This issue of Black Panther reveals Captain America's first meeting with the King of Wakanda—not T'Challa, whom he met in Tales of Suspense #97, but rather his father T'Chaka, whom he met in early 1941, months before the United States entered World War II. (This meeting would later be expanded and revised in the Captain... Continue Reading →
Captain America #40, Iron Man #39, and X-Men #111 (April 2001)
This issue finishes the story begun in the last issue, in which both parts of Captain America's life began to converge. As the Sentinel of Liberty, he is working with Sharon Carter and SHIELD to bring down AIM before they can create another Protocide, while as Steve Rogers he is growing more uncomfortable with his... Continue Reading →
Avengers #38-44 and Annual 2001 (March-September 2001)
These issues herald a new era for Earth's Mightiest Heroes and their book, as Captain America returns to the team full-time, and writer Kurt Busiek is joined by the legendary team of Alan Davis and Mark Farmer on pencils and inks (respectively) for the first six issues, the last three of which also launch "The... Continue Reading →
Avengers #36-37 and Black Panther #27 (January-February 2001)
These two issues of Avengers see Captain America continue his gradual and tentative return to the team what found him all those years ago. He doesn't appear in these issues extensively, but when he does, it is great to see him drawn by Steve Epting, familiar from his incredible work (with Tom Palmer's inks) on... Continue Reading →
Captain America #34-35 (October-November 2000)
These two issues wrap up the battle with the evil internet service provider Parliamech that began in the last issue and finally brings Captain America face to face with Protocide (as seen in the second cover here). At the end of the last issue, Cap and the Falcon succumbed to gas in the Parliamech headquarters—a... Continue Reading →
Captain America #32 (August 2000)
This issue takes a break from the ongoing storyline to tell a wonderfully poignant story of courage and heroism amidst the horrors of war, written by current writer Dan Jurgens and penciled and inked by Jerry Ordway, one of my favorites going back to All-Star Squadron, my favorite comic when I was a kid. (Recently,... Continue Reading →
Avengers #25, Iron Man #25, and Ant-Man’s Big Christmas #1 (February 2000)
This issue of Avengers continues several plot threads from previous issues, especially the public protests against the team, which may have the influence of the mysterious Triune Understanding behind them, and the abduction of the Juggernaut by the powerful Exemplars at the end of the last issue, whom Captain America engages with strategy and cunning... Continue Reading →
Captain America #25 and Heroes Reborn: Young Allies #1 (January 2000)
With this issue we begin Dan Jurgens' run on Captain America, which will eventually close out volume #3 with issue #50 (all collected here). His run begins with a three-part storyline drawn by Andy Kubert, granting some visual continuity with the previous run written by Mark Waid, and it features not only Sam Wilson's Falcon,... Continue Reading →
Domination Factor: Avengers #1.2-4.8 and Domination Factor: Fantastic Four #3.7 (November 1999-February 2000)
The Domination Factor miniseries featured the Avengers and the Fantastic Four on parallel old-school adventures that revisited past eras in each team's history before converging at the end. Technically it consisted of two four-issue miniseries, one for each team, with the number after the decimal point indicating the order in the overall story; it started with Domination... Continue Reading →
Captain America #23 and Contest of Champions II #4 (November 1999)
This issue of Captain America sees our hero investigate a private prison with atrocious conditions and brutal treatment of inmates, where persons who run afoul of immigration law are sent and denied any contact with relatives, legal representation, or due process. Despite obvious parallels to current events, there are important differences too (as we shall... Continue Reading →