Despite the cover, this annual is less about Flag-Smasher and more about the responsibility of the press to investigate the misdeeds of the powerful (to whom Flag-Smasher is little more than an unwitting tool), similar to films like All the President's Men and Spotlight. Captain America himself plays a secondary role here, encouraging the Daily... Continue Reading →
Captain America #20-22 and Black Panther #12 (August-October 1999)
These three issues represent Mark Waid's swansong (for now) as writer on Captain America (although he does provide the plot for issue #23). His run began with the first volume's issue #444 (only to be interrupted by Heroes Reborn), and other than assorted contributions to anniversary issues and collections—and the terrific Man Out of Time miniseries... Continue Reading →
Captain America #19 (July 1999)
This issue wraps up the Red Skull storyline that began in issue #14, returning us to the present day after the time-travel shenanigans of the last issue, in which Captain America convinced (or tricked) Korvac—the villain behind the villain, and the one who had been posing as the Watcher—to return to the original scene of... Continue Reading →
Captain America #18 and Nova #2 (June 1999)
This issue, the penultimate in the current storyline which began in issue #14, is a unique entry in the Captain America canon, a time-travel story in which he dies a lot, but keeps coming back to fight for liberty and justice. (You may have seen this movie.) In the last issue, Cap leapt into the... Continue Reading →
Captain America #17 (May 1999)
This issue continues the current storyline, begun in the last post, in which the Red Skull has acquired the power of a Cosmic Cube and is using it to attempt to steal the universal information held in Galactus' ship, in the hopes of rendering him both omnipotent and omniscient. Captain America and Sharon Carter stand... Continue Reading →
Captain America #14-16 (February-April 1999)
These three issues start off an epic storyline featuring the return of you-know-who, who has been trapped in a Cosmic Cube since they both disappeared at the end of Captain America (vol. 1) #448. The first issue takes place in the Skull's personal hell inside the Cube, where he works as a bellhop in a... Continue Reading →
Captain America #13 (January 1999)
This issue serves as a brief respite between major storylines, an intermission that revisits something that happened during the Skrull/Capmania episode that Mark Waid and company knew couldn't be forgotten, while also injecting some welcome levity, following the (literal) nightmare scenario of the last several issues and the red storm to come. The loose thread... Continue Reading →
Captain America/Citizen V Annual 1998
This annual feels more like a Thunderbolts comic than a Captain America, for good reason: Citizen V was Baron Zemo's identity when the team were pretending to be heroes while many of the real heroes were "reborn" elsewhere. The name came from a Golden Age hero, John Watkins, who appeared twice (Daring Mystery Comics #8... Continue Reading →
Iron Man/Captain America Annual 1998
This annual sees Captain America and Iron Man team up to face some familiar foes, as seen on the cover above, ending up in one of their classic disagreements and previewing arguments they will make during the Civil War in a few years' time. The issue opens with the two heroes arrive on an island,... Continue Reading →
Captain America #11-12 and Thor #6 (November-December 1998)
These two issues of Captain America wrap up the storyline that began in issue #9 dealing with outstanding Americans being overcome with rage, which it turns out was due to the influence of the villain Nightmare. The last issue ended with Captain America's dream self voluntarily entering Nightmare's realm, after which his body is taken... Continue Reading →