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 →
Captain America #38 (February 2001)
This issue completes the long Protocide storyline that began behind the scenes back in issue #25 but only involved Captain America as of issue #35, which culminates in an important choice for our hero. At the end of the last issue, in a Hydra warehouse, Protocide had defeated Cap and tossed him into the energy... Continue Reading →
Captain America #24 (December 1999)
This issue serves as a stopgap between Mark Waid's run on this volume of Captain America (which began with issue #1) and Dan Jurgen's upcoming spell (lasting through the end of the volume at issue #50). It's a fun throwback to the early Tales of Suspense days, with Tom DeFalco's old-school story and Ron Frenz's Kirby-inspired... 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 →
Avengers #19-20 and #0 (August-September 1999)
These issues launch the "Ultron Unlimited" story, which primarily shows Captain America in a leadership role while the emotional weight is placed on Hank Pym, Janet van Dyne, and other Avengers with a closer connection to the homicidal android. The #0 issue, packaged with Wizard Magazine #95, serves as a prelude: It's framed as a... Continue Reading →
Captain America #20-22 and Black Panther #12 (August-October 1999)
These three issues represent Mark Waid's swansong (for now) as writer on Captain America (although he does provide the plot for issue #23). His run began with the first volume's issue #444 (only to be interrupted by Heroes Reborn), and other than assorted contributions to anniversary issues and collections—and the terrific Man Out of Time miniseries... Continue Reading →
Cable #66-68 (April-June 1999)
This three-part Cable story sees Captain America and several other Avengers helping the mutant from the future battle the Harbinger (not her), who is threatening to destroy humanity for his master, Apocalypse. Our heroes don't show up until the very end of issue #66, as the Harbinger makes his mission clear while apparently having Cable... Continue Reading →
Avengers Forever #1-12 (December 1998-December 1999)
This maxi-series is a wide ride through the history of the Avengers and the Marvel Universe as a whole. As with most event series, even those focusing on the Avengers, Captain America plays a significant yet limited role, so my discussion of his ethically relevant moments will be sporadic, and will definitely not do justice... Continue Reading →
Captain America #11-12 and Thor #6 (November-December 1998)
These two issues of Captain America wrap up the storyline that began in issue #9 dealing with outstanding Americans being overcome with rage, which it turns out was due to the influence of the villain Nightmare. The last issue ended with Captain America's dream self voluntarily entering Nightmare's realm, after which his body is taken... Continue Reading →