Steve Rogers: Captain America #2

The regular cover to issue #2!

   I couldn't wait. After the explosive finale of SRCA: #1, I just couldn't wait for this storyline to play out. Nor could I allow for spoilers to ruin the fun of reading just what made Steve Rogers an agent of Hydra when this series comes out in trade form probably around Christmas. (Articles spoiling this issue were already popping up online as early as yesterday morning!!!) No, I was first at my LCS waiting for an issue. (It didn't hurt that I also needed to make some possible job contacts while I was at it.) But now I'm wishing maybe I had waited...

   Issue #2 does reveal just how and why Steve Rogers pledged allegiance to the terrorist organization Hydra. But I must say, based on all of the theories swirling around in my head for the past month, the truth behind Captain America's secret ties was a bit of a let down. YES- what did occur in this issue to make Steve a double agent was one of the possibilities I had come up with. But of all of the scenarios running through my brain, the truth was the one option that I felt the least positive about. (I also felt that it was a little bit of a cop out!)

   There's more villains in this book than Capt. or any of his allies. That's probably another reason I didn't feel so connected to the story. I want my Captain America comics to feature the Sentinel of Freedom, dagnabbit! With my questions answered, am I done with this series now until it comes out in trade? I'm going to have to think on it. The only 2 copies available at the store were variant covers that were priced at $10 each! -And like I said earlier; I was the first person in the store!!!

   I think now that the origin behind Steve Rogers' new affiliation has finally come to light, the hoopla over this series will probably dwindle down. If I can get the next issue for cover, I probably will continue getting this series first run. I'll just have to wait and see...

   Don't be surprised that if you want this issue that it might cost you! Also, don't be shocked to see this issue (and it's variants) on eBay and other auction sites for 2,3, or 4 times as much as cover! As a Facebook pal pointed out- Hail, Capitalism!!!

  Worth Consuming

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Steve Rogers: Captain America #1

 

 While DC's Rebirth was breaking all sorts of sales records last week, it was this issue that stole all of the press. Steve Rogers: Captain America #1 is perhaps the most controversial comic since that variant issue of Batgirl in which the Joker was holding the heroine hostage a la the Killing Joke. Now I normally stay away from spoilers but the big reveal of this issue has been so hyped, you'd have to have been living under a rock to miss the twist. So, you've been warned…

  On the very last page it's revealed that Steve Rogers is a secret member of the terrorist cell, HYDRA!!! Both series writer Nick Spencer and edited Tom Brevoort both claim that Steve has been a member since before becoming the Sentinel of Liberty in 1940. HYDRA Steve’s not a clone, not a Skrull, and not an imposter.

Well, with the stunning final page and the assurance that this is not a sales ploy, the internet did what is does best in these situations- it lost it’s collective sh*t! Nick Spencer received death threats. Fans vowed to disown Marvel and never acknowledge this version of Captain America. And everyone from Stan the Man to the man himself, Chris Evans weighed it on the twist ending.

  So what about me- the Madman who has been a Captain America fan ever since he can remember? Cap and Superman have vied for the title of my #1 superhero of all-time since I could read and I would go back and forth all the time. For the past decade, Cap has held that role firmly without fail and the reason why is simple- his very essence has been unwavering.

  Since September 11, Superman has been portrayed more as a god amongst men that as the living embodiment of the American immigrant- seeking truth, justice, and the American Way! But Steve Rogers no matter when he abandoned his role as Captain America to become Nomad: The Man Without a Country or was suddenly turned into a physically old man- he was an American patriot through and through.

So, what’s my take on the revelation that Steve Rogers is a traitor? Well, let’s review the plot momentarily.

   Recently having regained his youth, Steve Rogers shares the title of Captain America with the Falcon. A SHIELD prison facility had a massive break-out and Steve and his girlfriend, Sharon Carter, seek to bring the super-villain prisoners back into custody. Amongst the villains is the nefarious Baron Zemo, whose pretty pissed that the Red Skull has become the defacto leader of HYDRA during his imprisonment.

  Meanwhile, flashbacks to the 1920s show the level of abuse Steve and his mother endured at the hands of the alcoholic Mr. Rogers. If not for the help of a mysterious woman named Elisa, who knows how far Steve’s father may have went on this latest bender. She eventually takes the two out for dinner as it is evident that the mother and child haven’t eaten in days.

