These three issues present a story of Kang... or Kangs, as it were. The plot resembles the films Highlander or Jet Li's The One in that one Kang tries to eliminate other Kangs created by divergences in the timeline due to all his time-travel shenanigans over the years (extending into the past and future). We... Continue Reading →
Captain America #317 and Marvel Fanfare #26 (May 1986)
This issue concludes Captain America's "team-up" with Hawkeye, which started in the last issue, this time focusing on some of the Avenging Archer's foes (although we see very little of them in this post). More important for Cap, we get resolution to his relationship with Bernie Rosenthal, which has been rocky for a while, and... Continue Reading →
Captain America #316 (April 1986)
This is the first of two self-contained issues that share two features: They both feature Captain America's "favorite" former Avengers teammate, Hawkeye, and they both highlight the precarious state of Cap's relationship with his fiancée, Bernie Rosenthal. Also, this issue marks the return of the Armadillo, last seen breaking into (coincidentally) the West Coast Avengers'... Continue Reading →
Avengers #263 and Fantastic Four #286 (January 1986)
Fresh from their crossover in the recent Avengers and Fantastic Four annuals, the two teams meet once again in their regular titles in a story that—no surprise, given the FF cover—reintroduces Jean Grey, who seemed to perish during the "Dark Phoenix Saga," and in turn leads into the first X-Factor series, starring the reunited original... Continue Reading →
Avengers #262 and Secret Wars II #6 (December 1985)
This issue of Avengers sees Captain America and his fellow Invader, Namor the Sub-Mariner, meet once again, brought together by the most pedestrian of circumstances that nonetheless prompts some interesting discussions. Also, we have the latest installment of Secret Wars II, for what it's worth. (If you've read our previous coverage of this series, you... Continue Reading →
Avengers Annual #14 and Fantastic Four Annual #19 (November 1985)
These two annuals represent a unique experiment on the part of writers Roger Stern and John Byrne (who also handles pencils or breakdowns): They represent two separate stories that intersect in the third act, at which the issues cover the same events from each team's point of view, with several panels and pages effectively duplicated... Continue Reading →
Captain America #309 (September 1985)
This issue sees Captain America return to New York City after his adventures in England and California the last four issues, reuniting with his fiancée Bernie Rosenthal, his crimefighting partner Nomad (aka Jack Monroe), and... his boss. Which one will he still be with by the end of the issue? Read on and see! After... Continue Reading →
Captain America #307-308 and Secret Wars II #1 (July-August 1985)
These two issues of Captain America launch Mark Gruenwald's decade of writing the book, much of which sits among the very best Cap stories, but it gets off to a slow start: The first issue deals mainly with Cap's crime-fighting partner Nomad, and the second had to tie in with Secret Wars II, the first... Continue Reading →
Avengers #253-254 (March-April 1985)
This post brings the long "Absolute Vision" storyline to its conclusion, as the synthezoid Avenger finally kicks his plan for world control into motion. (See the last post for a quick recap, because Captain America had not been in the book for a while before issue #251.) In issue #253, we see Cap still addressing... Continue Reading →
Captain America #302-304 and Uncanny X-Men #190-191 (February-April 1985)
These three issues of Captain America, written by Mike Carlin, are part of the short transition between the legendary runs of J.M. DeMatteis, which ended with issue #300, and Mark Gruenwald, which starts with issue #307 (and lasts, with the exception of one issue, to #443!). Although we won't see him much here, this story... Continue Reading →