This is the last issue of Captain America before the game-changing "Fighting Chance" storyline begins, and it sees our hero reunite with Diamondback at long last... as well as one of her former Serpent Society colleagues, in a story that reminds me of classic Spider-Man tales in which a member of his rogues gallery is... Continue Reading →
Captain America #423 and Marvels #1 (January 1994)
We start 1994 with a flashback issue of Captain America written by Roy Thomas—breaking Mark Gruenwald's streak begun with issue #307—telling the story of our hero's first meeting with Namor the Sub-Mariner. Fittingly, this month also sees the debut of Marvels, the landmark miniseries by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross, the first issue of which... Continue Reading →
Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #1-4 (September-December 1993)
This miniseries is notable for several reasons: It brings the "Avengers Prime" (Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor) with their version 2.0 counterparts (USAgent, War Machine, and Thunderstrike) together as a group for the first time; we are introduced to Alioth, who was featured in the Disney+ Loki series alongside Ravonna Renslayer and Kang; and... Continue Reading →
Captain America #409-410, West Coast Avengers #88, and Soviet Super-Soldiers #1 (November-December 1992)
These two issues finally reconnect Captain America with Diamondback, aka Rachel Leighton, his sort-of ladyfriend, who was abducted in issue #396 and held hostage by Crossbones, as shown in recent back-up stories (for the most part not covered here). To be fair, Cap's been busy, what with Operation: Galactic Empire, Citizen Kang, and being a... Continue Reading →
Captain America #405-407 and Amazing Spider-Man #366 (August-September 1992)
Can't put it off any longer, so here we go... the second half of the "Man-Wolf" story that began in issue #402 concludes in these three issues, following the events at the end of the last issue (shown again at the beginning of issue #405 below). Because Captain America is... not himself for most of... Continue Reading →
The Adventures of Captain America #4 (January 1992)
This final issue of Captain America's first miniseries shows us his first encounter with the Red Skull, as well as the fallout from the revelation about Lieutenant Cynthia Glass from the last issue, and sets the stage for Cap and Bucky's lives going forward. (Warning: Some of the imagery in this issue may be disturbing.)... Continue Reading →
Captain America #396-397 (January-February 1992)
These two issues finish up the current storyline involving the Red Skull and his cronies, also featuring the current Thor, Eric Masterson, whom Captain America has been mentoring recently in both this title as well as Avengers and Thor's own book. Issue #396 picks up where the last one left off, with Cap and Thor... Continue Reading →
The Adventures of Captain America #3 (December 1991)
The third issue of this expanded retelling of Captain America's origin and early years brings in more familiar moments and some new ones, as our hero heads overseas in pursuit of the enhanced Nazi agents we met in the last issue—but he will not go alone. As our story resumes, Cap checks out the diner... Continue Reading →
The Adventures of Captain America #1 (September 1991)
This amazing four-part miniseries—the first devoted solely to Captain America—is written by Fabian Nicieza and drawn by master of facial expressions Kevin Maguire, and elaborates significantly on Cap's earliest days, providing additional details and emotional weight to Steve Rogers' desire to serve his country, the Project Rebirth procedure and the training that preceded and followed... Continue Reading →
Captain America #379 (November 1990)
Like last month's Avengers #325, this issue of Captain America bridges a gap, this time between the twice-monthly story, "Streets of Poison," that began in issue #372, and the three-part Diamondback-centered storyline starting in the next issue (with a preview in this issue's back-up, which is touched on at the end of this post). The... Continue Reading →