This issue begins an on-and-off period of self-questioning for Captain America along several angles, including continued angst about his own identity and purpose in life, as well as more outward-looking concern with the state of American society (befitting the time and the increasing social consciousness of comics). You have to hand it to Stan Lee,... Continue Reading →
As is appropriate for the first full story in Captain America's new title (which in issue #100 wrapped up a storyline from Tales of Suspense #97-99, as detailed in the last post), we see the return of Cap's archfoe, the Red Skull. How about this great Kirby splash page to open issue #101? Here we... Continue Reading →
With this post we reach the end of Captain America's run in Tales of Suspense and the beginning of his first self-titled book (continuing the previous title's numbering while co-star Iron Man gets his own #1). And this four-part story features the first appearance of Black Panther outside the Fantastic Four book, and leads directly... Continue Reading →
The Origin of Captain America! (As told for the first time since 1941.) You would expect an origin of Captain America to focus on his virtues, but there is less of that here than you would think (or that I would like). For instance, we see Steve for the first time as he enters the... Continue Reading →
We’ll tackle these two issues together because they are actually linked in a way unusual to the Avengers (or any Marvel Comics) at this point—with an actual cliffhanger (which, to be honest, is the only truly interesting thing to happen in the first issue). TWO FUNNY THINGS IN ISSUE #13 During a battle, Iron Man... Continue Reading →
A pair of tales featuring very stupid villains. ('Nuff said!) PLUS the first "Avengers Vs. X-Men" story. (If only it had been the last, right? I kid, I kid...) In Avengers #11, the Mighty Avengers meet the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man… almost. Actually, they meet a robot duplicate of Webhead built by Kang, master of… robotics?... Continue Reading →
After the case of mistaken identity from the last issue, Cap finally get his own feature in Tales of Suspense (albeit slightly shorter than that of the “star” of the book, that infamous diva, Iron Man). This first story is similar to Avengers #4 in that it showcases both his grief over Bucky and his... Continue Reading →
In this story we meet Immortus, a far-flung future version of Kang, with all the time-travel shenanigans you’ve come to expect. (Groan.) But also, we see more physical prowess on the part of Captain America, who also revisits the issue of Rick Jones becoming his new partner (and possibly even an Avenger) and loses control... Continue Reading →
Captain America guest-starred alongside fellow Avenger Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #58 before Cap’s regular feature began in #59. This issue is notable for being the first of many battles between the two heroes—and a classic cover to boot—even though this fight resulted from a ruse created by a villain rather than an ideological... Continue Reading →
This issue introduces Simon Williams, who was transformed into Wonder Man by Baron Zemo to infiltrate the Avengers and destroy them from within. Of course, he doesn’t succeed—neither Williams nor Zemo—and Simon goes on to become a long-standing member of the Avengers (and, in a very interesting recent turn, a declared pacifist). Oh, and Cap?... Continue Reading →
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 