This annual is significant for (at least) two reasons. First, it is the first significant meeting between Captain America and Wolverine aside from brief interactions in team and event books, most notably Secret Wars, and later retcons, such as Uncanny X-Men #268, which show them meeting during World War II. Second, it marks the return... Continue Reading →
This issue concludes the three-part "Scourge of the Underworld" storyline, as Captain America finally comes face-to-face with the man who's been killing villains across the Marvel Universe (and in many titles) for the past year. (See the post on issue #318 for more background on the Scourge concept.) However, we open with Cap facing off... Continue Reading →
This issue continues the current storyline focusing on the Scourge—see the last post for more details—but it's more notable, at least as far as I'm concerned, for the first extended interaction between Captain America and Rachel Leighton, a.k.a. Diamondback, a member of the villainous Serpent Society that has been a regular presence in this title... Continue Reading →
This issue is the first of three that focus on the story of the Scourge of the Underworld, a mysterious individual who has been killing minor villains across various Marvel titles for the last few months, including Captain America #311, in what was actually an editorial "housecleaning" mechanism designed by editor and current Captain America... Continue Reading →
This issue concludes Captain America's "team-up" with Hawkeye, which started in the last issue, this time focusing on some of the Avenging Archer's foes (although we see very little of them in this post). More important for Cap, we get resolution to his relationship with Bernie Rosenthal, which has been rocky for a while, and... Continue Reading →
This is the first of two self-contained issues that share two features: They both feature Captain America's "favorite" former Avengers teammate, Hawkeye, and they both highlight the precarious state of Cap's relationship with his fiancée, Bernie Rosenthal. Also, this issue marks the return of the Armadillo, last seen breaking into (coincidentally) the West Coast Avengers'... Continue Reading →
Similar to issue #308 featuring a reluctant Armadillo (who returns in issue #316), this issue highlights a villain who's had enough with the criminal lifestyle, tries to get out, but finds it more difficult than it should be—even with the help of Captain America. Plus, we see more of the Serpent Squad (who should share... Continue Reading →
This time around we cover all three of a month's appearances of Captain America in one post: Most of Cap's action in February 1986 occurs in his own title, where he struggles with issues of duty and extradimensional jurisdiction, while he features in just one page of each of this month's Avengers and Secret Wars... Continue Reading →
This issue brings Captain America in contact with several more members of the Serpent Society—including one that he will get to know much better in later issues. It also lands him a new teen sidekick of sorts, one very much up-to-date with the computer lingo of 1986 (which the editors kindly explain). After a few... Continue Reading →
This is a significant issue for a couple reasons. First, we see Captain America get his latest idea for serving the American people off the ground. Second, a new ideologically-based villain name Flag-Smasher is introduced—yep, that's him on the cover—who will be a presence in the book for some time, prompting interesting discussions about nationalism... Continue Reading →
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 