (mod-MD)]

From Newsarama...Rikki will be the new Nomad and McKeever is her writer...

Newsarama: Let's start out by doing a little history lesson for people. Who is this new Nomad?

Sean McKeever: The new female Nomad is the old female Bucky, Rikki Barnes, who people may recall from Heroes Reborn back in the '90s. She's from a different earth altogether. Due to the events of Onslaught Reborn, she's now on the 616 mainstream earth. It's very much like her world, yet different in a great many ways. For example, on this earth, the Captain America she knows is dead. And her family as she knew it is not the same. The place where she used to live doesn't exist. It all makes her feel like she doesn't belong. So she's the girl without a world.

NRAMA: If a reader isn't familiar with Heroes Reborn, will this mini-series still make sense?

SM: In the first issue, you will find out everything you need to know in a very non-expositional way. That was important to me. I know a lot of people are going to be coming to this character fresh. So we're putting the back story out there in a way that is understandable but doesn't get into all the minutia of how she got here or where she's from and all those little continuity bits. If people do want to go back and find that stuff, it's out there in trades.

[Rich Lane]

Doc Beechler said:

From Newsarama...Rikki will be the new Nomad and McKeever is her writer...

Hurrm.

That eliminates my theory that either Steve of Bucky would end up taking up the Nomad name when Steve comes back from holiday.