Winter Soldier #19 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I really, really wanted to like this issue.  After spending most (if not all) of this arc totally lost, I was hoping that Latour would manage to pull a rabbit from his hat and arrange the pieces of this difficult puzzle so that they formed a clear image.  Unfortunately, the puzzle is still unassembled and we have no time left to finish it.

I get the Electric Ghost's desire to change her past, but the most confusing part of this issue is that she seems to simply repeating events that we've already seen, this time simply inhabiting the bodies of certain participants in those events.  If I'm mistaken and Tesla was actually changing the past, Latour never really clarifies her motivations or the consequences of her actions.  After all, if she planned on changing the past, why insist on using Hammer's body to assassinate her father?  Why not use it to ensure that Bucky doesn't kill him?  Why not go further than just preventing specific events and make sure that she and her father live happy lives in the United States?  Moreover, Latour never makes it clear why Tesla chooses the moments that she does, making this issue seem like a distorted, random series of moments.  To make matters worse, this series of moments simply comes to an abrupt end for no clear reason.  Does Bucky actually convince Tesla to stop?  Or, does the Tesseract simply stop working?  Latour again doesn't really tell us.  Finally, after the dust settles, we never learn the consequences if she did change the past.  As "Age of Ultron" shows us, killing one person in the past can have profound effects on the present, so Tesla's spree here should make something look different.  But, we never see that.  The entire world could be different, nothing could be different:  all we know is that a one-armed Bucky is just sitting on a beach drinking a beer.

My hope, at this point, is that Marvel will be using Bucky in the future, given that he'll play a key role in the upcoming sequel to the "Captain America" movie.  But, I just hope that Latour is not the person to tell that story.  As Kieron Gillen has shown in taking over the reins of "Young Avengers" from Allan Heinberg, it is possible to transition someone else's character to a new writer in a way that honors who they were but makes them even better.  We unfortunately did not see that here.  Latour seemed to understand Bucky, but the story that he told did little to tease out new aspects of his character for me, since I spent too much time just trying to figure out what the story itself was.  Bucky deserves better and hopefully he'll get it.

Winter Soldier #18 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

In all honesty, I have trouble pinpointing what Latour does to make these issues nearly unreadable.  But, unreadable they are, unfortunately.

Latour actually skirts around something interesting here, showing Tesla as a child prodigy who eventually becomes too talented for her Soviet handlers to control.  But, it's still difficult to piece together her story.  I'm still not really clear what we're supposed to believe about Van Owen in terms of his relationship with Father Hammer or why Tesla was chosen to work with Van Owen in the first place (particularly after she appeared to slaughter her classmates at that reception).  It seems weird that Father Hammer engaged in decades of effort to get Tesla where he wants her, only for him to use her as a trainer for psychopathic children and not as the theoretical physicist that he appeared to be training her to be.

You'll notice I haven't mentioned Bucky yet.  That's the other problem with this issue.  After you realize that you're not entirely sure that you understand Tesla, you realize that it's even less clear how Tesla fits into the story that Latour has been telling since he took over this series.  How does she fit into the story about the grey-haired guy?  Was the whole point of this mission to find her or is she just an unexpected surprise?  I really have no clue.  Moreover, Tesla seems to get basic things wrong about Bucky, such as believing that his bionic arm is somehow a tribute to the Black Widow.  I'm not sure if Latour is intentionally writing it so that Tesla is wrong or if he was actually trying to say something else here.  But, the fact that I don't know shows how difficult this series is to read.

The point of this tour of the illogical moments of this issue is to show that I'm really trying here.  But, Latour is giving me little.  It's like a one-sided relationship where you just keep pouring in effort and the other person barely returns your texts.  So, I think it's time for me to break off this relationship, unfortunately.  Once Latour is off this title, I'll return, but, until then, Bucky is going to have to go back into suspended animation for me.

(Update:  I just read a review that said Marvel has canceled "Winter Soldier" starting next issue.  So, I guess I'll get that one and see how Latour wraps up Tesla's story.  But, truthfully, I'm glad to hear it, since it hopefully means that he's going to appear somewhere like "Secret Avengers" and I won't be denied reading about him because I was going to skip this title.)

Winter Soldier #17 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Man, this title went downhill quick.  Seriously, I felt like I missed an issue.

I read my recap from last issue and I realized that I'm yet again left piecing together the story without a lot of faith that I'm getting it right.  After Tesla was trained in the Red Room, it seems like she was then sold to the highest bidder and it seems like her treatment at the hands of the espionage agency that hired her fueled her need for revenge.  However, I don't get why the Soviets would sell such a powerful weapon in the first place.  Moreover, her handler in the flashback sequence seems like he intended to go rogue with her, since he has his men attack Bucky.  If Bucky was simply following orders, then attacking him would be tantamount to breaking those orders.  So, it seems unlikely the handler would break the orders...and then just appear at the Red Room with Tesla as if everything was normal.  But, if he wasn't breaking orders, why have his men attack Bucky?

We also still have no idea why Latour went rogue when he did, though you'd be forgiven for forgetting that sub-plot entirely, given how much attention it's given in this issue.

Remember when I was worried that this series was going to become a series of bad episodes of "Alias?"  I unfortunately think that we're there.

Winter Soldier #16 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

The key to telling a good spy story is making sure that your reader doesn't get lost in all the twists and turns.  With all the agents and double agents and triple agents, you've got to give your readers some sort of road map so that they don't wind up wondering who's doing what when and why.  Latour unfortunately doesn't do that here, making it difficult to follow what seems to be a decent story.

If I'm piecing the pieces together correctly, Bucky killed Agent 16, Robard's lover, in 1983 while she was guarding, I believe, a doctor named Tarasova and and his daughter, Tesla.  After killing Agent 16 and Tarasova, Bucky seemingly handed over Tesla to the KGB, who sent her to the Red Room, where Black Widows was trained.  Tesla is now apparently on a mission for revenge, but, unfortunately, we don't know against whom.

The missing ingredient here is that Latour doesn't make it apparent why Bucky was after Tesla in the first place.  In fact, he refers to the incident as the Tarasova Extraction, making it unclear if he was after the doctor or Tesla.  I'm assuming that it was the latter, since it makes no sense that he would assassinate someone that he was supposed to extract.  But, why was she important to the Soviets?  Why was the doctor (and/or she) so important to S.H.I.E.L.D. that Agent 16 was guarding them?  Latour doesn't answer those questions here and it makes it somewhat difficult to follow the story as a result.

But, it also distracts from the larger issue, namely why Latour went crazy when he did.  Why did he blow 30 years of cover?  Latour keeps seeming to imply that he's done so because he's mourning Agent 16, but I don't understand why he suddenly decided to mourn her 30 years after she died.  Moreover, how long could he have known her if he met her undercover?  If he's been undercover for 30 years and she's been dead for 30 years, it seems like they would've just been ships in the night.  Moreover, if he didn't meet her undercover and went undercover after she died, why would S.H.I.E.L.D. risk sending someone with that emotional baggage undercover?  I could be wrong, but I don't think that this issue or the last one really shed light on those issues, making it all the more confusing.

