Captain America #13: I'm glad that Brubaker makes it clear here that D-Man is under some sort of mind control, just like Gyrich. As I mentioned in my review of last issue, he's seemed a little "off" in his last few appearances, and Brubaker plays off that here. He reveals that D-Man appears to be suffering from some sort of degenerative mental condition, and Gyrich (or, more accurately, Gyrich's HYDRA handlers) is keeping him in that situation in order to keep him pliable. (He seems to have been initially cured of the disorder by Gyrich, though I'm guessing that was done to gain his confidence before Gyrich revealed that he could reverse the cure at will.) With one issue left in this arc, it's pretty clear that Cap is going to be rocked next issue by the revelation that D-Man is Scourge, and I'm hoping the next arc results in him taking the fight to HYDRA. It would be nice to wrap up this HYDRA business so we can move onto new enemies. But, for now, this arc at least works to bridge that gap from the Madbomb business to the full-on HYDRA battle.
Captain America and Hawkeye #632: I...have no idea what happened in this issue. Although I praised Bunn last issue for managing to keep the story of how the dinosaurs because symbiotes easy to follow, I have a hard time telling you what happened in this one. Honestly, I think that I've enjoyed this arc more than most reviewers, but this one just totally lost me. Part of the problem is Vitti, who I loved on "Dungeons and Dragons," but who uses such odd angles in this issue that it's hard to follow the action, a particular problem given the fact that it's an action-oriented issue. Basically, Stegron returns with some sort of magical scepter, Cap uses it to do something to the symbiote queen, Hawkeye shoots some arrows, and we never discover who employed Kash. Disappointing, to say the least. It was particularly difficult to follow which symbiotes were based on humans, who were saved, and which ones were the dinosaurs, who were destroyed. At any rate, I think I've already over-thought this issue. Time for Iron Man!
Winter Soldier #6: Damn, this issue is tense. Brubaker effectively uses the secondary narrative -- of Leo's time after he was unexpectedly awoken -- to show how unstable Leo is, making you aware of the threat that he's going to pose to whomever he turns his attention. By the time he appears at Fred Davis' apartment, you know how it's going to end badly, both for Davis and Bucky, his real target. I thought the brilliance of that moment is that Brubaker has clearly been planning it for months, given that he re-introduced us to Davis in "Captain America and Bucky" #625-#628. He made us care about him, showing him as a guy wrestling with his past as Bucky and coming to terms with the hero that he was. By doing so, Brubaker makes his death here all the more profound. It could've just been the death of a character that some long-time readers might've vaguely remembered, but, instead, Brubaker, ever the planner, sets up a story in another title months earlier to make sure that we feel the emotions that he wants us to feel here. He's just that good. By giving Davis' death that sort of impact, Brubaker lets us know that this next arc is going to be a big one.
The whole point of this title is Bucky making amends for the actions he committed as the Winter Soldier. It's usually him righting a wrong based on his knowledge as the Winter Soldier, such as he did in the first arc, where he kept the other sleeper agents from instigating a world war. But, here, it's someone else righting a wrong that Bucky as the Winter Soldier committed against him, with Leo seeking revenge for Bucky leaving him stranded in stasis. We've seen this sort of story previously -- such as the Professor Chin saga from "Captain America" #43-#48 -- but it somehow didn't dawn on me that this title could very well oscillate between the two types of stories, Bucky saving the day with his knowledge from his Winter Soldier days or Bucky paying from crimes that he committed as the Winter Soldier. In so doing, Brubaker continues the espionage theme that I hoped this title would have and continues telling stories that make me eagerly awaiting this title every month.
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