Captain America Returns

While the media is all up in a huff over the his return, the real awe-inspired gasp is over Captain America’s ‘new’ side-arm, a handgun.

Any comic book fans who have been following the fantastic Captain America series by Ed Brubaker would know that the stakes have been raised in the past two years.

The Red Skull, hiding inside of the mind of Russian businessman Alexander Luskin, is waging a war that the ‘good guys’ cannot fight. Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, was gunned down by the love of his life. Cap’s former best friend Tony Stark (alias Iron Man) has assisted in the wholesale arrest of any and all super powered individuals who will not abide by the new ‘Super Hero Registration Act.’ The Avengers are now two teams, one praised by the public and housed in a gleaming tower, the other operating in secret out of Doctor Strange’s Sanctum.

Cap’s former teenage sidekick from WW2 Bucky Barnes, thought dead for decades, is actually a former KGB super assassin known as the Winter Soldier. With the newest issue, Barnes has taken up the mantle of his former partner and assumed the title of Captain America.

In short, things are worse than bad, they’re crazy.

While many who have not been keeping up with the various events of the Marvel Comics Universe are shocked that Captain America is back and he’s packing heat, for any Marvel Zombies, this is hardly a surprise. And if you really want a ‘return to the good old days,’ just look at how whacky Cap was back in the day!

This is a new Captain America confronting new threats and terrors that require the character to have an edge. While it’s a sign of the times and a wake up call to some, to others the writing has been on the wall for decades.

Hell, anything that brings an increased readership to this series is a good thing. Not to pass judgment on the great work by his predecessors, but since Ed Brubaker’s arrival, the series has been one of the best action comics out there.

Who is the new Captain America?

In keeping with their current house style of marketing campaigns, Marvel Comics just released the image below to drum up interest in one of its best monthly comics, Captain America.

With Steve Rogers still dead, there is a void that must be filled.

The options above are somewhat misleading. I mean, it’s certainly not going to be the Red Skull (who is also dead and living inside an evil businessman’s head) or Iron Man who has not appeared in an issue of Captain America in years.

Hawkeye already turned down Tony Stark’s offer to take up the shield and has even taken on a new persona of Ronin in the New Avengers.

John Walker, the USAgent, has already been Captain America and currently leads Omega Flight. I can’t imagine them using him.

While my initial instinct was that the new Captain America must be the Winter Soldier (formerly Bucky Barnes, Cap’s sidekick), the appearance of a knife and handgun as part of this new Cap’s weaponry alongside the image of Union Jack has me questioning that thought.

Union Jack, another WW2 hero who fought beside Cap and the Invaders back in the day, is a mantle that has been handed down to the latest British adventurer, Joseph Chapman. The reason I bring any of this up is that traditionally Union Jack has a handgun and silver-edged dagger at his side as weapons of choice.

Am I on to something or just taken in with a clever poster?

We’ll find out in January, true believers!

Recommended

Captain America by Ed Brubaker Omnibus, Vol. 1
Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America

New Captain America?

The cover to issue 34 of Captain America has just been posted to the web… with many and varied responses.

Designed by Alex Ross and writer Ed Brubaker, the new costume looks far more armored, has a more pronounced utility belt (first introduced roughly five years ago by artist Chris Bachalo), is half-black for ’stealth’ (no one will notice a gleaming American flag at night, I guess) and for the first time since WWII, weaponry.

The storyline building to the death of Captain America (begun in the first issue of his newest series) started with the death of Cap’s deadliest enemy, The Red Skull.

While he was shot, the Skull was holding an imperfect Cosmic Cube, which allows the bearer to manipulate reality at his/her whim.

After the Skull died, two things happened:

1) the Red Skull’s assassin, Aleksander Lukin, started seeing the Red Skull’s face in mirrors telling him how to build his grand giant robot, the Sleeper. Currently, Lukin wears a mask and acts as if he really is the Red Skull… which, given the powers of the Cube, he might be.

2) Captain America’s former partner Bucky, thought to be dead at the hands of Baron Zemo during WWII before Cap took a deep sleep until he was revived in the modern world… was alive. Not only that, but Bucky was operating as a KGB agent known as the Winter Soldier.

This duo conflict of Cap trying to track down Bucky and The Red Skull operating from the shadows to create an ingenious trap involving Captain America’s deadliest enemies and closest friends, resulted in the star spangled Avenger getting shot in the gut on his way to a court where was going to stand trial for leading a rebellion against the US Government in the mini series Civil War. The killer was Cap’s great love, Sharon Carter.