The best part of this issue was actually Nick's conversation with Maria on the docks, establishing that he's essentially serving as Bucky's private handler.  It's a good use for Nick and I think that it has a lot of potential.  We'll see how it goes.

Overall, I'm hoping that the weaknesses of this issue are just growing pains.  Latour's getting somewhere here and hopefully he finds his way to it in a way that strengthens future arcs.  But, for the time being, we probably need some clarity fairly soon before this arc starts feeling like a bad episode of "Alias."

Winter Soldier #15 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

OK, so I'm clearly going to have to give Latour some time, since, as the woman who opens this issue says, "Change is scary."  But, this issue was definitely a little rough around the edges.

First, I'm not sure if I'm thrilled with the change in focus.  I liked when Bucky was working with SHILED to wrap up loose ends from his Winter Soldier days.  I'm less thrilled with him engaging in some sort of "My Name is Earl" adventure where he tries to atone for his past.  It's a subtle difference, but Latour specifically makes it here.  In the former case, Bucky was killing bad guys that he knew existed from his Winter Soldier days.  Now, he's approaching people that he's wronged (like Leo, more or less) so that they don't come after him.  I sort of get that, but I'm not sure how realistic that is.  I mean, did he really think that the Croatian general was going to tearfully accept his apology for murdering his brothers and putting down his coup?

(Also, Latour probably should've spent some time on Wikipedia before writing this segment.  You really can't be fascist and communist.  They're on opposite sides of the spectrum.  Moreover, I'm pretty sure that the Soviets weren't occupying Croatia in 1977; Croatia was part of Yugoslavia then and I'm pretty sure that Tito had broken with the Soviets years earlier.)

But, the issue also suffers from some clunky smaller moments.  Latour portrays Nick Fury as incredibly grammatically challenged, uttering a whole lot of "don't"s and "ya"s in a short period of time.  Fury certainly speaks in contractions and colloquialisms, but Latour's attempt to convey his folksy charm (if you will) is distracting at times, making it difficult to understand what he's saying.  Moreover, even Klein (or possibly the letterer) has weird moments here, where Bucky's lenses have "Mapping..." emblazoned across them.  It's weird because either the lettering should be reversed (so that Bucky could read them) or Bucky for some reason wants his enemies to know what he's doing.  Plus, the Hydra brass knuckles?  Don't get me started.

So, I wasn't thrilled.  But, we'll see where it goes, I guess.  Color me worried.

Winter Soldier #14 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Since the moment Leo erased Natasha's memories of Bucky, I've had the sinking suspicion that Brubaker wouldn't have them returned.  As Bucky himself says here, it seemed like the only obvious lasting effect of Leo's attack on Bucky and the United States, a better result for him than simply unleashing a radiological attack on Washington, DC.  But, when the moment comes, it's as devastating as it is fascinating.

This series has really been "Winter Soldier and Black Widow."  Since the first days of Bucky's resurrection, Natasha has been right by his side.  Brubaker now leaves Bucky alone, without a support network, more on the brink than he's ever been.  It seems to set the stage for this series to deliver on its premise, of Bucky taking care of the problems that can't be solved by people like Captain America.  Without Natasha, he becomes all the more of a ghost now.  If Latour does his job, we'll see Bucky struggling to handle the pressure of that reality, something that Brubaker at least hints here he won't be able to do all that well.

It's hard to see Brubaker leave.  Although the most recent volume of "Captain America" dragged, feeling mostly like material recycled from previous stories, this series has always been fresh.  As Brubaker says himself at the end here, I don't think that I'd have believed you eight years ago if you'd tell me that I would not only accept Bucky's resurrection, but find him becoming one of my favorite characters.  But, here we are.  So, thanks, Ed, for creating such a great character and setting us on such firm footing here.  As Latour probably knows, he has enormous shoes to fill.

Winter Solider #13 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue is mostly interesting as an excellent example of Brubaker's ear for dialogue and his amazing use of it as a way to make you feel like you're a fly on the wall.  Bucky, Cap, Daredevil, Hawkeye, Wolverine:  we're talking about some of the more iconic Marvel characters.  But, Brubaker throws them all together here in a way that feels fresh, showing how their fraying nerves are bringing out their worst traits as they get increasingly desperate in their search for the Black Widow.  In terms of the action, however, we don't really see the plot advance all that much, since I'm pretty sure that no one expected Bucky to kill Daredevil.  So, I'm now just left eagerly awaiting the denouement in Brubaker's final issue.  Nervous, I am.

Winter Soldier #12 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

God, Brubaker just keeps getting better and better on this title.  This issue is tense from the first page and propels you through it with nervous energy.  Brubaker does an amazing job showing this mission spiraling completely out of control, with Bucky agreeing to Leo's demand that he undergo brainwashing to revert to his Winter Soldier persona and assassinate Daredevil.  You can feel Cap and Maria Hill's frustration as the scenario goes from bad to worse and it just starts seeming harder and harder to imagine how Bucky and Natasha are going to exist this arc without scars.  The good news is that Brubaker makes it pretty clear that Leo's attempt to erase Natasha's love for Bucky didn't work and that Bucky is operating somewhere under his Winter Soldier persona.  But, given Brubaker's masterful construction of the story here, it's hard to see how Bucky's going to be able to turn the tables on Leo, given how complete his control over the "game" has been so far.  On a side note, it's also interesting that Bucky is now revealed as alive to Daredevil, increasing the again the number of people who are aware that he's alive.  It's unclear if it's part of Leo's plan or just a side benefit.  All in all, it's an excellent issue, from start to finish.

Winter Soldier #11 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I'm frustrated with Brubaker, because I just want to see Bucky beat Leo into a bloody pulp!  But, obviously, it's a good kind of frustrated, showing how emotionally invested I am in this series and these characters.  Needless to say, an issue with Hawkeye and the Winter Soldier is all win for me.  Brubaker gives them a great dynamic, with Hawkeye unconditionally having Bucky's back but cautioning him to try to keep a grip.  He's essentially the friend that tells you that it's a bad idea to steal that car, but then comes with you to make sure you don't get hurt in the process.  Bucky, meanwhile, continues to be played by Leo, forced to do his best to read Leo's signs while knowing all along that he's still just playing Leo's game.  Brubaker does a great job of showing Bucky's increased recklessness, like crashing the helicopter into the secret location infiltrated by A.I.M.  After all, if Hawkeye thinks you're reckless, you're probably pretty reckless.  Leo himself continues to be super-creepy, trying to get Natasha to love him just like she did Bucky.  It appears that, next issue, Leo is going to try to convince Bucky to revert to his Winter Soldier programming to complete a mission for Leo, an offer that he'll likely have to accept.  But, as always, I have no idea what that means or where it's going to go.  In other words, it was another riveting installment of this series.