  While these events unfold in the past, Cap catches up with Zemo who is holding an important scientist hostage. Zemo escapes but not before the Captain America wannabe, Jack Flag stumbles in on Steve. Steve apologizes to Flag and then kills him (or least, we are made to think he did.) Just as Steve reveals that he is a HYDRA agent, in the past we see that Elisa is a member of HYDRA and invites Mrs. Rogers and Steve to the next community meeting.

 My theory is that this Elisa person is manipulating the timeline. I would bet money that Elisa is Madame Hydra and she went back in time to make Steve Rogers a minion of the terrorist cell. My reasoning: Elisa keeps mentioning that Steve will be someone important one day. So, it’ll play out for a while that Steve’s a baddie and then Sharon and Falcon and maybe Bucky will have to go back in time to save the day. Thus Steve both isn’t and is a HYDRA agent at the same time. But again, that’s just my theory.

  When I first learned of Steve’s betrayal, I must admit, I was shell shocked. I struggled with it long and hard and then I decided to stop listening to the masses and read the book. This was one of the best Cap stories since Ed Brubaker was in charge during the Winter Soldier storyline. I was impressed with it, but I was also a bit scared of the story.

  The Red Skull’s rhetoric reads just like posts linked to my Facebook feed from angry family members and friends- immigrants are taking our jobs, Europe’s overrun by refugees, the government doesn’t want to protect us. Basically, everything the Nazi villain stands for, the Republicans have been blamed of doing. I’m not going to choose sides or attack one political party over another. No, my point of being scared because of this issue is that Americans are angry- not just Republicans, but Democrats too. The whole nation seems ready to fall apart and when a great source of escapism like comics, is so blurred with reality, well to me, it means that things really are in dire straits.

   I’m looking forward to see where this series goes next. Cap is still my all-time fav for now. But time will tell if Steve Rogers remains a HYDRA agent or not. Sadly, there are too many so called ‘fans’ out there who forget that stories in comics aren’t solved in 32-pages anymore but over the course of several months. Be patient folks, the best of Steve Rogers may be yet to come!

  Worth Consuming

  Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Ant-Man, Volume 1: Second-Chance Man (Marvel NOW!)

 

 After a pretty hard life in the Big Apple, Scott Lang follows his daughter to sunny Miami. Lang hasn't always been there for Cassie, what with being in jail and all, so he decides to stay close after his ex-wife relocates to the Sunshine state. The second Ant-Man hopes to capitalize on his name recognition and he starts up a new security business. Along with a fellow reformed super-villain named the Grizzly (who mistakingly tries to kill Scott after believing he is the Ant-Man who sent him to the slammer!), things seem to be going great at this new business (except for the customers who mistake him for an exterminator...) 

   But Scott should know not to look on the bright side for too long as a trio of his old foes has arrived on the scene, gunning for revenge. Just don't call them his arch-enemies, okay? These baddies do have a reputation to uphold!

    I liked this series. It did a fairly decent job playing off of the events that occurred in last year's Ant-Man movie. Author Nick Spencer has Lang be the narrator for this volume and I think that was a great idea. Spencer seems to really be able to get into our anti-hero's head and with that being said, I really can hear actor Paul Rudd's voice throughout this book. This Ant-Man has all the mannerisms, quirks, and foibles of the actor who is set to portray the diminutive character for a number of upcoming Marvel films. It was brilliant.

   There are just two little things that I think are missing from this series. The first thing is that I think Miami was a little bit of a mistake. In the Ant-Man film, the lead character lives and operates in San Francisco. Now, I know that in the comics all of the characters operate out of New York and that's where this story opens up. But I also know that Marvel wants the books to more closely resemble the films. So, instead of Scott pick up stakes and move to Miami, Spencer should have him set up in the Golden Gate area.

   The other issue I had was an editorial problem. This series only ran for 5 issues and an annual. The short run is all likely due to the massive shakeup of Secret Wars. But Second-Chance Man only contains issues 1-5! Where is the annual at? Is it going to be reprinted somewhere else? And more importantly, why isn't it contained in this volume?

   This was a great book, though a little incomplete. Hopefully, after Secret Wars, we'll continue the adventures of Scott and Cassie Lang. I gotta say, if Marvel doesn't return to the adventures of this Ant-Man, they'll be coming up 'short' on a perfect opportunity involving a fascinating character.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9.5 out of 10 stars.