Since his death, the monthly series has gone to great lengths to verify that Cap really is dead and that the Red Skull is only beginning in his plot for world domination. With SHIELD under the leadership of Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) and the world’s heroes split down the middle between underground vigilantes and government-sponsored super heroes, there is only an enraged Winter Soldier left to uncover the plot while Black Widow, The Falcon and Sharon Carter struggle to catch up.

Searching for a replacement, Stark asked the recently back from the dead hero Hawkeye to take up the mantle, but the bowman passed on the offer.

In a recent issue, it was revealed that Carter was pregnant, presumably with Captain America’s baby… which raises fanboy eyebrows across the nation.

This new Captain America will finally appear in the monthly series, almost a full year after the original Cap was killed.

I highly doubt that he is Steve Rogers.

The fact that he is holding a gun and knife, the weapons of the Winter Soldier, leads me to believe that it is in fact Bucky taking over from his mentor. This would not be a cop-out and would take the comic into a new and exciting direction.

Winter Soldier holds Cap’s values very highly, yet often acts with more force and violence than his hero would use. He has a lot to learn. Perhaps taking up the shield would be the best way to learn these lessons?

The Red Skull is currently using the Cosmic Cube to get baked goods.

Recommended Reading:

Captain America Vol. 1: Winter Soldier, Book One
Captain America Vol. 2: Winter Soldier, Book Two
Captain America Volume 1: The New Deal HC (Marvel Knights)

Marvel Zombie Attack!

I just realized that I’ve been giving lots of attention to the Distinguished Competition lately and have decided to fix that.

A lifelong Marvel Zombie (that’s what the editors called us, so that’s what I call me too), at one time in the late 80’s I collected roughly 11-13 titles (including the odd never seen since titles such as Strange Tales, Strikeforce Morituri, and Stalkers) , all published by Marvel. I’m still not sure how I could afford this and how I avoided all the Spider-Man titles.

Since that time, I’ve explored the other side of the street and now my weekly pull is mainly DC titles. Still, a large part of me will always be a card-carrying member of the Mighty Marvel Marching Society and in this post I will let you know about some very nice additions to your collection that you might not have.

Marvel Animated Features have been releasing straight to DVD cartoon films for a few years now with a roaring success. Their first attempt, the Ultimate Avengers - The Movie, practically flew off the shelves on release day and was quickly followed by a sequel featuring Black Panther, Ultimate Avengers 2 and the Invincible Iron Man film.

Marvel continues their foray into the DVD line with Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme. Like the other cartoon films, this one chronicles the decline of surgeon Stephen Strange, his search for himself in Tibet and the rise of the Sorcerer Supreme.

It’s a fun and innovative way to grab new readers in ways that the X-Men cartoon did in the 90’s and perhaps the 60’s cartoons back in the day.

The only problem here is that there are no Doctor Strange books to meet the need, should it arise, of Doctor Strange fans. If the viewer is unfortunate enough to enjoy the film and wants to read about this character, they can join the long line of disgruntled Doctor Strange fans who have been waiting for decades for a decent series.

I suppose in a pinch there are reprints, such as Essential Doctor Strange, Vol. 1 By Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

Why not an animated Defenders movie?

Oh… right… no comic series.

Captain America recently made the papers by being brutally murdered in a crossfire plot that is still being untangled in his monthly comic.

But the story that writer Ed Brubaker has been working on goes beyond just Captain America #25 and according to Brubaker has been planned all along.

I’ve written about my love for Captain America on a previous post, but Ed Brubaker and artists Steve Epting and Mike Perkins took the ailing comic series that had been revamped and handled by so many creators that many were bored simply by seeing another issue 1 on the stands.

It was their loss because the fifth turn at the bat hit a home run. A vibrant, relevant and beautifully drawn series, the stories collected in the Captain America by Ed Brubaker Omnibus, Vol. 1 take the character for such a wild ride that you’d think that Cap had only just been defrosted from WWII.

Using the premise that Captain America is working with SHIELD to fight the Global War on Terror, the series takes a distinct turn for the dark as Captain America’s most dangerous villain the Red Skull is assassinated and returns more powerful than ever. Captain America has to grapple with his past, hos love for Sharon Carter and even the strange and unexpected return of a friend thought long dead… never knowing who is secretly pulling the strings of a deadly trap that springs on both Captain America and the reader.

If you buy just one of the Ginormous Marvel Omnibus books this year, let it be this one.