New Comics!: The Captain America Edition #2 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain America #17:  For the last few months (actually, probably years at this point), Brubaker has been portraying an America made increasingly more violent by fringe elements promoting their agendas.  He's done it skillfully, like Bucky's encounter with the fake Cap from "Captain America" #602-#605, and less skillfully, like the Madbomb issues a few issues ago.  In the former case, he uses the extremism of the antagonist to show how Captain America stands against using violence to express political opinions.  Mark Gruenwald used similar themes on his run on "Captain America," and Brubaker adroitly updated them for an even more divided age.  In the latter case, however, he used such extremism as a convenient way to put Cap in a difficult position, rather than really as a way to explore more philosophical themes, if you will.  Here, it devolves into a lecture when the whole issues goes "after-school special" pretty quickly.  It's hard to believe that Cap would be unable to conceptualize that people might be angry but that HYDRA is the one causing them to express that anger through violence.  In other words, I might be against animal testing, but I'm not going to shoot anyone over it.  I think Cap gets that, no matter how disillusioned he's become.  As such, it's hard to believe his scene with Sam here; in fact, it's getting almost impossible to believe his disillusionment writ large.  Although it was interesting in the beginning, I think that it's time for Brubaker to end this practice of having ordinary people attack Cap because of psychological manipulation and focus more on Cap trying to stop bad guys from doing bad things.  Also, I'm particularly hoping that these stories do not involve Diamondback, if the Diamondback that we're going to get is merely there as a romantic rival to Sharon.  Brubaker generally writes strong female characters, but I really wish we could see Rachel and Sharon just, I don't know, work together and not immediately become the "Real Housewives of S.H.I.E.L.D."  This issue was a really rare miss for Brubaker. 

Captain America and Black Widow #636:  I mentioned in my review of the most recent issue of "Captain America" that I'm over the "extremists fuel Cap's disillusionment with America" plot.  Similarly, I mentioned in my review of the most recent issues of the "Secret Avengers" that I'm over the whole Shadow Council business.  At risk of being repetitive, I am really, really over Kashmir Venema.

I'm not entirely sure why authors lately have found themselves so enamored with these sorts of long-brewing plots.  Although I understand, theoretically, the allure of such a plot in narrative terms, I can't think of any comic book that really successfully pulled off one without ultimately annoying the reader.  I'm thinking about two 1990s storylines in particular, namely the Clone Saga in the various Spider-Man titles or the Gatherers in the "Avengers."  Both storylines spanned years and suffered from constantly changing creative direction, leaving you with the distinct sense that the creative teams didn't know where they were going with the story from the start and kept writing themselves into corners.  (In case you haven't read it yet, the "Life of Reilly" blog in my blog roll goes to great lengths to show how true that was in terms of the Clone Saga.)

In this issue, we learn that Kashmir Vennema isn't just a weapons dealer working for a shadowy organization that has yet to be revealed.  Instead, she's a weapons dealer working for a shadowy organization that has yet to be revealed who appears to work ACROSS DIMENSIONS.  Does that feel like a Captain America plot to you?  Yeah, me neither.

Kashmir is the type of character who would work better at playing a Baron Zemo role, appearing every once in a while to frustrate Cap, but not really posing such a threat that she needed to be eliminated once and for all.  Instead, she suddenly becomes some sort of weapons-dealing Kang.  I don't think that Bunn really does anything here that leaves you thinking that his plan all along was to reveal the cross-dimensional aspect of Kashmir.  Instead, it feels like he's having problems jumping from one arc to another, so he's using a common antagonist for as long as he can until he can't develop any more stories involving her.

It's time to put this Kashmir business behind us.  I'm starting to feel like this series would be better if it rotated writers for each arc, letting it feel more like the team-up book that it's supposed to be rather than an odd companion series to the main title.

Winter Soldier #10:  NOT SITWELL!  Damn it.  I mean, as I said last issue, I was pretty sure that Sitwell was going to die here, but it doesn't make me any less upset.  I'm upset for him (obviously), but I'm also upset for Natasha, because, as Bucky says here, she's going to hate herself when she returns to herself.  But, I'm most worried about the idea that Natasha won't remember her relationship with James.  For most authors, it would be an idle threat, but, with Brubaker, you never know.

Beyond the emotions related to Sitwell's death, Brubaker does great stuff here in terms of the appearance of Cap, Hawkeye, and Wolverine.  Bucky's conversation with Steve about feeling helpless at the loss of Natasha (similar to what Steve felt when he lost Bucky) was poignant, and I'm thrilled to see members of the New Avengers discover that Bucky isn't dead.  (OK, sure, Logan kind of ruined the moment a little, but, whatever.)  Brubaker has keyed up the emotions behind her abduction so well that I feel like the next few issues are going to be explosive as Bucky (and the reader) hunts for Natasha and seeks revenge on Leo.  If I'm excited to see Leo get his ass handed to him, I can only imagine how Bucky feels.  As Clint said, let's go get our girl back.

New Comics!: The Captain America Edition #1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain America and Namor #635.1:  This issue is odd.  Given that this title started as essentially one prolonged .1 issue, detailing the war-time stories of Captain America and Bucky, the whole concept of a .1 issue for it seems bizarre.  But, beyond that, this story covers ground that we've recent covered elsewhere in similar books.  The Thule Society was a major part of "Fear Itself" and the whole "secret society working to a mysterious end" business has been the subject of "Secret Avengers" for the better part of its existence.  Therefore, even though the Covenant isn't the same thing as the Shadow Council from "Secret Avengers," this issue feels like the red-headed step-child produced from a marriage of that title with "Fear Itself."  If you couldn't tell, I don't mean that as a compliment.  Bunn tries to give us a meditation on Cap and Namor's early relationship, but it gets lost in the noise related to whatever scheme exactly Namor prevents the Thule Society from putting into effect here.  Unfortunately, since it's a .1 issue, it's clear that we haven't heard the last of the Covenant.  Maybe it's time to cancel this title...

Hawkeye #2:  As anyone reading this blog for a while knows, I'm a huge "Young Avengers" fan.  As such, I could hardly keep from squealing when I saw Kate Bishop hanging in Clint Barton's kitchen.  (I was also thrilled to see Lucky, who seems like he's getting a hang of important canine responsibilities like lounging around the place.)  Fraction immediately develops an engaging dynamic between Clint and Kate.  It definitely has some mild sexual tension (accentuated by Kate's leading comment on Clint's remark that he's not interested in dating her), but it's mostly fueled by a lot of mutual respect and an easy sense of humor about their different backgrounds.  In other words, I think that she'll prove to be an excellent foil for Hawkeye.

As in the first issue, Fraction also excels in using small moments to show characterization.  I loved Clint talking to his spilled coffee like it's a real person, because it displays the goofiness about Clint that he tried to hide underneath his cool exterior (or, at least, his concept of a cool exterior).  Similarly, his flustered attempt at explaining to Kate that he always screws up his romantic relationships shows a vulnerability that we don't often see from Clint.  In fact, unfortunately, most authors show Clint's driving motivation as insecurity.  Those stories never feel right to me, because an ordinary guy who manages to hold his own among a team of super-powered heroes isn't a guy who wastes a lot of time feeling insecure.  The best stories about Clint are the ones that instead focus on his vulnerability, where he's occasionally hijacked by his emotions, be it saving a dog from gangsters or buying a building for his neighbors.  Fraction really gets that and it's why he's showing us the most engaging Clint that I've seen in ages.

