New(-ish) Comics: The Captain America Edition #1

OK, I've got three issues each of "Captain America," "Captain America and Iron Man," and "Winter Soldier" sitting on my stack.  Let the intrigue begin!

Captain America #14:  OK, as expected, it seems pretty clear that the events of this issue are going to lead Steve to decide to take the fight to HYDRA in the next arc.  Overall, I haven't been a huge fan of Codename Bravo or Queen HYDRA.  They've both had some great moments (it is Brubaker, after all), but both of them often have often seemed too cartoonish to me.  Bravo is frequently spouting pretty simplistic political theories that make it hard to take him seriously and, to my recollection, Queen HYDRA hasn't ever really explained why she decided to take up terrorism as an occupation (other than it making her sexier).  Although Brubaker has done a great job of showing how their actions have impacted Cap, we haven't really gotten a great sense of them beyond plot devices.  I'm hoping that the next arc will address that problem.

But, again, Brubaker continues to excel in showing how their actions affect Steve, kicking it up a notch with the death of D-Man in this issue.  He made it pretty clear that Sharon really didn't have choice but to kill him, since it wasn't like he was going to stop his onslaught if she just blew out his knee.  (Can I just mention how nice it was to see Cap as the damsel in distress and Sharon as the knight in shining armor?  I love when Brubaker has Sharon play the bad-ass, and it was great to see her save Cap here.)  In one fell swoop, Bravo and Queen HYDRA have managed not only to rattle Steve with D-Man's death but also inject tension in his relationship with Sharon.  It's clearly this tension that motivates Sharon to comment that HYDRA is winning, a realization to which Brubaker has been building since first issue.  However sad it was to see D-Man go, particularly for those of us who read Gruenwald's run, I can't say that it was a frivolous death.  Brubaker clearly needed something to bring to a head these doubts that Cap has been facing about himself ever since Bravo appeared on the scene, and the death of D-Man seems to be it.  Cap blames himself and it's pretty clear that he's not going to be thinking as strategically as he normally would when he confronts Bravo and Queen HYDRA.  I can't wait to see how that goes.

Captain America #15:  Brubaker and Bunn set up the story here, with Cap's world continuing to deteriorate around him.  We've got Sharon acting jealous of Rachel, a TV pundit calling for Cap's resignation in light his inability to stop recent attacks, and a new group of super-humans (or super-robots, maybe) leading said attacks against American interests in cities around the world.  It's not exactly a great few hours in Cap-land.  Brubaker and Bunn hint at the plot to come, with Bravo and Queen HYDRA implying that they have even bigger plans involving Baron Zemo, Cap learning that the TV pundit has been killed and the guy on TV is a plant, and said plant seemingly calling for the creation of an army of super-soldiers.  All in all, it's a pretty good start to the arc.  I'm still not all that intrigued by Bravo and Queen HYDRA, but we'll see how that goes.  In the meantime, I loved Eaton depicting everyone on their phones in spite of the chaos erupting around them on the first few pages.  Hilariously (and disturbingly) true.

Captain America #16:  First, I have to say that the cover of this issue is awesome, and, as an extra bonus, accurately portrays the events inside the issue!

Moving onto the story, I thought that the revelation that the TV pundit was a robot hypnotizing America to attack Captain America was great.  (Now I know why everyone was on their phones!)  First, it's totally the type of plot that Zemo would orchestrate, thereby making it clear that it's his secret mission mentioned last issue.  Second, Cap would definitely be rocked by average citizens turning against him, so it meshes nicely with Bravo and Queen HYDRA's plan to keep him off his game.  But, adding to the intrigue, Falcon seems to think that it's not just the populace who Bravo and Queen HYDRA are manipulating, given his comments about something being wrong with Steve.  I'm intrigued where that line of inquiry goes.

Beyond the plot, though, I thought Brubaker and Bunn did a great job with Cap's supporting cast.  Over the course of this series, I've often found myself enjoying their antics more than Cap's, and this issue is no exception.  Who wouldn't read a comic dedicated to Sharon Carter, Dum Dum Dugan, and Falcon fighting bad guys?  You've got Dugan carrying around the TV-pundit's head and Sharon deploying her new wings, all with Falcon playing the straight man.  Brubaker has realized that we're not going to buy a Steve Rogers who suddenly gets jokey and risky, so he gives us the supporting cast for that.  It makes for a lot more fun.

All in all, this issue is one of the strongest of the series and I can't wait to see Sharon bring the fight to Zemo next issue.  Although I'm getting tired of the constant focus on Cap doubting himself, I can be excited about the upcoming fight with HYDRA given that I know this storyline is coming to an end.