As you can guess from the cover, this is quite the eventful issue, bringing Steve Rogers' time as Nomad to a sudden end in the most painful possible—although less painful for him than for someone else. (Look at me, trying to be coy while it's right there on the cover, beautifully rendered by legendary artist... Continue Reading →
In this issue, we meet Steve Rogers's new superhero identity, which he doesn't adopt until halfway through the comic but is spoiled nonetheless on the cover and the splash page. (Sigh.) Note the language in the exposition below—"the rubble that is politics, 1974"—not far from the language used today. His current disillusionment with politics and... Continue Reading →
This is perhaps the most pivotal and significant issue we've covered yet on this blog, encapsulating so many problems that Captain America has struggled with, not only since the beginning of the "Secret Empire" storyline (in issue #169) but ever since emerging from the ice as a "man out of time" in Avengers #4. Also,... Continue Reading →
After the blockbuster story in the last four issues (starting here), the pace slows a bit for this three-parter, as the loose ends of Steve Rogers' time on the police force are tied up, and he goes through a surprising physical transformation. (No, not Cap-Wolf, not yet.) The police commissioner summons Cap to an out-of-the-way... Continue Reading →
This extra-length issue brings us a story of racial tension stoked by an external force (as we see often in this early 1970s era of social relevance in comics), with Captain America and the Falcon in the middle of it. More interesting, we see their own relationship reflect some of the more general conflicts happening... Continue Reading →
This four-part story is light on ethically relevant material, focusing instead on Captain America's battle alongside the Falcon, Sharon Carter, and Nick Fury against the uninspiring Grey Gargoyle. (Only one shade to this fella, and it's a drab one.) However, it does start with some soul-searching on Cap's part, inspired by an intriguing offer from... Continue Reading →
In this issue, Captain America finally gets away from Nick Fury, Sharon Carter, and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D., hopping a motorcycle (as he is wont to do from time to time), not so much to find America... as to find himself. (If you didn't "aww" at that, I'm not doing my job.) But before we... Continue Reading →
Don't let the cover, featuring Spider-Man's foe the Scorpion, fool you—the first five pages of this issue are dense with existential introspection and political musings that could keep us busy for days (and which I quoted quite a bit in my book). And later, we see a good old-fashioned fight with an injured Cap... and... Continue Reading →
This issue continues the storyline begun in issues #115-116, in which the Red Skull uses the Cosmic Cube to switch appearances with Captain America, ruining Cap's sterling good name and leaving the real Cap to face his friends and foes in the guise of his worst enemy. At the end of the last issue, the... Continue Reading →
As you undoubtedly remember from the last post, the Red Skull interrupted Captain America's melancholy over his identity and purpose in the world to remind him what was really important: his arch enemy holding the Cosmic Cube! (Again.) This begins a five-issue storyline that will test Cap's resolve and sanity, and also introduce a major... Continue Reading →
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 