As much as I love Ed Brubaker, one of the weaknesses of his recent "Captain America" series was that he never found the right balance when it came to Cap questioning his ideals. The series was one lament after another about the failures of the mass media and elected officials to fulfill their responsibilities to the American people. Gruenwald previously had Cap go down that road, resigning his commission and becoming the Captain. Unfortunately, Brubaker never had Cap come to any actual conclusion; it was a lot of disillusionment, not a lot of action.
Thankfully, Remender has done a much better job of connecting Cap's disillusionment to his actions. First, he has made it clear why Cap would be disillusioned in the first place: we previously had the irresponsible photo journalist dishonestly connecting him to Nuke's rampage in Nrosvekistan, and we now have Maria Hill's secretly building an enormous helicarrier (probably not for peaceful means). Moreover, Remender gives Cap a clear view on these developments, unlike the previous series, where he seems conflicted all the time. Here, Cap tells Falcon that he's previously worried about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s overreach, but always thought that they'd find their way after a period of overstepping their bounds. But, now, post-Dimension Z, you get the sense that Cap isn't in the mood to keep on forgiving. After all, he's in a period where he's pondering whether using non-lethal means is always justified, after realizing that killing Nuke would've saved hundreds of lives at the Hub. (Remender also does a particularly good job of reminding us how dodgy Hill is, something that Bendis has also been exploring in the X-books.) As a result, Remender makes the connection between the actual events and Cap's response all the clearer, explaining why we find him and the Falcon spying on S.H.I.E.L.D. in this issue.
This personal investment in the outcome fuels the issue, and it raises all sorts of questions. On one hand, you're left wondering why Cap would prevent Dr. Mindbubble from taking down S.H.I.E.L.D., given the damage that he knows that it does. Just the possibility that Cap might throw in his lot with the bad guys for the greater good is obviously enough to keep me reading. But, even beyond that, you also wonder if he'd kill Mindbubble if he thought stopping him was a good idea. By giving Cap a clear view on these issues, combined with a reassessment of his operating practices, Remender opens all sorts of possibilities that we didn't have in the previous series. Add in some good banter between Cap ad the Falcon and and you've got a good time.
*** (three of five stars)
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