I'm intrigued by where Fraction is going with the revelation that this series may have a thread that runs through it.  He seems to be showing Hawkeye building some sort of international enemy list.  Given the details that we see on the last page, it seems like Clint has been collecting information on a lot of criminal activity for some time.  However, Fraction leaves it unclear how Clint got that intelligence.  In this issue alone, he occasionally glides over some important details, like how Clint connected the hobo signs that signified that something bad was going to happen imminently with the opening of the new hotel that hosted as a gathering of the criminal underworld.  If we're going to have these "Winter Soldier with a laugh track" kind of stories (and I support that approach entirely), we're going to need to know how exactly Hawk is getting his information, if the "Winter Soldier" part is going to be just as strong as the "laugh track" part.  Fraction seems to want us to believe that Hawk just put two plus two together all by himself, but I didn't see anything that would've led him to connect the hobo signs to the hotel opening.  He might've been lucky this time, but he's not going to be lucky every time.  (Plus, doesn't it seem crazy that the crime circus would try to rob from powerful criminals?  I thought that they were going to rob from a collection of rich people, an occurrence seems to happen weekly in places like Gotham.  But, why would you rob the Kingpin?  Fraction probably should've clarified that, and whether this event tied into his overarching plan.)  In these early days, the charm and wit are certainly more important as Fraction establishes a tempo for the series, but it can only last so long.

Now, the art.  Aja is amazing here.  We again get a goofy and handsome Clint, conveyed in spectacular detail made all the more amazing by Aja's sparse lines.  Hollingsworth gets a lot of credit for that, particularly since he's somehow managed to make the yellow of Hawkeye's hair distinctive to him alone.  But, both Aja and Hollingsworth also puts time and effort into different elements, like showing the different positions of Kate's mouth over the course of several panels as she talks to Clint.  It was a totally unnecessary sequences, but one that made you realize that you were reading something special.  Aja also has an amazing sense of kinetics:  I don't think that I've ever seen a better action sequence than the three panels where Hawkeye grabs Kate, she turns in his grip to fire off an arrow, and then they leap through the window.  Amazing stuff.

All in all, another strong issue that's a joy to read, just because it's the Hawkeye that I've always wanted to see but rarely got.  I'm in for the long haul.

Secret Avengers #30:  I'll admit that the art saved this issue for me.  In the moments where I just couldn't read anymore about the Crown of This or the Crown of That or where I wondered just how many negotiations books Taskmaster had bought in "Business" sections at airport bookstores, I was at least able to think, "Ooo, pretty."  Writing-wise, though, it's a pretty unremarkable issue.  We learn that the crowns merge together into some sort of mega-crown, but Remender doesn't tell us why the merged crown would be more powerful than the individual crows; in fact, I'm not sure that we entirely know what the crowns themselves actually do or why each one is different from the other ones.  Also, somewhat predictably, Max Fury is unable to use the mega-crown since, presumably, he doesn't have a soul, so it falls to Taskmaster to serve as the near-god.  But, again, despite Max and Taskmaster talking about the Abyss coming to Earth, we still don't really know what it is or why the crowns gain one access to it.  Honestly?  After 30 issues, I can't say I care anymore about this plot line that I did when it was first introduced, even if the names and faces on both sides of the fight have changed.

Winter Soldier #9:  Holy crap.  I was on the edge of my seat for most of this issue.  During Natasha's fight with Sitwell, I was really worried that he would wind up dead!  So, then, I was relieved when James saved him by "freeing" Natasha.  But, now, I'm worried all over again, since it appears that Natasha is on a rampage on the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier!  (The cover of the next issue showing Bucky standing over a sheet-draped corpse doesn't help.)  This fear shows how well Brubaker has done in constructing Sitwell's character piece-by-piece, building off the conversation that he had with Bucky in the diner last issue.  He could be just focusing on Bucky and Natasha, but he's taken the time to make Sitwell into a character in his own right, and it's a better book for it.

Looking at the issue as a whole, Brubaker does a great job of building this tension by not just hurling us into the action, but starting by showing us Bucky impatiently waiting for the next clue that would send them to Leo and Natasha.  You get the sense throughout the issue that Bucky and Sitwell are just barely able to keep pace with Leo, a definite problem since it's also clear that Leo is merely playing with them.  When he actually gets serious, it's going to be plenty ugly, something that it seems like we're going to see next issue.  Finally, in terms of the art, Lark and Breitweiser deliver another beautiful book.  Bucky is intense and sexy as always, and the scene of him taking off his mask and reminding Natasha of who he is beautifully drawn.  They also manage to hold that emotion when they show a "freed" Natasha resting her head on James' shoulder.  You can actually see the relief on his face; I don't know how they did it, but, man, I just hope they never leave this title ever.

New Comics!: The Winter Soldier Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Winter Soldier #7:  As usual, Brubaker takes us on a brisk, action-packed ride from the opening scenes to the last page, with rogue Soviet agent Leo managing to take a former Red Room psychologist and the Black Widow captive in the span of the issue.  I liked how Brubaker has Bucky note that he and Natasha were walking into a trap when they decided to confront Leo, making it clear that they were doing so because they didn't really have any better options.  More so than any other comic, this title just constantly finds its protagonists thrown into situations with limited information and trying to make the best choices that they can.  It's what makes it more exciting, because they're not idiots bumbling into a situation without thinking, but professionals who know that sometimes you don't have the luxury of knowing what you're doing.  Brubaker really got that theme across well here, which explains why Natasha found herself flat-footed against Leo.  It still seems a bit of a stretch that Natasha would be so succeptible to a sneak attack, but I guess that you have to believe that even the good guys occasional have an off-moment. 

Winter Soldier #8:  OK, Brubaker picks up the point from my review of issue #7 right away, showing how Leo's Red Room training enabled him to know exactly how another Red Room operative, namely the Black Widow, would approach a situation, allowing him to get the jump on her.  The rest of the issue is dedicated to Bucky and Agent Sitwell kicking themselves for losing her and trying desperately to find her.  I thought that the best part of this issue was Brubaker taking the time to build a relationship between Bucky and Sitwell.  Brubaker has hinted that Sitwell has more to him than your average S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent #2,068, but he hasn't really explored that line of inquiry.  Here, Sitwell reminds Bucky that he's worked with Natasha for a long time and, after he establishes that he's not in love with her, the two bond over the sense of loss.  Lark and his team do a great job in the panels where Bucky considers this overture and decides to let down his walls.  It really telegraphs the anxiety that he's facing and the difficulty that he has in trusting people.  Of course, he and Sitwell have good reason to be anxious, given that Leo has used Comrade Professor from last issue to brainwash Natasha to her old programming.  Although she doesn't fight Bucky, as the cover of this issue would suggest (pet peeve #2), she does resume her previous career as a ballerina, presumably to draw out Bucky in a pretty spectacular fashion.  Normally, this sort of machination would seem over-the-top, in a 1960s "Batman" TV series kind of way, but Brubaker sells it, given that he's established that Leo is trying to do as much psychological damage to Bucky as possible.  I guess that we'll see how successful he is next issue.

New Comics!: The Captain America Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

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.

