Marvel Comics Review: Captain America: Reborn #5

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Marvel Comics,

Rating: *** 1/2*

A great recovery executed to this story by writer Ed Brubaker. I was starting to get a bit bored with it. Although you know how this story is going to end, I still enjoyed this issue. Besides knowing how this story will end, the only other drawback for me was the artwork by Bryan Hitch. I think Hitch is a great artist, but I felt his work seemed rushed here. From what I understand, he’s not a fast artist. so maybe he was rushing to try and get this book out as soon as possible.

I was a bit confused by what was happening as this issue opened with Steve Rogers in a world where the Nazi’s have taken over America. At first I thought he was transported to an alternate universe where the Nazi’s won World War II, but I soon realized that his essence is stuck within his body in some weird world that has been created by the Red Skull as the Skull’s essence has taken over Steve’s body. Thank God because had this been an alternate universe I thought it would have been too cheesy to have a Nazi America where instead of Uncle Sam, you have Uncle Skull.

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Marvel Comics Review: Captain America: Reborn #4

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Marvel Comics,

Rating: *** 1/2

After a delay of about a month, the mini-series Captain America: Reborn continues. I’ve really enjoyed this series so far and would recommend it to non-Cap fans as a good example of a good Captain America story. After reading this issue, however, I’m starting to get a bit disappointed. We know Steve Rogers will be “resurrected” and return as Captain America, but we’ve wondered exactly how the story will end with that conclusion. Well, after reading this issue, I think I’ve got the conclusion figured out. It should be good, but I was hoping for something new and different. Maybe I’m wrong and there will be something different, but I doubt it. Before I give my theory of the conclusion, a quick recap.

The Red Skull has more than nine lives. He’s cheated death once again and is now inhabiting a new robotic body. The Red Skull, his daughter Sin, and her boyfriend Crossbones have arrived in Latveria the homeland of Dr. Doom. Doom has the machine that the Skull needs to recover Captain America, who is currently stuck in time. Sharon Carter is the key to getting Steve back; she has surrendered herself because the Skull’s accomplice Norman Osborn revealed to the media that she was the second shooter in the assassination of Captain America.

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Marvel Comics Review: Captain America: Reborn #3

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Marvel Comics,

Rating: ****

Another great issue for this series.  In our last issue, Bucky and the Black Widow were captured by Norman and Obsborn.  Norman has released to the media that Sharon Carter was the second shooter in the assassination of Captain America.  He released the Black Widow and said that unless she returns with Sharon Carter, Bucky is dead.

Our story opens with Cap continuing to jump through time to different points in his life.  Cap has now jumped to the time when he was frozen in ice.  During this period, Cap was worshiped by local tribe as some sort of ice god.  Namor arrives and is angry at the natives and picks up the block of ice and launches back into the ocean.  Steve narrates the scene and it seems this isn’t the first time he’s visited this point in time.  He says that he tries to cry out for help every time, but it never works.  We then flash to the present where Reed Richards and the present Namor are at the same spot.  Namor brings up Steve’s glass coffin, only to see his body disappear! 

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Marvel Comics Review: Captain America: Reborn #1

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Marvel Comics,

Rating: *** 1/2 *
 
Captain America: Reborn is here!  Ed Brubaker’s soon to be classic run on Captain America continues with this mini-series which will return Steve Rogers to land of the living, but did he ever really die in the first place?
 
In Captain America #600 we saw that Sharon Carter recovered the gun that she used to kill Steve.  However, it appears that this is no ordinary gun and Steve Rogers was not killed, but instead he’s – somewhere else right now.
 
Ed Brubaker wastes no time in revealing what happened to Steve and how he will end up returning to the Marvel Universe.
 
It seems that the gun that Sharon used to “kill” Steve was part of a larger weapon that the Red Skull and Arnim Zola had borrowed from Dr. Doom.  The weapon was a variation of Doom’s time platform.  After the assassination, Sharon Cater was then strapped to the machine by Zola and the Skull to be used as a homing beacon of sorts in order to retrieve Steve’s body.  Sharon was able to retrieve some of her senses and fought back which resulted in Steve becoming stuck in time and space.  So where is he?  He’s in the past.

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Marvel Comics Review: Captain America # 600

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Marvel Comics,

Rating: ****

This month’s “Captain America” hits the stands this week as the announcement is made that Steve Rogers is returning as Captain America in the mini-series “Captain America: Reborn”. As we all know Steve Rogers was shot and killed by a brainwashed Sharon Carter in “Captain America” (Vol.5) #25. Cap’s long thought dead partner James “Bucky” Buchanan Barnes assumed the role of Captain America in issue #34 of the same series. There are numerous stories in this extra-sized issue of #600, but it is the main story of the book that sets the table for “Reborn” and the return of Rogers as Captain America.

The main story takes place on the one year anniversary of Steve Rogers’ assassination and focuses on all of the supporting players that we’ve seen in Captain America life: Sharon Carter, Bucky, Falcon, Patriot, etc. The story goes from character-to-character and each one has their own little tale. Sharon is remembering the events of the day she pulled the trigger and she remembers handing the gun off to some man. Sharon enters the home of that man and discovers that like her, he was brainwashed on the day of the assassination. After shooting Steve, Sharon unconsciously handed the gun off to the man. She finds the gun and takes off.

One of the characters that is shown in this story is Rikki Barnes the female Bucky that Cap teamed up with during the “Heroes Reborn” series. She has traveled over to the 616 Marvel Universe and aligns herself Eli Bradley The Patriot from the Young Avengers. I like that Marvel has decided to bring this character over into the 616 universe, however things are getting a bit crowded with Cap’s supporting cast. Hopefully writer Ed Brubaker can juggle them all.  Still I welcome the character and see potential.  Maybe they can pair up Rikki and Eli in a relationship.

With the one year anniversary of Captain America’s assassination, the people of New York plan to gather to remember him with a vigil in Central Park. Falcon and the non-registered Avengers plan on attending the vigil which is threatened with being shut down by Norman Osborn’s HAMMER organization. Osborn doesn’t shut it down, but uses it instead to paint himself in a positive light with the public.

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Best Comic Book of 2008: Captain America

Posted by David Torres Categories: Editorials, Marvel Comics,

My choice for best monthly comic book series for 2008 is Captain America.  I am not a professional reviewer.  I don’t get paid to read every comic book from every company that comes out month-to-month.  I collect only a handful titles every month because that’s all I can afford - and all of those titles consist of DC and Marvel comics.  So before anyone starts complaining about this book was better, etc, etc, I am only giving you my opinion and I welcome any and all disagreements, but from what I read this year Captain America was by far the best and most consistent month-to-month title published this year.

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