Customer Reviews

The Death of Captain America, Vol. 3: The Man Who Bought America

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Ed Brubaker's epic Death of Captain America trilogy comes to a conclusion with The Man Who Bought America, which brings the Red Skull's conspiracy to a head. With Bucky adjusting to his new role as the new Captain America, he and Falcon attempt to take the fight directly to the Red Skull and his minions, with S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon Carter's life hanging in the balance. Things get even more complicated however when the Skull unleashes a new element to his devious plot, and no one is more surprised than Bucky when it appears that someone else is running around in a Captain America costume, and appears to be none other than Steve Rogers. Or so you would think. As I've said many times before, I was one of the few readers who didn't think Brubaker's run on the title since its relaunch is as brilliant as everyone claims it to be, but over the past year or so, I became a believer. There are so many little nuances and surprises abound that you manage to stay on the edge of your seat during the entire read. Steve Epting provides more solid artwork as well, helping further cement the status of his run with Brubaker as being THE definitive Captain America team. All in all, Ed Brubaker continues his prolific run on Captain America, and here's hoping what he has in store next for the title continues the greatness.

After twenty-four stellar issues, Captain America (Steve Rogers) died in #25 of his current series, a move that attracted unprecedented attention from the mainstream media and momentarily catapulted Marvel's longrunning best comic into the spotlight. The news moved on, eventually. So what then? Then we got "The Death of Captain America", an epic eighteen-part story that reaches its conclusion (for now) in this hardcover, collecting issues 37-42, "The Man Who Bought America". Ed Brubaker and artist Steve Epting (with a guest-issue by Robert de la Torre) maintain the incredible momentum the series has had since issue one, and, at long last, bring many of the threads that have been going since #25 or even #1 to a close.

The last collection saw James 'Bucky' Barnes take on the mantle of Captain America in honour of the deceased Rogers, struggling with the intense legacy that he must now uphold, in contrast to his own turbulent past as a brainwashed assassin. Teaming up with Captain America's longtime partner the Falcon (Sam Wilson) and Barnes' own ex-girlfriend Black Widow (Natasha Romanova), he vows to rescue Steve's brainwashed lover Sharon Carter, now in the clutches of the Red Skull and his associates, Doctor Faustus, Arnim Zola, and Sin. At the same time, the Skull puts his plan to place a patsy in the White House into effect, and is also cooking up some strange device in the basement of his fortress. What does this have to do with Sharon?

Brubaker is a master of espionage/techno-thriller elements, and he fuses them effortlessly into the superhero comic, aided by Epting's marvelously real art. Brubaker cut his teeth as a writer of noir crime drama (see his current, excellent ongoing "Criminal" series for Marvel's ICON line), where characters don't always get happy endings, a touch that he brings to a certain extent into his superhero work, most notably in "Daredevil" (though that series is always depressing; Matt's life being terrible is a given for most writers). In "Captain America", the end result is a juxtaposition of good and bad; the good guys must achieve some level of success, perhaps a surprising amount under the circumstances, but, for Sharon especially, there's a terrible tragedy forced upon her, albeit one that shows her underlying steel. And the Red Skull's comeuppance is wonderfully inventive, taking into account the realities of death in comics.

So what's next for New Cap and his allies? Hopefully, many more stories of the calibre of this one. Highly recommended.

There are not too many complaints one could have with this Captain America saga. You have love, death, a rebirth and some intense fighting scenes. The story flows well and the illustrations are excellent. You don't have to know too much about Captain Americas heroic exploits. They make sure you understand his impact on the world. A top notch comic book!

This third collection of the current Captain America Comic is excellent. The art and writing are both great and compliment each other perfectly. I recommend it to anyone who likes the art of comics as well as really good adventure and political thriller stories.

Well, Steve Rogers still hasn't returned from the dead, and, surprisingly, the state of things is okay. James "Bucky" Buchanan Barnes has reluctantly picked up the Captain America mantle, and I find myself liking him more and more in the role. Part of the draw is that Bucky is most definitely a different cat from the old Cap, not as self-assured, not endowed with the same awesome skills set, and doesn't quite carry that commanding aura. Having once been Cap's World War II sidekick and then brainwashed into becoming the assassin, the Winter Soldier, Bucky presents a more flawed and vulnerable hero, burdened with a tortured psyche and a desperate worry that he won't be able to live up to his mentor's ideals.

THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA Vol. 3: THE MAN WHO BOUGHT AMERICA covers issues #37-42 and brings this long-running story arc to a close. As issue #37 opens up, the Red Skull is finalizing his far-reaching scheme to take down America, with assists from the psycho psychoanalyst Dr. Faustus and that messed-up geneticist Arnim Zola (that is, when Zola's not busy cruising chicks with the Super Skrull, if you know the song). The Skull's early machinations featured the killing of Steve Rogers, America's living symbol. Then he attacked the nation's financial establishments. Now, his endgame involves his puppet senator making a run at the Presidency.

Sharon Carter, Agent 13, is going thru her own hell, although she does have moments in which she shines and demonstrates that her grit and her kung fu are strong. Previously, not only had she been brainwashed by Dr. Faustus into assassinating Steve Rogers, but she'd also learned that she's carrying his baby. And the Red Skull apparently has plans for the baby. In the Skull's secret installation and having just overcome Dr. Faustus's hypnotic conditioning, Sharon tracks down a recently revived figure who eerily resembles Steve Rogers, but with massive scars on his body. He turns out to be this confused nutter who believes he's Captain America, and, of course, he's a key figure in the Red Skull's plans. It bruisingly dawns on Bucky that this Cap wields considerably more pop than even Steve Rogers. And when Bucky cracks him with his Sunday best steel arm punch and nutty guy doesn't budge, both me and Bucky kinda went "Uh-oh."

Ed Brubaker makes it all work. For some time now, Brubaker's taut, hard-boiled storytelling and Steve Epting's gritty realistic pencils have elevated this series into one of the best currently running. CAPTAIN AMERICA in many ways stands out from the pack, not the least of which is that Ed Brubaker doesn't write the thing like your typical superhero fare, but more like an espionage thriller. There are consistently nicely written character moments, which not only showcase Bucky as he struggles with his new role but also his supporting characters, the Falcon, Agent 13 and the Black Widow. Even Clint Barton, the old Hawkeye and an admirer of Steve Rogers, drops in for a visit and to gauge this new Captain America upstart. Naturally, he and Bucky start off on a combative note. Brubaker doesn't neglect the bad guys. It helps that the featured villain is Cap's classic nemesis, the Red Skull, who holds serious credibility. The Red Skull is as insolent and insiduous and nasty as ever, but, in this bunch of issues, you may be startled to find yourself liking Dr. Faustus, Master of the Mindf@$!, a bit better. Meanwhile, Brubaker is taking one particular plot thread nice and slow, which is the romance brewing between Bucky and Natasha. That these two hardbitten, very guarded souls have turned to each other just hits me in my sentimental core. Aw, shucks.

One highlight moment which folks may or may not clue in on is when Bucky finally realizes what it means to take on the mantle of Captain America, when he learns that it's more than just slinging the shield and his fists. The epiphany strikes him in mid-fight: "This must be how Steve felt. This uniform... it carries a weight. But it's not a burden... it's a responsibility." This moment solidifies him to me as Captain America.

Ed Brubaker evenly parcels out elements of intrigue, character study, and crackling pyrotechnics. Dude basically keeps on running this mother. Honest to Betsy, I wasn't convinced of the new arc on which Ed Brubaker was taking this series. But Bucky as the new Cap, with his left steel arm and his packing of pistol and knife and his foibles, has very much grown on me. Here, he finds himself overmatched in his skirmish against the other Captain America, forcing him to contemplate just shooting the guy and be done with it - and I dig that underhanded thoughts like that run thru his noggin. It makes sense that his brand of heroism should come with a more tarnished luster. And, in the next story arc, it looks like we'll find out more about Bucky's time as the Winter Soldier, as that part of his past comes back to bite him. And, as a bonus, it looks like he'll be joining the New Avengers, which should establish him in mainstream Marvel even more. Somewhere down the line, I do expect Steve Rogers to be resurrected. But, for now, dude can stay dead for a little bit longer. Bucky Barnes has got it covered.

Ed Brubaker is a god! If you want a great story, read this book.