These three issues of Avengers fall between Captain America #125 and #126—that is, between the end of the "Secret Empire" storyline, in which he was confronted with how high corruption could go in the American government, and the beginning of the next storyline, in which... well, I won't spoil that for you. As such, the... Continue Reading →
Although the seeds have been planted for several issues, Captain America #169 sees the classic "Secret Empire" storyline begin in earnest, as Cap feels the effects of the public relations campaign against him... and starts to fight back. Plus: the return of the Tumbler, who is definitely not Batroc the Leaper! Interestingly, the issue starts... Continue Reading →
This standalone story takes the Avengers to Rutland, Vermont, already the traditional location for Marvel Halloween stories, as we'll soon see. (Don't let the cover date fool you!) As a bonus, the Collector shows us what happens when there are not quality action figures of his favorite heroes commercially available for purchase. Also, this is... Continue Reading →
This issue is a fill-in story, written by Roy Thomas and Tony Isabella before regular writer Steve Englehart's epic "Secret Empire" storyline begins, and it both recaps Captain America's current status and introduces a villain who will become a major player once he truly embraces the family business. (And before you ask, the Phoenix in... Continue Reading →
After the prelude in issue #164, we have here the main three-parter featuring Captain America and the Falcon fighting the Yellow Claw, a Fu Manchu-type villain (see also: the Mandarin) who starred in his own short-lived Atlas comic in the 1950s, who reappeared in the 1960s to fight S.H.I.E.L.D. (including behind the scenes in Strange... Continue Reading →
These three issues (re)introduce an important character only glimpsed once before, as well as adding new wrinkles to Captain America's relationships with both the Falcon and Sharon Carter. Issue #160 opens with Cap and Sam fighting some random thugs, and Cap reminds us of his new super-strength (picked up in the last storyline), although not... Continue Reading →
In this installment of the current storyline (which began in issue #153), we finally learn the identity and origin of the "impostor" Captain America and Bucky. Aside from the insights we get into the other Cap's character—as well as "our" Cap's reaction to him, on which more in the next issue—this story is a classic... Continue Reading →
With this issue and this post, we start not only Steve Englehart's legendary run on Captain America, but also one of the more ethically significant storylines to this point in Cap's history, a four-issue arc that I'll be taking one issue at a time. Even though this issue is a prelude of sorts, not getting... Continue Reading →
These three issues, as many of the Avengers issues around this period, are light on Captain America action, much less anything of ethical of interest, but are interesting for the distinctive pencils of Barry Windsor-Smith (who also drew issues #66-67, but without Cap). In the aftermath of the Kree-Skrull War (see the previous post), the... Continue Reading →