Captain America by Ed Brubaker Omnibus, Vol. 1 collects Captain America #1-25, The Captain America 65th Anniversary Special and Winter Soldier: Winter Kills.

Or this one.

When I was just getting started in this comic book thing, I snuck into my brother’s room and read his Frank Miller Daredevil comics. The most masterfully crafted comics in the business, Marvel has packaged the issues that made the Mayor of Sin City who he is today a number of times.

Finally, those Frank Miller issues I read are collected in the gigantic Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson Omnibus.

If you have heard of Daredevil (not the movie) or Frank Miller himself, but never read the issues… you are missing out. It was in these issues (not X-Men) that the angst and agony of the 90’s was born. As a wee teenager I read the issue where Matt Murdock’s enhanced senses told him that his Elektra was still very much alive, leading him to crawl through the snow-covered cemetery and embrace her cold headstone.

The incredibly drawn pages were so moving and emotive that many a fan sighed, ‘this would make a great movie.’

Oh well… it’s still a great comic.

Frank Miller and Klaus Janson took a comic book no one cared about and made it into the most talked about comic series of the early 80’s. Now is your chance to buy a brick of brilliance for that nice Pier One coffee table.

Recommended Reading/Viewing:

Ultimate Avengers - The Movie
Ultimate Avengers 2
Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson Omnibus
Captain America by Ed Brubaker Omnibus, Vol. 1
Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme

Alex Ross’ The Return

Just leaked over at Comicbookresources.com, the cover for Alex Ross‘ new comic book from Dynamite Publishing and Marvel Comics entitled, ‘The Return’ was presented at Wizard World Chicago this weekend.

No details so far other than the fact that it’s a teaser for a larger project, co-created by mad scripter Jim Krueger (Earth X, Justice, Superpowers) and the superb artist Steve Sadowski (JSA, The Mysterymen).

Personally, I think it involves the WWII super hero group The Invaders (Cap, Bucky, Human Torch and Namor, the Sub Mariner). If you look closely, there’s a bare arm (Namor) on Cap’s left and a red gloved one (Bucky) on his right. Whatever the case, I love all the work done by these guys and am anxious to see the finished product.

Captain America

At the time of his creation in 1941, America was not involved in the world wide war that had enveloped Europe, later known as WWII. Two young Jewish cartoonists (Joe Simon and Jack Kirby) pitched their publisher Marty Goodman with the cover to the right here, featuring their hero delivering a sock to Hitler’s jaw. At the time it was controversial to make such a statement, but in the end Marty Goodman saw the meaning behind it… or the potential money ahead of him.

In either case, Captain America, a young and frail Steve Rogers whose first act of bravery was to volunteer himself for the Super Soldier project. A strange mixture of chemicals entered his bloodstream and he was reborn as the red white and blue powerhouse, Captain America.

Captain America is often presented as a ‘gee wiz’ innocent hero, but this is far from the truth. While he does believe in fair play, he also dodged Nazi bullets while dressed in a brightly colored bullseye across the theater of war. He often makes the right choice, but it’s never easy. From sparing a villain’s life to running into a burning building, it all seems hokey, but it’s the hard road compared to characters like the Punisher who have a kind of tunnel vision for their purpose and drive.

An intensely popular comic book by Joe Simon and the King Jack Kirby, Cap fought along the front lines of the war against the Axis Powers… including the dreaded Red Skull. A simple delivery boy enlisted into the Nazi cause as a symbol of fear and hatred, the Red Skull became Cap’s nemesis, still active to this day.

Neither strong nor fast or even super-smart as most Super Villains are, the Red Skull is just insanely evil, making him the most dangerous threat to Cap.

Captain America’s comic book series published by Timely saw a drop in sales and was canceled in 1950 after fighting werewolves and communists alike. It wasn’t until Stan Lee had revived the company as Marvel Comics that the character was revived to join the super team The Avengers.

Now a ‘man out of time’ in the 1960’s, Cap was confused by much of what he saw and deeply saddened by the loss of his longtime fighting companion, Bucky. Under his guidance, the Avengers became a unified force for order, endless fighting strangely dressed guys in the streets of Manhattan looking to melt, freeze or burn everything or just eat it as the case may be.

It was a weird time.

It’s very safe to say that without Captain America, the flagship title of Marvel Comics, the Avengers would not have worked as an idea and that the Marvel Universe would have also been somehow flawed.