New Comics!: The Sidekick Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

In putting together this review, I realized that my love for the below series is an obvious testament to my sidekick fetish.  All three characters are essentially the grittier version of their more famous counter-part.  This reality obviously lends itself to darker stories, allowing Captain America and Spider-Man to keep the high road as the Scarlet Spider, Venom, and the Winter Solider get the dirty work.  Maybe not surprisingly, in all three cases, I am enjoying their series far more than I'm enjoying their counter-parts', which is saying a lot, since I love "Amazing Spider-Man" and "Captain America."

Scarlet Spider #5:  This issue is a decent stand-alone story, featuring the Scarlet Spider and Officer Layton trying to find a nuclear bomb set by the Watchdogs to detonate in Houston.  Now, it's pretty clear that the bomb isn't going to destroy Houston (though I think some people would argue that Yost is sufficiently blood-thirsty to make it a possibility), so the real focus of the story is Layton pushing Kaine to be the hero that he isn't quite sure that he can be.  Kaine keeps trying to gather up the other members of his supporting cast (Annabelle, Aracelly, and Donald) and leave town before the bomb explodes, and Layton keeps reminding him of his duty to the people of Houston to find (and disarm) the bomb.  It's not the best issue of this young series, particularly since we don't have Stegman's amazing pencils to polish over some of the awkward plot moments.  But, it's a totally fine one.  I particularly enjoyed Kaine and Layton's banter, with Layton keeping Kaine on the high road for most of the issue, but Kaine welcoming Layton to the low road when it comes time to open fire from the Watchdogs.  It's that sort of "we're the good guys, but, you know, occasionally you have to shoot at the bad guys" vibe that really helps keep this series distinct from "Amazing Spider-Man."  However, two things completely overshadowed the issue for me, and they both happened in the same panel.  First, when the %&*# did Daisy Johnson become the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.?  Second, when the %&*# did Nick Fury become African-American?  Are we really turning him into Samuel L. Jackson?  I will be really, really pissed if we're turning him into Samuel L. Jackson.  On a more positive note, I liked that Yost resurrected the Watchdogs.  They were always a more or less vaguely white-supremacist group during the Gruenwald era of "Captain America," and I think updating them as a group attacking "abortion clinics, homosexuals, [and] pornographers" is a realistic evolution.  They always served a useful niche in the Marvel Universe, giving Cap a more street-level enemy to fight, since they weren't seeking some form of world domination like A.I.M. or HYDRA.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  I am thrilled to see some of the elements of Gruenwald's run on "Captain America" appear almost everywhere lately.  But, seriously, WTF with Daisy and Nick?  I'm hoping it's just an error on Yost's part, though I fear it's not.

Venom #16:  With the sucktastic "Circle of Four" behind us, Remender returns to form in this issue, giving us another story where Flash is forced to make heroic compromises that generally let the bad guys win.  He spends the issue trying to keep alive the Human Fly, who he's escorting to the Raft, by fending off Hobgoblin, who's trying to collect on a debt that the Fly owes the Kingpin (by killing him).  But, in the end, he lets the Human Fly escape to save a guard.  Although he doesn't really have a choice (of course he's going to save the guard), his decision is made easier in part because he believes that the Fly is going to go save his son from the Kingpin.  But, of course, the Fly doesn't have a son, as we learn in the end.  It's exactly that sort of twist that gives this series its edge.  It's starting to remind me of the dark periods of Peter's career in the early 200s of "Amazing Spider-Man," where he's seemingly constantly sacrificing his personal life due to his superhero career (from the death of Gwen Stacy to his departure from graduate school).  "Venom" lately has that same vibe, highlighting the sacrifices that Flash is forced to make over and over again with little to show for it.  I mean, he at least started the issue with the Human Fly under lock and key; he doesn't even get to finish the issue that way.  Turning to the Hobgoblin, I didn't realize that we were dealing with Phil Urich when I saw the cover, assuming instead that it was Jack O'Lantern.  Phil was a welcome addition to "Venom," since his special brand of crazy works well with Flash's unpredictable moments of violence.  I mean, let's face it, Spidey might have to control himself not to go totally bad-ass on Phil when he's haranguing him, but Flash doesn't exactly have the same restriction.  At any moment, I was just waiting for Flash to rip off his head, and it's that sort of tension that really drives "Venom."  Plus, as the cover itself beautifully illustrates, the addition of Phil creates a three-step dance that keeps the issue moving at a brisk pace, since you're never really sure who's going to be fighting who in the next panel.  It's these sort of unexpected developments and unsatisfying endings that make this title one of the best ones that Marvel is publishing.

Venom #17:  We all knew Flash's "truce" with Crime-Master wasn't going to last, and we see it fall spectacularly apart this issue.  Since the start of this series, I've wondered how Flash was going to resolve this particular problem and, as we see here, Remender makes sure that it's not as easy as Flash hoped that it would be.  As I mentioned in my review of last issue, one of the things that makes "Venom" great is the fact that Flash is often forced into difficult decisions that really don't wind up having happy endings.  He doesn't get the clear choices that heroes like Spider-Man seem to get.  Here, he decides to take out Crime-Master and Jack O'Lantern, since they know his secret identity.  Let's be honest:  it's not exactly a bad decision.  Flash wrestles with it, because super-heroes don't exactly assassinate people.  However, soldiers often do, and Remender does a great job playing up those competing moral codes, similar to the work Yost is doing with Kaine in "Scarlet Spider."  Office Layton may want to keep Kaine on the high road, but he's also a police officer who knows that deadly force is occasionally necessary (like when extremist groups are shotting at you).  Along those lines, it's hard to blame Flash for his decision here.  I mean, on one hand, I almost wish that he had taken up Hobgoblin's offer last issue to help take down Crime-Master, the Human Fly, and Jack O'Lantern.  As Hobgoblin implied, it's not like the world would be a worse place without them, and it would certainly help Flash.  But, it's this sort of slippery slope that Flash knows doesn't lead to great places.  In the end, though, he feels that he doesn't have a choice, and tries to take out Crime-Master.  Similar to the work Brubaker has done in "Captain America," showing him slowly buckling under the pressure of being the country's top cop, Remender has done a great job here of showing how isolated Flash feels and how that isolation drove his decision, leaving him unable to call in the Avengers for assistance.  In fact, Flash feels that the only way that he can stay an Avenger is to take out Crime-Master and Jack O'Lantern without them knowing.  In other words, he can't ask for help with his problem from his friends, because he only gets to keep his friends if he solves the problem.  It's this conundrum that really shows the tragedy that Flash's life has become, and you can feel the noose tightening around him each issue.  Moreover, in his flight, Flash leaves someone (Eddie Brock) behind, a decision that's going to cost him pretty dearly, I'm sure, in future episodes.  It reminds me of the "American Dad!" hurricane episode, where Francine tells Stan that he's bad in a crisis, and every seemingly good idea that he has makes everything worse.  Flash lives that reality, and I'm guessing the Savage Six isn't going to make it easier on him.

