This is a rare appearance of Captain America in a different "Heroes Reborn" title outside of crossover stories, and is notable for two reasons: his reunion with an old friend (that he somehow remembers, despite having few solid memories of any reality), and seeing Jim Lee draw our hero for the first time since Uncanny... Continue Reading →
Avengers #2-5 (December 1996-March 1997)
In this post we continue with the "Heroes Reborn" run of Avengers: In the first issue, the team found Thor trapped in amber, and in these four issues they face this reality's version of Kang and a new Hulk born from their old reality's Bruce Banner (split from the familiar Hulk in Onslaught: Marvel Universe... Continue Reading →
Avengers #1 (November 1996)
This issue marks a new volume of Avengers after the culmination of the Onslaught Saga brought an end to the first volume after 402 issues, most of which were covered here, starting with issue #4 in March 1964 (which reintroduced Captain America to the modern Marvel Universe). I discussed the background of the "Heroes Reborn"... Continue Reading →
Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1 (October 1996)
This is it, the culmination of the Onslaught Saga and the issue that leads to... well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. As with the first two installments of this story (here and here), Captain America serves mainly as field leader and—as emphasized in Avengers #402—supporter of morale among his fellow heroes and the population... Continue Reading →
Marvel Fanfare #1 and Spider-Man Team-Up #4 (September 1996)
Although these two comics were published in the middle of the Onslaught Saga, both take place slightly earlier—although the cover of Marvel Fanfare, which hypes the story as Captain America and the Falcon's "final adventure", does not bode well for the conclusion of that massive crossover storyline! Note also the George Pérez cover to the... Continue Reading →
Avengers #402, The Incredible Hulk #445, and X-Men #56 (September 1996)
This is the second post focused on the Onslaught Saga, which brings the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four together to battle Onslaught, an entity formed from the warped consciousnesses of Professor Xavier and Magneto, who plans to wipe out humanity for the sake of mutants. More important for us, the issue of Avengers covered here... Continue Reading →
Avengers #401, Uncanny X-Men #335, Onslaught: X-Men #1, and X-Men #55 (August 1996)
This post covers the first month of the Onslaught event that spelled the end of the first volumes of many Marvel titles, including Captain America and Avengers, which were relaunched afterwards as part of the "Heroes Reborn" initiative (on which more soon). In the story itself, a psionic entity known as Onslaught, formed from the... Continue Reading →
Avengers #399-400 (June-July 1996)
The big 400th issue of Avengers is a celebration of the team's history, written by Mark Waid and penciled by Mike Wieringo, who had collaborated on a well-received Flash run (1993-1994) and would later produce a legendary Fantastic Four run (2002-2005) before Wieringo's untimely death in 2007. The anniversary issue is preceded by the final page of... Continue Reading →
Captain America #449, Avengers #396, Iron Man #326, and Thor #496 (March 1996)
These four issues compromise the "First Sign" crossover that was meant to fully bring the "Avengers Prime" back into the team after they were all brought into the aftermath of "The Crossing." (Why is the Iron Man cover missing above? Cap ain't on it, of course!) Fair warning: Most of the interesting material with Captain... Continue Reading →
Avengers #395, Avengers: Timeslide #1, Iron Man #325, and Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man #1 (February 1996)
Oh boy... this one's gonna take some explaining. Since the Avengers found Captain America missing and presumed dead at the end of Captain America #443, they (and the poor readers) had to endure "The Crossing," a mini-event between their own title, Force Works, Iron Man, and War Machine, that involved many interweaving events. Most important... Continue Reading →