Captain America

[Jeff of Earth-J]

This is a great time to be a Captain America fan. With two ongoing series written by Ed Brubaker (Captain America and Secret Avengers) several limited series either already begun or on the way, I thought it would be nice to have a thread in place to discuss them all. Both Captain America (#611) and Secret Avengers (#6) (as well as Captain America: Patriot which has a thread of its own) shipped this week, and both start new stories with the current issue.

Captain America #611 begins “The Trial of Captain America” in which Bucky Barnes is brought to trial for the crimes he committed as the Winter Soldier. Captain America is and has been for quite some time now my favorite ongoing title in the Marvel Universe.

Secret Avengers #6 begins the five-part “Eyes of the Dragon” which features Shang-Chi and the return of his father (whose name we are not supposed to use). I’ve never read much MoKF, but a couple of years ago I bought the whole series through an ad in the CBG from a store selling whole series sets. I’ve been saving it for a rainy day, and this story may just put me in the mood to read through it start to finish at last.

[Rich Steeves]

I, for one, stopped reading Captain America when they brought Bucky back. That was the last straw for me. Hopefully, there will be a storyline in the future that reveals that this was all a dream, a hoax or an imaginary story.

And, for me, Gruenwald is THE Captain America writer, as Claremont is for X-Men, David for Hulk, and Lee/Kirby for FF (with Byrne a close second).



Philip Portelli said:

Wally West, Kyle Raynor, Connor Hawke, Ryan Choi, James Rhodes, Eric Masterson, Ben Reilly, John Walker. All new versions of established heroes who were supposed to be permanent. I may be wrong (and will be pleasantly surprised if I am) but I see the same fate for Bucky Barnes, not to mention Dick Grayson.

Bucky was dead for 40 years, there have been imposter Buckies, how hard would it be to remove him again to have Steve be Captain America again. And since Steve Rogers is featured in the new Avengers cartoon and will have his own movie, it would be shocking for Marvel not to have him reassume the role that has been hammered into our heads for decades, that Steve Rogers was, is and must always be Captain America.

[George]

"... but in the real world, of course, the movies are the dog."

www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20385926_20437910,00.html

Speaking of movies ...

[Cavaliere (moderator emeritus)]

"I’m waiting for some nostalgic writer to say that about Spider-Man."

Wasn't that the whole point of Brand New Day?

I tend to think of Gruenwald, too, when it comes to Cap. My first issue was #332 ("President Fires Cap!") and I stuck with it for ye-e-ears. Best writer, though? Waid, hands down.

[ClarkKent_DC]

I agree that Waid is the best writer. I do like Brubaker's work, but I don't like that he's not doing it with "my" Captain America!

Time to bail, I guess.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Cavalier said:

Wasn't that the whole point of Brand New Day?

Oh, god, I hope not!

[Jeff of Earth-J]

CAPTAIN AMERICA: MAN OUT OF TIME #1: I don't know anyting about this series other than Mark waid is writing it. The first issue retells the events of Avengers #4 (both WWII and modern) strictly from Captain America's POV. Funny, I don't recall him being shot during a drug deal gone bad in the original.

[The Baron]

Jeff of Earth-J said:

Funny, I don't recall him being shot during a drug deal gone bad in the original.

Did they leave in the break-dancing robot?

[Jeff of Earth-J]

CAPTAIN AMERICA #612: Bernie Rosenthal is back in the cast as Bucky’s defense attorney, which I think is a good move except she doesn’t look anything like the way John Byrne drew her. Masterman frees the now-horribly-disfigured daughter of the Red Skull from the Kurtzberg Institute for the Criminally Insane. (Marvel’s Arkham Asylum?) I thought that was a nice touch.

SECRET AVENGERS #7: Eric O’Grady is more competent (and likeable) as the new Ant-Man in this series than he is in the Ant-Man & Wasp mini-series. Steve Rogers allows Sharon Carter and the Black Widow to threaten to torture a captured prisoner for information. Shang-Chi’s father appears, masked, and makes reference to his sone having “more than just British spies on his side this time.” By the time this five-part story is through, I may well decide to make a reading project of Master of Kung Fu. (Coincidentally, I’m just finishing up watching the Kung Fu TV series on DVD as well.)

[Dagwan]

Heh. Combine the Kung Fu watching, and the Dr. Who novel reading, and you get The Master... of Kung Fu.

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"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." -Groucho Marx

Check out the Secret Headquarters (my store) website! Comics and Games for Everyone!

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[Captain Comics]

Put me in the camp who wasn't thrilled with Gruenwald's Cap. I've said before that I consider Cap best when he's written as the best big brother you could ever have. Gruenwald wrote him as a prim, condescending father. That's not as bad as Jim Shooter, who wrote him as a perpetually disappointed father who pointed out everyone's faults. And when he'd exclaim "mother, God and country!" I would groan aloud. But I digress.

I have enjoyed and am enjoying Brubaker's run. I don't doubt that at some point Rogers will become Cap again (and Wayne will become the only Batman again), if for no other reason than to dovetail with other media. But I will enjoy it for what it is -- an entertaining story -- for as long as it lasts.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

CAPTAIN AMERICA: MAN OUT OF TIME #2:

I must admit that I was a bit concerned when Mark Waid inserted the mugging and gunshot scene from issue #1 into the events of Avengers #4, but that was before I knew where he was going with it. He awakens in an ER being treated by a black woman doctor, and makes the mistake of addressing her as “nurse.” She corrects him, and when he expresses surprise, she asks what he means by it. He answers, “Nothing. That’s… nice to see,” and the expression on his face shows he truly means it.

Waid does an excellent job of portraying Captain America as the titular “Man Out of Time” as he continually flashes back to the world he left behind. As he wanders the city, eventually hooking up with Rick Jones, he becomes increasingly convinced that he’s experiencing some sort of dream. The story is firmly planted in the year 1999, by the way, putting Cap on ice for fifty four years and making the Marvel Universe of today perhaps a dozen years old.

It’s not that I didn’t like issue one, but with issue two the series really hits its stride!

[Jeff of Earth-J]

SECRET AVENGERS #8: Shang-Chi's father has been given the name "Zheng Zu" so the Secret Avengers no longer have to refer to him as "Shang-Chi's father" all the time.