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 →
Fantastic Four #26-28 (February-April 2000)
No, you didn't access my Fantastic Four blog, Here's the Thing..., by accident. Captain America does appear alongside the Avengers in these three issues of Fantastic Four, but not in any way central in the main storyline, which I will try to summarize enough to make sense of Cap's involvement. (It will be quite a... Continue Reading →
Captain America Annual 1999 and Wolverine Annual 1999
Despite the cover, this annual is less about Flag-Smasher and more about the responsibility of the press to investigate the misdeeds of the powerful (to whom Flag-Smasher is little more than an unwitting tool), similar to films like All the President's Men and Spotlight. Captain America himself plays a secondary role here, encouraging the Daily... Continue Reading →
Avengers #16-18, Black Panther #8-9, and Magneto Rex #1 (May-July 1999)
These three issues of Avengers comprise an old-fashioned romp with the Avengers taking on the Wrecking Crew, powered up by a mysterious figure (seen on the middle cover above) who really wants them to find Carol Danvers (seen on the same cover in her original outfit). This story was written and drawn by Jerry Ordway,... Continue Reading →
Captain America #13 (January 1999)
This issue serves as a brief respite between major storylines, an intermission that revisits something that happened during the Skrull/Capmania episode that Mark Waid and company knew couldn't be forgotten, while also injecting some welcome levity, following the (literal) nightmare scenario of the last several issues and the red storm to come. The loose thread... Continue Reading →
Captain America #10 and Excalibur #125 (October 1998)
This issue continues the story begun in the last issue, which ended with Captain America and Sharon Carter trapped under the collapsed ruins of a construction site after rushing in to save one last worker. We also learn more about the madness affecting prominent heroic American citizens—especially when it affects the title character himself. As... Continue Reading →
Captain America #9 (September 1998)
With this issue we begin a new storyline, this one dealing with a madness that seems to afflict a very particular group of people... but you wouldn't know this from the cover, which highlights Captain America's glowy new best friend. The story starts out with Sharon Carter talking to a police detective about a superstar... Continue Reading →
Avengers #5-6 (June-July 1998)
These two issues see the return of the Squadron Supreme, the interdimensional analogue of the Justice League of America who debuted in Avengers #85, as well as several very minor characters drawn from Marvel lore. More relevant to us, we see Captain America encounter several leadership challenges, particularly with Carol Danvers, now going under the... Continue Reading →
Captain America #414-415 and Iron Man #292 (April-May 1993)
These two issues continue the storyline that started in issue #411, in which Captain America, Falcon, and Diamondback infiltrated an illegal weapons expo on AIM Island to find Rachel's old foe Snapdragon, whom Rachel eventually killed in the last issue (unbeknownst to Cap). The current issues take us around the world, first to Wakanda and... Continue Reading →
Thor #420-421 (August 1990)
These two issues of Thor are part of a larger story called "The Black Galaxy Saga," in which the God of Thunder is called to... well, you know... in response to the latest scheme of the High Evolutionary. The story began in issue #419, where a Replicoid was sent by the Celestials to gather Thor,... Continue Reading →