Venom #18:  OMG, yay!  I know, given the way things have been going for Flash, that revealing his identity to Betty isn't necessarily going to work out well.  In fact, given the way things have been going, it'll probably work out the opposite of well.  But, I'm going to enjoy this period of hoping that it actually means that Flash is going to get the support that he needs and stop being so isolated from the people who can help him.  It also really kicks this story up a notch, making me wonder where it's all leading.  I mean, I just don't see how this series can end without Crime-Master and Jack O'Lantern dead.  Plus, even if Flash does wind up killing them, I doubt that Crime-Master hasn't planned for Flash to kill him, leading me to believe that he'll have passed on the information about Flash's secret identity to someone.  But, I'm getting ahead of myself.  For now, I'm just going to hope for the best, before Remender dashes those hopes!

Winter Soldier #5:  As usual with Brubaker, I now have to go re-read the first four issues of this arc to fully appreciate how brilliant it was.  For example, I hadn't noticed that we hadn't identified the whereabouts of the third sleeper agent or that Colonel Rostov had managed to escape Bucky and S.H.I.E.L.D.  But, even looking just at this issue, I can't say enough times how impressed with this arc I am.  Brubaker brings it all together here, giving us the Doom/Von Bardas smack down that we all hoped would happen and the Bucky/Dmitri grudge match that we all knew was inevitable.  I liked how Brubaker lingers on the aftermath of the Bucky/Dmitri fight, reminding us the long road, emotionally, that Bucky has ahead of him as he tries to right the wrongs from his past.  But, he also gives Bucky a win, if you will, allowing him to take down Colonel Rostov, bringing him at least some sense of closure.  Of course, lest things get too heavy, Brubaker also treats us to the amazing verbal sparring of Doom and Fury, when it seems entirely possible that Fury will endanger the entire mission just to land a punch on Doom.  Brubaker so totally nails the characterizations of both characters -- the arrogance and egotism that they both embody -- that it makes me hope that he one day writes a mini-series that winds up forcing the two of them to work together.  All in all, this first arc of this new series gives us everything I hoped we would see, from great fight scenes to intriguing plot twists to nuanced character development.  Bucky might be a street-level hero, but Brubaker manages to make him trying to prevent a crazy cyborg from launching nuclear missiles like something totally within his wheelhouse.  Needless to say, I can't wait to see where we go from here.

New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Uncanny X-Men #10:  I really, really want to like this series, but I really, really don't.  First, I have to say that I'm occasionally a bit at a loss when it comes to stories involving Abigail Brand and S.W.O.R.D.  I don't collect "Astonishing X-Men," so I missed a lot of her initial appearances during the "Breakworld" saga.  It's mostly not a big deal, since I get that S.W.O.R.D.'s goal is to protect Earth from alien invasions and, most of the time, I don't really need to understand more than that.  But, I feel like Gillen clearly thinks I should know more about Unit than I do, which is a problem given that I have trouble understanding his schtick.  He wants to unify the Universe by...controlling it?  Maybe?  For course, I'm not really sure that I'd care even if Gillen explained Unit and his M.O. better.  I've found these issues to be incredibly boring.  The problem with these all-powerful villains is that it's remarkably dull to watch them simply defeat everyone.  I mean, we don't even get to see the X-Men struggle against Unit, trying to find a way to beat him, despite his belief that he's unbeatable.  He simply just immediately beats them.  When they do eventually defeat Unit, I fear that it seems destined to feel forced, given that Gillen has gone to such lengths to prove that Unit is unbeatable.  I think that Gillen is trying to use Unit to show that Cyclops' previous decisions are starting to haunt him -- Brand blackmailing him over X-Force, Emma implying that his commitment to the cause is hurting their relationship -- but I spent so much of this issue skimming Unit's monologues that I can't say I really focused on the finer points. Also, on a smaller note, I'm not really sure what happened with Colossus here.  He doesn't really do anything all that dangerous -- he simply gets hijacked by Unit and then thrown into orbit -- but suddenly decides that he has to be imprisoned for his and his friends' safety.  WTF?  Unless something major happens in "Avengers vs. X-Men," I'm definitely canceling this title.

Winter Soldier #4:  Brubaker sticks with a pretty familiar fomrula in this issue.  He spends the first third showing Bucky and Natasha trying to get more information on whatever plot it is that Von Bardas and Kragoff have set in motion this time, the middle third showing them trying to foil said plot, and the final third revealing that the plot Von Bardas and Kragoff really were advancing.  It makes for a great issue, because you get to watch Bucky and Natasha do what they do best -- gather information and then kick ass -- and then learn that they're several more steps behind Von Bardas and Kragoff than they think they are.  I feel like Brubaker has done a masterful job with this formula, because every new reveal not only thickens the plot but does so in a believable way.  At the end of each issue, I feel like Von Bardas and Kragoff's next step is a logical progression from their previous one, rather than a convenient development with little evidence supporting it.  For example, we ended last issue thinking Doom was going to blow up the United Nations, but here we learn that this plot was only a ruse to distract Bucky and Doom from realizing that they were actually after Doom's nuclear weapons in Latveria.  But, Brubaker also makes the issue fun, not just suspensful.  I loved Bucky's banter with Doom.  Bucky clearly knows that he's outclassed power-wise, but he's always been a cocky son-of-a-bitch, and he gives as good as he gets.  I particularly enjoyed him telling Doom that he wasn't allowed to be stashing weapons on U.S. soil.  Doom dismissed him, but Bucky kept at it.  It would be easy for this book to be totally overwhelmed by Doom, but Brubaker does his best to keep Bucky in the mix.  I'm looking forward to future arcs that focus on a little less complicated plot, freeing up some space for Brubaker to pay more attention on Bucky and Natasha, particularly a story where they don't have the resources of Nick Fury to accomplish their mission.  But, for an introductory arc, this one has been great, setting up the structure that we're going to see in future issues, giving us an iconic villain at the center of an intriguing (and well-scripted) plot, and keeping it fun along the way.  I'm starting to wish Brubaker wrote Cap this well!

New Comics!: The Captain America Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain America #9:  Sharon Carter is a serious badass.  For reasons that I fail to understand, however, she's often dismissed as little more than Cap's girlfriend.  For example, I was confused why Sharon had to leave the Secret Avengers when Cap left.  Was she only a valid member so long as she was there alongside Steve Rogers?  Hadn't she proven that she could hold her own on the team?  She's often, even by Brubaker, reduced to the traditional female role of getting captured so that a concerned Captain America can come rescue her.  The cover of this issue even seems to imply that, with Sharon looking seriously threatened while surrounded by mocking images of the Machinesmith.  Thankfully, however, Brubaker lets Sharon be the badass we all know she is, showing not only her ability to go one-on-one with the entire Quincarrier arsenal, which Machinesmith had at his disposal, but also to devise a clever plan that traps Machinesmith into telling her what she needed to know.  I hope it's a sign that we're going to see more of this "agent in control" Sharon and less of the "damsel in distress" Sharon.

