These four issues of Avengers continue Captain America's recent return to the team as a rank-and-file member rather than leader, although he has trouble avoiding that role entirely. (He's not even on any of the covers—only his shield is on the one you see here!) Although Cap's participation in these stories is not front-and-center, we... Continue Reading →
Punisher – Captain America: Blood and Glory #3 (December 1992)
This issue concludes the miniseries that brings Captain America and the Punisher together for the first time as partners, to combat a government conspiracy involving money, drugs, guns, and fascism abroad and at home. Just as the first issue ended with Frank (unsuccessfully) assassinating Cap, the second issue ended with General Navatilas, the dictator of... Continue Reading →
Punisher – Captain America: Blood and Glory #2 (November 1992)
This second issue of the miniseries Blood and Glory opens after Frank Castle's apparent assassination of Captain America at the end of the first issue, as Cap was gradually uncovering a government conspiracy involving drugs, guns, and General Navatilas, the dictator of the (fictional) South American country of Medisuela, whom forces in the American government... Continue Reading →
Punisher – Captain America: Blood and Glory #1 (October 1992)
This three-part miniseries brings Captain America and the Punisher together for their first substantial team-up, having occasionally encountered each other in passing since they first met in Captain America #241. They don't actually meet in this first issue, although Frank definitely has an impact on Cap by the end—we do, however, get some fascinating thoughts... Continue Reading →
Infinity Gauntlet #1-6 (July-December 1991)
This incredible six-part miniseries from the second half of 1991 was the inspiration behind the last two Avengers films, Infinity War and Endgame, especially Thanos's infamous snap (seen in the middle of the first issue of the series rather than the halfway point). Captain America's role in this story is limited but important—he is not... Continue Reading →
Captain America #384 and Namor the Sub-Mariner #13 (April 1991)
This issue may seem like a disposable fill-in, but it actually resolves an issue that the Marvel brass may have wanted, as the title of the CBR column goes, abandoned and forsaken: the removal of the super-soldier serum from Captain America's bloodstream in issue #377 and the ensuing (as was expected, at least) decline in... Continue Reading →
Captain America #351 (March 1989)
This issue serves as an aftermath to last month's game-changing issue #350, a breather if you will, that reintroduces a beloved classic supporting character, reconnects Captain America with an old pal (and explains the recent tensions between them), and signals a change in the fortunes of one John Walker after his abbreviated term as the... Continue Reading →
Avengers Annual #16 and West Coast Avengers Annual #2 (September-October 1987)
The final Avengers story featuring Captain America before the cataclysmic Captain America #332 is this crossover between the annuals of the two teams. These comics were actually published after Captain America #332, but for continuity reasons I'm letting them jump the line and be covered first. It's a fairly routine "split up and fight" story,... Continue Reading →
Captain America #326 (February 1987)
This Halloween issue takes us out of the current storylines about Nomad, ULTIMATUM, and John Walker—for the most part—and instead returns us to Skullhouse, the setting of "the death of Red Skull" from issue #300, where Captain America will see some ghosts, revisit some memories, and engage in a lot of internal monologue. (A lot.)... Continue Reading →
Avengers #218 and The Death of Captain Marvel (April 1982)
This issue of Avengers was co-written by the regular writer of the title, Jim Shooter, and the writer of Captain America at the time, J.M. DeMatteis; like Captain America #268, it is a sequel of sorts to DeMatteis's story in Captain America #264, which dealt with a man who harnesses and magnifies psychic forces in... Continue Reading →