This is it, the final issue of Mark Gruenwald's epic 137-issue run on Captain America, starting with issue #307 in July 1985. I'll pay tribute to Gruenwald at the end of his post, but for now, let's focus on Captain America himself, who has really been going through it lately. Cap started feeling weak in... Continue Reading →
The second installment of the final trilogy in the "Fighting Chance" storyline—in which Captain America's metabolism starts to break down completely due to his deteriorating super-soldier serum—finds our hero with young hero Cathy Webster, aka Free Spirit, in Arizona, facing the Serpent Society, which has been infiltrated by another young hero, Jack Flag (né Harrison).... Continue Reading →
This issue of Captain America completes the third trilogy in the "Fighting Chance" arc that details Captain America's deteriorating health as his super-soldier serum breaks down. Here, Cap-with-Pouches, Diamondback, and new hero Free Spirit (Cathy Webster) are fighting their way out of Baron Zemo's castle, with the last issue ending with Cap barely escaping one... Continue Reading →
This issue of Captain America launches a new three-part storyline under the broader "Fighting Chance" arc that began in issue #425, following the decline of Steve Rogers' health as his super-soldier serum breaks down. Here we meet a new character (seen as the cover), inspired by Captain America, who will eventually help him accommodate his... Continue Reading →
These two issues complete the tale of the mysterious new Super-Patriot posing as Captain America to ruin his reputation—alongside another person, Dead Ringer, who duplicates the appearance and abilities of dead villains—as well as the opening story in the longer "Fighting Chance" arc about Cap's deteriorating physical condition as the super-soldier serum in his system... Continue Reading →
This oversized one-shot (64 pages!), written by Invaders scribe Roy Thomas, is a fairly routine wartime adventure that takes place in January 1943 and fleshes out the backstory of both Barons Zemo—and the complex woman behind them. Our story begins with Captain America and Bucky sneaking into an apartment and fighting Nazis they find there,... Continue Reading →
In this issue, Captain America finally learns the cause of the weakness he been experiencing the last few issues, which becomes a major concern in his life going forward (as reflected in his appearances this month in Avengers, Iron Man, and Daredevil). As his future as the Sentinel of Liberty comes into doubt, Cap has... Continue Reading →
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 →
The first of these three comics focuses mainly on Dennis Dunphy's subterranean struggles and his eventual emergence into daylight, with Cap playing a lesser role—but he has a much larger one in the following two-issue crossover with Silver Sable and the Funky Bunch, which contains some fine examples of necessary moral compromise (an issue also... Continue Reading →
These two issues of Captain America wrap up the sprawling storyline begun in issue #411, which now finds Cap, Falcon, Diamondback, and Black Panther in the Savage Land in Antarctica, dealing with Ka-Zar and Zabu, multiple threats, and many narrative threads (which come together at the end). Plus, Cap makes a quick appearance in Mys-Tech... Continue Reading →
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 