This issue continues Steve Rogers' gradual return to the Avengers that began in Avengers #298, although this annual does not feature any Avengers team we've seen before (which will be explained later). It is also part of a multi-part storyline, "The Evolutionary War," stretched across the 1988 annuals, in a practice that would continue for... Continue Reading →
Each of these two issues heralds a return: Captain America #348, as you can see from the cover, features everybody's favorite anti-nationalist, Flag-Smasher, who's looking for Captain America and is not happy with the one he got, while Avengers #298 welcomes the Captain back to the Avengers title, if not, quite yet, the team itself... Continue Reading →
These three issues of Captain America deal more with John Walker than Steve Rogers, so we'll cover them at once... along with a bonus solo Captain story from Marvel Comics Presents #2 to make sure you get your money's worth! On the opening splash page of issue #345, we see how Douglas Rockwell of the... Continue Reading →
This "giant-sized issue" picks up where the last left off and wraps up the serpent-saturated storyline of late, with Viper's attack on the White House bringing the Captain back to Washington, DC, for the first time since he relinquished the shield and stripes to the Commission in issue #332. And yes, just to get it... Continue Reading →
These two issues focus primarily on the Captain and his team—now augmented by Rachel Leighton, aka Diamondback—fighting against Viper and her attempts to take over the Serpent Society. (Admittedly, the last part is mostly Diamondback's concern.) We also check in briefly with John Walker and Lemar Hoskins (the current Captain America and his recently renamed... Continue Reading →
This issue follows up on the "disagreement" between Iron Man and the Captain in Iron Man #228 over Tony's ongoing campaign to reclaim or disable all of his tech in other people's hands, including the U.S. government, and by whatever means necessary. This is just one of many examples of Tony's utilitarian approach to ethical... Continue Reading →
To say this issue is pivotal in the histories of both Captain America and Thor is an understatement... and we'll find out why soon enough. For now, just know that this is the second half of the Captain's side-trip on the way to confront Tony Stark for his actions in Iron Man #228, the first... Continue Reading →
This issue sees the Captain return to the Avengers' side temporarily, before rejoining on a more permanent basis in issue #298—and no time like the present, when the Avengers are facing "Heavy Metal," a short-lived group of malevolent androids/AI. The main threat among them is the Super-Adaptoid, an invention of A.I.M. based on a Cosmic... Continue Reading →
This issue follows directly from Iron Man #228, in which the Captain and Iron Man fought about Tony's attempts to get his tech back from the U.S. government—specifically, breaking into the Vault, a prison for superhuman convicts, to disable the Stark-designed armor of their Guardsmen. For all his claims to be a futurist, Tony either... Continue Reading →
This issue of Iron Man continues directly from Captain America #339, and contains one of the classic Cap/Tony dust-ups. In case you haven't been following along: In Captain America #332, Steve Rogers resigned the Captain America name, costume, and shield to the Commission, an agency of the U.S. government, after they demanded he start following... Continue Reading →
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 