Interestingly, though, thinking about Sharon got me thinking about Cap and his current situation.  Unlike pretty much everyone else around her, Sharon doesn't have any special abilities or powers.  She's just a regular Virginia girl who happens to be a trained S.H.I.E.L.D. operative.  She doesn't have the Infinity Formula or the Super-Soldier Serum or any other formula coursing through her veins.  But, she's out there.  Conversely, Steve, when stripped of his Super-Soldier Serum, is reduced totally to the sidelines.  Brubaker is trapped in this regard by Simon's origin story for Cap, that he was a 98-pound weakling who volunteered to get the Super-Soldier Serum exactly because he was stuck on the sidelines.  It's a story particularly housed in the Second World War era, where any able man was assumed to be willing to go fight for his country.  As such, during that era, Simon was clearly forced to take the totally acceptable literary license and make Cap so weak that he couldn't fight in the War, which also conveniently made the change into who he becomes thanks to the Super-Soldier Serum all the more dramatic.  Today, though, it's a little awkward.  Beyond the fact that Cap basically got his powers from steroids, artists generally struggle, and fail, to keep him from looking like a Holocaust victim; Davis is no different here.  By making the dichotomy so great, though, we lose the opportunity to see Cap fighting without his Super-Soldier Serum.  As a 98-pound weakling, he looks like he can barely hold up his head, let alone try to do what Sharon accomplishes here.

It winds up being an interesting dichotomy on gender roles:  Cap had to be a 98-pound weakling in order to be forced onto the sidelines, and Sharon has to be as capable as she is to finally get off the sidelines.  Had Cap been, say, a 150-pound weakling, we might've been able to see him strap on a gun and say, "Screw the Secret-Soldier Serum, let's take down Bravo."  But, again, he instead had to be justifiably emasculated, to Holocaust-victim proportions, to prevent that from happening.  Even Brubaker can't write around it, because, to ret-con him to a 150-pound weakling, would leave open the question why he didn't get into the Second World War under normal circumstances.  It would essentially indirectly question his patriotism.

So, Cap is stuck on the sidelines and Sharon fights to get off them.  Cap is the man in distress and Sharon gets to save him.  It's like 60 years of gender relations in one issue.

Winter Soldier #3:  As usual with Brubaker, he manages to give us enough information to move along the plot but still keep us guessing.  Also, as usual, I had to re-read the first two issues of this arc to remember all the details.  I haven't been thrilled with Brubaker's work on "Captain America," but this series so far is the Brubaker I know and love.  Maybe he's just better writing Bucky than he is Steve.  Regardless, he's really telling an exciting spy story, exactly the type of story I hoped he'd tell in this series.  In particular, the introduction of the Doombot is genius.  Pretending to assassinate Doom so you can blow up the U.N. with a Doombot and make him claim credit since he's too egotistical to admit he lost control of it?  Genius.  Genius, on the part of Lucia Van Bardas, who Brubaker shows is a force with which to be reckoned, and genius on the part of Brubaker, for understanding Doom well enough to know it's exactly what he would do.  Moreover, Guice and Breitweiser combine to make the art amazing, a creepy blend of pencils, inks, and colors that vividly conveys the shadowy world in which Bucky and Natasha are operating.  I'm really loving this series so far.  I mean, how ballsy was it to start with Dr. Doom?  I can see a future where I'm not getting "Captain America," but I'm getting this series.

New Comics!: The Avengers Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Avengers #22:  OMG, finallly.  I did not hate this issue.  Hurrah!  Bendis does two things here well:

First, he does what I think he wanted to do with the "Avengers" and "New Avengers" annuals, but didn't quite manage:  namely, present a philosophical discussion about the Avengers and the consequences of their actions.  I thought the White House conversation that starts this issue really got this point across, with the President's advisor noting that Norman Osborn didn't really do anything different than Tony Stark ever did, from a legal standpoint.  Of course, a difference exists, practically.  Both the Avengers and the Dark Avengers work (or worked) for the U.S. government.  However, after the events of "Siege," the U.S. government pulled its support for the activities of the Dark Avengers, leading to Osborn being charged (though, as we establish here, never tried) with insubordination and treason.  Converesely, the U.S. government hasn't, at least yet, pulled its support of the Avengers.  As such, ipso facto, the Avengers maintain the sanction of the U.S. government.  Even if the team does something the government doesn't want them to do (or even explicitly told them not to do), the fact that the U.S. government doesn't punish the Avengers for their actions amounts to tacit approval.  The President's advisor essentially admits as much, noting that the government lets the Avengers do what they want because they have the support of the public.  As such, Bendis highlights what he's been trying to do with this H.A.M.M.E.R. war, getting Osborn to shake the public's support of the Avengers and thereby putting pressure on the government to yank its sanction of the team.  The problem, thusfar, has been that Bendis hasn't shown why the public would pull its support for the Avengers merely based on Osborn's antics and, even if they did, why it would matter.  In this issue, Bendis addresses the latter, in a pretty convincing way, I must say, by drawing a direct connection between the public's support of the Avengers and the government's ability to give them free range.  (I'm still waiting for the former, which, to be honest, is more the key.  More on that in the "New Avengers" review below.)  Essentially, Bendis finally defines the stakes.

Second, Bendis delivers a pretty convincing series of "bad moments" for several Avengers.  Captain America is tortured by Madame HYDRA, Dr. Washington attempts to strip Tony Stark of his armor, Spider-Woman is confronted by her "mom," and H.A.M.M.E.R. tries to get some sort of genetic-material sample from a comatose Red Hulk.  Normally, these sorts of montages can be eyeroll-inducing, because we all know that the heroes are going to escape.  But, Bendis makes it interesting by focusing on more than just the heroes' physical safety, going after their beliefs (in terms of Captain America and Spider-Woman) and their powers (in the cases of Iron Man and Red Hulk).  As such, the heroes have more on the line than just saving their lives; they have to re-affirm their beliefs in the face of opposition and prevent H.A.M.M.E.R. from using their powers to futher its ends.  (Can you imagine an Iron Rulk?)  Moreover, we see Quake and Vision frantically trying to find their teammates; you can feel their desperation as Quake tries to find where H.A.M.M.E.R.'s base is located and Vision confronts Osborn on the lawn of Avengers Mansion.

All that said, this issue isn't perfect.  I still think Bendis has to do more in the way of explaining why the public would take Osborn's side.  For example, when Vision confronts Osborn on the lawn, Osborn comments, "Physical confrontation.  How exactly like you people."  However, Vision hadn't confronted Osborn.  In fact, he shook his hand.  It's Osborn who, without Vision doing anything, attacks Vision and throws him through the Mansion's front door.  Given that Osborn does so in front of the press, don't we think that the reporters would see that Osborn attacked Vision essentially unprovoked?  Depsite the progress Bendis makes here, I still feel like he's not selling why the public would turn against the Avengers in favor of Osborn, particularly with Osborn acting the way he's acting.  (Also, I have to mention pet peeve #1:  at no point does Captain America fight Gorgon, as depicted on the cover.)

In sum, Bendis wins me back a bit, but he's still got some more work to do. 

New Avengers #21:  Ok, the fight with Ragnarok was just about the best fight scene Bendis has ever scripted and Deodata has ever drawn.  First, I loved the fact that it revolved around Spidey saving everyone and deciding who to throw into the fight against Ragnarok.  Awesome.  Over the course of the two Avengers series, Bendis has rarely had Spidey do anything more than issue one-liners.  Here, Bendis lets him step into the leadership role, and it leads to the New Avengers taking down Ragnarok.  Given that they usually get their asses handed to them, I'd say Luke Cage might want to consider giving Spidey some more responsiblities for the way they fight.  Second, Deodata is ON FIRE in this sequence.  The panels of Wolverine fighting Ragnarok were absolutely amazing.