The Marvel U is full of many angst-ridden and otherwise emotional basket cases in tights who fight the good fight until they die or turn evil, whichever comes first. Cap is different. He’s a reminder of a simpler and nobler time when America made a stance against ‘evil’ and stood by it. He stands his ground and with his unbreakable red white and blue shield, guards the innocent.

The character has gone through a lot over the years since his inclusion into the Marvel Universe of Super Heroes, including a run for President, losing his faith in the USA and going rogue, being sucked into a parallel reality and even dying a slow painful death (plus three cancellations and revivals of his own series in the past 15 years).

At heart, Captain America is not what many think of it as… an action comic. It’s important to remember that while Cap bopps the bad guys on the head better than most, he’s also a walking talking American Flag that was created as a statement for the US to enter World War II. While I do enjoy his adventures and madcap lifestyle, it’s when Cap is used as a political hero that he functions best.

So I’m the one guy in the world that enjoyed the revived Captain America comic published under the Marvel Knights banner in which Captain America responded to the events of the World Trade Center disaster of September 11th. It was a brave thing for Marvel to acknowledge that the disaster occurred.

Since Marvel Comics always took place in New York City, it would be terribly silly, even for a comic book, to ignore the loss of so many lives. Still, it does complicate the characters and storylines of what is essentially viewed as children’s entertainment.

The stories collected in ‘The New Deal’ by John Ney Reiber and John Cassiday depict an enraged and confused Cap who is anxious to strike out at a shadowy enemy but at the same time no longer trusts his own government, evidenced by his falling out with longtime friend Nick Fury of the American governmental organization SHIELD.

The conclusion to a search for the leaders of an Al Qaeda-like terrorist attack on a small town church leads to a confrontation with the group’s leader and far more questions than answers. When Cap question the villain Al Tariq’s origins, he is hit on the chin with a list of foreign lands that have suffered from the actions of the US government or it’s inability to act at all. The strike that Al Tariq delivers is just as poignant and painful as the one depicted in Cap’s first appearance.

Captain America was canceled yet again in 2004 and later revived once more in its fifth volume by Ed Brubaker with Steve Epting and Michael Lark on art chores.

In an already uneasy and frustrated comic book marketplace that was getting sick of revivals and ‘number 1’s on the stands, it’s stunning that someone finally got Captain America right. The newest series has been a hit from the first issue as it continues to follow the adventures of a man out of time trying his best to fight a global war against the innocent.

A non stop action thriller, the new Captain America series follows the hero on missions to defuse bombs in London and fight twenty story tall robots in New York City. But this is not just an action comic. Hidden in the pages are moments of intrigue as a shadowy villain pulls the strings of a powerful business man, slowly turning him into a newer version of the dreaded Red Skull.

In the recent Civil War series, Cap had his hands full. On the trail of his former partner Bucky (who had returned as a highly trained Soviet killing machine called the Winter Soldier), Cap had slowly begun to renew his on again off again romance with fellow SHIELD agent, Sharon Carter.

The romance goes on hold after Cap is interviewed atop the SHIELD helicarrier by its new Commanding Officer Maria Hill. He is told that the Senate is planning to pass a bill that will demand all super heroes register with SHIELD and enter a professional training program. Cap is expected to be the poster boy for this campaign. Seeing as how it completely overlooks an American citizens civil liberties, he declines and becomes a fugitive.

In no time, a Civil War is on with Cap on one side and his long time friend and ally Iron Man on the other. After a long and bloody battle, Cap realizes that he is protecting no one. A frazzled and terrified NYC citizen begs him to stop before the city is destroyed and he does.

On his way to court to face charges for his betrayal to the United States government, his long time lover Sharon Carter, under the hypnotic influence of the Red Skull, walks up to him and shoots him at point blank range. That was almost five months ago.

Many are saying ‘he’ll be back,’ and they’re right. But that’s not the point. As a politically fueled character, Cap stood up for what he thought was right, and was undone by his own actions. Now he lies dead and on July 3rd was the character was shown buried in Arlington Cemetery. The Marvel Universe is forced to conceive of what life can be without him.

As readers, we’re asked to think about what it can mean to us.

Suggested reading:

Captain America Vol. 1: Winter Soldier, Book One
Captain America #25 Death Of A Legend Variant Cover
Captain America: War & Remembrance
Captain America Volume 1: The New Deal HC (Marvel Knights)
Civil War (Marvel Comics)
Invaders Classic, Vol. 1 (Marvel Comics, Avengers)
Marvel Masterworks: Avengers, Vol. 1