Bendis also gets to the point of the last few "New Avengers" issues, showing how the New Avengers' attack on the Dark Avengers would help Osborn sway public opinion in his favor, given that they attacked just after the Dark Avengers saved Miami.  OK, I get that.  I appreciate that Bendis is trying, given that I take him to task so often for doing a poor job on this front.  But, I'm still not buying it.  So far, the sum of public disapproval of the Avengers is the "Occupy Avengers Mansion" protestors outside the Mansion and the assumed disapproval of those people who watched the New Avengers beating up the Dark Avengers after saving Miami.  I mean, it doesn't really seem like a sufficient swell of anti-Avengers sentiment to justify the government taking over Avengers Mansion.  After all, Nitro had to destroy a school full of children to provoke "Civil War" and Loki had to manufacture the destruction of a stadium full of people to lead to "Siege."  I get that Bendis' argument is that these events haven't been forgotten, particularly not on the heels of "Fear Itself," so it's easier to get people to turn against the Avengers.  He's probably right.  But, he's also got to prove that they'd not only turn AGAINST the Avengers, but that they'd turn TO Norman Osborn.  It still seems like a stretch.

Don't get me wrong:  I liked the idea of the New Avengers when they were operating outside the law during "Dark Reign."  But, they've moved past that role.  Bendis still hasn't done anything here that makes me feel like we're not just seeing a repeat of "Dark Reign."  Even if the result of the H.A.M.M.E.R. war is the government revoking its sanction of the Avengers...we're still just re-doing "Dark Reign."  Bendis has hinted that Osborn actually isn't looking to do what he did last time, but it's probably time he shows us some of Osborn's cards.  Ultimately, it's how he differentiates this story from "Dark Reign" and whether he finally convinces us that the public would turn against the Avengers so quickly that will determine how it's remembered.

Winter Solider #2:  OK, I have to say, I love the fact that Brubaker gave us a gun-toting, jet-packed, 800-pound gorilla in this arc.  A series about Bucky making amends for his past could be a dark, dark time.  By having Bucky and Natasha fight said gorilla, it injects a certain sense of comedy into the series, a sign from Brubaker that it's not all going to be Bucky fighting back tears as he remembers the evil deeds he committed as the Winter Soldier.  Usually, Brubaker uses Bucky's relationship with Natasha to lighten the tone, so it was fun to watch him (successfully) take a different approach here.  In terms of the plot, Brubaker is a master of these several-issue arcs.  He gives us just enough information here to keep it interesting, without spoiling the surprises he has in store or keeping us guessing about too much.  (I'm looking at you, Bendis.)  Bucky and his allies are starting to put two and two together, but Lucia von Bardas and the Red Ghost are a few steps ahead of them.  This series continues to deliver on its promise, and I still feel like pinching myself that Marvel actually gave us back Bucky.

New Comics!: The Captain America Edition #2 of 2 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain America #7:  Huh.  When Cap reverted to his pre-Super-Soldier Serum self at the end of "Captain America" #6, I thought it was because of the Madbomb making his nightmares come true; I didn't realize that it just happened to be a coincidence.  (I'm pleased, actually, because a bomb that makes nightmares come true isn't really the sort of thing we see in "Captain America."  A bomb that makes people go crazy and riot is much more his speed.)  That said, I'm intrigued by where Brubaker is going with this story.  I've always praised Brubaker for never dropping plot lines (like most authors do, when they inevitably write themselves in a corner), and this issue is a great example of that.  Rather than just shelving Bravo's accusation at the end of issue #5 that Cap stood by idly as corporate interests took over the U.S. government, Brubaker puts it front and center here, raising the possibility that Steve has taken the accusation to heart and the resulting crisis of confidence is shutting down his Super-Soldier abilities.  (Does anyone remember the last time that happened?  Was it during Gruenwald's run?  Cap refers to it here, but we don't get an editor's note saying what issue it was.)  Moreover, Brubaker uses this instability to great effect by matching it with the Serpent Society's new crime wave.  Steve could probably dispatch three members of the Serpent Society with little trouble under normal circumstances, but raising the possibility that he's going to revert to a 98-pound weakling at any moment certainly adds a sense of drama.  I can't say I'm overly intrigued by the Bravo sub-plot, but it doesn't detract from the good parts of the rest of the issue.  I'm quite happy to say that Brubaker has found solid ground here, after the uneven first arc of this title. 

Captain America and Bucky #626:  Well, I thought Bill Naslund having a long-lost grandson seemed fishy!  I'm really digging this arc.  Crazy robots, old heroes, questionable motivations:  it's a classic Captain America tale.  I'm assuming Bucky is one of the robots, but Asmus and Francavilla do a great job selling that moment where Cap looks at him and suddenly wonders who exactly he is.  You can feel that moment of doubt, that moment where Steve wonders if he's really looking at Bucky, leap off the page, and it really adds to the emotion of the issue.  Asmus is also doing a great job developing Fred Davis' character.  The unexpected appears of Naslund's "grandson" led Davis to doubt his relationship with Naslund, given that Naslund never really talked about a family or wanting to start one.  Asmus uses these doubts to make the reader question Naslund's grandson's appearance in the first place, and then to add drama to the issue when Davis goes digging for information and finds his life threatened as a result.  It's some subtle craftmanship, and the arc is all the better for it, since we get to avoid the excessive exposition these sorts of scenarios would normally throw at us.  I can't wait for the Cap battle royale next issue! 

Winter Soldier #1:  OK, first, no one writes a couple like Brubaker writes Bucky and Natasha.  Seriously.  He's done as best as he can with Cap and Sharon, given that Cap isn't given to being a romantic protagonist.  But, with Bucky and Natasha, Brubaker is free to make with the sexy, and he does.  The two of them just burn up the page.  But, they just don't become Cold War stereotypes, all action and romance.  Brubaker makes sure to show us a real relationship, underlining the concern and feelings the two of them have for each other.  Again, he does what he can with Cap and Sharon, but most of the emotion in that relationship is on Sharon's side.  Here, with Bucky and Natasha, we get a much more balanced couple, the Dick and Barbara of the Marvel Universe.  We see Natasha tell Bucky how scared she was when she saw him in his stasis tube back in the day, and he confesses to us through his narration how amazed by her he is.

Beyond just showing us a great romance, Brubaker also gives us a gripping story.  The sleeper agent murdering his whole family?  Yikes.  Brubaker reminds us that we're playing for keeps in this series, right off the bat.  He's writing this series like the best spy novels of the Cold War era, and it's an absolute treat.  A lot of authors can't pull of the tone of these sorts of espionage stories, relying too much on clichés.  Brubaker has a real knack for it, though, as does Guice, whose dark and indistinct pencils convey exactly the right tone for the story.  The idea that Lucia von Bardas has her hands on Soviet sleeper agents is exactly the type of plot I was expecting from Brubaker when "Gulag" ended back in "Captain America" (before the "Fear Itself" insanity).  Needless to say, I'm super excited for this series.